Rose Bailey: My Mate, My Flower Chapter 21

Rose POV

"This place is huge," I said as I looked out the passenger side window at the Silver Moon Packhouse.

 Derek, Jason, Cindy, and I had just arrived at the Silver Moon Packhouse to meet my father. To say I was nervous would be an understatement.

I was petrified.

"Yeah, sis, this is bigger than the one at Bloodmoon," Jason said

I looked over at Derek, and he looked annoyed.

"It's not that much bigger."

"Yeah, it is, bro," Jason said and playfully punched him in the shoulder.

Seeing them joking around playfully made me smile. I loved the fact that Jason was making an effort to get along with Derek.

He's my older brother, and his opinion matters to me.

Once we arrived, Derek parked the car in a parking spot in front of the Packhouse.

Derek stepped out of the driver's side and opened my door for me. He then took my hand and walked up to the front door.

Jason and Cindy walked next to us, holding hands.

Before we made it to the door, Ebony opened it with a smile on her face.

"Hey! Come in, guys; I'm so happy you could make it," Ebony chirped.

" Thanks for inviting us," I said as she hugged me.

Derek, Jason, and Keith did that bro hug thing. We then went into the house.

Keith and Ebony lead us to some elevators. Once the door opened, we all went in. Keith pressed the number three and the doors closed.

"Max thought it would be smart to meet on his floor. Nobody will disturb us." Keith said

Once the elevator stopped, we entered a family room with two couches and two love seats.

Two men were sitting on one of the couches. Once they saw us, they stood quickly.

The first had Carmel skin, Short hair, and brown eyes. He was about 6ft 3, and I could tell he worked out a lot by his muscular build.

The other looked just like him except for the gray hair, and he was about two feet shorter.

I knew they were my brother and father because of the resemblance.

James and Jason looked identical to them, with Jason being the tallest of them all.

"Rose and Jason, this is Max and Mark," Keith said, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hello! You two have no idea how happy I am to see you. Come, let's all sit." Max said, and we all sat down.

I sat by Derek on a couch. Jason and Cindy sat together on the other, while Max and Mark were alone on the two love seats.

We sat in silence for a moment. It was obvious that we all were nervous.

"I know you two have questions for me. You can ask me anything you want. I promise to be honest," Max said

"Why did you leave my mom with three kids? Did your mate not want you around us, or did you lose interest in being our father because you found your mate?" Jason asked.

"I didn't walk out on your mom. We got into an argument, and I left for the night. There was an accident, and I ended up in the hospital. When I came home, she was gone." Max said.

I couldn't believe he had the nerve to lie about what happened after my mom told me he left her. But I wasn't going to sit around and let him play innocent.

"Why are you lying?" I asked him

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are. My mom told me that you left us after you found your mate. I told her that you didn't want her anymore and that you were wrong because, at first, you thought the two of you were mates. Then you just left like we meant nothing to you," I told him.

"That's not true, Rose. I never told her that."

'My mom wouldn't lie to me."

"Okay, let's calm down for a moment," Ebony said, looking uncomfortable with the situation.

"There is no reason to calm down. Rose is right, and I don't like that he is trying to play the victim," Jason said. I could tell he was getting angry because his hands were shaking.

Cindy placed her hand on his to calm him down. He looked at her and took a deep breath.

"I am going to check on dinner," Max said and walked to the kitchen.

"Look! I know my father hadn't been around you for most of your life, but he would never give up his children." Mark said

"Easy for you to say. He's been around you your whole life. You have had both your parents. A perfect family," I told him.

"Trust me when I say my life has never been perfect," He said. I could see the pain in his eyes for a moment until he hid it.

"I'm going to smoke a cigarette," He said and walked outside the balcony.

"I'm going to check on him," Keith said and went out with Mark.

"What was that about?" Jason asked

" Mark has never had the perfect family. His mom is hardly around. I honestly don't know how she is Max's mate. I barely see them together." Ebony said.

That made me feel bad, hearing that his mom wasn't around for him. I was wrong for judging him. I would apologize for my comment.

As for Max, I was still upset that he left my mom with three kids. His kids that he lost interest in when he found his mate.

I was deep in thought when I heard the elevator door open.

A lady about 5 ft 6 with long, bleached blond hair and blue eyes stepped out of the elevator. She had a tight red dress that looked too tight for her to wear at her age. She had on red heels and a designer purse. She loved to shop at the expensive stores and looked stuck up.

She was talking on her phone and then looked over at us. Her face turned into a frown as her eyes went from me to Jason. She then looked at Derek and then Ebony.

"Hello, Luna and Alpha Derek." She said to them and ignored me, Jason, and Cindy.

I looked over at Jason, who was already looking at me

"Dinner is ready. We can continue our talk at the table," Max said as he returned to the family room from the kitchen.

He froze, looking shocked when he saw the lady standing there

"Chloe, what are you doing home? I thought you were going to Paris with your sister." He said

Mark and Keith came back in from the balcony. They were talking about something but froze when they saw the lady.

" What are you doing here, mom?" Mark said

"Why are you and your dad asking me that?" She said and walked to Max.

" Who are they?" She asked

"This is Rose and Jason. They are my children," Max said

She looked at us, then at him. I could tell she didn't like that we were there.

"Max can I talk to you in the back," She asked him

"Yeah! Please excuse us. We will be back in a minute," he said, and they walked out of the room.

Once they were in a different room, I knew she was upset. I could hear her loud voice arguing with Max.

Right then, I knew it was going to be a long night.