Another chapter update ... hope you are enjoying the story so far. Be sure to leave a comment letting me know what you are thinking. Next chapter update will be in two days (work commitment tomorrow night). Ellie xo
Carrie POV At some point I managed to fall asleep on my side facing the wall. It was a restless sleep, but it was something. The two rogues on either side of me had finally shut up. Since my eyes had opened the only sounds were the random moans from those who had been tortured. Would that be me soon, I wondered. I heard the door to my cell open and the smell of my mate hit me before he spoke. “Mate, I know you are awake,” he says to me. I hear him move closer to me, but I ignore him. I refuse to acknowledge this man. “Tell me how you came to be on my territory, and we can move forward from this,” he says as if he is trying to befriend me. I continue to ignore him simply closing my eyes feeling a tear roll down the side of my cheek. “You have to agree, I would be a terrible Alpha if I did not investigate you before I put my Pack at risk,” he says starting to get angry. I continue to lie on the bed curled up in a ball. I hear him blow out a
Jackson POV My Beta turns quickly stunned by my rage. “She will not give us anything,” he says in anger as he moves to kick the woman. I move at him, pushing him away. “When did I ever say abuse her?” I demand as I reach down to check the woman’s pulse. It is there, but not strong. I mind-link my Pack doctor to get here immediately. “Have you gone soft, Alpha?” my Beta sneers at me. I slowly turn to look at him. “Excuse me?” I ask quietly. “You found your mate and you seem to have lost your edge,” he smirks. I move closer to him, forcing him to step back into the wall, “The only thing I have lost is my Beta,” I say to him as I wrap my fingers around his neck. My Beta looks at me with shock on his face. “You cannot mean that,” he says as I look at him about to respond when the doctor rushes in with a nurse close on his heels. “What the hell happened?” the doctor asks as the male nurse leans down and checks for a pulse. He nods to the doct
Carrie POV I come awake with a gasp. I am confused as to where I am. Last I was being beaten by the Beta. There is a soft light overhead and I am lying on something soft. I am warm. I had been so cold, that I felt nothing when the Beta had beaten me. I was numb to the abuse and my silence only enraged the Beta more. At one point I passed out. His anger confused me. He said it was personal. That I would be sorry, and that they were coming for me. Could he know about my past? But how? I laid there for a few moments just taking in the sounds around me. I heard the sounds of a blood pressure machine. I heard other things among them someone was breathing beside me. I slowly turned my head to where I was hearing the sound. I find myself looking into the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. For a moment I was captured by their stare. By the scent of chocolate and coffee. As quickly as I was basking in the moment, I realized wh
Carrie POV Jessica and I pivoted from looking to Mandy to looking at the voice at the door of the hospital room. The Gamma was standing there. “I do not know,” I reply quickly. Too quickly. “You are lying. How can we protect you, if you do not tell us what is going on?” he asks as he steps into the room. He cringes when he looks at the bed with Mandy’s bruised body. “I am sorry I could not do more to stop him before it came to this,” he murmurs sadly turning his attention back to us. “Well?” he asks. “Why should we trust you?” Jessica asks harshly. “It is not like you have been able to protect us so far,” she adds. His face goes red, partially with embarrassment and partially with anger. “Contrary to what you have experienced to date, we protect our own. The Luna is our own, therefore you are also our own,” he says quietly to Jessica. She looks at him and I can see a part of her desperately wants to believe him. She needs to believe some
Jackson POV I see the fear in my mate’s eyes, and I want to go to her. I move to touch her, but she moves away from me. I frown as I try to reason what could cause her to move away from me when I know my touch would ease her worry. Of course, I could not forget how she had been abused by my Beta and me sticking her in the dungeon in the first place did not help. “Just tell me what is going on. I can decide if it is too risk for our Pack to support you,” I say to her calmly. Jessica looks at me with disgust, Christian sighs, and Carrie smirks. I do not know what I can do to ease her concern. Agreeing with her has not worked, disagreeing with her has not worked. I am confused and uncertain what else I can offer. “I will think about it. For now, I need you to bring Jessica and Mandy into your Pack,” Carrie says to me. Before I can agree or disagree, Mandy leans forward, “You do not make decisions for me. I will decide when I am ready to be pa
Carrie POV My heart stopped beating. And then it was racing. What did he mean he knew? He had known all along that I was running from my chosen mate. “What did you say?” I whisper. Jackson leans forward, elbows leaning against his knees. “You heard me, Carrie. Tell me what is going on, so I can protect you,” he repeats himself. I toss the covers off my legs whipping my legs over the edge of the bed and standing up. I frantically look around the room as Jackson stands. I can feel the sparks on my arm where he is holding me. I rip my arm from his grasp. “How much time do I have?” I demand of him angrily. “What are you talking about?” he asks confused. “How much time do I have before he comes for me?” I ask angry that I cannot hide the terror that is consuming me. “Nobody is coming for you. I said I wanted to hear from you what was going on. I did not call Alpha Adam,” Jackson says to me. I do not know if I can believe him.
Jackson POV I sit there lightly rubbing my mate’s arm as fire rages within me. My mate has suffered. Immense loss and I was not there to protect her. I would protect her from now on, but it would never change her past. It would never replace the darkness in her eyes. I know it will take time for her to trust me, but I can only hope, with time, that we are able to come together fully. I want her to believe in me. And to trust I will always be there for her. I would spend my last breath making her happy. Making her my priority and protecting her from the evil that lurks around us. I am starting to feel tired and want to lay down beside my mate. To close my eyes for a few minutes. Since she arrived, I have been on this high wire, trying to find my balance but afraid I would topple at any moment. Just as I put my head gently on the pillow beside my mate, I am startled awake by a yell from my Gamma, “Alpha!” I hear through the mind-link. I jum
Jackson POV “You are full of shit. Her mother died in a rogue attack,” I say turning away from him. I had no more time for his crap, and I needed to get back to Carrie. “That’s what her father wanted her to think,” he says causing me to stop for a moment. “If that was the case, why not tell her when you had Carrie?” I asked turning back to face his smirking face. “I did not need to tell her. She was a good little servant. I underestimated her. That won’t happen again,” he says with a chill to his voice. I take a step forward until we are almost nose to nose. “It will not happen again. She is not going with you … not now, not ever,” I say turning away. “I have proof,” he says as he tosses a picture to the ground at my feet. I stop to pick it up. It is of a woman, frail looking, abused. It meant nothing to me. I did not recognize this woman. “This means nothing,” I say as I pass the picture to Christian. He takes it and will study it t