Chains by Kristine Allen

“Secrets  and  Lies”—Ruelle

“What is going on?” I asked the woman who had abducted me and my baby. The woman I was now certain was Nico’s mother.

“You should not ask questions,” she said as she sat a plate of food in front of me. “It’s not much, but you need to eat for the baby.”

We were in what looked like a conference room or classroom, sitting at the large table. She brought me a sandwich and some fruit with a bottle of water.

Before she could back away, I grabbed her wrist. Her startled gaze lifted to mine.

“I’m not stupid. I’m not going to try to hurt you, but I want some answers.” The Jasmine of a year ago would’ve been cowering by this time, likely nearly comatose. Though she may be lurking in the shadows of my mind, I was no longer that person. I refused to be that person again. “You’re Nico’s mother.” It was a statement, not a question.

Fear mixed with sadness shimmered in her eyes for a moment before she softly whispered, “I don’t deserve to be called that.”

“How can you take his child from him?” I asked, not letting up.

“You think I wanted to?” Tears filled her eyes.

“Well, you did,” I said, giving her an “are you serious” look.

She sighed as she cast a brief glance over her shoulder toward the door. “If Alpha hears you, he will kill you. He is angry at me for bringing you.”

“Who the hell is Alpha? Why are we here?” I quietly demanded.

“Because the pack has been keeping tabs on my son. Mostly to threaten me, to ensure I stayed in line.” When she said “son,” her voice wavered. “And Alpha is my husband.”

My mouth fell open as I stared. Words escaped me. It wasn’t until Ehria leaned forward to grab at the food on the plate that I was pulled out of my shock.

“Nico’s father is here?” I asked.

Her eyes went wide. “No! Alpha is not Nico’s father!”

I paused. “I’m so confused. Can you not talk in riddles and please tell me what the hell is going on? If you kidnapped me and my daughter, why are you locked in here with me now?”

“Alpha is deciding what to do with me,” she said as her eyes dropped. “It’s a long story.”

“Well, it would appear I have time,” I sarcastically replied. “We’re just chilling here having a good ol’ time.”

She gave a wry grin as she tucked a silver-streaked lock of hair behind her ear. Though she showed some age, she was stunning, nonetheless. “I can see why my son loves you. He would never have a good relationship with a woman who was weak.”

Little did she know, that was exactly how I used to feel. If it hadn’t been for Nico and our child, I may never have found the inner strength to work on my self-empowerment and worth. Again, I prayed he would find us soon. My heart was crying for him.

Ehria began to arch her back and fuss. She was getting hungry and tired. Likely, she also sensed my mood.

“Do you need to feed her?” Nico’s mother asked.

“Yes. You can fill me in while I do that,” I said as I freed my slightly engorged breast and placed my daughter to it. She quickly latched on. As she ate, she seemed intent on our conversation.

“When I was a baby, my parents betrothed me to Amos—Alpha. He was fifteen years older than me, but our parents wanted the match. Mine because Amos was heir to the line of Alphas if he proved himself, his because my family traces back to Genghis Khan on my mother’s side. We are a powerful family, but there hasn’t been a male in our line for generations. My father thought if he aligned me with the Alphas, we would create strong sons. What they didn’t expect was that I would sneak out as a teenager and fall in love with a human. Well, sort of.”

“Sort of? And God, that’s archaic.”

“Who are you telling? Nico’s father was named Nikolai Trinidad. He had the same gift as Nico does—he was human but, well, then some. Anyway, when we met there was… magic in the air.” Her eyes seemed to be distant as she spoke, and a soft smile curved her lips. “He was stunned when he met me because he couldn’t read me. I now believe it was because of my heritage. Regardless, he was the most beautiful man I’d ever met, yet fierce and bold. Back then, we were allowed to go to school in the town. I’d met him after school one day. It is because of me and Nikolai that the children are no longer allowed to leave the property.” She appeared sad.

“What happened to his father?” I asked softly as my daughter curled her small hand around my thumb.

“We would meet in secret as often as we could. At first we simply talked. Then talking led to… more.” Her cheeks flushed a becoming pink, and her smile returned. “We had been together for nearly a year. We planned that when I was eighteen, we would run away together. Except I fell pregnant a few months shy of that. I was so afraid. But he promised to keep me safe. One night after my family slept, I left. It was so dark that night. How I evaded the patrol as I snuck through the trees, I’ll never know. Nikolai was waiting at the road as he promised. We left and went to Montana thinking we’d be safe and after I turned eighteen, I could contact my parents and tell them where I was.”

“Obviously, that didn’t work?” I asked with a raised brow.

“No, not exactly. We didn’t plan on them tracking us. We managed to live under the radar for the rest of my pregnancy. Nico was born, and Nikolai doted on him. He was so proud of his son, and we were so in love. We got married—that was our mistake and how they found us.” She swallowed hard before she wet her lips and continued. “Other than having my eyes, Nico looks just like his father. So handsome. But I digress.”

She sighed. “Amos had taken over as Alpha by then. He was cruel and power-hungry. Having something that had been promised to him taken away enraged him. He thought it made him look weak. He found us one day after I contacted my parents. We fled, but he and his men caught up to us in the woods. He told me I was coming home with him and that he was going to kill Nikolai and my baby like he killed Nikolai’s family. He felt that because Nico wasn’t born like us and I loved him, he wasn’t worthy of existing. My husband was beside himself with rage and grief, and he rushed at Amos. What he didn’t anticipate was that Amos never played fair. Amos shot him, but he didn’t stop. He stabbed Amos in the chest, and when they both fell to the ground… he… Nikolai, was dead,” she stuttered.

My heart ached for her, because I couldn’t imagine losing Nico like that.

“I thought Amos had died too. In case he had others with him, I packed up as many of my things and Nico’s that I could, and I ran. I thought I could start over somewhere. Me and my son.”

“But Amos obviously didn’t die,” I guessed.

“For many years, I managed to stay one step ahead of the pack. When Nico was seven, Amos caught up to us. I was shocked to see him alive. My father came as well. He stopped Amos from killing Nico as long as I agreed to return with them and abandon Nico. I instructed Nico how to get to town. Amos was appeased, because he didn’t think Nico would survive in the woods and find his way to town. He also didn’t know my sister hid in the trees and watched over him until he reached town the next day. She watched over him for me the best she could without tipping off the pack. Well, she tried. Amos overheard her one day when she was giving me an update on him. He killed her and told me that if I attempted to leave or contact my son, he would kill him.” Tears coursed down her cheeks by that time.

“If you had told Nico, he could’ve protected you,” I argued.

She scoffed. “Not against the Alpha’s little ‘army.’ They are ruthless and evil.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you tried to take my daughter. Surely if he didn’t want Nico, he wouldn’t want Nico’s daughter.”

“Because she is one of us. Alpha planted a nurse with your pediatrician because we can scent our own race. Once it was confirmed, he wanted control of her because he is worried she will endanger us if she isn’t properly taught. He also wants her lineage.”

“I don’t give a shit if she’s one of you. She’s our daughter and she needs to be raised with her parents,” I said in indignation. And my daughter’s lineage? I don’t fucking think so.

The beautiful woman looked at me and proudly raised her chin.

“We are wolf shifters and so is she.”

Through the conversation, I had begun to suspect and so many things started to fall into place. The little growls my daughter started making. Dreaming of wolves. Nico drawing wolves. Probably the silver ripple we’d seen in her eyes. Damn. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, because I believe you, but I don’t understand how that’s possible. Nico is your son, but he’s not a shifter. I’m sure as hell not a shifter. How could our daughter be one?”

“Because I am,” she said as she pressed her fist to her chest. “Therefore, it passes through Nico, and any female children of his will be shifters. Males would not. We don’t know why. If I had been a male mated to a human, it would be likely that Nico would’ve been born a shifter instead of with his father’s gift.”

“I still don’t get how you could take Nico’s child from him. If Nikolai loved Nico as much as you say, what makes you think he loves his own daughter any less? Why would you want to hurt him?” I asked, not understanding how she could go along with something so heinous after what she’d been through.

“Because it was either that or Alpha threatened to bring the three of you here and kill you in front of me and the pack to set an example.” Her jaw clenched, and her nostrils flared as I watched her fight a sob. “I’m going to try to get you out of here. We have a plan—” she started.

The door burst open, and we jumped before I could ask her who the hell “we” were. A young man rushed in with a scowl, and I instinctively prepared to protect my child the best I could.

“Father wants you,” he said. “I’ve been trying to convince him the child’s mother is no threat. I told him we can kill her after the child is weaned. We need a little more time,” he said softly. He barely cast me a glance, but when he did, I caught a flicker of regret in his eyes.

“Play along the best you can and I’ll keep your daughter safe,” he finally said, addressing me before he left the room.

“Who was that?” I asked as I clutched my infant daughter to my breast.

“My son,” she said as her nearly ebony gaze held mine before she stepped out and closed the door.