by Tamara White
She stares him down, waiting for Mitchell to show some sign of lying before nodding in acceptance. “Ok then, come in.” She walks into the house, not waiting for us to follow, just leaving the door open for us.
“You guys sure about this?” I ask, hesitating on the door step. She’s setting off all my internal alarms. I don’t know what it is, she just screams crazy.
Jonnie wraps an arm around my shoulder, squeezing me close, “She may be a bit off but she’s nice, I swear.” Mitchell takes the first step into the house, Jonnie guiding us after him. I don’t complain. I’d rather follow than be first in line. We walk pass what I’m guessing is a bedroom or sun room, followed by a kitchen before walking into the sitting area. Judging by how far we walked in, I’d guess the guys have been here plenty of times before.
Rosie is sitting a table made from recycled wood by the looks of it, tea and cups placed in front of her. Jonnie takes the seat on her right, while Mitchell takes the left. I stick by Jonnie’s side, which means I’m directly opposite their mother.
“I made tea,” Rosie offers, pushing the cups towards me.
There is no way I am drinking tea. “Uh, sorry, I don’t drink tea,” I tell her, not touching the cups. Mitchell smiles over at me, remembering the last time he tried to offer me tea. I grin holding back a laugh. Tea is not one of my favourite things. Coffee I can drink but tea, is something I cannot stomach. I only ever have the occasion chamomile for headaches.
“Drink the tea!” she says through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing amber again.
Jonnie reaches out putting a hand on her arm gently, “Mom, Dani doesn’t drink tea, she prefers coffee. How about I make her some?” he offers with a soft smile.
Mitchell is nodding hastily. “Yeah, Jonnie can just make her some coffee.”
Her lips thin in disapproval but she nods. Jonnie hurries from the room, without a second glance. I don’t understand what the big deal is?
I hear the kettle boiling in the other room, obviously Jonnie preparing the coffee. Rosie stands abruptly, rattling the cups on the table, “Mitchell, can I speak to you for a moment? In private,” she adds pointedly, gesturing with her head to me.
This woman has some serious issues. Fair enough she wants to talk to Mitch but to blatantly disrespect me when I’ve been nothing but nice, is just rude! They leave the room together, leaving me to wait for Jonnie to finish making a coffee. I lay my head down on the table, closing my eyes for a moment, trying not to let my anger get the better of me. It’s not her fault she has some issues. I would too if my mate left me, not telling me where he went and abandoning me with two sons to raise.
Light footsteps alert me to Jonnie’s presence. I smile, sitting up to grab the coffee gratefully when a foreign scent hits my nose, like freshly burst blueberries. Something hits the back of my head, shattering into pieces on the floor. As if in slow motion, my head drops to the table, my eyes heavy.
Rosie grips me by the hair, causing a cry of pain to escape my lips. She drags me from the chair, trying to drag me towards the kitchen when my wolf takes over.
“Let go of me now!” I growl, pulling from her, not caring that she manages to rip a chunk of my hair out. She turns on me, trying to grab me but I kick her feet out from under her. She drops to the floor and I quickly run to the kitchen looking for Jonnie. I don’t want to hurt their mother if I can avoid it but they need to diffuse the situation.
Jonnie isn’t in the kitchen, only a splash of blood on the floor smelling strongly of him. What has that maniac done?!
I go back out, grabbing her by the throat hauling her to her feet. “Where are my mates?!” I growl out through gritted teeth, trying hard not to shift and let my wolf destroy her.
Rosie smirks at me, “You’ll never find them. I made sure they knew you were poisoning them. They left you here so I could finish you. Evil whore!” she screams and lunges at me but I punch her squarely in the jaw, enjoying it when she passes out. Stupid bitch.
I run down to the other end of the house, where I assume the boys are. I try to open the door but it’s locked. I have no choice. I put all my weight into it and throw myself against the door, breaking it down.
Jonnie and Mitchell are both gagged and handcuffed to the bed. Mitchell’s squirming around, trying to get free. Jonnie isn’t moving. Seeing him so still has my heart beating a mile a minute. I need to get them out of the silver.
I pull the gags from their mouths, relieved it’s just a cloth, nothing like the silver soaked one I had to endure. “Where are the keys?” I ask Mitch.
“In the drawer,” he says, gesturing to the side table beside him. Quickly, I grab the key and unlock his cuffs, ignoring the burn before moving on to Jonnie’s. As gently as I can, I check him for injuries trying to find where the blood in the kitchen came from. I move over to the edge of the bed, being as gentle as I can. I stroke his hair, gently trying to wake him up, not wanting to be invasive while he’s passed out. It feels wrong. On the second stroke, I feel something moist in his hair. My heart stops when I look down, seeing the blood smeared across my hand.
“Mitch, his head’s bleeding,” I tell him, the blood draining from my face.
I put my hand around back feeling the wetness right at the base of his skull. I apply pressure, not sure what else to do right now.
Mitch grabs Jonnie, carrying him from the room, me following. We’re almost at the door when Rosie grabs my hair again. Is this bitch serious?! I swing out, kicking her in the ribs. She goes flying. Before she can pick herself up again, I’m there, dragging her back to the room I found the boys in. I put the handcuffs on her, enjoying when she struggles. Once she’s safely locked up, I run to catch up with Mitchell. He’s still waiting for me at the door rather than leave me alone with her, which has me feeling guilty.
We run back to the house, side by side, him carrying Jonnie while I keep watch for any other attacks. Highly unlikely but I’d rather be safe than sorry. We arrive at the house in under two minutes. I throw open the door, not caring about anyone in the house. We barge into the entertaining area, everyone freezing at our entrance. All at once, there’s a flurry of activity. I watch frozen as Jonnie is taken to another room so they can assess him. I pray they can help him because my power failed him.
Chapter 13
I still haven’t heard anything. I’ve been sitting here in a daze since Pete made me sit down. He told me I was swaying on my feet. People have been going back and forth trying to figure out what happened. Apparently, Mitchell isn’t talking either which I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t he just say his mother did this?
I wait for hours, no one telling me anything as I sit here waiting for my mate. Why didn’t my power work? I healed Nate no problem. Screw this! My wolf and I are both getting angrier by the second not knowing what has happened, so we hunt down the rest of our mates. I follow their scent to a room on the second floor, ignoring when people try to stop me.
Two wolves are guarding the door. I move to open it when the one on my left grabs my wrist. My wolf flashes and I grab him using his momentum to flip him over my back. The other tries to tackle me but three quick punches to the temple has him crumpled to the floor.
Bursting into the room, my ears still buzzing, I freeze seeing Jonnie. He’s laid on a bed with an IV attached, still unconscious. My mates are all gathered around him, solemn looks on their faces. Mitchell has tears streaking down his face as he looks up at me.
“No!” I gasp, taking a step back.
Jason jumps up, coming over and pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry Dani. We can’t do anything. Whatever Rosie hit him with, it punctured his spinal cord. He’s in a coma of some kind. Our healers said there is no way for him to come out of it. He’s dying,” he whispers, the heartbreak in his voice clear.
He can’t be dying, he can’t! There has to be something I can do! “Move,” I growl, moving him to the side so I can approach Jonnie. A wolf I don’t know stops me, his hand on my shoulder, “Stay away
from him!” he demands, pushing me back.
I look up at him, my wolf rushing to the front of my mind. Whatever he sees in my face has him backing down instantly. “Get out! All of you! Out now!” I demand, putting the will into my voice.
The guy practically runs out the door followed by another man I didn’t realize was in the room. My mates slowly walk towards the door. They all leave one by one, until Mitchell is left. “Mitchell, please stay,” I ask, stopping him from leaving.
He nods, coming back to my side. We hold hands and look down at Jonnie. I know what I have to do. It’s why I sent the others away. If they knew, they’d try and stop me. “Mitch, I need you tell Jonnie, I love him and if there was another way, I would have found it. I tried healing him back in the woods but it wouldn’t work because my energy was keeping me alive. I haven’t healed enough to be at full strength again. Now, I’m going to do what I should have done when I realized.”
I let go of Mitchell’s hand, pulling him to me, giving him one last kiss. It’s a kiss filled with passion and he senses that this is the last kiss I’ll give any of them.
I pull back, gently pushing him to the side as I climb onto the bed above Jonnie. I have no idea if this will work but it has to. There’s no other option.
“Jonnie if this works, I love you and I’m sorry.” I press my hands to his chest, my wolf and I focusing on our core, sending energy through to him. My body starts to drain, the lifeforce slowly leaking into Jonnie. I don’t have much to give but, for him to live, I would give him everything.
Yelling from outside the door has me pausing and as the door slams open as I push the last of my energy into Jonnie.
“Quick, all of you, touch her now!” James screams into the room. Mitchell reaches out grabbing me and I feel a spark flare within me. He’s somehow giving me his energy. The others are behind me, each reaching out to offer their touch. I send our energy through the link my wolf feels with Jonnie. His eyes flutter before flying open with a gasp. He sees us all gathered around him. We enjoy the moment, knowing he’s alive before collapsing in a heap. All of our energy is flowing together as one. It’s strange.
James rushes over, pulling me from under Jason who collapsed on me. “You ok, Dani?” he asks, pushing the hair from my eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Is Jonnie ok?” I slur, my tongue feeling too big for my mouth.
James shakes his head, gently placing me on the floor to check on Jonnie. He’s back on the bed, unconscious. I just want to make sure he’s healed. All my mates are lying slumped or unconscious around the bed, the energy drained from them. After checking on Jonnie, he checks on the others for me, murmuring to Jason and Cam who are both still awake but depleted. Once he’s sure they’re all okay, he comes back to me, lifting me in his arms carrying me from the room. Rick and Jake are waiting outside the door, scared looks on their faces.
“Go and take care of her mates. I need to talk to Dani,” he says, walking past them down to the room I woke up in.
Once we’re inside, the door firmly shuts behind us and he sits me on the sofa that has been placed against the wall, facing the bed. He walks away from me to pace angrily. How did I not see the sofa when I woke up? Maybe they changed the room but I was sure this wasn’t here.
James stops abruptly, turning to face me, anger in his eyes. “What were you thinking Dani?! You were going to kill yourself!”
“I had no choice! My mate was dying! You would have done the same thing in my position so don’t get all high and mighty with me,” I growl through gritted teeth.
He sighs, drooping onto the bed, “You’re right, I’m sorry. You just can’t be so reckless. I swear it’s like one moment you’re acting like a queen then the next it’s like you’re a child. I understand your still a teenager but that means nothing in our world. You will be expected to make decisions beyond your years and that means not sacrificing yourself for your mate. Especially when you have the ability to use their energy. You could have just used it and healed Jonnie, you didn’t need to kill yourself,” he groans exasperated.
“Well, I didn’t know I could share energy! Why didn’t you tell me?” Here he is making me feel guilty for wanting to save my mate when it was the only option I had. I had tried to heal him before we got back to the main house only it didn’t work. I was too weak. I felt the only choice I had was to sacrifice myself so he could live. If put in the same situation with the same information I had at the time, I’d do it all over again.
“I keep forgetting how little you know of us. Your mates Dani, they are your lifeline. Being a mate means sharing everything, including your wolf or energy. That’s what they did when they touched you in there, they offered their energy up to save Jonnie,” he explains.
He pauses, ruffling his hair. “You need to accept our ways and stop thinking of yourself as a separate entity. You are a partnership which means you protect each other. You need to let them protect you the way they are meant to.”
I hear what he’s saying but my wolf and I both feel he’s wrong. They are meant to protect me, I get that. My instincts however, tell me I have to save them. How can they be my protectors when I’m stronger, and faster than them? It just doesn’t make much sense.
“I will try to remember that but it’s hard to fight my natural instincts,” I admit, not wanting to start an argument. There is something much more important I have to deal with now. Mitchell’s mother.
She can’t be left handcuffed forever, she’s Mitchell’s mother for god’s sake. She needs help. I don’t understand why no one has done anything before now. She’s obviously gone rabid. They need to contain her or offer some kind of help rather than just let her live out there like that. What if she attacks a child? What if she kills another pack member? There are just too many variables.
“We done here?” I ask, getting up from the sofa a little shaky. My legs are still pretty weak but this needs to be addressed.
He nods, coming to my rescue, holding out a hand to grab on and steady myself. Stupid energy depletion. I wonder if the guys are feeling as weak? We walk into the room, me leaning against James for support, to see the guys all happily chatting. They see me and Cam rushes to get to his feet and takes me from James.
He lingers in the doorway, obviously not wanting to leave, “James, I’ll be fine. Just wait outside for a minute, okay?” he nods, relieved I haven’t asked him to go too far away.
Cam looks down at me, a mix of confusion and anger. “Why did you ask him to stay close? You don’t need him to help you, that’s what we’re here for.”
I take a step forward, ignoring him. He grudgingly helps me walk to the bed, before letting go of me. Lifting my head, I see concern on most of their faces, “Look, I’m going to ask you all once, did you know how dangerous she was?” I ask looking at each of them and they all shake their heads apart from Mitchell who refuses to meet my eyes. “Mitch?”
He lifts his head slowly, looking off to the side of me rather than meeting my eyes directly. The guilt I sense tells me all I need to know. “Why did you let us go if you knew she was that bad? Look what happened to Jonnie! For god’s sake, she ripped my hair out! If she wasn’t your mother, I would have killed her. You have no idea how much restraint it took to just handcuff her to that bed.” I shake my head disappointed. “Since you refuse to do something, I have to. Did you even think what could have happened if a child went to that cabin? Imagine what could have happened if she left and had that kind of episode. I understand she’s your mom but you know we have to lock her up for her safety and the pack’s. She can’t stay free to do that again,” I tell him, softening my voice so he understands the seriousness of the situation.
I haven’t really thought it through completely but something needs to be done. The only thing I can think of, would be to lock her in a cage, though that seems harsh. She’s obviously ill. There must be something else would could do rather than treat her like a prisoner?
“Guys, what do you usually do in this situati
on? Do you have a medical centre or something she could go to and be sedated? Dad used to mention a few hospital-like buildings but not the full facilities. Do you think we could use one of them for Rosie?” I ask, looking between, Nate, Cam and Jason. All three of them pay more attention to the goings on in the pack so I’m sure one of them would have some kind of idea.
Jason glances over at Mitchell, obviously feeling bad. “There is a hospital we could take her to but it’s dangerous. They use silver around the outside to keep them in.”
“Ok… Then why suggest it?” It doesn’t make sense he would suggest something that could be dangerous unless he thought she really needed to go there.
Cam wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I lean on his chest, enjoying the touch. “The hospitals that exist for us have been under Luke’s control. So, there’s no telling what they’d do or how they’d treat her.”
Oh, that sucks. “Alright, then I have another idea. Who’s in charge of the Slade pack?”
***
An hour later, I’m sitting in front of Jonnie and Mitchell’s uncle, finding out what he’s willing to do for their mother, which to me, sounds like nothing.
He looks very different to the boys, sandy hair framing his face with deep brown eyes. His face holds a harshness while his voice is soft, like someone who speaks too often. “I want to help Rosie, I do. But what you’re asking me to do, is impossible.”
I take a few deep breaths to calm myself, not liking the way this guy is acting. It’s not like I’m asking him to build a rocket ship. All I want is their mother to be safe. “Look, if you won’t build her a safe place, then you need to send her to the hospital that’s equipped to deal with her or deal with her yourself. If you do that, you can’t lead the pack. They need an alpha who’s only priority is the pack.”
“You’re right. Ok, let me talk to a few of the other members in the pack and see how long we’re looking at. Building a whole new enclosed area around her, especially made from silver, is going to be a very difficult task. Would you like to offer them your input once I’ve discussed it with them?” he asks resigned.
