Chapter 25
“Let’s go for a little walk,” Danielle said. “I need some fresh air.”
Charlotte stifled a yawn. Byron had been right: she hadn’t gotten much sleep, because they’d made love and talked half the night. In his arms, she’d felt understood and cherished. She knew he was the right man for her.
“I think I do too,” Charlotte replied and followed her sister-in-law outside.
The air was still crisp, but her Lycan genes prevented her from feeling the cold, even though she only wore a thin jacket over her T-shirt.
Danielle was equally dressed. She’d liked her from the moment she and Jude had visited them in Montana shortly after their mating.
Danielle was straightforward, caring, and clearly deeply in love with Jude.
She was happy for them, because now that she’d met Eve, who had been the woman the Werewolf Alliance had initially chosen for Jude, she realized that Eve would never have been the kind of mate her brother needed.
“I’m glad you came to stay with us,” Danielle started. “We haven’t had much time to get to know each other yet.”
“I’m relieved you don’t mind that I showed up unannounced.”
“You’re family. You don’t need an invitation to visit us.” Danielle paused for a moment. “I wanted to ask you something…”
“Sure.”
“It’s about Byron and you.”
Charlotte stopped walking. “Oh. So Jude recruited you to tell me that Byron isn’t a good man.”
Danielle put her hand on Charlotte’s forearm. “No, that’s not it. Please. I’ve known Byron for over six years now. He’s not an easy guy to get along with. That’s why I’m so surprised that you and he are in love. That’s what you are, aren’t you? In love with Byron?”
Charlotte sighed. “I am, and he’s in love with me.”
“I can see it in your eyes.”
Danielle motioned for them to continue their walk across the backyard.
“Byron has always been quick to lash out,” Danielle continued. “It’s not easy for a second-born son to carve out a territory for himself.”
“But that’s different now. Cameron is gone.”
She’d heard about it from Jude when he and Danielle had visited. And last night, Byron had opened up to her and told her more about his relationship with his older brother and his father.
“Yes, and ever since Cameron was killed and William was exiled, Byron has been angry. He blames Jude for everything that doesn’t pan out in his life.”
Charlotte shook her head. “He doesn’t blame Jude.”
“But I’m sure you know about when they fought in wolf form…”
They had reached the gravel path in front of the garage and took it toward the driveway and the front entrance of the mansion.
“Yes. Byron regrets it. He isn’t really mad at Jude. He’s mad at Cameron and his father. But they’re not here. He can’t take his anger out on them. So Jude became the scapegoat.”
“Are you serious? He told you that?”
“He did. But since you’ve known him for over six years, you must know that he’s not very good at apologizing, even though he wants to. But his pride won’t let him.”
“Yeah, apologizing has never been his strong suit. He is…”
They had just turned the corner, from where they could see the entrance door. Two people with small travel bags entered the house through the front door. She recognized them immediately.
“Fuck!” Charlotte hissed as quietly as she could.
Danielle stopped too and looked up at the entrance. “Uh-oh.”
The two people now disappearing into the house were none other than Charlotte’s parents.
They’d found her, and there was nowhere to hide.
She hadn’t expected them to show up here.
At least not so soon. She’d hoped that by the time they came, either her brothers or Byron had found sufficient dirt on Steve Leon that she could present to them so they would renege on their deal with the Leon pack.
She exchanged a look with Danielle.
“Take a deep breath,” Danielle advised. “You’ll have to face them. I’ll be by your side. You can do this.”
Grateful for her sister-in-law’s support, she forced a smile but failed.
“Alright, let’s do this,” she said more to herself than to Danielle.
As always during the day, the front door wasn’t locked. In the foyer, her parents were being greeted by Mason. As her cousin hugged them, Charlotte used the few extra seconds to collect all her courage. When her parents both looked over their shoulders, she knew that her reprieve was over.
Her father’s facial expression instantly switched from relatively friendly to utterly pissed off. Her mother looked somewhat disappointed, and—knowing her—she probably questioned her ability to raise an obedient daughter. She’d obviously failed at that.
“Young lady,” James greeted her with a clenched jaw.
He looked like he was ready to toss her over his knees and paddle her ass until she submitted to his demands. Yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen anytime soon.
“Dad. Mom.”
Before he could say anything else, Danielle interrupted, “Why don’t we all go into the living room. I’m sure you’ll want refreshments after your trip.”
Without waiting for a reply, Danielle turned to Mason. “Could you please find Jude and ask him to join us?”
“Sure thing,” Mason said, looking relieved that he didn’t have to be part of this conversation.
“Oh, and please ask Priscilla to bring coffee and tea.”
Mason nodded while Danielle ushered them into the living room. From the corner of her eye, Charlotte noticed a movement and saw that Eve was coming out of Violet’s office, while Heath, Priscilla’s brother, was bringing in firewood on a dolly. He, too, headed for the living room.
“Oh, Heath,” Danielle said, “please leave the firewood in the foyer. We’re gonna be busy in the living room for a while. I appreciate it.”
Heath nodded. “Sure. What do you want me to do with the luggage?”
He pointed to the travel bags her parents had left in the foyer.
“Leave them there for now. We’ll figure out accommodations later. Thanks, Heath.”
When Danielle finally closed the door, silence descended onto the large, comfortable living room.
The tension was palpable. While her mother took a seat on one of the large sofas, her father remained standing.
It was a power move, Charlotte knew that.
He’d been the one teaching her not to sit down during an argument, but to remain standing and make herself appear larger than her opponent.
Unfortunately, her father had a good seven inches on her.
She was already at a disadvantage, but if she sat down, she might as well throw in the towel and surrender.
But surrender wasn’t an option. She had to fight.
“How did you find me?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“You think you’re smarter than me?” her father challenged.
“Just because you didn’t book a flight with your credit card and instead rented a car, and switched off your phone, you thought you could disappear?
You returned the rental car at SFO. Big mistake.
It was pretty clear that you’d come to see your brothers so they could protect you.
” He shook his head. “You’re coming back with us.
And you’ll mate with Steve Leon. And that’s that. ”
“No, I won’t mate with him. He’s evil. I told you that already.”
“There’s nothing evil about him. You just don’t like to be told what to do. We shouldn’t have raised you like that. I should have put my foot down much earlier and not let you get away with all your stupid ideas!”
His face was red now, and it almost looked like his head was smoking.
She braced her hands at her hips, anger churning up in her.
“I don’t have stupid ideas! I wouldn’t take Steve if he were the last man on earth! Forget about it. Besides, I love somebody else. And I’m not giving him up.”
Her parents stared at her, visibly stunned.
“Who?” her mother asked.
“Who the hell is he?” her father thundered.
“Byron Gallagher!”
There. She’d said it. She felt better now. For the first time in her life, she was fighting for what she truly wanted, and she wouldn’t back down.
“Byron Gallagher?” her father echoed, clearly taken aback.
She gave a curt nod.
“He can’t be trusted. I know enough about him to know that he’s not a suitable match for you. There’s no way I’ll give you permission to mate with him or anybody else in his family.”
“Byron is a good man!” Charlotte protested.
“He’s not! If you really knew him, you wouldn’t say that. You’re lying to your mother and me, and worst of all, to yourself. A mating with him is out of the question. Now pack your stuff, and we’ll leave. The Leon pack is understandably upset about your abrupt departure!”
Before she could protest further, the door opened, and Jude and Mason entered.
“Dad, Mom, I didn’t know you were planning to visit,” Jude said, his voice calm and friendly as if he didn’t know what was going on here.
She’d always admired Jude for the calmness he could project even under the most stressful of situations.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know what’s going on here,” her father said to Jude. “You should have called me the moment Charlotte showed up here. But no, you harbored her here without notifying me.”
At his harsh words, Charlotte couldn’t hold back. “You’re making it sound as if Jude is harboring a criminal! I’m not your prisoner!”
Her father glared at her. “You’ve said enough, Charlotte!”
Then he addressed Jude again. “Charlotte is coming with us now. By tonight, we’ll be back with the Leon pack. And she’ll mate with the alpha’s son.”
To her surprise, Jude didn’t reply to their father, but instead, he exchanged a look with Danielle. He nodded at her, and she appeared to understand what he wanted from her.
Danielle motioned to the sofa. “James, why don’t you take a seat? There’s something I have to tell you about the Leon pack.”
James narrowed his eyes, but didn’t follow her invitation to sit down. “What is it?”
The words were like a challenge, but Danielle remained calm.
“Very well.” Danielle swallowed visibly. “I wish I didn’t have to talk about this and bury this part of my past forever, but for the sake of Charlotte’s safety, I can’t remain silent.”
Utterly curious now, Charlotte hung on every word coming out of Danielle’s mouth.
“Almost seven years ago, my mother and I joined the Leon pack. It was a big mistake. As I got to know the pack members, and particularly the alpha and his son Steve, I realized that they were not just unpleasant, but downright evil and rotten to the core.”
Charlotte could barely believe her ears. Danielle had been part of the Leon pack?
“Steve was the cruelest of them,” she continued. “He beat the lower-ranking members frequently, particularly the women. One wrong word, one gesture he didn’t like, and he would unleash his cruelty on them, not just beat them, but also sexually assault them.”
An icy hand wrapped around her heart as Danielle revealed more and more of what Steve was capable of.
“Everybody feared him. After my mother died, I overheard them talking. The alpha decided that I should mate with Steve. It was meant as punishment because I’d rejected Steve’s advances every time and fought back.
Everybody in the pack knew it. But I also knew that nobody would help me, and if I mated with him, I would become his personal punching bag.
So I fled. I hoped that I’d never see or hear from him and the Leon pack again. ”
Charlotte’s head was spinning as she tried to make sense of Danielle’s words. She looked at Danielle and Jude. Danielle’s story confirmed everything that she’d felt when she’d met Steve. She’d felt the evil he was capable of, and nobody had believed her. Her gut had been right.
“Jude, why didn’t you tell me this earlier?” she asked.
“I didn’t know. I’m sorry, Charlotte,” he said before taking Danielle’s hand. “I didn’t know the name of the pack Danielle fled from until last night. I had no idea it was the Leon pack. If I had, I would have never doubted your instincts.”
“Bullshit!” James cursed. “The three of you made this up, so we won’t insist on Charlotte mating with Steve Leon! Just because Charlotte wants Byron Gallagher.”
“How dare you accuse Danielle of lying?” Jude thundered.
“Because you have no proof! I’m not gullible!
I know how you dote on your sister. You’ve always protected her and given in to her whims. Guess that hasn’t changed.
And now you concoct some cockamamie story and expect me to break our agreement with the Leon pack.
That’s not happening! We’re taking Charlotte back now. ”
“No!” Charlotte protested. “I believe Danielle. Don’t you love me at all, Dad? Because if you did, you wouldn’t force me to mate with a monster!”
She turned on her heel and hurried to the door.
“We’re not done, Charlotte!” her father growled. “You’re coming back with us!”