Chapter 74

What I’d done? What was William’s mother talking about?

Lana saw the confusion on my face and took control of the situation.

“Lily, dear, please calm down and tell me what’s wrong,” she said.

“How could you not know how she hurt my son,” Lily replied. “I thought we were friends, Lana.”

“We are friends, Lily. Why would we not be? I understand you’re upset, and I know why, but there is no need to be this dramatic. Daisy and her wolf chose to continue her engagement with Victor,” Lana told her.

“She chose Victor but did not fully reject William. Now he and his wolf are so upset that they left the city!” Lily broke into tears. “I don’t know when I’ll see my son again. He said he must leave for a while to keep from torturing his wolf.”

I froze. William went away?

Just when I thought everything was finally back to normal, something had to happen to show me it wasn’t that easy.

William kept our mate bond, but I chose Victor.

He needed time and effort to deal with and calm his wolf.

Why was I so naive?

“William’s mother is being so unfair,” Diana said. “She’s blaming us for a situation that is not of our making.”

“The poor woman is upset and thinks she is defending her son,” I told Diana. “And I guess I’m not totally innocent of her accusation.”

“Daisy, you should not blame everything on yourself,” Diana said with a serious tone.

Lana stood and put her arms around the crying woman. “I would feel the same way if I were in your place, Lily. I love my son like you do yours. But you must understand that the situation isn’t anyone’s fault.”

Lily sobbed on Lana’s shoulder. “But William and Daisy got along so well. We had dinner with Alex at his mansion. I thought there was something between them, and then they both felt the mate bond ….”

Lily pulled away from Lana and wiped away her tears. When she looked at me, I could still see anger in her eyes.

“If she’s not going to marry him and be his True Mate, Alex should suggest the Association make William their next leader,” Lily said. “ Alex owes him for the pain and confusion his daughter caused my son.”

Lana patted the other woman’s shoulder. She dealt with the angry woman much better than I could have.

“Now, that’s just angry talk,” Lana patiently said. “Do you understand that Daisy’s wolf feels the mate bond for both William and Victor? It was a hard choice for her too.”

“I was there at her ball, but it’s still hard to believe.” Lily said. “Hardly anyone finds their true mate anymore…how can Daisy have two Fated Mates?”

“The most important thing is, Daisy could have rejected William after she made her decision,” Lily continued. “But she chose to leave my son in torture. She is playing both of our sons false. We can’t let her get away with it.”

I knew then that the double-mate bond would cause a lot of gossip about me. Even though I tried to do the right thing and made my choice quickly, the gossips wouldn’t let go the fact that I kept both mate bonds.

“People enjoy gossiping about others,” Diana said. “Do not let it bother you.”

“It still hurts,” I told Diana.

“Those close to you know the truth and love you,” Diana said. “That is all that matters.”

Lily whipped around to face me. “Why did you humiliate William by rejecting him in front of Victor? And why couldn’t you fully reject him as your mate?”

“Mrs. James, William made the choice when Alex proposed to hold a ceremony. We had a conversation alone after we left the ballroom that night. He said he understood that I would choose Victor because we have been engaged, and we feel the mate bond strongly too.”

I took a deep breath to control how badly I was shaking. I tried to be kind to Mrs. James because she was upset, and she sort of helped me once at her pool party. However, her attack upon me was unfair.

Yet knowing I had caused William pain, tears sprang to my eyes. I cared about him and wished he hadn’t left the city.

“Daisy, none of this is your fault,” Diana reminded me. “William’s mother is concerned for her son, but she is not thinking rationally. Don’t let her words upset you.”

“Lily, dear, please sit next to me on the loveseat,” Lana said as she patted the cushion beside her. “Have I ever told you about my cousin Violet from the west coast?”

Lily sat down and shook her head. “No,” I’ve never heard you speak about your cousin. Why?”

“Well, when my cousin Violet turned eighteen and had her first shift, she discovered she also had a double-mate bond. One male was with a neighbor, and the other was a male from the next town.”

Lily put her hand to her heart in surprise. “Why have you never told me this before?”

“Because people find it shocking,” Lana replied. “Although, I don’t know why anyone thinks it is the new wolf's fault. The Moon Goddess controls such things. Neither my cousin nor Daisy did anything to make it happen.”

“I never heard of it happening to anyone else. What did your cousin do?” Lily asked.

“The same thing Daisy did,” Lana replied. “She quickly and respectfully made her decision with her wolf. She became engaged to her choice and gently rejected the other. They did not hold any official ceremony to reject each other because that would have caused their wolves too much pain.”

Lana put a hand on each of Lily’s shoulders and looked the other woman in her eyes. “Tell me, from your heart, Lily, what else could Daisy have done?”

Lana gently turned Lily my way. “Look at the poor girl. She was friends with your son, and she's upset about the situation too.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks. “I hate myself for causing William and his wolf any pain or anxiety. And I wish there were another way I could have handled this situation, but there wasn’t.”

Lily was silent for several moments. Then she sighed and nodded before handing me a clean tissue.

“Dry your eyes, Daisy,” Lily said. “It was hard for me to see William leave home, and I took it out on you. He told me it was his decision too but I didn’t believe it. I’m sorry.”

“You love your son,” I said. “I’m truly sorry for any pain I may have caused your family, and I hope William comes back soon. I will miss him.”

It really did make me feel awful that he left. I couldn’t get the image of his face out of my mind when he was walking out of our living room.

I wished he would be back soon.

“You know, dear, you shouldn’t mistreat the material of your jacket like that.” Lily pointed to my hands that were clutching the hem of my jacket again. “Your maid will never get those wrinkles out.”

I instantly opened my hands and smoothed the material of my jacket. “I… I didn’t realize I was doing it, but you’re right. Thank you, Mrs. James.”

“And another thing, Daisy,” William’s mother continued. “Are you shopping at Gisele’s yet, as I advised you?”

“Yes, I got my ball down there,” I replied.

“You simply must do something about your wardrobe,” Lily touched the sleeve of my jacket. “This material is shoddy, and the suit is cheaply made. It will not wear well.”

“Is William’s mother always full of advice?” Diana asked me.

“It’s better than dealing with her anger,” I replied.

“Thank you for your advice,” I said. “I will go shopping at Gisele’s again soon.”

Lana poured more tea into my cup. As she leaned over, she smiled and whispered into my ear, “Very well done, Daisy.”

“Let me check my calendar.” Lily pulled a date planner from her purse. “Perhaps I’ll go with you to make sure you choose wisely.”

Lana stifled a giggle into her teacup when my eyes widened, and I shook my head.

“Daisy and I have plans to go shopping tomorrow,” Lana said before I could reply to Lily.

“Well, I’m sure you can advise her as well as I can,” Lily said.

“Thank you for the offer,” I told William’s mother. “It was very kind of you.”

Lana nodded her approval at me, and I smiled.

**

My dear readers,

I hope you understand that William needs his time to think about everything, but he will be back soon.

(Probably around Chapter 90)

Riley Above Story