Chapter 47

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"Maddox Ramsay Kincaid," Madeline hissed, her hand gripping his elbow like a claw.

"Hey, mom," he forced his most charming smile down at his mother, trying to placate the anger bubbling just under the surface. "God, you look beautiful tonight."

It didn't work. Maybe it would have worked if he could stand without losing his balance or could speak without a slur.

She reached into his jacket pocket and took the flask, opened it, and sniffed. Her eyes flashed dangerously, before they and the grip on his arm softened. She tilted her head to the side and guided him to a side hall. She pushed him down on a bench next to the washrooms and sat next to him. "Okay, honey," she said gently. "Maybe you should go home."

"No, no, mom," he shook his head. "This is your night! I can't leave."

Her hand squeezed his. "I am not going to pretend that things haven't been hard on you for the last little while. You have been so strong, helping Rhia with her breakup, and your accident, and now all this business with the dragonkin, and Nova-"

"Please, don't..." his voice quaked.

He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. He couldn't listen to one more person tell him that Nova was just a dog. She was more than that... she was his partner. His fiancé. His mate. She wasn't supposed to die. And when he got the news directly from her superior's mouth... all they had been worried about was their damn non-disclosures. He hadn't even been allowed to go to her real funeral. She didn't have any other family. She had been alone at the very end.

He wanted to finish what she started. He could have done it. But Atticus... that fucking bastard... he turned his nose up at him just because he was a human. Goddamn elitist ancients.

"I know how important Nova was to you."

"Mom, please... I love you, but you have no idea how..."

"Honey, I know you two were dating."

He lifted his head off the wall and stared at her, his mouth falling open. "How?"

A knowing smile crossed her lips. "You were not as subtle as you think you were."

The pressure of emotions started to build again. "I miss her, mom."

"I know," Tears were building in her eyes too. "I wish we could have met properly. I know how happy she made you."

They sat together for a few minutes while Maddox struggled to get his emotions and his nausea under control. It made sense now, but he'd always been so jealous of Rhia's ability to drink more than seemed physically possible while he was a chronic puker anytime he picked up the bottle. "Go back to the party." He sighed. "I bet people are looking for you."

"No, you need me more right now."

"I'm okay." She rose her eyebrow at him. "Okay, I'm not, but I can get it together for tonight."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call you a cab? You don't have to be here."

"Yeah, I do." He sighed and smiled at her. "What kind of son would I be if I wasn't here to support you on the most important night of the year?"

"I'm a mom," she scolded him gently. "Nothing is more important to me than my kids."

He nodded, knowing better than to argue with her on that one. If there was an award for the world's best mom, she would have been nominated time and time again. She more than made up for Richard's lackluster attempts at being a parent.

Oh shit, Richard. 

If Madeline knew that Nova was a shifter, there was no way in hell that Richard didn't know. But he never said a thing. The same man who refused to let him have friends that might have ancient blood didn't say anything about his partner being a shifter. What did that mean? It had to mean something, but his head was swimming bad enough that he couldn't focus on what it was trying to tell him.

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