9. Apologizes

9

APOLOGIZES

I stare at my empty suitcase as I chew on my bottom lip.

What does one pack for vacation with their future in-laws and finacé?

It shouldn't be this difficult. We're spending a week on the beach.

But what about dinner? Do they have fancy dinners? But what if I pack nice dresses and dinner is casual? I could pack both, but what if Damek's mom complains about me overpacking?

I'm thinking way too hard about this. I should just pack what I would if I went on vacation with my family because Damek's family is my family. Or, they will be in a few short months.

I turn when I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in," I yell, wondering who it could be. Julien doesn't knock, so I know it can't be him.

When I see red hair, I turn to fully face my mother.

My mom is beautiful. I've always thought so. So when Damek told me that I looked like my mother, it was absolutely the highest compliment he could have given me. Even now, with her hair in a messy bun and wearing pajamas, she's gorgeous.

"What are you doing?" Mom asks.

"I'm packing for my trip," I answer.

She looks at the empty suitcase. "I see."

I sigh. "I don't know what to pack. I haven't spent that much time with Damek's family and this is the first time I'm going to be doing more than just having dinner with them. I have no idea what to expect."

"With that mother of his, there is no telling." Mom chuckles, shaking her head. "You're going to have your hands full with that one."

I chew on my lip, not saying a word. I don't want her to have more ammunition to use against Damek's mom.

Queen Rune may not be the easiest person to get along with, but she is the mother of the guy I'm marrying. And she has gotten better since that first meeting. I'm hoping that Damek is right and once she gets to know me, she will like me.

I hope this vacation isn't complete chaos.

"All right, all right," Mom says. "I won't talk about her. But I will help you pack if you want."

I nod. "Please."

My mom is so good at always knowing the perfect outfit. With her help, every day will be perfectly planned. Then I won't have to stress, I can enjoy my vacation with Damek and his family.

"So, what do you think of Damek?" I ask trying to subtly broach the subject as Mom steps into my closet.

Her eyes widen as she looks around my closet. "Just how much shopping have you done since you arrived?"

I grin. "Not me. Eden. She was quite excited about buying clothes for a daughter."

Mom grows quiet.

I wonder what she's thinking. She and Eden are cordial with one another, but they're not overly friendly. They both stay quiet and only speak when necessary.

"She's a nice woman," Mom eventually says.

I nod, agreeing with her sentiment.

She turns to face me. "I wouldn't mind if you'd rather have Eden help you pack."

"No, Mom," I say. "I like Eden—she's a lovely woman. And while I do think of her as a second mom, you're still my mom. You raised me. And I love you."

She visibly relaxes. "I love you too."

I watch as Mom carefully looks through my closet. I can't help but think that she and Eden have a lot in common. Under different circumstances, the two might even get along.

I clear my throat. "You never answer my question earlier."

She lifts an eyebrow at me but barely glances my way as she begins to gather clothes into her arms. "Which question?"

"What do you think of Damek?" I ask.

She takes a trip into my bedroom to drop a load of clothes and I follow behind her. "Damek is a nice boy," she pauses, the corrects, "man. He's a very nice man. And he is easy on the eyes."

My cheeks grow warm. "Yes, Damek is very attractive."

She pauses in front of me. "He treats you well and he seems to adore you. And I can tell you are very smitten with him."

Smitten? Yes.

Half way in love? Possibly.

"I came here fully prepared to fight with your father to get you out of an arranged marriage, but when I saw Damek and you together, I knew he was your one ," Mom says. "The two of you will be very happy together. I can see that."

My heart feels so full at her words. She approves , which is more than I could've ever hoped for.

She turns to head back into the closet, but I stand in my room and breathe for a few more moments.

Everything is working out so perfectly. Sure, Damek's mom still isn't warm, but she's not as cold as she once was. And since Mom promised not to fight with Queen Rune so much over wedding plans, maybe things won't be so bad anymore.

This could really work out.

Am I really going to get a happy ever after with Damek? It feels too good to be true.

Mom pokes her head out of the closet. "Are you coming?"

I follow her inside as she makes her way expertly around the space. After being here for only a few minutes, she knows her way around my clothes better than I do. I swear, she moves like she's skating around a clothing store. A few more minutes and she takes another armload of clothes to my bed. I start to help her fold the clothes, but she shoo's me off, telling me to sit. I sit crisscross on the bed and watch her as she packs my suitcase.

"Mom, I don't mind helping," I say. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"Let me baby you." Mom frowns. "It might be one of my last opportunities before you marry. And soon you'll be having your own children."

I smirk. "But then you can baby your grandchildren."

Her lips turn upward, her entire face lighting up. "You are right. And I will babysit anytime you want, Madeline. When they're older, you can send them to spend the whole summer with me so you can have alone time with Damek." She claps her hands, excited by the idea. "I am going to spoil them."

My heart feels so full as she makes plans for my future children. I never allowed myself to dream of a future where I could have children. I never thought anybody would be interested in dating me, let alone marrying me. But Damek is absolutely perfect in ways that I never could've dreamt up. And I do want children with him. I know we need at least two since he's a prince, but we may want more than two children.

Mom pauses her packing as she looks at me. "You're happy, aren't you?"

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I am so happy, Mom. I never imagined I could be this happy."

She sits down beside me and takes my hand in hers. "I am so, so sorry."

I frown when I hear the serious tone in her voice. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"For keeping you away from your father," she says. "As much as it kills me to admit it, you belong here. You're thriving in ways that you never could among the succubi community."

I shake my head. "No. You don't have to apologize—"

She cuts me off. "Yes, I do. It was wrong of me to do what I did. You needed your father. And I was selfish. I wanted to keep you all to myself, but by doing that, I hurt you."

"It's okay," I assure her. "Everything is working out exactly how it should. I came here at the perfect time. And who knows if Damek would even like me if I had been here when I went through puberty."

She chuckles. "Ah, but you were so cute in every stage of growing up. No doubt he would've loved you just as much at thirteen as he does now."

I'm not so sure about that , but I don't argue the point. Even at twenty three, I'm not sure what Damek sees in me.

"You've always been beautiful," Mom says. "I know you don't believe that because of the way the others treated you, but it's the truth."

I play with a loose string on my comforter, not looking her in the eyes.

I've never felt beautiful. My whole life, I've always been reminded that I'm not as pretty because I'm a hybrid. I could never reach the same level of perfection because of my mixed blood. It's going to take more than a few compliments for me to let that go.

"Your vampire half doesn't make you less . It makes you more ." Mom puts her hand on my shoulder.

I look up and see my mom watching me with her kind eyes.

My mom has always been so perfect. All the succubi and incubi community agree that she is the prettiest of my grandfather's children. And when she had me, I never lived up to the expectations.

I think back to Damek telling me that I look just like my mom.

Do I really?

"I do like my vampire half more than I expected," I admit. "I like it here. Nobody looked down on me for being a hybrid and everybody is so nice."

Well, with a few exceptions.

Mom raises an eyebrow. "You're going to argue that Queen Rune is nice ?"

I giggle. "She could be nicer."

She nods. "Yes, she could. And while I do promise to make nice with her when it comes to wedding planning, I will not put up with her being mean to my only daughter."

"That's fair," I say. "And I won't be mad if you stand up for me. But she is better than she used to be. I think Damek has had a talk with her about her behavior."

I hope that she will get to know me on this vacation and will grow to tolerate—maybe even like —me.

Mom stands up and begins packing again. "You know, my grandfather did like my dad."

My eyes widen. "Wait… Pops doesn't like Grandpa?"

"He does now ." Mom grins. "But I don't think the two of them got along until I was a teenager. Pops was always mad at Dad for marrying my mom."

I open my mouth, then close it.

"She was his only daughter," Mom reminds me.

It's true. Pops and Mimi had fifteen children and only one daughter.

"You'd think that making his only daughter a queen would've been enough for him, but he wouldn't have been happy unless Grandma had the entire world." Mom gets a faraway look in her eyes. "The two of them used to go at it for hours. It always made Sunday dinners… interesting."

I can imagine.

One thing I don't miss about living with my mother is Sunday dinners. It's still a tradition, but in a family as big as ours, it was chaotic. And with all of my cousins berating me for my hybrid blood, I hated every minute of it.

"I'm sorry about the way your cousins treated you." Mom puts more clothes into my suitcase. "I tried talking to them, but it never did any good. I couldn't get them to stop."

I shrug, trying to show her it's not a big deal. "It's okay, Mom. It wasn't your fault."

She nods but doesn't say anything. After a moment, she looks up at me and grins. "But you're happy now and that is all I've ever wanted. I want you to be happy. You deserve it."

My heart warms as I look at her.

I can't stay mad at her anymore, not when she so clearly regrets her actions. I can see that it hurts her. And I don't want my mom to hurt anymore.

"I just want you to know that I forgive you," I tell her. "For all of it. I don't resent you anymore for keeping me away from Dad."

Her face softens. "Thank you."