Gertrude was a stern-faced woman with silver hair, who looked as if she ate rocks for breakfast and picked her teeth with the bones of small animals. "I don't know what is going on," she said sternly, as our taxi left in a cloud of dust, "but I do not want trouble, understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," Ashley and I said, sharing an uneasy look. We hadn't been expecting a ticket tape parade, but Gertrude's attiude was, well, rude.
She grunted. "Ashley - ridiculous name if you ask me! - you take your belongings upstairs. You'll sleep in the north corner room, and I expect that bed to be made every day."
Ashley took a deep breath. "Yes, ma'am," she said respectfully. I was a bit gutted I'd be separated from her, but she threw me a reassuring look, trying to let me know without words everything was going to be okay.
Once she was gone, Gertrude turned to me. "Who's is it?" she asked sternly.
"The father is Brody, of the Saltwater pack," I said reluctantly.
Gertrude grunted again. "Is this what all that nonsense with my son is about?"
I hesitated, before deciding to tell her the truth. "Yes and no," I said.
"For goodness sake, girl, it's not a hard answer," Gertrude snapped, and I recoiled. How on earth a monster like her had birthed a man like Harry was anyone's guess, but I refrained from judging her too harshly. "Girls these days," Gertrude added, giving me a flat look. "Well, nevermind. You're sleeping in the parlour. You'll have your own bathroom, and I expect you to at least maintian some degree of tidiness."
"Yes, ma'am," I said. GiGi grimaced as we entered the parlour, but Getrude snagged her before she could say two words to me.
"You, come with me," she ordered, and I winced as GiGi reluctantly followed the old battle-axe who was to be our hostess for the near future. I really hoped, as I made stock of my new surroundings, that Gertrude didn't plan on cosseting me; if she did, she would be in for a world of hurt. I'd had it up to my neck with being controlled.
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Much to my relief, Getrude actually turned out to be not so bad after all. "I do apologise," she said, as we sat around the dinner table that night. "Harry does have a bad habit of dumping things on me and expecting me to fix his messes." She chuckled. "He's always been like that, so it's no wonder he's carried that habit into childhood." She pointed her fork at Ashley. "Get used to it, girl."
Ashley managed a smile. "I already have," she said.
"Good." Gertrude stabbed a slice of beef with the same savagery one might stab an enemy. "Harry is a good man," she said. "Too noble for his own good, and always sticking his fool neck out, but he's got a good heart. And it's been broken too many times for me to count. Mostly female trouble." She sighed and popped the slice into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "Two females before," she said to Ashley when her mouth was empty. "Both of them rich bitches who thought their shit was solid gold, and that the whole world ought to bow down before them. Harry doesn't care for gold-plated necklaces. He cares for real. Are you real?"
"I'm as real as I can be," Ashley said.
Gertrude nodded. "Good," she said again. "Break his heart once more, and I break your spine. I don't care how much my son likes you. I raised him on my own after his bastard father ran off with my sister, and I don't care for heartbreakers."
Ashley grimaced, but since it was clear to all and sundry how much she loved Harry, there was little chance of his heart being broken again. "I don't plan on breaking his heart," she said stiffly.
"Goodness, girl, no one plans to break a heart," Gertrude said gruffly. "But they do it anyway."
GiGi's eyebrows were up. "You don't mess around," she said.
Gertrude gave her a flat stare. "I've seen a lot," she said, her voice equally flat. "You might have had it easier, but trust me, what I had was a lot worse. Abusive mates, stillborn children, and two children who don't talk to me, thanks to their mates. Almost all of my family is dead - well, dead to me - and I don't see my grandchildren at all. I'd give the shirt off my back for them, but they don't want to know me. So screw them. They'd best not come running to me when all this bullshit falls apart on them."
"Did you know any of the old Whitewaters?" I ventured, feeling a cold sensation in the pit of my stomach.
"Girl, I'm their grandmother," Gertrude said. "And could I have gone back in time and strangled them in the womb, I would have. They're the most ill-begotten, inbred, disgusting individuals I have ever met. Good riddance to the pair of them, and may they rot in the deepest, blackest hell." She snorted. "And the same to all who follow their ideals. Yes, even your Brody thinks their shit doesn't stink. Well, it does. You're well rid of him. Your cousin did you one service in her miserable life, and while that doesn't cancel out what she did to you, she did save your life."
I nodded. "I know that," I said. "That doesn't mean I can forgive her for all the rest."
Gertrude snorted. "You'd be a damn fool if you did," she said. "And you're a damn fool if you think Brody won't come down on you like a ton of bricks for your 'betrayal'. I'd have signed myself up to the first male to give me the time of day. You're in limbo now, girl."
Ashley and I winced. "I know that," I said, giving Ashley a shamefaced look. "I didn't want to, not after what Brody did but..."
"Most males are not like that," Gertrude said firmly. "I'm glad you came to your senses, but it's too little, too late. If this goes wrong for Harry and his allies, we're all dead."
GiGi went pale, and I sighed. "I know," I said again. "I just ..."
Gertrude shook her head. "It's late," she said briskly. "Let's finish dinner and turn in for the night. We can start thrashing out plans tomorrow."
Her tone of voice indicated there was to be no further discussion tonight, and as we finished up and got ready for bed, I sent a prayer out to whoever was listening, that Harry would come out of this safely, not for me, but for Ashley. Myself and my cub, I reasoned, would get along just fine, so long as we had each other. There would probably be a male out there willing to take us in, as long as this upcoming battle went in our favour.
If it didn't...
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