The Half-Blood Mate

Chapter Twenty-One

I hurriedly got dressed and ran down the stairs. That was probably the mailman delivering a package. It wouldn't be the first as my grandma had this thing about sending us, well me, something in mail almost every month. 

The knock came again. "I'm coming. Hold a sec." I tripped over my bag, only to catch myself. Once I righted myself, I hurried to the door, grabbing the knob. Pulling the door open, I come face to face with an older man. Messy, blonde hair came to the ears and his brown eyes looked at me as if I was something amazing. He had a youthful face, but one could see the signs of aging if they looked closely enough. He must have been around mom's age or younger. 

I shifted my gaze from his face to his hands. When I didn't see the package there, I stepped outside, looking around and even behind him to see where he had put the package. When I didn't find anything, I looked at him. "Ok, where is it?"

"Where is what?" A puzzled look formed on his face. 

"The package. You know, you deliver them and I sign a thingy that says I got it." I huffed not finding it very funny that I was explaining this.

Understanding cleared the confusion on his face. "Amelia, look at me. Do I look like a delivery guy?"

I took another look at him. He wasn't wearing the standard uniform of the mailman. What he had on was a white t-shirt with some sort of logo on the front and a pair of blue jeans. He wasn’t the mailman. 

Wait. Did he call me by my name? I looked at him again. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn't place where I knew him from. 

"You don't remember me, do you, Amelia?" The older man frowned.

"How do you know me?"

"Your mother can be a wildcat." He signed as a small smile formed on his mouth. His gaze shifted upward. "I didn't think she would have kicked me to the curb so quickly."

I didn't know what to say to that. I could tell when he spoke that there was affection in his words. How did he know my mom?

He looked back at me. The smile was still on his face. "In a few words, Amelia. I'm your dad."

"That's a lie," I said automatically. "My dad died when I was little." 

The man opened his mouth to speak, but Lucian coming up behind me had him shifting his attention to him.

"Romulus Trevino?" Lucian sounded surprised to see this man. "You're alive."

"You're one of Altas Knight’s kids." Romulus looked from him to me, and then back to him. "You're not dating Maya, are you?"

"No. My mate is Amelia. Did I hear you say you were her father?"

I shook my head, looking at Lucian. "He's lying. He can't be my dad because my dad died when I was around three or four."

"I know this is all very confusing for you, Amelia, but I can assure you that I am your dad. Maya, your mother, and I we are-"

The sound of a car door slamming drew our attention. Quickly making her way up the walkway was mom and she didn't look very happy. "What the hell is going on here?" 

"Maya, I'm sorry, but I had to see Amelia." Romulus explained, his expression taking on one of caution. 

"No." She came to a stop in front of him. Facing him, she jabbed a finger into his chest, placing her other hand on her hip. "You don't get to just come back and pretend everything is ok." 

If the apologetic look on his face was anything to go by, I knew he had done something to really get on Mom's bad side. 

"Maya, please," he pleaded. 

"And you." Mom turned her rage on Lucian, who only stared back. Not at all affected by the stern ring in her voice. "Why are you here? In my house. Did Amelia do something wrong?"

And now, it was my turn to be swallowed up by guilt and embarrassment. There was no way this was going to go over well. 

"No. She didn't do anything wrong." Lucian looked at me before looking back at my mom. "Actually I'm here because I wanted you to know that Amelia is my mate and she's a werewolf." 

Mom looked at Lucian as if he had said something that was completely off the charts. Her gaze shifted to me, then back to Lucian. After a moment, she looked to the man claiming to be my dad. 

"Mom?" I was worried that she wasn't alright.

"You." She pointed a finger at Romulus. "You did this. Out! Both of you, hit the road!" 

"Maya, I don't have a place to stay." Romulus tried to reason.

"So go stay in the forest. You've done it for, what, fourteen years now. Get going." She glared at him. 

"I hope you know that this conversation isn't over," Romulus said, determination shining in his brown eyes. 

"Goodbye," she said, turning to head in my direction. "You can get going too, Mr. Knight." 

Lucian was watching my mom when she came to a stop in front of us. "Alright, Mrs. O'Connell. I will go." He turned his gaze to me. "I'll see you later." 

I nodded my head. I didn't want him to go, but I knew he had to. It was clear mom and I had a lot of talking to do. He placed a hand on my shoulder for a moment, and then he left my side, moving past my mom and heading to his car. 

"You're really going to do this?" Romulus tried again. This time the frustration could be heard in his voice. 

Mom had turned me around and gently pushed me inside. She turned around to face the older man, with her hand on the door. "Why not? Didn't you make your choice years ago?"

"You know I had no cho-"

She closed the door right before he could finish his sentence. With a sigh, she ran a hand through her black hair. Her eyes were closed. 

"Mom?" I watched her carefully. I wanted answers to everything, but I could tell she was stressed out. 

She opened her eyes, fixing them on me. "I'm going to guess you had a very eventful day. Why don't you go to your room and rest. We can pick this up tomorrow. I'll even take off work and you don't have to go to school." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. 

"I want answers now, Mom."

"I know, but I can't give them to you yet. I just need a moment." She looked sorry. "Please give me the rest of today to get myself together. I'll explain everything tomorrow.  It'll be the two of us." 

I studied her for a few minutes longer. She looked so exhausted. I guess I could wait a little longer. It's not like she's going to go anywhere. "Ok Mom."

Relief filled her face. This time the smile did reach her eyes. "I'll start dinner in an hour."

I turned and picked up my bag before heading up the staircase. Pausing at the first step, I looked back to see that Mom was peeking out the small window beside the front door. Deciding to give her some space, I went up to my room.

I had a lot to consider, like was that man really my dad. And if he was, where had he been all my life? Why did mom say he was dead? Dropping my bag to the carpet floor when I walked into my room, I crossed over to the window. Looking down, I saw him. He was facing away from the door, running his hands through his hair. 

I kind of felt bad for him. With one last glance at the front door, he walked off, turning onto the sidewalk. I moved from the window to sit on my bed. 

If he was my dad, why is he showing up now?