Liam’s POV We spent hours rummaging through boxes of disgusting, and I mean, revolting evidence of trafficked and abused wolves. Not only did Ian’s family black mail a lot of their clients but some of the clients straight up made pornography with their victims and sold it apparently. By lunchtime, we are all in terrible spirits. “If I have to see one more video or photo of this shit I’m going to break something”. We all drop what we’re doing and take a breath. “Good spot for a break I’d say”, Lee chimes. “Has anyone found anything involving Regan?”. Everyone solemnly shakes their heads no. “No, just a lot of fucked up other shit”, as Leo closes his box. Suddenly, as I stare at the men around me, I realize… every one of these mens’ mates have been violated by these traffickers. Mine included. “Guys, I want to talk to you all about something and it’s okay if you don’t think you can but I need you to be honest. We, all of us, all of our mates have been horribly
Emma’s POV Seeing Liam’s weary face, I knew something was off. He’s concerned about the trial I know, about me testifying and everything else going on. So the girls and I figured, why not make today special for everyone? What better way to lighten up spirits than through food! “I’ve got your favorite baby… ribs a la Emma!”. Liam giggles… “you mean ribs on top of macaroni salad?”. He practically sprints to close the distance, picking me up in a giant bear hug, nearly squeezing me to death. “Uhhh… Liam… I can’t brea….”. Taking a much needed breath, “I saw you like 3 hours ago, you ok?”. His death grip still hasn’t lessened by much. “I just need to be near you for a few, my love”. He nuzzles my neck. “I’m definitely okay with that but you’ll have to multitask and come with me, I need to take some cookies out of the oven or they’ll burn”. Taking the hot mit from me, “I’ll do one better and get them for you”. Ahh, such a gentleman. Liam blows me a kiss as he roun
Danny’s POV I feel more determined than ever to put this all behind us and start afresh. Savannah said she’d let me hold her tonight which will help me get through all of this. I start rifling through the boxes with newfound determination. I run into a metal tin box. Opening the lid, photos spill out. My lunch exits my body with force. “Oh god Danny…'' Zak shrieks. Leo jumps back as the vomit narrowly misses his shoes, “oh shit man, fuckin… oh fuck…”... he hurls in the corner after seeing the same photos. The room is in full on exorcist mode. I am too busy trying to keep what bile I have left inside me to notice who has or hasn’t seen them. Lee picks them up, “these must be his handy work”. Liam is pacing, holding his nose and trying very hard not to puke. “How do we know definitively they’re his?”. Lee holds up one in particular. “Well besides him posing with the body, he’s carved his initials into her skin”. Liam loses his lunch too. Zak makes a b
Emma’s POV I’m running through some tall brush. The wind is whipping, rain drops pelting me in the face. “Emma… slow down… I can’t keep up!”. My heart is racing, “Run faster mi mi, dad is on his way home… we gotta show him what we made”. I slow down slightly to let her shorter legs catch up with mine. “Emma.. the rope! It’s stuck!”. I look back and our kite is stuck in the thicket. I go back to help her untangle it when we hear a voice… “girls, dinner’s almost ready!”. Getting the kite untangled, we race back to the house to get cleaned up. “Papa!”. He grabs me and sissy up at the same time as if we weigh nothing. “My best girls! You behave for your mother today?”, as he kisses each of our dirty cheeks. “Course papa” we smile back. “Go get washed up loves”. We watch him give mama a smooch as we head to the sink. I help Mi mi up onto the step stool so she can reach the soap. There’s a sudden knock at the door. “Hey E, come in. We weren’t expecting you u
Leo’s POV I’ve been lying wide awake since about 4am. Michelle has been tossing and turning. I can feel the anxiety coming through our bond. I am desperately trying to not show my fear or any other emotion other than strength but after what alpha told me yesterday and the day before about Michelle’s “sacrifices”... I can’t stop thinking about that. Suddenly I hear her whimper and it pulls my attention to her suddenly. Her breath draws in sharply and she exhales, almost like she had stopped breathing. I watch her closely for another minute or two until I can’t witness it anymore. “Michelle, love… baby”. She stirs softly. “You’re not breathing normally, are you okay?”. She just shakes her head no and blinks. “What do you mean?”. She gulps, “night terrors… I get them sometimes”. My heart tears a hole. “What? What do you mean? Like… what kinds of night terrors?”. A few tears escape her beautiful eyelashes but her sleepy eyes don’t bat them away so I wipe them. “M
Liam’s POV I have been on edge all morning and I know it’s not helping my mate any. I need to calm down. I am so lost in my own emotion when I almost run right over my own mother. “Whoa there trigger, slow down”. I shake my head, “mom, I’m sorry. Another thing, why would grandpa bring a guest to a fucking sex trafficking trial?”. I still can’t place that woman. She’s so familiar and yet I’ve never met her. And she called me child? “What guest?”. Grace starts looking around the courthouse, trying to eye anyone who stands out. Suddenly the prisoner entrance door is swung open and they’re brought in… one by one. It’s deathly quiet. You could hear a pin drop if one happened to. The only noise are their silver shackles. Suddenly I feel a steady hand on my shoulder. “Remember your strength my son. Remember what we discussed”. I didn’t need to turn to see who was speaking, I could place grandpa’s voice even if I were blindfolded. I take a deep breath. “Thank you grand
Ian’s POV It’s Ruth’s turn to receive “50 questions” and my nerves are on fire. My internal guilt is already mounting but watching her make her way up to the stand, my nerve endings are aching. Luckily her situation was not as cumbersome so hopefully she won’t have to be as interrogated. They question her for maybe 30 minutes and then release her. As she’s making her way back to me, I’m extending my arms to receive her when I hear my name called to stand. What? Me? I’m not supposed to testify. Am I? I look at Liam. He links me, “did you know about this?”. It’s the defense attorney who has called me so I’m not surprised he learned my link to this whole shit show. I stand slowly, unfolding my hand from Ruth’s. She has an apprehensive look. Kissing her cheek, I whisper that it will be alright. And boy, they don’t waste any time. “Ian, what is your relationship to the Hardbrook family?”. I look at him like he has 100 eyes. “Ruth Hardbrook is my mate, Alpha Liam’s sis
Emma’s POV Everyone is too tired for a family dinner, so we all opt for dinner in our rooms and early bed. There’s extra security I notice around the packhouse. When I make it back up to the apartment, the lights are dimmed. “Liam?”. It’s so quiet. Setting my cocoa down, I walk towards our room where there are no lights on. I smell him before I see him. He snakes his arms around me, ever so gently. “I am so incredibly proud of you, my love. You are amazing, you know that?”. Turning around to face him, I lean up and wrap my arms around his broad neck and shoulders. “Not as amazing as a mate I know”. Soft lips graze mine. His tongue gently caresses my mouth. As our kiss progresses, his hands squeeze my ass and he picks me up. I wrap my legs around his toned torso as he carries me towards the bathroom. The bathtub is surrounded by candles and a bubble bath drawn. “Your cauldron milady”, making me giggle. Liam slowly peels off my clothes, layer by layer. When h
Liam’s POV *about six weeks later* “Liam, stop pacing”. I look up at Emma who is in labor but can’t push yet. “Why is she so calm?” Kalen nudges. I just shake my head. I have no idea how she’s this calm but it’s going on 20 hours now of labor and contractions but she hasn’t been able to actually push yet. “Oww… ehhh”, Emma lets out a slight shriek. I rush over to her. “Baby, tell me what you need”. Grace comes in, also cool as a cucumber. “Is this like a woman thing Liam?”. Kalen is just as nervous as I am. “Kalen buddy, I have no idea. But I’m freaking out too”. She squeezes my arm, oh shit that hurts. “Oh sorry baby”. I rub her hand, “no, squeeze all you need it’s fine”. I may regret that later. Grace checks her progress, “ooh, Emma my girl, you are finally ready. You feel like you can push?”. Emma takes a breath in, “no, I’m just gonna chill here a while and do a crossword”. She giggles, “yes, please… get them out of me!”. Grace looks at me, “you
Emma’s POV “I can’t believe it’s already been three weeks. Are you sure everything is ready?”. I’m a nervous wreck. Ruth is curling my hair, getting us ready for the ceremony. “Relax, Emma. Darling. Everything is set, just chill”. Grace comes in, followed by Savannah, Michelle and Dana. They’re all dressed and look stunning. Each chose their own style of emerald dress with gold jewelry. Grace in a gold dress. “Mama Grace!”, I look her up and down. “You are gorgeous”. She twirls and curtsies. Ruth scolds me, “quit moving child”. I sulk, “sorry mother”. She finishes my hair and light makeup. “Oh boy, the moment of truth. Hopefully it fits”. I step into the bathroom and shimmy into the gown only this time Grace steps in behind me. “Oh honey, you look stunning”. I look at myself in the mirror as she laces up the gown. “Thank you Grace”. She pulls a box from a bag and reveals a stunning pair of emerald earrings. “Oh my, Grace. That’s too much”. She swats my hand
Liam’s POV Luckily we anticipated these waits and brought a deck of cards. We got some odd looks but we had fun with our parking lot poker. Finally my Luna emerged after what felt like eternity. “You win us some money honey?”, her voice is like food for my soul. I scoop her up and spin her around, making her squeal a little. “We get to pick lunch huh?”, as I leave a little kiss on her mark. “Yeah, you guys pick Hooter’s or something?”. I squeeze her into me as Zak chuckles. “Why on earth would be take an entourage of our women folk there?”, Zak chides. “Culture Zak. Besides, Ian’s never been I bet”. He busts out laughing. I nip Emma’s shoulder lightly, “what did you guys do in that dress shop that has you so defiant miss Emma? No. We aren’t going to Hooter’s nor would we. Believe it or not, we’ve actually never been AND… I’ve heard their food sucks. Besides, I’ve got all the hooters I want right here”. I playfully caress her boob. Dana giggles, “You started
Emma’s POV Since Ruth got Liam on board with shopping, we just lumped the maternity wedding session into the trip too oh and… PEDICURES! The boys don’t know what’s coming. As we roll into the salon parking lot, Liam grumbles something and looks at Zak. “Zak, did you know about this?”. Dana and I giggle, “remember what you said Alpha, that you’d be willing to do it with me?”. His face goes super serious and almost pale. “Luna, I’d literally die for you but this… this is a lot to ask. Zak help me out”. There’s a smirk on the Beta’s face, “sorry boss, no can do. I do remember you saying you’d try it. Besides, my woman wants one too so here I am. Just suck it up”. Liam wraps his arms around me and kisses my temple. “You’re lucky I love you so damn much. And you…”, pointing to Zak, “definitely knew about this”. As we exit the SUV, Zak quips back, “pretty sure you’re the only one who doesn’t know Liam”. No one could miss the group of our brooding men, who insist on walkin
Erik’s POV As I lay on the mattress, I am at peace with the decision to die. I deserve it and I hope it’s not swift or painless. I deserve whatever is coming. There are no clocks in these cells so I have no way of knowing the hour. I begin to doze off eventually until I hear a voice in my cell. That’s the same voice that rang through my head in court that day, telling me judgment was upon me. I open my eyes and see a pair of purple eyes staring at me from the corner. “So it was you? Why you’re interested in these matters I don’t know but…”. She comes out of the shadows somewhat, revealing her face. Her long hair cascades down her face, framing her angelic face. “To what do I owe the honor of a visit from a Goddess?”. She’s studying me, not speaking. Finally, I relax back into the bed and lean against the wall. “My blood asked me to grant you a delicate death but I sense that isn’t what you want”. Her blood? Who would…? “Are you saying Emma is your blood
Liam’s POV Holy crap. My Luna just suggested anal to me. Kalen comes forward, “it’s natural bud, go for it”. I scowl at him, “maybe for you, you’re a dog. Besides, I don’t want to hurt her”. Wait, does this mean she’s done that before? Suddenly I feel insecure. And on cue, Emma tells me I’d be her first. Great, now my dick is impossibly hard. There’s no going back from this erection. She leads us into the bedroom and reaches for a gift bag. “Who gifted you lube?”I'm suddenly very pissed. She giggles… “no baby, it was a gag for the baby shower- it’s KY jelly. They use it for birth but um… well, I sort of googled this once like last week… cause…”. Before she could finish, I had her pinned on the bed. She laughs in between kisses, “so you’re not mad I googled it? It was a ‘how to’ but yeah, a lot of ummm interesting things came up. But I wanted to be prepared and I wanted to try this with you”. I kiss all along her mark, making her arousal thicken around me. “No ba
Emma’s POV As soon as Liam left, I realized I only have two hours to accomplish my plan. I reach out for Selene, praying she’s listening. “It’s sort of an emergency and I wouldn’t be contacting you if I didn’t need to”. There’s a tingling in my mind followed by, “meet me downstairs for tea”. I gently make my way downstairs, honoring the promise to my mate and doctor. I love referring to Grace as my doctor. It makes her sound so official. I see Selene sitting in a corner chair, sipping on a cup of tea. “I’m glad you’ve made yourself comfortable”, I tease. She smiles, “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better”. As I take a seat, I remember Liam screaming at her last night. “Does my feeling better have anything to do with Liam cursing you last night?”, I lift a brow questioningly. She smiles but doesn’t reply. “What is this favor you speak of?”. I grab for the second cup of tea, secretly wishing it were hot chocolate. Only when I look back at the cup, it’s cha
Michelle’s POV During recess, I let Dan and Savannah have some private time. At this point, I no longer cared about my own testimony but she was pregnant with that monster’s child… My uncle’s. How would Dan react? If roles were changed and it were me, I’m not sure Leo would be so happy. Sure he’d accept it because it wasn’t my fault but he would try and kill Erik I’m sure of it. I’m brought from my thoughts with the smell of coffee wafted under my nose. I giggle, opening my eyes to find Leo baiting me. “Don’t think too hard darling, that’s my job”. He kisses my cheek, handing me my coffee. We sit in comfortable silence for a bit, soaking up some sunlight when we’re summoned back into the courthouse. “The council has agreed after deliberation that all parties tried, are guilty of all charges laid before them”. They laid out the punishments for the lower ranked members and finally made it to Erik. “With regard to the former Alpha Regent, Erik is to be execute
Savannah’s POV I had been feeling extra emotional these last few days. I chalked it up to the impending trial and everything as a whole. This has been a tense time for the pack and group. Seeing Erik yesterday was overwhelming. It caused a lot of flashbacks and worsened my already bad night terrors. Dan has been such a sweetheart. He gives me plenty of space which I know is so hard for him, especially being an alpha but I know he knows I’m going through a lot. I have kept a secret calendar marking off the days since the horrid night Erik took my virginity. It’s been 45 days and no cycle. Shit. When I had been at Ruth’s house, I remember she had some pregnancy tests in her bathroom but how the hell would I get in there? What about the clinic? Would they just give me one discreetly? Dan cannot know about this. Waking up extremely early, the morning of the trial, I ran over to the hospital where I had been visiting the girls- Anna, Hannah and Bree; that Regan h