Human Novel 33

Chapter 33 Chapter 33
“Families are like branches on a tree. We grow in different directions yet our roots remain the
same.”
Unknown
As I stood inside the crowded LAX terminal, I couldn’t remember
the last time I’d felt so lost.
After Alessia and I had gotten off the plane, our goodbye was brief. She’d promised me that she’d
tell my family I was safe and wished me happy hunting — I’d rolled my eyes at that — and then
left. Apparently, one of her pack members was already waiting outside the terminal for her, so she
had no reason to wait around.
And now I was alone in a state I hadn’t been in for nearly seven years ~ not since I’d lived with my
mother. (7
When Alessia had first told me her pack lived in California, it had felt like fate. It was the state my
mom lived in, the state I’d lived the first eleven years of my life in. However, now that I was
actually sitting on a bench inside the LAX airport, the whole thing felt ridiculous.
Thadn’t seen my mom in seven years ~ I hadn’t even spoken on the phone with her since she’d
dropped me off at my dad’s house all those years ago. She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in
any contact with me, so why did I think she’d take me in now?
She knows about the existence of werewolves, so maybe she’d be willing
to hear me out if I told her I was trying to escape from one. *
There was a small part of me that didn’t even want to contact my mom at all. If she could go so long
without even a phone call, did she really deserve to be in my life now?
But whatever pride or ego she had wounded with so many years of no contact would have to wait. I
was desperate. I didn’t have a lot of
options.
Unfortunately, I also had no current address or phone number for my mom. When I had lived with
her as a kid, we spent most of our time on the move – living in shitty apartments, motels, or just
crashing on the couch of some “aunt” or “uncle.” There was no telling where she’d be now. It was
even possible that she might not live in California anymore but I doubted it. My mom had lived in
California her entire life, and she had never been fonding of leaving
those roots behind. .*! I bet Uncle Steve knows where she is.
Given my lack of current contact information for my mom, I knew my best shot at getting in contact
with my mom or finding her whereabouts was through Uncle Steve.
Steve – or Uncle Steve as I’d always called him as a kid ~ was a family friend of mom. They had
gone to school together and stayed in touch throughout the years. Living with my mom had never
felt very stable as a kid, but Steve was one of the few things that didn’t change. No matter what
motel we were staying at the week or what new boyfriend she had, Steve stuck around. |
Sometimes he’d bring us food or babysit me while my mom was strung out on something. There
were even a few times when he’d run off some of her unsavory boyfriends.
Most people considered Steve to be the point of contact for my mom too. You could never trust that
my mom was living in the same place or that she had even paid her cellphone bill, but you could
always trust Steve to know where she was. (*)
When she used to drop me off at friends’ houses so she could go on a bender or splurge with some
new boyfriend, I always had Steve’s number in case I needed something. I’d had his phone number
memorized by the time I was ten.
eve and mom are still run
ule out that things changed ~ maybe they’d had a
ty years before I was even born. He was the only constant
s, maybe Uncle Steve would be will
ssages from my family, but none of them were urgent. They didn’t know I’d left the cas
ing. I skimmed through the list of text messages.
Told mom and dad about your mate. Pretty sure dad almost had a heart attack but I think he’s proud,
Lily had written.
e. We should talk about what this mean
wasn’t worried that his human daughter w
Hey there! Just a friendly reminder that if you’re not reading this book on n𝘰𝚟el5s.com, you might
be missing out on the complete story. Head over there to dive into the next chapter—it’s all free!
s pack’s advantage. “= 1 ignored every me
rized since t
ng. By the third ring, I was beginning to wor
new number when — “Hello?”
most couldn’t believe it, and I felt my throat go dry. God
re?” Steve repeated. “
ve,” I fin
Now he was the quiet one. Silence hung over the line but it was
r than
God, he probably doesn’t even know who Iam.
Maybe this was a mistake.
his voice hoarse. “Clark
ears — my mom’s last name, that is. I had been Clark Bellevue since the minute I
it felt like everything I wanted to say had fallen out of my he
“I can hardly believe it,” Steve said, and I could hear the disbelief in his voice. “It’s been years since
I’ve heard your voice, kid. You sound
You sound exactly th
I just can’t believe it. I didn’t th
Yeah, me either.
e, but you wouldn’t happen to know how to get in co
“are you okay, Clark?” he asked, “You’re not in any trouble, are you?”
whether you consider
nvolved in my mess so 1 tried to choose my words carefully. “I’m okay, it’s nothing too serious
come on, kid,” he sa
long have I stuck by your mom’s side? That hasn’t changed.”
I breathed a sigh of relief — thank God. Steve having current contact information for my mom
made my life a hundred times
si
ng with me for a little while now. I know tha
address if you want to come by.” “)
It was slightly surprising to hear that my mom was living with Steve (and it certainly ruined any
plans I had to keep him out of this mess), but at least I knew where she was. This was a good thing.
ove to com