I snatch my mobile phone from my pocket, thankful that Mike had never realised I had it. A friend gave it to me last week after I told them Mike never allowed me to have one. She was worried about me and told me to call if I needed help. I need help now more than I ever have, so I pull up Frankie’s number, praying she’ll answer.
“Mel, is everything okay?” Frankie knows I would only call if I needed help; that’s why she sounds so worried.
Frankie is a member of Silver Paw, the Gamma’s daughter. We met officially a few weeks ago, which is crazy when we’ve both lived here our whole lives. She befriended me, even though I didn’t understand why; no one had ever wanted to be my friend before. Frankie seemed to have a gift for knowing when something was wrong, and she got me to open up easily.
She gave me the phone last week after I confided in Frankie that I needed to get my mum and sister away from here. Frankie wanted to take me straight to Lorcan and Gianna and have me tell them everything.
I begged Frankie not to make me do that, it was too dangerous, and I was planning our escape. She wasn’t happy about it but said she’d keep my secret but not for long. If Mike hurt Mum again, she’d have to tell Lorcan the truth.
I cried because I was so tired and scared of being here. Frankie took pity on me and told me that if I should need help to escape, all I had to do was call. I really need that help right now because we can’t stay here any longer. I cannot wait one more moment!
“No, Frankie, nothing is okay. He did it again, Frankie; he battered my mum so badly I’m scared to check if she’s breathing. She’s not healing at all,” I swallow back my emotions, knowing that I have to be strong for my sister.
“Fuck!” Frankie hisses. “What was his reason this time?”
“Alpha met Jessie and wanted Mum and Mike in his office. Mike flipped out. . . I have to get my mum and sister out of here. Please, Frankie, I wouldn’t ask this if I wasn’t desperate. But you said you’d help me if the time came, and the time is now.”
“Mel, calm down. Where’s Mike now?”
My little sister lays her head on my leg, and I stroke her hair to soothe her. Jessie is so frightened, and I feel terrible that I haven’t gotten her out of here before now.
“He left, said he’d be back later.”
“For Goddess’s sake, this is why I said you needed to go to Lorcan, Mel!”
“Please,” I sniff. Goddess, I feel guilty enough as it is. “Don’t yell at me, Frankie. I know I did the wrong thing, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
“I’m sorry, Mel; I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I know you were just doing your best for your family.”
I nod my head, even though Frankie can’t see me.
“We have to go before he gets home. Please help us, Frankie.”
“I’m on my way, okay? Leave everything behind; you don’t need anything. I have a place to take you where Mike won’t get to you. I’ll be five minutes, be ready.” Frankie cuts the call before I can respond.
“Jessie, I need you to listen to me,” I lift onto my knees while bringing Jessie to her feet. “Get your doll and come straight back. Leave everything else; you won’t need it, just your doll. Do you understand?”
Jessie nods her little head.
That doll is the only thing Jessie owns when it comes to toys. Mum made it for her out of some wool she had lying around. It means the world to my little sister.
“My friend is coming to take us away from here.”
Jessie’s eyes widen with glee. “Really?”
“Yes, really. Now hurry!”
Jessie rushes off to her room, and it’s not two minutes before the front door bursts open. My stomach lurches because I’m scared that Mike has returned. But it’s not Mike; it’s Frankie and one of her dads, Kit, her biological dad and Silver Paw’s Gamma.
Oh, Goddess!
Now that Kit knows what’s happened; it won’t be long before Lorcan does. Kit will have no choice but to report his finding to our Alpha.
Goddess, could things get any worse?
“What the fuck?” Kit hisses while crouching down beside my mother. He checks for a pulse, then, without a word, scoops her up. “Let’s go!”
“Come on, babe. My dad is gonna drive you somewhere safe.”
He is?
I wasn’t expecting that, but I won’t question it, either.
I nod my head.
“Jessie!” She comes running towards me, ragdoll in hand and jumps into my arms.
I slam the door shut behind us, and climb into the back of Kit’s Jeep. I settle Jessie onto my lap and look at Mum, curled up in a ball next to me. My eyes fill with tears that I try to push back so Jessie doesn’t see.
‘Please be okay, Mum; I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose you.’
“Everything will be okay, Mel.”
I look at Frankie and smile slightly.
“Where are you taking us?”
“Greenrock.” Is all Kit says while driving like a madman out of Silver Paw territory.
I don’t know what the future holds for my family, but I know that Mike will never stop hunting us. I had no choice but to do this; I couldn’t let him eventually kill my mother.
Goddess, I don’t even know if Mum will survive what she’s been through. I pray that she can hold on until we get help.
I don’t know the extent of her injuries, but I know she has many broken bones. I can see her arm is busted from here, and her wrist is bent at an odd angle.
Mum’s bleeding heavily from her face, which itself is mashed. I can’t even recognise her right now; her eyes are swollen shut.
How is she going to heal from this?
I hope Greenrock pack have a good doctor who knows what he’s doing.
“What if Mike finds us?”
“He won’t, Jessie,” Kit answers, though Jessie asked me the question. “We’re going to protect you, I promise.”
I smile at Kit through the rearview mirror. That was nice of him to say, promising to protect us. He’s going against his Alpha for us, which means a lot.
I pull Jessie closer to my chest and kiss her head.
Goddess, if I hadn’t told Mike that Alpha Lorcan wanted to see him, along with Mum, Jessie and me, none of this would have happened.
But how did Mike think he’d get away with what he’d done?
Lorcan would have found out, and there would have been hell to pay. Perhaps the crazy bastard planned to tell Lorcan that Mum was attacked, I don’t know. I know Lorcan will still find out what happened, and Mike will pay with his life.
One can hope!
I sit nervously in the chair in front of Alpha Leander’s desk. Jessie rests her head on my chest with her legs on either side of my waist, and I gently rub her back.It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to arrive at Greenrock, but too long at the same time. I was so worried about Mum and Mike realising we’d gone and come after us that I almost threw up a couple of times.Mum was taken straight to the infirmary, but Jessie and I weren’t allowed to follow. Of course, I protested, but Kit told me it was for the best. Mum needs to be taken care of, which can’t happen with her children there.We were then ushered into the Alpha’s office by his Beta. Kit explained what he knew to Leander and asked that he allow us to stay. Kit said he’d explain everything to Alpha Lorcan, but Leander was displeased. He said Kit should have informed Lorcan right away. Perhaps he should have, but Kit wanted to get us out of Silver Paw asap.As Leander now stares at me, I know what he’s going to ask, b
Leander shifts in his seat. “Did your mother’s wolf never fight back?”I cough a little, scared of what Leander will think when I tell him the truth.“My mother isn’t a wolf.”Leander squints his eyes. “She’s human?”I shake my head. “No, she isn’t human. I found out when I was five that my mother is a hybrid. She has a wolf, but she’s also a feline.”“Wait, what?” Sara gasps. “You’re mother is a feline shifter?”“Yes, a Lion shifter.”“Wow.”“How is that your mother happened to mate with a wolf? That doesn’t even make any sense.”I shrug my shoulders.“I really don’t know; I just remember my father screaming how my mother would never find her way back to the King of Lions. I’ve never seen my mother shift into her animal form. She told me she had a wolf but was too weak to shift. With what Mike said about the King of Lions, I assumed Mike meant that Mum was also a lion.”Leander and Sara seem to be mind-linking, so I sit quietly for a moment.I sigh just as Jessie lifts, sniffing the
“I didn’t know Lorcan was coming today.”I shrug my shoulders at Adam because I didn’t know either. My uncle Lorcan isn’t one for dropping by unannounced unless it’s an emergency. As Dad didn’t mention anything, and Lorcan is smiling at the little girl in his arms, I’m clueless.“I wonder who the kid is,”“Yeah,” Adam answers me, seeming miles away.Adam is my father’s cousin; their fathers are brothers. The man is your typical tall, dark and handsome prick. He holds himself like a wolf, dresses like a vampire, and has eyes women seem to get lost in. Dad always said that had more to do with Adam’s ability to hypnotise people than women falling at his feet.Not to be confused with Adam forcing anyone to be with him, he would never do that. Although, Adam is known for hypnotising people to watch them make fools of themselves for fun.Weirdo.I’ve always felt sorry for Adam, he may look to be in his twenties, but he’s, in fact, in his fifties. Adam is the same age as my father, but Adam
“Adam!” I yell after him as he walks with purpose, but he doesn’t listen.“Adam, what’s wrong with you?” Dad asks.Adam stares at Lorcan, eyes still wolfed over, chest heaving. “Give me what’s mine,” He mumbles.Lorcan narrows his eyes. “What are you talking about? I don’t have anything that’s yours.”“Come to me, little one.” Adam holds his arms out to the child, who giggles while jumping out of Lorcan’s arms and into Adam’s.Dad, Lorcan and I all stare open-mouthed as the child lays her little hand on Adam’s face. He smiles, eyes returning to their usual brown.“What the hell is going on?” Lorcan looks at Dad while asking the question, but Dad shrugs his shoulders.“Hello, Daddy,” The little girl says, causing us all to gasp.“What the hell?!” Lorcan bellows.“Hello, Jessie,” Adam replies while pressing his forehead to the child’s.When he finally pulls away, he presses a kiss on her forehead. She giggles, then lies her head on his shoulder.“Adam, what the hell?”Adam lovingly stro
“Give her to me right now!” I snatch Jessie from the stranger’s arms.He hisses at me, eyes turning red and scaring the shit out of me.I take a step back with Jessie in my arms.I sat down for ten minutes because Luna Gianna made me. I came out for some fresh air to find that Lorcan had passed Jessie off to a stranger. Now they’re all looking at me like I’m in the wrong!How do they think I’d react?I’m too shaken to acknowledge my wolf yelling ‘Mate’ inside my head. Goddess, I hope this stranger isn’t my mate; he’s scary!“Hand back my child, girl.”Oh, Goddess, even his voice is bone-chilling!Wait. . . “Your child?” I look from the stranger to Jessie.She cups my cheeks and giggles. “This is my daddy, Mel.”“What?”Jessie kisses my cheek and then reaches for her father, who takes her with a smile.“Melinda,” I turn to look at Lorcan. “This is Adam, my cousin and your mother’s mate.”I look closely at Adam, realising that he’s the handsome stranger who swept my mother off her feet.
Adam and I arrive, and the doctor tells us to take a seat. They’re doing some tests on Mum, but we can go in shortly.Jessie has fallen asleep in Adam’s arms, and I smile to see how contented she looks.“You should give Jai a chance, you know?” Adam tells me after a moment of silence.I ignore what he said about giving Jai a chance.“What kind of a name is Jai, anyway?”Adam chuckles.“His mother liked the name. When he was growing up, people called him Jay. He’d get annoyed and tell them, ‘My name is Jai - like J-eye, like Kai, but with a J.’ People knew his name, but they liked how annoyed he got.” Adam laughs to himself.Okay, so Jai, like Kai, but with a J. As names go, it’s not a bad one; I think it suits him.“Are you going to forgive my mother?” I ask instead of replying to what Adam just said.Adam sighs. “She rejected me, Melinda.”“She didn’t want to,” I admit. “Mike is not a nice man, Adam. He kidnapped my mother from her pack when she was fifteen years old. He tortured her
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I mumble while stroking her white blonde hair back from her forehead.As soon as I walked into the room, I almost fell through the floor. My beautiful mate is battered beyond recognition.I’m going to kill the motherfucker who did this!I understand now why Alison rejected me, and it breaks my heart. So much pain suffered by one woman at the hands of a madman.She birthed his child, one she didn’t even try to deny when we met. I wasn’t angry with Alison; it’s not like I haven’t had my fair share of women in the past.But if she’d told me about her life with Mike back then, I would have saved them both. I would have loved Melinda as though she were mine.Then there’s the fact Alison had my cub without my knowledge. But I couldn’t be angry with her when she had no way of getting away from Mike.How would she have been able to seek me out?Sure, she could have gone to Lorcan. But I understand that if Mike had found out, he could well have killed my Alison b
It’s been two days since we arrived at Greenrock pack, and Mum is back to full health. Thanks to Adam and Mum taking back her rejection, she’s finally happy.Jessie is beyond happy to have her Mummy and Daddy together. Yet I’m still worried that Mike will find us. Adam swears that Mike can do nothing to hurt us and that he’ll protect us all. But I’m still scared.Mum informed me this morning that they’d be moving to Dalgaard Mansion, where Adam lives. We’ll be safe there with Adam’s parents, siblings, grandparents, and even great-grandparents, not to mention the King and Queen of wolves. Then Mum laughed and said that she shouldn’t have said that. Mum knows about Jai, thanks to Adam telling her. Mum said that as she knew I’d be staying with my mate, I best visit often.I hadn’t the heart to tell Mum that I still hadn’t spoken to my mate. I haven’t once seen him since that first day.Of course, I’ve wondered about talking to him. I need some closure, and so does Jai; I know that. I mul