Taken at Dusk (Shadow Falls #3)(89)

"Yes. Lucas enlightened me on the matter." She continued to study Kylie. "Tell me, Miss Galen. Do you think you're werewolf?"

The question hung heavy in the air, reminding Kylie that Lucas had asked much the same question. Kylie's stomach knotted, and instantly she suspected what this conversation was really about. Obviously, his pack weren't the only ones wanting him to stay away from her. "I'm not sure."

Mrs. Parker smiled. "For your sake and my grandson's, I hope so."

"What do you mean?" Kylie asked, even though she suspected.

Leaning forward, she touched Kylie's shoulder. The touch was warm like Lucas's, and while Kylie wanted to pull back, she felt no animosity in the older woman's hand, nor did she see it in her eyes. There was only concern and love for her grandson. "The bloodline running in my grandson's veins is pure. His life mate will have to be one of his own kind."

"And if she's not?" Kylie asked.

"If she is part were, but shows loyalty to her heritage, they may overlook her lacking. But if she is not from our blood, then not only will he be forced to step down from his place, but the pack will no longer accept him as one of them. A were must never put another being who is not of our blood before he puts his own people."

"That sounds like racism," Kylie said.

The woman shrugged. "I cannot speak of what is right or wrong. I only speak of what is. Oddly enough, it is to correct a wrong that Lucas has fueled his long held desire to be a part of the council. Since Lucas was seven and came to live with me, he has been forced to lie to his own people and to the world about his upbringing. His goal has been to make it to that respected place and then change the views of our people about children born to rogues. He aches to show that the mistakes of the parents are not always passed down to the innocent child."

She rose from the chair as silently as she sat.

"Hey, pumpkin! There you are." Tom Galen's voice filled Kylie's ears, but she couldn't look away from Mrs. Parker's face to say hello to her stepdad. Was the woman really telling Kylie that if she wasn't werewolf, then she and Lucas couldn't get married?

Heck, she hadn't even officially agreed to go out with him. Marriage was a long, long way from here.

Footsteps sounded on the porch steps.

"I will go and let you visit with your company," Mrs. Parker said, and she nodded politely at Kylie's stepdad and walked off.

"You okay?" he asked, looking oddly at the elderly woman as he dropped into the chair she'd just vacated. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Kylie answered, and tried to push away her concern about Lucas's grandma so she could deal with her concern about seeing her stepdad again.

* * *

The visit with her stepdad wasn't as awkward as Kylie had thought. Then again, maybe it was just that after the extremely awkward visit with Lucas's grandmother, Kylie's awkward meter was malfunctioning.

Before Holiday missed her, Kylie moved her dad into the dining hall. Poor Holiday skirted from one group to another, trying to keep the peace.

As Kylie expected, her stepdad asked about her mom. Kylie didn't tell him about the business lunch/date her mom had gone on. He talked about some of the trips they'd taken on their father/daughter outings. Then he asked if she thought maybe they could go on another one soon.

Kylie hadn't said yes, but she hadn't said no. "I'll have to look at my schedule." For once, telling the truth-that some old vampire either wanted her to marry his grandson or planned to kill her-wasn't for the best.

When the time got close for him to leave, Kylie motioned to Holiday that she was going to walk her dad to his car, and Holiday's gaze shifted to Perry, who then followed them out.

When they reached the car, she hugged her dad. It didn't feel as awkward as the hug she'd given him the last time he'd come out for Parents Day, but there were still undercurrents of sadness to it.

"I love you," he whispered.

"Me too," Kylie said, and it was true. She loved him.

Before she released him, she realized he felt thinner. When she pulled away, she asked, "Are you eating okay?"

"Restaurant food isn't as good as your mom's cooking," he said.

"I miss her pancakes," Kylie said.

"I miss her." He gave her hand a tight squeeze. "If she asks about me, tell her I said that."

The loneliness she saw in his eyes gripped Kylie's chest. But he'd brought this pain on himself. None of this would have happened if he hadn't decided to bang his intern.

Mistakes. People make them. And most of the time, they had to pay for them. Was her stepdad destined to live alone the rest of his life because of his foolish decision to cheat on her mom?

"You okay?" Holiday asked as Kylie walked back inside, followed by Perry. "Did you survive the visit?"

"Yeah. It was sad, but seeing him is getting easier." Kylie looked around to check on Miranda and Della. Both looked miserable sitting like little soldiers with their respective parents.

Then she found Lucas. He sat attentively, hanging on every word his grandmother said. Evidently, the woman held a big influence over his life. But was it big enough that he wouldn't marry someone he loved because they weren't werewolf? Did Lucas even consider that a viable concern? Or was his grandmother just mentally stuck in the 1800s and thought it should be a consideration for Lucas?