Chapter 315: Change My Mind
"Harper, I like this one more," my mother said, sounding awfully amused even as she pulled away from the phone to speak to me. She had one hand covering the microphone, but with how she practically cackled with amusement, I didn’t doubt that Blaise could hear her every word. "This should be your original mate, yes? The beta of Fangborne?"
My eyelids ticked while my lips cramped up in one position, unsure what I should reply. Was there even a need to lie now that she already knew that Damon and Blaise were my mates?
"Yes," I finally said, practically forcing the words out.
"Wonderful!" my mother exclaimed, giddy with joy. She removed her hand from the microphone, making sure that Blaise’s voice could be heard well through the speaker. "You must be Blaise, then," she said. "Oh, don’t worry about that. There is no need to impersonate when I am already the original. Tell him, Harper."
I sighed, nodding.
"It’s a little hard to believe, but yes," I said, watching as my mother smiled warmly at me the more I spoke. I hadn’t properly acknowledged everything, and with how I myself had accused her of impersonating my actual mother, she must be glad that I was clearing her name. "This is my mother. Turns out she isn’t as dead as I thought she was."
"How crass," my mother said, playfully pouting.
Before she could say anything else, I quickly added, "I’m safe with her, you two needn’t worry. I’ll get home myself after catching up―"
"Oh, Harper, come on now!" my mother suddenly piped up, cutting me off. She had no doubt caught onto what I was trying to do, and with how eager she was to meet my mates, she wouldn’t allow it to happen. "I wish to meet the two men who have my daughter wrapped around their fingers! Not to mention, the very same people who decimated Stormclaw in my stead. I think I at least owe them my thanks for that."
"I don’t quite follow," Blaise said. He still maintained a civil and cordial voice, but even through the phone, I could sense the ticking anxiousness that laced his tone. "Is there a reason why we’re owed your thanks?"
"It’s a long story, one which I won’t mind sharing over dinner," my mother said.
"Mom, wait―"
"Harper and I are taking some time to catch up. It’s been years since I’ve last seen my daughter, and as a mother, I’ve missed many milestones in her life," she said. "I hope you don’t blame me for stealing her away for a short while."
"It was quite a nasty surprise," Blaise replied good-naturedly. "One which my brother and I would appreciate not going through again."
"Of course not," my mother quickly said. "Circumstances have prevented us from reuniting the normal way, you see. But if you’re interested, feel free to join us in Upper Lumen one day for a meal or two. I have spare rooms for you all to stay in. Apologies, but sharing a room with my daughter is definitely out of the question! She is still my little girl, after all, and I would rather not hear any possible crude noises in the middle of the night―"
"Mother!"
In reaction to my looks of utter horror, my mother simply laughed, batting the matter off as nothing more than a joke.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, there was a tussle and rumbling noise, followed by the cracks of furniture breaking. A sharp thump echoed through the speakers, and soon enough, Damon’s voice came thundering through.
"Upper Lumen?!" he echoed. "Who gave you the right to send her to Lumiose?"
"And without a passport," Blaise added thoughtfully. "It seems like Mrs. Gray has a lot of connections for that to happen."
"Actually, it’s just Veronica," my mother sheepishly said. "Harper’s father and I haven’t been considered a married couple for years. Everything’s a little complicated― too complicated to tell over the phone, at least. If you’re interested, I’ll have my assistant text you the address of my home. Feel free to visit!"
"Wait just a fucking minute―"
Without waiting for what Damon had to say, my mother ended the call, the cold silence that came after quickly enveloping us. My mother passed the phone back to Gus’s awaiting hands right after, disallowing me a chance to make a grab for it. By the time I reacted, Gus was already exiting the room, closing the door behind him.
"There," my mother said, dusting her hands. "Now that the invitations have been handed out, let’s proceed to preparations while waiting for our guests, shall we? I presume it might take them a week to arrive, maybe even less, considering how impatient those boys seem to be upon hearing your voice."
She reached for the bookshelves, pulling open the drawers at the bottom half of the cabinets as she withdrew certain items. I noticed a set of silver keys, bottles of unknown liquid, and a small steel rod no bigger than a chopstick. With the last item, she pulled up her graying hair, quickly tying it in a bun before turning back to smile at me.
"Let’s go, Harper. There is something we must do."
"What is it?" I warily asked. "Why did you invite them?"
"Because," my mother said, "if you wish for me to change my mind about mates, they must prove that they’re worthy of you."
She crossed the room quickly, and before I could move away, she took my hands in hers. My mother’s hands were calloused and rough, shaped by the grueling years of her life. But when the warmth of her hand encased mine, I could feel the same warmth of my childhood seep from the palms of my hands all the way to my chest.
It felt as though I had been blasted back to the past, nostalgia creeping over my skin in a welcomed manner.
"For now, there is something I wish to show you," my mother said. She smiled, and oddly enough, I thought it was actually genuine this time. "Consider it my gift to you, after years of being apart."
