I walked down stairs after my shower, feeling fresh and clean and more awake than I had a few minutes ago.

The smell of cooked bacon filled my nose as well as other breakfast foods that my mate was cooking for me and my family, and my mouth started to water.

Yum... I thought while I bit the inside of my lip, trying but failing to keep a small smirk off of my face. Maybe my man can cook...

I bit back a small snort while I moved a hand through my hair and shook my head, amused because I knew that my mate could cook even before me, but he didn't cook often because of the amount of work he had to do.

Laughter filled the air when I reached the bottom of the steps as well as someone putting dishes on a table in the dining room.

"Hello?" I called out while I made my way toward the kitchen, having a feeling that almost everyone was in there.

"Kitchen," my mate called out while he continued to work on breakfast for us. "Your brother and Moria are in the kitchen, too."

"Then who is setting up the dining room table?" I asked while I walked into the kitchen to see my mate at the stove with Moria and Benjamin sitting at the island with a cup of orange juice in her hands.

"Me," my little sister, Freya, said while she continued to set up the table. "Benjamin was supposed to help me, but he decided not to."

My mate chuckled, amused. "That is my fault, Freya," he said and looked at Benjamin. He smiled and tucked his head closer to his chest. "Go ahead and finish helping your sister set up the table, please."

Benjamin nodded and did what Damion told him to do and went to help his sister finish setting up the table without a single word or complaint.

"Oh, Goddess," Moria said with a sigh of relief. She covered her mouth while she looked in the direction her son went and then at Damion, tears filling her eyes. "Oh, sweet, sweet, Goddess. Thank you."

Damion and I looked at each other before we looked at her, confused and a little unnerved.

"What is it?" I asked while I cocked my head and studied her with an eyebrow raised in question. "What's wrong?"

My stepmother shook her head and cleared her throat before she took a deep, shuddering breath. "Nothing, Dear," she said, her voice barely above a whisper while she kept her mouth covered. "I am just shocked, is all."

I glanced at my mate again, and he shrugged just as confused as me before I turned my attention back to my stepmother. "Ok..?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question while I studied her further, not knowing why she was trying not to cry. "About?"

"He didn't argue," Moria said and shook her head again before she cleared her throat and lowered her hands away from her mouth. "If you asked him to set the table about a year ago, then he would argue and say that it isn't his job to do it. He would have fought every step of the way until it was done or finished by someone else."

Damion and I looked at each other before we looked at her again.

My mate shook his head and bit back a small sigh before he cleared his throat and grew serious. "He's a good kid, Moria," he said softly and gave her a pointed look, and she bit back a small chuckle before she nodded and pressed her lips into a thin line. "He has a good head on his shoulders. He really does."

"He just needs better role models," I added bluntly, and she flinched and ducked her head closer to her chest, not meeting my gaze.

"Bethany Ann," my mate hissed, and I looked at him and saw that he had a stern look on his face, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and scowl. He narrowed his eyes and scowled before he glanced at Moria and then looked at me again. "Be nice."

I held back an eye roll and sighed before I looked at Moria, not saying a word to him. "I know that you did what you needed to do to try and survive and make sure that your kids stayed safe," I said, my voice soft yet firm. "However, it wasn't enough."

Moria hesitated before she nodded and looked away from us. "I know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, her whole body tense. "I am sorry that I haven't done anything to help my son or to protect him from that.. monster. I..." She grimaced and moved a hand across her face. "I don't know... I tried..."

'She tried as much as she could as well as being abused by that man,' Damion said through our link, and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He scowled and narrowed his eyes, and I bit back a scoff and held back an eye roll. 'Stop being rude to her, Bethany Ann.'

I set my jaw and bit back an annoyed sigh before I slowly nodded and cleared my throat, shifting on my feet. "That's all you could do," I replied coldly, and she flinched and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"I'm sorry," she said, and I shook my head, scowling.

"Don't apologize to me, Moria," I replied coldly. "Apologize to your son. You need to work on yourself and get better and stronger. They're still young and impressionable. Do you want them to end up like you, like this?" I gestured to her, and she flinched and tucked her head closer to her chest, not looking at me.

"I do not," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, shaking her head. "I don't want them to end up like me." She sighed and moved a hand across her face and through her hair before she shook her head and cleared her throat. "It's a cycle that has to be broken." Her voice was barely above a whisper when she said that, and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in question.

"Explain," I said, and Moria bit back a sad small smile and shook her head while she looked at me. I scowled and narrowed my eyes, the hair on the back of my neck standing up at attention. "And why not?" I asked, not hiding the annoyance in my voice while I looked at her. "Why are you not going to explain this to me?"

"Beth," Damion warned and pressed his lips into a thin line, and I turned to look at him. 'Stop,' he said, linking me while he narrowed his eyes and scowled, and I held back an eye roll while I looked at him before I looked at Moria again without saying a word, raising an eyebrow in question.

"It's... complicated and something that I don't want someone to walk in on," Moria said, keeping her voice low. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. "I will explain everything to you later. I promise, but please, can we drop it for now?" She looked toward the dining room before she looked at me again, silently telling me that she didn't want her children to know.

I pressed my lips into a thinner line before I bit back an annoyed sigh and relented, slowly nodding. "Fine," I grumbled before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet, setting my jaw. "Just know that I do not like it."

And with that, I walked into the dining room where my siblings were setting the table, not wanting to keep the conversation up with my stepmother or mate at all...