Chapter 6 Jo
six
Jo
Sitting in the kitchen of employee housing while Mabel makes me a glass of sweet iced tea is only mildly perturbing.
I convinced the guys to stay behind, explaining that I need time alone with Mabel after so long apart. She’s wearing a sweatshirt again, even though it’s pretty warm in the house, but hopefully her shorts help her cool off.
“You didn’t have to move for me, you know,” I tell her, taking the glass from her hand.
“Oh don’t be silly, Jojo.” She waves me off, taking a seat across the kitchen island.
“You guys need the space, and gods know that Maeve and Helaena don’t need this house all to themselves.
There’s still three empty rooms after everyone gets their own space—three!
” She shakes her head as if she can’t believe the luxury we’re sitting in, then looks around the kitchen as she sips her own glass.
“Besides, you saved us all. The least we can do is give you and your pack some privacy.”
“Well, I’m not gonna lie and say it ain’t appreciated,” I grin as I take a sip of my iced tea.
At the familiar, delicious taste, my head falls back as I groan.
“Oh, good lordy, Mabel! I’ve missed your iced tea!
” Throughout everything, she always made sure we had a pitcher in the fridge after Mama died.
She gives a genuine smile. “Good, ain’t it? Better stuff than we used to be able to pinch pennies for down at the Supermart.”
“Yeah,” I laugh, “Dec always makes sure to buy the good stuff, even if it costs more.”
“Must be nice,” Mabel mutters, her expression going dark. “Bein’ able to just do whatever you want.”
My brows shoot up in surprise. There’s genuine disdain in her voice, and I can’t figure out what Declan possibly could have done to deserve it.
“...Mabel-cakes?” I ask slowly, putting my glass down.
“What?”
“Did…did Declan do somethin’? Did he say somethin’?” I shake my head. “I just…I just can’t figure out why you hate him so much.”
She scoffs. “I don’t hate him. I just…”
“...You just what?”
Her face screws up, and she lets out a frustrated huff. “Alright, fine. He gets right on my nerves. I can’t stand him.”
I frown. “Why?”
“I don’t know!” Her hands fly up in frustration. “Whenever I see him…it’s like…I feel like I can trust him.”
That’s definitely not what I was expecting her to say.
“And that’s bad because…?” This is like pulling teeth, but I’m trying to tread carefully because I’ve never seen Mabel this upset.
She stands, pacing the kitchen as she runs her hands through her hair. “Because, Jojo, he’s an alpha, and I shouldn’t trust alphas.” She stops right in front of me, her lip wobbling. “Not after what my…my…my pack did to me. Why would I trust someone who’s capable of this?”
She whips her sweatshirt off, leaving her in a tank top as she brandishes her arms at me. Jagged, shining bite-scars stare me in the face.
My heart pangs. I stand, taking a step towards her. “But you can—”
“I should be skeptical, but give him the benefit of the doubt anyway because my sister, who has never done anythin’ but protect me, says so.
That is how a normal person would react.
But apparently, my body has suddenly decided that he’s not a threat.
The fact that I’m at ease around him at all…
it makes me question my judgment, Jojo. I haven’t learned my lesson at all, have I?
” She sniffs, tears shining in her eyes.
“What do you mean?” I ask quietly, my heart breaking as I watch my sister fall apart before my eyes.
She sniffs once before taking a deep breath.
“The Bentwood Pack. I…” She shakes her head.
“I tried so hard, Jo,” she chokes out, turning away from me.
“I tried so hard to be a good omega. And they were so nice to me at first. I thought…I thought maybe I’d had a fairytale endin’ after all we went through.
” She looks over her shoulder at me, guilt shining in her eyes.
“I thought, sure, they bought me, but maybe they somehow saw how awful Daddy was and were tryin’ to rescue me.
I let my guard down, and I trusted them.
They never raised any red flags, my omega was completely at ease with them.
They even properly courted me, and I…I was the one who initiated our…
intimate relationship. They made me fall in love with them.
” Her last words are so quiet, I almost don’t hear them.
But I do, and my hand flies to my mouth in shock. She…she loved them?
She looks back down in shame. “When my first heat hit though…I told them I wasn’t ready for bondin’, but they did it anyway.
Maybe they thought I’d have no choice but to bite them back?
But I didn’t. After that…they were completely different people.
I don’t know if it was because the bond was forced, so we only got each other's negative emotions, but it was like…it was like they hated me.”
“When was that?” My question surprises her, and she turns to face me again, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“When was…my first heat?” She sniffs. When I nod, my jaw tight, she answers. “About six months after Daddy sold me.”
A year and a half.
Eighteen months, she was subjected to those abusive pieces of shit.
“Oh, Mabel…” My voice cracks, and when I open my arms, my sister falls into them. I hold her as we sink to the tile floor, and she sobs into my shirt.
“The last time I trusted myself with alphas, look what happened,” she cries, her fingers twisting into the material of my shirt. “I can’t do it again, Jojo, I just can’t.”
I hold her, rubbing my hands down her back as she lets go. Her tears soak into my collar as she sobs, her body shuddering with the force of her pent-up turmoil. A faint scent tickles my nose, but I can’t find it in myself to figure out what it is as Mabel falls apart in my arms.
Time ceases to have any meaning as I sit there, holding my sister. When her cries quiet, her breathing slowing into ragged breaths, she pulls back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry. I’ve just never told anyone about that before.”
When she shivers, I frown. Her discarded sweatshirt is still on the floor where she dropped it.
Reaching behind me, I grab it and hand it to her.
“Here, you must be cold—” that same scent from earlier finally registers in my brain, and I freeze, my eyes fixing on the hoodie.
The scent of the desert after it rains, which means… “Mabel? Who’s sweatshirt is this?”
She frowns, taking the hoodie from me and slipping it on. “It was left on my bed one mornin’, I assumed that Maeve or Helaena left it for me.”
My lips tighten into a line, and my voice is strained when I fake my chipper tone. “Well, that was mighty nice of them. Can…can you scent anythin’ on it?”
She stands from the floor and reaches a hand out to help me up. “No? Should I be able to?”
“Um…no,” I lie quickly, shaking my head. “I just wanted to make sure they thought to switch the laundry detergent to the scent-cancellin’ kind, since we’re a little more sensitive to smells.”
She lets out a bitter laugh. “Not that I need it. I can’t even scent you, Jo.”
I give her a sad smile. “You’re not missin’ much. We’ll bake an apple pie together, it’ll be the same thing.”
Mabel snorts. “Bet your guys would beg to differ.” Her expression shifts to something more lighthearted as I roll my eyes. Despite her tear-stained face, it seems that finally talking to someone about what happened to her has left Mabel feeling…lighter, somehow.
“Maybe—”
She giggles, giving me a little push. “Bet your guys wouldn’t want to ravish a fresh apple pie with vanilla ice cream—ah!” She squeals as I flick her nose. “You did not just—”
A loud bang sounds, and we both turn in shock toward the noise. Footsteps rush down the hall. “Mabel?”
Rory. Fucking Rory.
He stutters to a halt in the kitchen, his eyes darting back and forth between us.
“What the hell are you doin’ in here?” I arch a brow, putting a hand on my hip. “You do not have permission, Ror.”
“I heard a scream…” he trails off, his chest sagging in relief.
“We’re fine.” I roll my eyes. “Now turn around and get outta here before—”
“You’re the one who left me that chocolate cream pie?” Mabel asks, tilting her head. Even though Rory is jacked, he still has the height of a beta, and it must be obvious to Mabel that he isn’t on the same level of threat as Declan.
Rory’s eyes go wide, and he looks between us again before answering. “Yes. That…that was me. I…” His eyes catch on her sweatshirt, and it all but confirms my already strong suspicion.
“Mabel,” I interrupt, smiling as I give her a quick hug. Desert rain fills my nose once more, quickly dispelling any doubts I might have had. “I just remembered I have some business with Rory. Can we finish this later?”
Mabel shakes her head to clear it, giving me a smile. “Yeah. No problem. I’ll see you later.”
With that, I march over to a dumbstruck Rory, grab him by the arm, and damn near drag him out of the house.
“Jellybean, what the fuck?” He whines, half-heartedly trying to pull out of my grip. When we’re far enough away that I’m sure we won’t be heard, I give him a pinch on the arm.
He yelps, and I snap. “We are gonna have a long, hard talk Rory. Because I specifically remember telling Declan that I would castrate you myself if you went near my sister before she was ready, and I know for a fact that I just smelled you all over the sweatshirt that mysteriously appeared in her room.”