Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity #3)(89)

"Please, your concern is overwhelming," Darcy gritted.

A mocking smile touched her mother's perfect lips. "Would you rather that I kiss your boo-boo and make it better?"

"Considering you were the one to give me the boo-boo I think I'll pass."

"Suit yourself."

Darcy shifted on the mattress, a surge of irritation rushing through her at the dull rattle of chains.

"Since I'm obviously to be a guest here, whether I want to be or not, I think you should at least introduce yourself."

"But you already know, my dearest child." The mocking smile widened. "Of course, I shall become quite violent if you dare to call me mother. I am Sophia."

Sophia. Somehow it suited her, Darcy decided. Far more than mother ever would.

"It never occurred to me to call you mother," she lardy assured her companion. "Where am I?"

"Salvatore's lair." Sophia cast a disparaging glance around the room. "A pigsty, isn't it?"

"I've seen worse."

"Perhaps you have." Her mother tilted her head to one side as she studied Darcy's fierce gaze. "You have a fragile look to you, but there is fire in your eyes. As is only fitting for your position. You will need a great deal of fire, my daughter. Weakness is not tolerated among the purebloods."

"I'm assuming that good manners aren't high on the list either." Darcy glanced pointedly at the shackles. "When I used to fantasize about meeting my mother it didn't include being attacked and chained to a bed."

"It is not how I would have wished our first meeting to be, but it is entirely your own fault, you know."

"My fault?"

Sophia lifted her hand to study her perfect manicure. "You should have listened to Salvatore when he first approached you. It would have saved us all a great deal of trouble."

Darcy gave a short, disbelieving laugh. She was being blamed for being stalked, terrified, and now waking up chained to a bed?

That was going over the line.

"Forgive me, but I don't make a habit of listening to strange men who stalk me through the streets of Chicago."

"A pity. You managed to lead Salvatore around like a fool, which I must admit does have its amusing moments, but I don't possess his patience. It's time you are with your family."

Family.

How many years had she longed for a family?

To be surrounded by her loved ones in a place she could truly call home?

She gave a sharp tug on the shackles. "Funny, I don't feel much like the prodigal daughter. Maybe it's the whole being chained to the bed thing."

"You'll have your fatted calf soon enough, my dear, but first you must prove you are willing to accept your position among the Weres," Sophia drawled.

"I can hardly accept a position that I know nothing about."

"Yes, it is unfortunate that you were not raised among your people." Sophia heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Your ignorance of our ways is making this all far more difficult than it should be."

Okay, that was it.

She was tired, her jaw ached, and the once burning desire to discover the truth of her past had turned into a sour ball of disappointment in the pit of her stomach.

"Unfortunate?" Her voice lowered to a furious growl. "It's unfortunate that I was kidnapped as a baby and then tossed from one home to another before landing on the street? It's unfortunate that I've spent thirty years feeling like a freak, always avoiding other people and wondering what the hell is wrong with me? It's unfortunate that I learn I'm a ... werewolf by a stranger? I'd say it's a little more than unfortunate."

Sophia rolled her eyes as she stepped toward the bed. "Oh, God, stop your sulking. Life is a bitch for all of us. The only thing that matters is that you're back where you belong." She stiffened in annoyance as Darcy abruptly laughed. "What is so amusing?"

Darcy gave a shake of her head as she struggled to contain her dark humor.

"I was just thinking of the old saying."

"What old saving?"

"Be careful what you wish for."

It took a moment before Sophia realized that Darcy was referring to her.

"Ah." A sneering smile touched her lips. "Salvatore warned me that you would be hoping for June Cleaver."

Well, what the heck was wrong with that?

Home-cooked dinners, being tucked into bed, a soft kiss on the cheek ...

Darcy grimaced. "And instead I got Mommie Dearest"

Sophia shrugged her indifference. "I suppose that is true enough. You know, I am not really such a horrible person, but I will admit I have little interest in being a mother. It's always seemed a very tedious job with few rewards."

"What about the love of your children? Surely that's worth something?"

"Not nearly enough. Perhaps when you have been a breeder for a few centuries you will understand."

Darcy gave a choked sound. She didn't know what a breeder was, but it didn't sound like a position she wanted to take on.

"A breeder?" she demanded warily.

"That's what we are, you know," Sophia drawled. "Female purebloods have one purpose among the pack, and that is to produce as many litters as physically possible."