Three Fated Hearts by LNC novel Chapter 40

~Tia~

“Here we are,” Neal states as we stop in front of the clinic. We took a nice, leisurely walk to the clinic, chatting and laughing on the way. “I suggest you get that hand looked at, just to be sure that everything is okay.” Neal reaches out and runs his hand down my arm before griping above my elbow and giving it a squeeze. As Neal walks away, my mom walks out of the clinic.

“Uh, what’s that all about?” My smile falters a bit.

“What do you mean? That was Neal, he walked me down here.” My mom walks up to me, stopping right in front.

“Yeah, I got that part. I was more wondering why that would be.” Mom gives me a quick hug and steps back. “Where are your mates?” I sigh and shrug my shoulders. I really didn’t want to revisit all of that right now. I finally got my anger under control.

“I came to get my hands checked. I’m sure they’re fine though. I spent some time with the punching bag without any barrier.” Mom grabs my hands and starts to inspect them while making eye contact with me here and there.

“Everything looks fine. I’m sure you will be okay and if there is anything wrong, Andricia will take care of it.” Mom starts to rub the back of my hands. “Is there anything you want to tell me?” I really didn’t want to get into all of this with my mom. I don’t know what she would say, but I’d rather figure things out myself.

“No. Everything is okay.” Mom sighs.

“Let me just say…….be careful. You have two mates who adore you and it would be easy to let outside influences interfere. Just be mindful of who you spend your time with.” Mom kisses my forehead and walks back into the clinic.

She’s right. I don’t like being around Neal. Something about the entire thing feels off.

What do you mean? He just wants to be friends and try to make up for when we were kids.

Just be careful. Something doesn’t sit right with me. Andricia has always been less likely to forgive people. We have always had a back-and-forth about it. She’d rather scorch the Earth and rid us of anyone who even looked at us funny. I prefer to see what people are about because sometimes people can change. I’m in desperate need of a shower, so I turn back toward the packhouse. I don’t get far before a mindlink comes in.

B***H!!!!! Where the f**k have you been?! Damn! I completely forgot about Mark and Lynn. I think it’s because I’m used to not seeing them regularly that I forget that they are around. I can spend as much time with them as I like these days.

I was just leaving the clinic. I was going to take a shower.

You have been neglecting us, and that’s not cool. Mark and I have had to hear things through the grapevine. Who the hell is Jenna? Why is there a ‘Neal’ in the mix? You have a lot of explaining to do. I guess I can’t be surprised that secrets aren’t kept around here. Too many eyes to see and too many mouths to report.

I will come find you after my shower. I swear.