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The nurse and I talked for a while longer and she left me to continue taking my nap. As soon as she was out the door, I relaxed into the awaiting darkness.It seemed as soon as sleep overtook me, so did the light. I opened my eyes and found Selene on a porch swing. She chuckled, “I know that this has been a particularly rough one, but you should know that it has all been for a very good reason. I know you will understand when you meet him.”I nodded, “I’ve already heard some things about him that are bad enough. I will be heartbroken if they aren’t the worst of it.” She sighed, “You have just scratched the surface.” I shook my head in disbelief, “That poor child. He will never want for anything ever again. That includes his family’s love and attention.”Selene smiled at me, “I knew you would feel that way before even meeting him. I do have something to tell you that you should know. The nurse you were speaking with earlier is Blaine’s biological mother. Blaine was conceived by man she
Cheyenne asked, “I know it is okay to talk with all of you here, so I would like to ask one question. What exactly did she tell you?” I smiled, “I know the boy we are going to adopt next is Blaine. I know he is the reason you volunteer at the orphanage. I also know that there are stories she could have told me, but she and I agreed they were your stories to tell… if you ever feel comfortable telling me.I know that hiring you as my nurse and assistant means that you will be able to be his personal nurse also, if that is what you would like. I know that you put him up for adoption to keep him safe. We can keep both of you safe. If you accept the position, it will include a room in the pack house. If you have a mate, you can have the cottage next door, if you want.” She smiled, “I would like that a lot. I just found my mate one month ago and he gets a bit irritated that I spend so much time at the orphanage without getting paid for it. He doesn’t know about Blaine. I don’t know how he w
TRIGGER WARNING: Domestic abuse scene ahead (this chapter only)It had been two days since we initially spoke with Cheyenne about being my private nurse and assistant and we haven’t seen her since then. I was starting to get worried about her. I was still in the hospital because I had not completed my physical therapy requirements. My doctor wanted to be sure I could perform all activities of normal daily living safelyWhen the morning nurse came to take her morning vitals, I asked, “What happened to Cheyenne?” The nurse asked, “We are sending one of our coworkers to her place right now. She didn’t call in to let us know she won’t be in. That’s not like her at all.” I suggested, “Let me check on her before anyone goes in.”I watched as the nurse mind linked the coworker to hold off going to Cheyenne’s house, then I tried to get inside Cheyenne’s mind to see what she was seeing at that moment. It was harder than usual to do it, and then I saw nothing in her mind at all. That scared me b
I asked my nurse to help me scoot into my wheelchair and get me to the Emergency Department. She gasped, “But Luna, it’s almost time for your physical therapy.” I responded shortly, “They are bringing Cheyenne in and it’s not looking good. I need to be there. We can reschedule PT until later. It’s not like I’m getting out of here today.”The nurse helped me scoot into my wheelchair and we took off for the Emergency Department like a bat out of hell. When we got there, I found my mate and he was holding our sobbing daughters closely. Heather was the first to see me and she ran to me, “Momma! She’s gone.” I sobbed, “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”While Heather climbed into my lap, Isaac approached, “She’s right. They couldn’t save her. Her heart had been still for too long.” I shook my head and started crying. The nurse beside me growled, “I need to see her.” I asked Isaac, “Do you think she and I could go see her?” He answered, “Yeah. I can get you both back there.”I asked, “Are you going
Aadi and I went to the room where Cheyenne was waiting to be taken for burial preparation. I was immediately struck by the amount of blood that was on the sheet covering her body. Apparently, Aadi was also stricken by the sight because she ran to Cheyenne’s body and collapsed onto it.I asked, “Exactly what was your relationship with Cheyenne, Aadi?” She answered, “Cheyenne was my late mate’s baby sister. She took shelter in this pack after running from a human testing facility. She destroyed the place on her way out of it.”I asked, “Did you know that Blaine is her biological son?” She nodded, “I did. Cheyenne swore me to secrecy. I was with her when she gave birth to him.” I asked, “Do you know who his father is?” She shook her head, “No. I don’t know exactly who he is. I know he was a rogue and a trafficker who had sold her to the lab. He took her virginity on the way to sell her. He’s an evil man. It’s a wonder that she was able to give birth to Blaine.”I cried, “So much for one s
Four hours later, I was in my hospital room trying, and failing, to take a nap. I had too much on my mind and I would start sobbing at random times. I could not find peace within myself at all. I felt so guilty that we could not protect her the way she needed us to.I suddenly felt so heavy that I had no choice but to sleep. As soon as the darkness fell around me, I was immediately surrounded by the brightest light I had ever seen. It was red too. My first thought was, “Shit. I have pissed off the Goddess.” Then I heard her voice, “Yes, you have. Zariah, you know more than anyone that you cannot control the actions of other people.”I cheekily responded, “Well, actually, you did give me a certain ability.” The light got brighter, if that was even possible, “You cannot control what they do on their own. Do not patronize me right now. I’m not in the mood for games. Now. This is what you will do. You will stop feeling sorry for yourself. None of this is about you. It’s about your pack, yo
*Trigger warning… Description of child abuse in this chapter. *As soon as I was dressed, the salesman from the wheelchair manufacturer brought my new custom wheelchair into the room. After he made some adjustments, I was happy that I finally had my new wheels. I started moving around the room and feeling like I was fidgeting in my seat.Nurse Aadi walked in with paperwork in her hand, “Luna, it’s time for discharge instructions.” I held out my hand and she approached me, “I’m very sorry for leaving you the way I did.” I chuckled, “It’s fine. I understand completely. This is an emotional time. I have something to ask you.”Aadi raised her brow, “Ask away.” I asked, “Would you be willing to be my personal assistant and nurse? I would make sure to allow you time to volunteer at the orphanage, if you want, and you would also be Blaine’s nurse, because we are adopting him as soon as we leave the hospital.”Aadi smiled, “I would love to accept the position. Would it be wrong if I don’t give
Blaine looked at Isaac and me with determination, “I can tell you who the abusers are, Luna.” I moved my wheelchair close to his and asked, “Are you okay, sweetheart?” He nodded, “I will be okay. I always am.” I smiled, “I know you are. I want to know how you would feel about being able to call the alpha and I your mom and dad?”His eyes went wide as he asked, “Can I call Heather and Lena my sisters?” I laughed as Lena walked in, holding Heather’s hand, “You better, because we will be calling you our little brother.” Blaine smiled, “I would love that, Luna.” Isaac asked, “Do you know what that means, Blaine? Do you know what it means to be our only son?”Blaine shook his head as he furrowed his brows in confusion, “I don’t, Alpha.” Isaac knelt down to his level, “It means you will be my heir. You will be the next alpha of our pack. Would you like that?”Blaine’s eyes went wide again, “I would be happy just having you as my family.” I smiled, “Well, you will also have that for the rest
Two Years LaterI was helping Aadi with refreshments when I heard Lena yell for me, “MOM!” I rushed to her room, tires squealing as I turned the corner into her room, “What’s up, sweetheart?” She was standing there, at the foot of her bed in nothing but her bra and panties with a huge pile of dresses on her bed, “I can’t find anything to where and they are going to be here in less than an hour!”I chuckled because we go through this every time Alpha Doug and Luna Kathryn come down for a visit, “Okay sweetie, let’s see what your options are. We don’t want formal because that’s just too much, so take all the formal gowns out.” That reduced one foot of the pile.I sighed, “Okay, are you feeling any particular color for today?” She shrugged, “I don’t know.” I suggested, “I would love to see you in something that highlights your eyes. You have beautiful eyes and he needs to see that.” She giggled, “He already has. He’s always told me I have beautiful eyes.” I smiled, “Then we need to show h
The following month, Alpha Doug and Luna Kathryn brought their two boys and one girl to visit our pack. The poor girl, Elizabeth, was stuck, in age, between both of her brothers, with no sister to have her back.Their oldest son, Lucas, was fifteen and held himself as a future alpha but he was also trying not to seem unreachable. He kept staring at Lena in awe, but it almost seemed as though he was afraid to approach her. I chuckled, “It’s okay if you want to hang out with Lena. Just stay where we can see you.”He let out a breath and walked up to her, “Would you like to take a walk?” She answered as she blushed a bright shade of pink, “I would love to.” As they walked away, I couldn’t help but notice the awestruck look on his face as he kept his eyes on her. I smiled at Isaac knowingly and Isaac nodded in acknowledgement. Aadi chuckled, “We may have a pair of mates.”Blaine approached Elizabeth, “Would you like to take a walk?” Elizabeth agreed and she started walking next to his whe
Within minutes, there were at least one hundred snakes covering his body, biting him, while he screamed in pain and terror. Blaine nodded and all of the snakes stopped biting and started climbing the wall to leave the same way they came in.He was still conscious and yelling obscenities at Blaine while our son laughed, “I’m glad you’re still awake, Devlin. If you thought that was bad, wait until you see what is next.” He nodded at the guards and Heather withdrew the tree roots.We all walked outside and the guards roughly dragged him outside and just let him drop, face up onto the ground. He looked at Heather and she smiled, “Happy to help, brother.” The tree roots started winding their way up his arms again.Devlin asked, “So what now?” He smiled, “This is going to be better than expected. You are going to see your end coming and feel every bit of the pain. Rot in hell, Devlin Thorn. You deserve no less.”We all stepped back and watched as two panthers approached him. He screamed like
We all went into the pack house and I asked if they would like some lunch before we go to the dungeons. Luna Kathryn asked, “Are you planning to go to the dungeon?” I nodded, “Blaine has a rather unconventional execution planned. We can go in Isaac’s office and tell you about it.”We sat in the lounge area of his office and Isaac started, “The first thing you need to know is that the prisoner is Blaine’s biological father. He kidnapped and raped his mother multiple times before she was able to escape. Not long after Blaine was born, he found them and tried to kill Blaine because he didn’t want kids. That’s how Blaine became paralyzed.”Luna Kathryn gasped, “Oh my Goddess! You poor child. You are so lucky to have survived.”Blaine spoke up, “It was the Goddess’ will that I survived. I have spent my whole life following Her path for me and I will until I die. Dad and I spent the last year looking for him so that I could get my justice. I’m just glad my biological mother kept track of him
One year later, I was at my desk in the office at the pack house, working on the books for the pack. I took a deep breath and sat back in my chair, thinking back on the past year.The kids have improved by leaps and bounds. My mind went to Blaine’s breakthrough moment.FlashbackShortly after I came home from the hospital, I had been resting on the couch because I wanted time with my family. The girls had gone to the kitchen to make a snack when Blaine approached me and laid his head on my chest.He asked, “Mom, can you tell me the whole truth about my father? Isaac is my dad, but I need to know about the guy who got my mom pregnant.” Isaac smiled and nodded at me. I looked at Aadi and she nodded also.I explained, “Well, your mom told me that he was a terrible man who had kidnapped her to sell her to some traffickers. He raped her multiple times before she was able to escape. I don’t know his name though.”Aadi added, “She told me that his name is Devlin Thorn. When you were a tiny ba
I gasped, “Three weeks?! What the hell was wrong with me?!” Isaac started trying to soothe me, “It’s okay, love. They were able to fix it. You had a brain aneurism. It burst just as you got here to see the doctor. They were able to stop the bleeding and fix the aneurism through your carotid artery.”I sighed as Isaac continued, “If you hadn’t been here, in this hospital, when you passed out, you could have bled out and died. They called me and told me to get to the hospital, and I jumped out of bed and ran for the hospital.”I furrowed my brow, “I remember you telling me that they were doing surgery, but I was out again before I could ask why.” He smiled, “I’m just so happy that you are still with us. The kids will be so happy that you are awake.”The doctor walked in and I shrugged, “I’m back, doc.” He laughed, “Yes, you are, Luna. I’m very happy to see you awake. I need to check and see if there are any neurological issues. Aneurisms can do that.”He checked the strength in my arms a
When we got home, Blaine had a huge grin on his face. Isaac lifted him out of his chair and put him on his lap. I asked, “So, sweetheart, how long have you been able to control animals?” Blaine blushed, “Since I was three. I can’t talk to them, but I can control what they do.”I smiled, “That is a really cool ability. Can you do that with humans?” He shook his head, “No. Just animals. But I can control their wolves after they shift.” I smiled, “Now that’s awesome. We make a perfect set. I can control humans.” Blaine’s eyes lit up, “Really?” I nodded, “Really.”Heather smiled, “Wow! That’s really cool!” She then put a somber look on her face, “Just do me a favor?” I asked, “What, sweetheart?” She sighed, “Just don’t do it to me?” Blaine and I laughed, “We wouldn’t even think about it.”Blaine explained, “I used to play with small animals when no kids would play with me. The staff would get mad at me for having a rabbit or a squirrel on my lap. When they would start saying hurtful things
Thirty minutes later, the guards were bringing the prisoner out of the dungeon and chaining his hands and feet to a large pole. Isaac and some warriors found a clearing in the forest that was just large enough to have the sun beat down on him the entire day.I growled as I watched him being pulled by a chain attached to a silver collar around his neck. I was quite pleased with the amount of silver attached to him. Just knowing his skin was being burned at each area made me smile.I asked Isaac, “Did you mind link Aadi to let her know where he is?” Isaac nodded, “I did. She linked the hospital staff to let them know.”My mate’s eyes glazed over as he received a mind link. Then, when his eyes cleared, he turned to me, “Our son wants the very last blow. He says he doesn’t need to be here. He wants to make the last one hurt the most.” I furrowed my brow, “I wonder what he is planning on doing.” He smiled, “It seems that our son has an ability that we know nothing about.”I nodded, “You are
When we reached the pack house, Isaac gave me a kiss and smiled, “I’ll see you at lunch time, love. I want to make sure you eat today.” I nodded, “Okay. I’m sure I’ll be starving by then. Did you want to start the interrogations this afternoon? We have a few to do.” Isaac ran his hands through his hair, “I forgot all about that. Yeah, we should do that this afternoon.”I spent my morning on the pack books and entering receipts. I was so glad that I was done with that part by nine a.m. and I mind linked Isaac’s dad, “Kenny, would you like to take some time to talk about the pack’s investment portfolio?” Kenny answered, “I would love to, Zariah. I’ll be there shortly.”After nearly three hours of discussing existing investments and then choosing a few new ones, I suggested we start looking for some real estate to invest in also. He agreed with that idea and said he would look around. We agreed to meet again in a couple weeks.As we finished our meeting, my brain started hurting and I was