GIFTED RILEY by Lacy Mierr

Chapter 32 Mother Knows Best

*Nicolas*

For the hundreds of years that I have lived, I have never feared a woman. Protecting them, however, was practically a law of the pack. Yet, when it came to my mother, the equation flipped. She was the only woman who could ever twist the feeling of fear deep into my gut.

She was my mother after all.

And that’s exactly what flickered now, the moment I pushed my office door open and saw her standing there.

The set of her jaw, the fire in her eyes

storm.

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it all pointed to an incoming

My stomach clenched. I suddenly regretted having dinner with Riley. Vulnerable as we were, that one decision seemed to have just thrown gasoline on the fire.

“Nicolas,” Mother started, her voice tight, “what were you thinking?”

“Thinking?” I echoed, already bracing for the inevitable. “What did I do now, Mom?”

She wasn’t impressed by my words. In fact, it seemed she didn’t wish to hear my voice at all, because she looked at me with utmost disapproval. “Do not take that tone with me, N**s. How dare you treat Riley like some… some s**x **e? You were raised with more respect for women than that.”

I wasn’t in the mood for this. I wanted to be left alone with my

Chapter 32 Mother Knows Best

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thoughts, to deal with the many issues we were facing. The last thing I wanted was to be scolded by my mother. “What are you even talking about?” I responded weakly, settling into my chair.

“Don’t play dumb!” Mother’s voice rose a notch. “You treat her as if she’s just any other woman. You parade her around the court, and you have refused to mark her, refused to make her your true mate. What does that make her then? Just another pretty face to warm your bed?”

I could feel the frustration bubbling up inside me. It pained me more that this was my mother and I had to exercise patience even when I had none. “That’s not it at all.”

A steely glint entered her eyes. “I’ve rarely been wrong about you, Nicolas, and I won’t be wrong about this. You need to do right by this girl.”

“Believe me, this is the one time you’re mistaken. I don’t see her as a s*x s**e, she’s not some…” I hesitated, searching for the right word, “trophy I keep on display. She’s my partner.”

My mother’s eyes narrowed at me. “Then why haven’t you marked her?”

to

“There’s too much going on right now. I can’t risk putting her in danger,” I paused, thinking of what to say next. “She’s too important me, Mother. And with the hunters fighting over her, she’s not ready to be marked. Doing that would only put her in a more vulnerable position.”

My mother sighed, the sound echoing in the tense silence. “Nicolas,” she said finally, settling into a chair across from me. “I know you want to keep her safe. But you can’t keep her wrapped in cotton wool forever. Riley’s strong, she’s not some damsel in distress. Give her some

Chapter 32 Mother Knows Best

credit, will you? She can make her own choices.”

My jaw clenched. “I know that, Mother. But she’s mine to protect and I’ ll be d d if I let anything happen to her.” It wasn’t defiance in my voice, just a deep-seated protectiveness.

“That’s where you and your father get too alike,” she countered, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. “Rigid. Stuck in your ways. Maybe if you loosened your grip a bit, and paid more attention to what Riley. wants, you’d see she’s tougher than you give her credit for.”

“I can’t take that risk,” I insisted, thinking those words were familar.

“She’s not a fragile doll, Nicolas. This isn’t some hypothetical situation anymore. It’s time. You have to mark her, and you have to do it now.

Frustration gnawed at me. “Mother, you just don’t understand

Her voice cut through mine, firm but laced with a mother’s love. “No, Nicolas, you’re the one who doesn’t understand. You think you’re protecting her by delaying the mark, but you’re just making her a bigger target. Don’t you see that?”

“Mother…” The word came out a defeated sigh.

“You’re not offering her enough security. She’s supposed to be your mate, treat her as one. Don’t forget that Riley had no choice in the matter, but she’s tough enough to adapt. You should give her credit for that.”

She pressed on before I could interject. “You also forget that she cannot experience this bond with anyone else because she has no wolf. You’re all she has Nicolas. But your stubbornness and your need for iron-clad control denies her the one certainty she craves –

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