The bear shifter's dominant neko 『B』•『B』

Mommy's a bitch

"What do you mean?"

"Let's not beat around the bush, honey. Vicky is different, he thinks he can "transition" from a shifter to a human. "

Teddy frowned, his gaze searching the older woman's face in confusion.

"I know, he told me this already."

"And you are ok with it?! He simply told you to reject him because he doesn't want our lifestyle and you agreed!"

"He told me I couldn't make him happy and I supported his decision."

The woman huffed, rolling her eyes.

"That's because he is mislead. He doesn't know what he wants! Vicky is mentally ill, thinking he can change the fact that he was born a shifter. But he cannot do that because it is a sin! He needs to be saved and forgiven. And that must be done by you. You have to get him back and save him. You are his true mate, his only salvation!"

The woman's hands started to tremble, having to cross them around her chest and breath in a big intake of air in order to calm down.

"Vicky is ill, he is sick. He was a little boy when he saw a couple of humans in movies and said he wanted to be like them. He wanted to live in a normal house, away from the mafia and away from the magic surrounding our race. When he met his animal for the first time he screamed. He said he was afraid of his snake and tried to find excuses so we could get rid of him. 'My snake tried to hurt me' this, 'My snake made me hurt Chip' that...He would wake up screaming at night, trying to peel his skin off only to make his animal suffer."

"And all I could do was to look at him and cry for his sufferance."

The woman looked down at the counter, her gaze becoming hooded as if she was seeing the memories before her eyes.

"My husband was never at home and when I tried to talk with him, he would dismiss me and tell me I should take the boy to a witch. But I couldn't do that. The Gods made Vicky a shifter for a reason. He had to learn how to live with himself and become a leader like his father. But of course Erik didn't think the same and when Vicky refused to take over the Clan he supported him. When the time came for Vicky to start his training, Erik brought Sirius to the Clan and called him his son, giving him the place which was rightfully my boy's."

"From then on Vicky had lesser and lesser ties to the Clan and I could feel him drift away from our world. He became more... 'normal'..."

The woman's lower lip wobbled, her eyes falling in a stare at the ground.

"My only hope was that once Vicky found his mate he would change his mind. There is nothing more beautiful than a soulmate, and I was sure once Vicky found you he will start to understand how special us, shifters, really are. We are gifted by the Gods with so many treats and Vicky should be grateful for being mated to such a great warrior like you..."

"But instead," the woman dug her nails into her arms, "He disrespected the Gods' blessings and rejected your bond. He risked getting both of you killed and ran away with a mere human, telling me everything through a letter, along with a dry goodbye and a promise to never come back home again!"

The woman's voice began to tremble, her vision getting blurry with tears.

"I didn't raise such a selfish prick, Teddy! I wanted my boy to be a strong leader, a wise and gentle man and on top of all, a proper mate and father. I prayed for him to the Gods every morning and night and I could see a very bright future ahead of him. But I was so wrong... My son was a human lover and all he could see was the transition to their nasty race."

"Then I found out the only one who could save him had mated with another. There was no chance for Vicky to come back to me again. If Erik had forced him to become the Clan leader, to train and go to missions with Bullock, if I had went with him to the temple more and taught him how to love our Gods, if you had fought harder for him and didn't let him victim to the sin so easily... then my son might have been saved. But he is doomed and Sirius, the useless bastard, lives the life I always wished my son to have."

The woman looked up at Teddy's face, her eyes red and swollen orbs in which pure agony and shame were swirling.

"I know I am cruel and you don't deserve to be told any of these. I know Sirius has no fault in my pain and in Vicky's madness... but you have to understand me Teddy, I feel like I failed Vicky as a mother and I wanna know the reason why he couldn't be saved. . Why you didn't fight harder for my baby? Why is the universe giving Sirius everything my child should have had? Why is everyone letting him drift away from the Gods and from our Heaven? Why everyone steps on his spoilt soul instead of trying to pick it up?"

"And lastly, why do I know that if I will ask you to bring Vicky back you'll refuse?"

The snake shifter let her head hang low on her shoulders, her face covered entirely by her hair, but the tremor of his cries completely visible to the watchful eye.

"Because he is happier where he is today." Teddy whispered simply, knowing that no matter what he said, he wouldn't change the woman believes nor diminish her sorrow. He could tell her that she was wrong, that Vicky didn't need salvation and he wasn't sinning by wanting to change his life for the best. He could tell her that keeping Vicky here would bring him more sufferance than joy and that maybe, just maybe, his needs to take rid of his snake were true and no mere excuses.

Teddy could have done and said many things, but he chose to simply place his hand on the woman's shoulder and caress her cries away gently.

They didn't have time to say anything else anyways as the sound of steps became louder on the hall and the woman had to break away from Teddy's caress. She rubbed her cheeks clean and turned around to stir the overly boiling soup like nothing had happened.

Just in time Sirius entered the room and took Teddy's palm in his hand, placing a soft kiss on his chin and another on his cheek.

"So, what did my boy cook for me?"