We’d kept in minimal contact with the mind-link. He’d kept me updated of any news that I might have missed out on, and although I’d assured him multiple times that I was fine, he hadn’t believed me. He needed to see the proof that I was fine.
He was older than me but those years did nothing to dampen our friendship. He was one of the few people who had seen how brutal Victor had been to me. Every pack member’s life had been hard under the cruel rule of my father, but mine had been worse.
Curtis was a good guy but like every other pack member he’d been forced to do bad things. Things none of us were proud of. We’d both been forced to infiltrate Cade’s pack as humans to spy on them. Curtis and Kyle eyed each other for a moment. They didn’t like each other. It wasn’t unusual for werewolves from different packs to instantly dislike each other for no apparent reason.
“Can you guys leave the whole male ego stare-down till later?” I asked them as I started to walk away from them.
I had lots of things to do. Pack members began to file out of their rooms to look at me. They’d all heard that my father had been killed and that I had become their alpha. The life that they’d lived had hardened them but I could see the reserved relief in their eyes while I walked past them. They all knew my leadership was going to be very different from my father’s.
“Wait up, Cinderella,” I heard Kyle say from behind me and I was tempted to turn around and tell him to get lost.
I hated the nickname he’d given me. Cinderella was a girl in a fairy tale. I was a girl living real life that didn’t include a happy ending. It annoyed me how much that nickname made me want to pity myself. But there wasn’t room for any of that. I stopped and turned to face Kyle.
“There is something I need to do alone,” I told him. I didn’t want him to know about my secret.
“No can do,” he said with a shrug. “You know the rules. I have to oversee everything you do.”
I glared at him, but he refused to back down.
“You can glare at me all you like, it isn’t going to change anything,” he stated, seeming to be unfazed by anything I did or said.
He was so annoying. I threw my hands up in defeat before I turned and walked away. He followed me.
I walked to the edge of the property where there was a small building. The sight of the building caused a whirlwind of emotion inside of me. It was hard to keep it inside. Two guards stepped aside at the entrance when they saw me.
The sound of footsteps behind me told me Kyle had followed me inside. Taking a breath, I tried to calm my nervously beating heart. I walked down to the end of the hallway, passing a total of ten doors on either side that were guarded by a few pack members. It was a place I knew well.
At the last door I hesitated for a moment when the guard unlocked it.
I could only imagine what Kyle was thinking but I brushed the thought from my mind. I held my breath as I stepped inside the dark room. A damp musky smell hit my nostrils. My eyes fixed on the single metal bed. An unmoving form lay on the bed that was covered in a tattered blanket. I swallowed my tears when I took another step forward. The form moved and turned to face me.
“Baby girl,” croaked a weak voice.
“Mommy,” I said as calmly as I could. My throat thickened while I took in her frail state. I didn’t think it possible to hate my father more than I did, but in that moment I did. I felt the telltale sting of tears but I bit down on my lip to keep from crying. If I got upset it would upset her and I didn’t want that. Slowly I walked over to the bed and bent down on one knee beside her.
“We’re free,” I told her.
She looked at me with big eyes and then her eyes moved past me to Kyle. Nervously she took in the alpha male standing behind me.
“I don’t understand,” she said when her eyes flickered back to me. Her expression was anxious and fearful.
“Victor is dead,” I told her softly. I brushed her dirty hair from her face. “We’re free.”
I had to stop myself from crying when she remained confused at my news. I swallowed hard. Once, she had been strong and vibrant, but that had been many years ago. After years of abuse and beatings, this was all that was left of her.
She was my secret. She was the reason I’d never left the pack and run for my own freedom. My love for her had been used to keep me under the brutal rule of Victor. He’d kept her a prisoner to ensure I would follow his every order without fail.
“It’s okay,” I soothed when she started to become agitated. My arms hugged her cold body to mine as I soothed her with words.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I murmured hoarsely to her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Keri
It was only once I'd moved my mom to the medical center under Curtis' watchful eye that I began to relax a little, although I knew it wouldn't be that easy. My mother had endured years of abuse and mistreatment. It was hard to keep my emotions in check while Curtis examined her. She looked so breakable. Her frame was thin and fragile from lack of proper meals. The scars on her thin arms and legs were permanent reminders of the physical abuse she'd endured from the monster that had been my father.
I was on edge the entire time Curtis checked her over. Kyle had given me privacy to stay with my mom while she got examined. I'd been surprised that he'd allowed it. Curtis smiled down at my mom, who was a little frightened at the change of scenery. She'd spent so many years in her dark cell that the new environment, even though it was nicer, had her on a nervous edge.
