Chapter 103

#Chapter 103 – Family Ties “Mimi!” Ian shouts, bursting through Victor’s back door. He had seen his grandmother through the window as he ran across the yard, his backpack slung over his shoulder. “Are you coming to our school today!?”

She laughs, bending down to look at her grandson. “Your school? What are you talking about?”

Alvin and Evelyn come through the kitchen door, Evelyn pressing it closed behind her. “We go to school here now, Mimi!” Alvin says, equally excited.

Marissa turns a curious look on Evelyn, who nods and shrugs. “Victor and I decided to homeschool them for a few months, until the academy gets on its feet. We’re interviewing tutors today.”

“How exciting,” Marissa says, smiling down at the boys.

“Yeah I’m going to pick a really good one,” Ian says, hefting his backpack up onto one of the high kitchen schools. “Someone who knows a lot about lizards.”

“Very into reptiles, recently,” Evelyn murmurs to Marissa on her way past her, heading for the coffee machine.

“I remember that phase,” Marissa says, laughing lightly and lifting Alvin up into a chair.

Evelyn pours herself a cup of coffee. “Do you need one, Marissa?”

But Marissa points to her own half-full cup, sitting on the kitchen island. “No, darling, but thank you for asking.”

Evelyn looks passively around the room as she heads to the fridge for cream. “Where is Victor? We have tutors coming in about ten minutes.”

Marissa shrugs and settles into a chair next to Alvin. “He’ll be here, you know he’s never late.”

Evelyn nods and settles into a chair across from Marissa. “I don’t know how he does it. Maybe he swallowed a pocket watch as a child, so he always knows the time.”

“Like the crocodile,” Marissa says, smiling and lifting her coffee cup to her lips. “Always chasing Peter Pan.”

Evelyn laughs, charmed. “Yes, that’s right! I’d forgotten about that.”

Alvin looks down at his own stomach, as if imagining his own internal clock. “Would that work?”

“No, baby,” Evelyn says, laughing. “Please, don’t try it.”

Ian starts unloading his books onto the island, clearly planning to quiz the tutors very hard on their credentials. Alvin leans over to help him formulate a plan.

“Where are…” She grimaces a little, hoping Victor’s father and brother aren’t close at hand.

“Away,” Marissa says, smiling softly at her. “I continue to be so sorry,” she says, “about how they treated you at the wedding. It is unforgivable, but I hope that you will…well, perhaps give them another chance.”

Evelyn presses her lips together. “I tend to keep very firm boundaries, Marissa. When people cross them, as your husband and son did, my instinct is to ensure that they don’t have the same chance twice.”

“I know,” Marissa says. “That’s…it’s very wise. But I have had talks with both of them, and I will have more, encouraging them to treat you with the respect that you deserve.”

“The problem with that,” Evelyn says slowly, “is that they can act respectful all they want. But it doesn’t mean that they respect me. Deep down, I will know the contempt that they have for me, for the way that I live my life.”

“It’s true,” Marissa says, turning to the window. She gets a far-off look in her eyes that makes Evelyn smile, it’s so like the one that Victor gets. “They are….old, the two of them.”

Evelyn frowns a little, wondering what she could mean.

“Even Rafe,” Marissa continues, “who is so young, is old in his ideas, about traditions. They are both stuck, somehow, in a world well worth dismissing.” She turns her gaze to Evelyn. “Perhaps you can help me bring them into the twenty-first century.”

“To a world in which being a single mother isn’t a thing to be ashamed of, or a sign of immorality?”

Evelyn brings her coffee mug to her lips, quirking an eyebrow. “It might take a long haul to get them here.”

Marissa laughs and raises her cup in Evelyn’s direction. “You may be right. But I have to try.”

“Well then,” Evelyn says, giving her a sunny smile. “Then I will promise not to bare my teeth and bite their heads off the next time I see them. I can give peace in this family another chance.”

“Good,” Marissa says, looking at Evelyn fondly. “I do consider you very much a part of this family, my dear.”

“Thank you,” Evelyn says softly, touched. Both of their heads turn as they hear slow footsteps on the stairs.

“Oh hey,” Bridgette says, smiling slowly, her eyes glazed. She stretches her hands above her head as she yawns and totters into the kitchen, high heels already strapped to her feet. “Is there any coffee?”

“Sure,” Evelyn says, going to get a cup. “Do you want cream and sugar?”

“Oh no,” Bridgette says, wrinking her nose. “No, that’s way too many extra calories.”

Evelyn frowns a bit but shrugs, handing Bridgette a mug of black coffee.

“How did you sleep…my dear.” Marissa says, looking over Bridgette with just a hint of distaste.

“Oh, you know,” Bridgette says breathily, closing her eyes and leaning against the island. “Fine I guess, but Rafe kept me up all night doing –“ She opens her eyes and giggles, perhaps remembering who she’s talking to. “Well. You know.”

“I don’t know!” Ian says, giving Bridgette a cheerful smile over the top of his book. “Were you up late playing a game?”

Bridgette gives a tinkly little laugh. “Yeah, baby. A game.”

“Which one?” Alvin says, suddenly interested.

Bridgette opens her mouth to answer but, thankfully, Victor sweeps into the room, all business. “Hello, everyone,” he says, leaning down to give his mother a kiss on the cheek as he passes. “Mother.”

Everyone gives him their greetings and Evelyn notes the small smile that passes on his lips. He likes to have a full house, she thinks, as he ruffles the boys hair on the way to the fridge. As long as it’s a peaceful one.

“When do the tutors arrive?” Evelyn asks.

“The first one should be here in five minutes,” he answers, taking a water bottle from the fridge. “Do you want to come to my office? We can strategize.”

“Sure,” Evelyn says, standing up from where she was leaning on the counter. “Boys, stay here with your Mimi. Dad and I are going to have a chat.”

The boys give Evelyn and Victor thumbs-ups as they head out of the room. Victor opens the door to his office, allowing her to enter first. Burton is in there, dusting, but he gathers his supplies and heads outs Victor and Evelyn come in.

“Wow,” Evelyn says, dropping into a chair next to Victor’s desk. “You’ve got a crowded house today.”

Victor shrugs. “I think I’m used to it. This is what it was always like, when I was growing up. People around all the time.”

“Mine was the opposite,” Evelyn said, pulling her legs up onto the chair and wrapping her arms around them. “Dad always kept all of his Alpha stuff at the office; the home was mostly my mom, my sister, and I, alone – pretty much all the time. I guess that’s the difference when you have girls instead of boys in an Alpha family though.”

Victor frowns, considering this. “Perhaps,” he says. “Though if I had daughters, I’m not sure I’d make the choice to hide them away.”

“Good,” Evelyn says, stern. “It’s a horrible thing to do to girls, who already have so much against them in this world.”

Victor nods, agreeing, and flicks on his computer to go over the credentials of the tutors. As he pulls up the files, Evelyn bites her lip, thinking.

“Victor?” She asks.

He flicks her eyes to her and hums, inviting her to continue.

“What are you going to do about Amelia?”

He pauses, stays still for a moment, and then turns to her. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just that…when I was dismissed from my father’s pack, for doing something…similar to Amelia…”

Victor opens his mouth to protest, but Evelyn interrupts. “Not the same! But still, connected to a wedding, a betrayal…it was very difficult for me. To be a Rogue wolf, without a pack.”

Victor’s brows knit together. “What are you getting at, Evelyn?”

She shrugs, looking down at her hands, knowing it’s a touchy subject. “Just that…when we were talking, just now, about it not being very easy for girls. It’s going to be very hard for her, as a Rogue. I’m sure she’ll find her feet, but…”

He folds his hands in front of him, his voice all business. “And what would you suggest is the alternative? Forgive her? Embrace her position of power within my pack?”

“No,” Evelyn says, considering. “I don’t think she should be a member of your pack. Just perhaps…

delay the paperwork, a little. Until she finds her feet. There are plenty of good people out there who have been declared Rogue, who either didn’t deserve it or who have reformed. And a lot of them just fall through the cracks, live horrible lives, for a mistake they made years ago.”

Victor considers this carefully, an idea forming in his mind, sparked by Evelyn’s words.

“All right,” he says evenly. Evelyn looks up at him, surprised. “I’ll delay the paperwork. For a while, until we hear that she’s on her feet. You are right – there’s no reason to increase her suffering, if it’s just a matter of paperwork.”

Evelyn gives Victor a big smile and opens her mouth to say more, but just at that moment, Burton peeks around the corner of the door. “Sir? Madame? A Professor Tilt, here to see you regarding tutoring services.”

“Thank you,” Victor says to Burton, standing up and buttoning his blazer. “Please send her in.”

The interviews go well, but all the while, Victor’s brain is buzzing with his new idea.