Melinda

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, but I’m unsure how to answer him. I guess I’ll have to tell him the truth, and I only hope he understands. Not just Leander but Lorcan.

“Kit and Frankie have explained why you couldn’t stay at Silver Paw. However, I’m not sure why you never spoke to my brother, your Alpha, about what was happening at home. Did you not think he would help you?”

I shake my head.

“It wasn’t that, Alpha Leander. I knew my Alpha would help, but my father is a scary man. I couldn’t risk him killing my mother before help arrived. No one has any idea how much she has suffered.

“I know many will say that I could have sought help, and they would have rescued us before that happened. But unless you’ve lived with an abusive man or even a woman, you have no clue what it’s like to be so scared you barely breathe.

“My father kidnapped my mother from her pack when she was fifteen.” Leander stares at me, his eyes widening a little. “I’m not trying to feed you a sob story, but my mother’s life was hell with that man. He raped her, beat her, and left her pregnant with me.”

Luna Sara and Alpha Leander share a look.

I know what they’re thinking.

Do I have the figure 8?

The truth is, I do have the figure 8 etched into my skull – the sign of rape. It will never be removed, and no one will ever love me because of it.

“The little one is a product of rape also?”

I shake my head at Sara.

“All I can remember for as long as I’ve been alive is my father angry and my mother sad. Dad ran our house like a concentration camp. He abused us and tortured my mother every damn day, especially if I did something he didn’t like.

“Then, one day, Mike said he had to go away for a week. He gave my mother orders, told her he had eyes everywhere, and said he’d know if she defied him. Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t know anything; he wasn’t my mother’s mate. They had no mate-link, though they did have a link through the pack thanks to Alpha Lorcan accepting Mum. Alpha did so because Mike somehow convinced Alpha Lorcan that Mum was his mate.”

I hear Kit sigh.

I look at him, and he shoots me a sympathetic look.

I look back to Sara and Leander.

“When Mike left on business for Alpha, Mum decided she wouldn’t waste that time wallowing. She wanted to leave the house, even though Mike forbade her from doing so. I was scared that he’d find out, and we’d both be in trouble. Mum promised she wouldn’t let anything happen to me, and I wasn’t to worry about her. Didn’t we deserve a little happiness?

“We spent the first day together, just us, then she decided we’d go out the second day. Mum plastered makeup on her face to cover the bruises, dressed in her best outfit, and then took me off packgrounds.

“I’d never been anywhere but Silver Paw before that day. We had so much fun, but then Mum suddenly stopped walking, her chest was heaving, and her eyes had clouded over. I turned to see what she was looking at, and this handsome man was staring right back at her.

“Quicker than I could blink, he was in front of my mum, and they were kissing. I was shocked because I didn’t know what the hell was going on. My parents never kissed like that in front of me, but then I doubted they kissed at all. Then the stranger picked Mum up and dashed away with her, forgetting all about me.

“I stayed where I was, realising my mother had found her mate. I could only wait for her to return, which she didn’t for three days. I’d made my way back to Silver Paw, hoping she’d know to come there to me.

“When she did return, she was so upset. I didn’t know how to comfort her, though I tried my hardest. In the end, she explained what had happened and then told me how she’d rejected her mate after they mated.

“Mum was so afraid of what my father would do that she had no confidence that her mate could protect her. I don’t believe she thought her mate weak, but my father and his abuse altered her mind so much that she couldn’t see past it.

“Mum covered the mark her mate gave her with heavy makeup so my father wouldn’t see it. But it didn’t work, and the moment he caught sight of it, he lost it. He’d scented another man on Mum, and her punishment was so bad I thought he’d killed her. But something kept her from leaving this world.

“Then Mike, suddenly, out of the blue, said, ‘I realise how much you actually love me, Alison. Sure, you cheated on me with your so-called mate, but I understand that couldn’t be helped; he tricked you. But you rejected him and came home to me, so I forgive you.’ Then Mum explained that she was pregnant by her mate with such terror in her voice. We both thought Mike beat the child out of her, but he didn’t.

“Mike allowed Mum to keep the child, hoping the baby was a boy. Mike thought he could mould the child and make him a monster who would help him overthrow the Alpha.

“Sadly for Mike, Jessie was a girl, and my mother paid dearly for that. Mike wanted to get rid of Jessie, but I managed to mind-link Luna Gianna as soon as Mum went into labour. Much to my father’s annoyance, Luna came over and delivered my sister. He couldn’t do as he planned after that, though Mike kept mumbling that he should have kicked the baby out of Mum.”