Chapter 28

Almost Content

Kill her. Crush her. Devour her. She'll take her away. We will have nothing. We worked so hard…to be left with nothing. Kenneth glared down at the now burnt eggs. It was the third batch today. "Fuck!" he gritted out as he threw out the eggs. That woman had been in his house for a month now. A full month and he was ready to mutilate her and throw her to the pack. Georgia will be so upset though. If he couldn't kill her how else was he supposed to solve this problem? His nose scrunched at the scent of magnolias.

"Good morning!"

Her voice was like nails on a chalk board. Ken didn't bother to turn his head as he cracked two eggs into the pan. "Morning," he mumbled out. He glared as Carolyn proceeded to open every blind in the kitchen, letting the bright morning light filter in and temporarily blind him.

"It's such a beautiful day! Spring here is very pretty if a bit too cold for my tastes." She cracked one window open. "Did you burn something?" He watched her nose crinkle as she sniffed the air. "You must have your pan too hot…"

"I know how to cook." He scrambled the eggs with extra oomph as he spoke. He scowled at the eggs. He hadn't meant to scramble them. Georgia liked omelets and he had initially planned to make her one stuffed with all her favourites. Now it was…. Now it was simply scrambled eggs with meat and cheese everywhere. The oven beeped and he moved to take out the warm French bread. He could feel Carolyn watching him move about the kitchen. He put together three plates, his nerves tingling as he fought to not turn and snarl at the woman. She won't be here forever. She has to leave sometime. His body relaxed when Georgia walked in, her short curls unruly from their tryst the night before. She rubbed her eye as her left hand pushed his shirt lower on her body, trying to cover up most likely her lack of underwear. Did we shred them again? "Morning," he let out in a low voice. She looked at him with bleary eyes and a smile.

"Morning." She waddled over, stretching on her tippy toes to brush her lips against his.

"Well morning Georgia! Never thought I'd see the day you'd forget how rude it is to be so… intimate…. In front of your mother…"

She tensed, her eyes squeezed shut. She shook her head, curls bouncing, as if she was trying to rid herself of a horrible dream. "I didn't realize you were in here already. You've been getting up earlier and earlier everyday…." Ken frowned. Carolyn had been getting up earlier and he had a feeling she was trying to get up before he did. Unfortunately for her, if she wanted to out rise him she'd need to get up at 4 AM. He made note not to sleep in this weekend. He wasn't exactly sure what she was up to.

Georgia turned, a smile brightening up her face. "How about we go into town today Mom?"

Carolyn rose a brow. "And do what? It's a quaint town but I'm sure there isn't much for humans here…."

"Your roots are showing. The woman Georgia sees is human. Get out of my house."

Georgia bit her lip at Ken's tone. She watched her mother's face redden before she smoothed down her hair. She didn't need to turn to him to know he was wearing a smirk.

"Um…. Yeah…. Carrie is great. I'll go get ready and we can head out."

"I have not agreed…"

"We could have private time to actually talk… without Ken around." Georgia could hear Ken scoff but she could see her mother's eyes widen with interest. Ken had started working at home when her mother came, never allowing them to truly be alone together. Georgia just hoped she could use this time to repair their relationship.

"Alright. Well get ready missy…"

Ken had offered the car, but Georgia decided that walking would be best. It would give her more time to talk. Her mother didn't speak until they could see the town. "I'm surprised you found a human salon."

"It's not a human salon. It's just owned by a human. Carrie is sweet. You'll like her."

Carolyn nodded. "I don't like Kenneth."

"I know."

"He hit you. He hurt you. How can you…."

"I know. And it's crazy. Kenneth has demons mom. Lots of demons. I know that and now he knows that. He's not perfect…"

"He's a monster. This has nothing to do with him being a wolf. It's him. He's a monster. I can't leave you here. I can't leave knowing that someday he may kill you."

"Mom…" Georgia stopped.

"Georgia, listen to me. I know you love him. I can see it. I'm not blind. But one day, I'm going to get a call —I'm going to get a call from Phoebe or Marilein apologizing that my only baby was murdered by the monster she was so foolishly in love with. He's nice now, but I can see it in his eyes Georgia. He's fighting and I don't know if he's going to win that fight."

"He's changed…" Georgia tried to keep her tone even.

"You can't just make him into something he's not! He isn't a toad you can kiss and make a prince!"

"I know that!"

"I don't think you do! You had your whole life ahead of you! You were in school, you planned on having a career…. And now… Now it's all gone! How can you even be with him?!"

Georgia could feel her face heat and lips thin. "You only hate him because he's a wolf! This has nothing to do with him and everything to do with how he was born!"

"I don't give a flying fuck if he's a wolf!" Georgia blanched. She had never once heard her mother say fuck. Never. Not when she was sixteen and got locked up for drinking underage. Not when she had fallen off the side of the playground's slide and busted her leg. Not even when her grandparent's passed. Never. "This… this has nothing to do with that. He's a monster because he hurts you. You can't tell me that you don't flinch. That you don't avoid saying or doing things so you don't trigger his anger. I know you love him. Why, I can't figure out…not after everything he did…"

"He did more than just hurt me."

Carolyn looked away, staring down at a leaf that had found its way to her shoe. "I don't know what I'll do when I lose you."

"You're not going to lose me."

"A lot of women say that…"

"Mama…." Georgia gasped as her mother lunged forward, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I wish I could change your mind. I wish you would come home, but I know you feel like this is home now. I can't change that. And until you do, I'll be here for you. I want a phone call every day. I…." her voice cracked. "I want to hear your voice and see your face on facetime. I want to know you are alive and well and happy. And so help me God if I see a bruise…"

"I'm going to be fine."

Carolyn pulled away, holding Georgia's face in her hands. "Let's go before that man of yours makes another comment about my roots."

"It was a pleasure having you here Carolyn." Kenneth watched as the small woman turned to him, her eyes narrowed. She had ended up staying for 2 months before deciding to head back home. Each day had been hell for him. Georgia hugged her mother tightly.

"You know, if you ever do decide to kill him, Dad and I will help get rid of the body…" she whispered against Georgia's ear.

"Mom!" She was sure Ken had heard. She turned to him, grimacing as she took in his expression. His eyes were narrowed into thin slits, his red lashes making it difficult to see if his eyes were even open. His jaw was set firmly with his lip curled slightly-slight enough most people wouldn't have noticed, but Georgia knew that look. She hadn't seen that look in a while. He's fighting and I don't know if he's going to win that fight. She found herself fighting a frown. "Mom, you should get going. You're going to miss your flight." On queue the intercom crackled, warning passengers to board. Giving one last hug, Carolyn made her way to the attendant. She looked back once, sadness etched on her face, but Georgia could see she wasn't actually looking at her, but past her. She watched her mother take a breath, give and watery smile and wave, before boarding.

She turned to Kenneth, but he had already begun to walk away. His hands were stuffed in his pants, probably hiding the claws that wanted to break free. Georgia quickened her steps and bumped into his side. His low growl made her flinch before she grabbed his arm, threading hers through his and leaning against him. "Hey there handsome…" her voice shook a bit from uncertainty. Her mother was right. She did tread carefully with him. He stopped suddenly, looking down her, his eyes swirling with shades of green before settling on an emerald.

"I…" he began, his voice a bit scratchy. It was like the wolf had been completely at the surface moments ago. His shoulders relaxed. "I'm sorry." Georgia tilted her head. "I was… your mother is frustrating. I didn't mean to frighten you." She opened her mouth to respond but quickly closed it. She nuzzled her face into his arm and shook her head. She had wanted to tell him that he hadn't frightened her-but he had. She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling, smile large.

"Why don't we go home? We could pack a lunch and go hiking to your favorite spot."

He smiled at her before patting her hand and continuing out of the airport. "Or we could go home and I could have my way with you. Without having to be quiet for your mother." She laughed as he opened the door to his car.

"O, well that sounds like fun," she said as she sat in the car, smoothing down her skirt.

Kenneth sat beside her. "You have no idea how hard I'm going to fuck you." The sound of the car almost drowned out her guffaw and snort.

Georgia looked at him from her side view, a smile spread across her face from how quickly the conversation had become crass. "I have some ideas." She didn't miss the smirk he gave her, nor how quickly he was accelerating towards home. She watched the trees whizz by. She felt herself flinch as his hand came up behind her head, moving into her hair. The flinching would take time. And she found herself, ok with that, because it would go away. That's what she told herself. It would go away and with it, the hurt looks her mother kept giving her. And until it did go away, she at least had the support of her mother. She was disappointed her father wouldn't come around, but she knew that would take time as well. Everything took time. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes as his fingers kneaded her scalp. She was almost content and she was ok with that. Time would make everything better.

I think I'm done. I think this is the end. I may do an epilogue. Maybe not. Georgia didn't quite get what she wanted, but she got close…maybe? I dunno. Please review as I am quite interested in how you feel about this ending.

Please note, for my author followers, I have more stories coming out. Some set in Texas (anyone who read Whole Other Country should be happy I am rewriting that) and some set in Scotland. I hope the newer stories help flesh out the world more and it will introduce some new concepts that are unique to some packs in Europe. . I am very excited about this new story and I hope you all will love it!

XOXOX

KNH