Chapter Nine
~Emma~
Discovering the depth of evil in your father was a hard pill to swallow. The lies. The manipulations. Not just for me, but for all of us. My mother, Jonathan, Sam, and me. How could one man have so much hate inside him? And Sam? Was he alive, or had he been tortured and killed like Jonathan, who’d never been anything but kind and loving, not just to his siblings, but to everyone in the pack? Was the need to be an unrivaled alpha deep enough for my father to murder all his children? The same as he’d murdered his brother? How much blood would be enough? I had a feeling it wouldn’t stop until he was stopped. How many people would die before then?
I patted water from my face and took a deep breath. I’d ducked into the bathroom once we’d arrived at the main house, more to have a moment to myself than for anything else. I felt the crushing weight of someone else’s decisions squeezing my lungs and making it hard to breathe. I’d never had control of my life. Not as a child, not as a young adult. I still felt as if autonomy was just beyond my reach. As if someone else stood in the shadows, pulling all the strings to decide my fate. The bad thing was, I didn’t know how to stop it.
I sucked in another shaky breath. If I stayed in here any longer, one of my mates was sure to come looking for me. Instead of Anthony or Donovan waiting for me, I found Piper.
“Are you okay?” She shook her head and spoke before I could say anything. “Of course, you’re not. Michael told me what’s going on. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this.”
“Hell, since I was dumped here, the whole pack is having to deal with this mess. I hate that you’re all in danger with me,” I told her. I’d hoped to be friends with Piper. I knew my mates were closest with Michael out of all the pack, so it made sense for me to connect with Piper. From what I gathered we’d be hanging out a lot outside of pack events. After all this, she might not want to be around me, and I wouldn’t blame her.
“Please, this is nothing.” Piper blew off my concern as she linked her arm with mine and gave a squeeze. “Rebbie, Taylor’s mate, was attacked in their home. Then there’s Bee who was kidnapped and beaten. It’s how she met her mate, Han.”
“I didn’t realize that.”
“Simon’s mate, Cici, was attacked, as well. She’s fierce for a human, though. She more than held her own against the shifters who tried to use her to punish the pack. And Eliza! You met her and Gabe the other night. When she found us, she was on the run from her old pack and alpha. All of that to say, you’ve nothing to worry about. Shit happens, and we handle it. No one blames you for any of this. This isn’t happening because of you. It’s happening to you. Plus, from what Michael said, it has more to do with Cyan anyway.”
It was happening to me. She was right. I’d needed to hear that.
“Do you know where Cyan is?” I asked, wanting to see him, wanting to make sure he knew that neither my mother nor I would ever expect him to put himself at risk.
“He’s in the office with Bas and some of the others. Our mates are in there. I promised Anthony and Donovan I’d bring you to join as soon as you were good.”
“Piper.” I stopped her before we entered the fray. I could already hear the flow of many voices the closer we got to the main room. “I appreciate you checking on me.”
“Of course.” She smiled. “I’m hoping we can be close. Honestly, I could use a close friend. My best friend left the pack after Michael and I mated. She’s always been a wanderer and admitted she’d only joined this pack to find a home for me.”
“She sounds amazing.”
“She is. She’ll visit eventually.” Piper’s hand dropped to her stomach. “She’ll want to see the baby once they arrive.”
“Congratulations!”
“Thank you. I’m excited and scared to death, all at the same time.”
I didn’t second guess the instinct to pull her into a hug. “Can I admit I feel the same way about being mated to two wolves?”
Piper laughed. “I bet. Especially specimens like Anthony and Donovan. You do realize the James Pack is often called the pack of alphas? Those two give off big alpha energy.”
“I’ve heard that. After meeting all of them, I see it. It says a lot about Bastion James that they’re all willing to follow him.”
“Bas is different than other alphas. At least, the other alphas I’ve seen. He has his inner circle, and they discuss everything. He doesn’t make rash decisions. He includes those he trusts. He values their input. Actually, I lied. Now, that I’ve met Rowan, I can say that I know two alphas who are like that.”
“Rowan is Raina’s brother?” I asked. I hadn’t met him, but I’d heard a few things. Everyone thought he was dead before he came back. He’d nearly been burned to death in what they’d believed to be an accident, but turned out it had been attempted murder.
“Yes. He’s great, as is his mate, Sasha. And they have a son, Raine. You’ll meet them eventually. It’s hard not to since both packs live in Rigton County. Rowan and the rest of his people monitor the flow in and out of town, watching for strangers. Especially lone wolves.”
“It was three of his pack who went to check on everything.” I left it at that. Saying back home didn’t feel right, and it was no longer my pack. It had never felt like a place I belonged and I’d often begged to leave.
“Yes, West, Cody, and Scott went. They’re on their way back.”
“I’ll have to remember to thank them for checking on things and looking for information.”
“They don’t expect any thanks, Emma. It’s what we do for each other,” Piper assured me. She knocked on the office and pushed open the door before I could reply.
I immediately looked toward my mates. Anthony’s gaze was glued to me, but it was Donovan who crossed and took me into his arms, dropping a soft kiss on my upturned mouth.
“You okay?” His voice was husky and deep, exactly the way he sounded when he was deep inside me.
“I’m…” I couldn’t lie to him. To others, maybe. But never to one of my mates. “I’m hanging in there.”
“We’ve got you,” he murmured as he led me to join Anthony, who immediately tugged me into him for a kiss. I quite enjoyed the fact neither of my mates seemed to be able to keep from touching me when they were near. Since I’d awoken, after I was dumped at their feet, one of them had always been near.
“Emma.”
My gaze moved to Cyan at his call. My brother looked tired. And angry. His shoulders appeared wider, chest larger, and I knew his wolf was pressed so tightly against his skin it wouldn’t take much for the beast to emerge.
“I’m sorry, Cyan. I’m so sorry.”
“Stop,” he ordered in a soft voice, so at odds with his body language. “None of this is on you. It was only a matter of time before he came for me. I should have ended things sooner. If I had…” He paused, shaking his head. “I won’t go down that road. There’s no going back from this point.”
“No,” I agreed. “There’s not. But you weren’t the only one who didn’t see this coming. Jonathan…” I had to stop to regain control of my emotions. “No one could have known my father would torture and kill his eldest son. I don’t… I can’t wrap my head around the same thing happening to Sam.”
“We don’t know that it did,” Anthony told me.
“The only thing we know for sure is, both your parents seem to have survived the explosion. Sam’s whereabouts are still unknown. We’re not completely sure what role Wallace plays in all this, but he made himself look suspicious when he dumped you and ran.” Donovan’s hand rubbed up and down my spine as he spoke while Anthony’s stayed at my waist.
“How do we find out for sure?” I asked, glancing around at them. “Are we waiting for them to make a move?”
“No,” Cyan said, and Bas growled. The two men shared a look that seemed to convey an entire conversation. “We go on the offensive. I’ll head out to—”
“No,” I cut in. “Why would you do that if that’s what he wants?”
“If he has Claire, it’s the best thing to do,” Cyan told me.
“No.” I shook my head frantically. “Our mother would never want you to put yourself at risk like that.”
“She stopped being my mother a long time ago.”
I glared at Cyan. “No, she didn’t. She was the best mother she could be under the circumstances. She sent you away to keep you safe. Neither of us knows what it cost her, what she suffered. She’s not the type to share that. She’s the type to make sure everyone else is okay and put herself last. I get that you were a young boy who’d just lost his father. I don’t presume to understand what you went through. But don’t for one moment think her life was all sunshine and roses once you were gone.”
“The woman mated and had three children,” Cyan countered.
“I know, but until you have that conversation with her, until you allow her to share her reasons, don’t pass judgement. Please. I’ve lost a brother and found a brother, and though nothing will ever replace Jonathan, I want a relationship with you. Not just because I’m part of this pack now, but because you’re my brother.”
Cyan stepped forward and pulled me from my mates and into a tight hug. I clung to him. It was funny how I could feel so many emotions for a man I still didn’t really know. Maybe, it was the blood we shared. Maybe, it was the bits and pieces of my mother I saw in him. I didn’t know for sure, but I wanted the chance to know him and love him as the brother he should have always been.
“I’ll try,” Cyan promised then eased back so he could meet my gaze again. “But I won’t let that bastard bring his rampage here where my mate and her sister might be hurt. I won’t let him hurt this pack.”
“We won’t,” Bastion stated, putting his hand on Cyan’s shoulder and squeezing.
“Then let me help. Use me to draw him out.”
Anthony and Donovan both tensed at that. I felt the testosterone fill the room as all the men took offense to that suggestion.
“Hell, no!” Donovan growled.
“We won’t be using you for any such thing, love,” Anthony added with a rumble in his chest.
“No offense, Emma, but I don’t think it would work anyway,” Michael added, reminding me that he and Piper were both in the room.
“Why not?” I demanded. I’d been the one dumped on their doorstep. Literally. I had the right to play a role in keeping everyone safe.
Michael looked uncomfortable, and I realized he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. He glanced at Donovan and Anthony, and I wasn’t surprised when one of my mates took over.
“No matter what happened with your father’s pack, sending you here was always about drawing Cyan out. He’s the target here,” Anthony said
“You’d only be another person to use against him,” Donovan offered then framed my face in his hands. “If you even think, for one moment, we would ever allow you to be used as bait for a madman, think again.”
“He won’t get his hands on you,” Anthony added.
I’d never felt so loved and protected. This was what my mom should have had. I wondered if she’d felt this way for Cyan’s father. I hoped I’d be able to ask her one day soon.