Her Pack by Tamara White

Chapter Sixteen

I study Cam,making sure he's okay before I ask him just what on earth that panic attack was. "You going to explain to me what just happened, Cam? I've never heard of a wolf having a panic attack but you had one over your grandfather. Did I make the wrong decision in letting him come back with us?"

It may be stupid to worry about that, I mean I would hope Hudson and Blaise can handle them, but Cam's reaction was not good which brings forth my self doubt.

When he remains silent, I sigh and direct my gaze to the people still moving about. Maybe one of my other mates can offer some insight as to why he just reacted like that.

My gaze lands on Rick not too far away, standing next to Eli and Vivienne talking in low tones and gesturing to the remaining wolves. Eli and Rick leave Vivienne and walk off together to help other wolves. I smile as they work together seamlessly, as if they never once had a problem. It makes me happy to see Rick giving him a chance.

I'm also glad to see that Eli is working together with his mother, especially after what I heard when I came out of my coma. Maybe Eli finally realizes it wasn't her fault I went into the water.

"I don't know why I panicked, Dani." I look down at Cam, to see him watching me. His blue eyes are projecting his unease. "The last time I saw my pops, was when he had a massive row with my dad, about my mom." I sit down beside him and take his hand, letting him use me as an anchor. "Apparently my mom had been stealing things from many different pack members and my nan had slapped her for it when she found out. Dad lost his shit over my nan's interference, and tried to punish her for it, which is when pops got involved. It ended with them throwing punches until they finally shifted and brawled it out. My pops overpowered my father and that was the end of it. Still, it's burned into my mind. It was a pretty traumatic event for a seven year old to witness."

Holy shit, he saw that when he was seven? Man, that sucks.

"A day after that fight, my nan died. She was attacked in her sleep by my pops for causing such shit between him and dad. He ran from the pack, because he knew when he was found, it would mean his life would be taken."

Wow, what a messed up family. I thought my family was complicated but Cam's is definitely full of a lot more drama than I thought one family was capable of having.

First his abusive father, then his brother and now his grandfather. I'm going to get his whole family tree to figure out just what is going on and who's left to come crawling out of the woodwork.

"Are you going to be able to handle this? I mean, you've been strong through everything. You've handled the fact that your father has to die, most likely at my hands. That’s not an easy thing to process. But now with your grandfather in the picture, and also trying to kill your father, well I'm worried about you. I don't want you to suffer any more than you have to. So just say the word and no one will fault you for wanting no part in this. There is only so much one person can take. Maybe that's why you had the panic attack. It all just hit home at once."

He smiles over at me, leaning in to press a quick kiss to my lips. "I love that you're trying to look out for me, and maybe you're right about it all snowballing in on my head. But, I'd be pissed at myself for not following through.  I would regret sitting on the sidelines of something so important when I am your mate and it is my job to be at your side. My father is an evil bastard, my pops may be too. But maybe I'm wrong about him? I never got to see first hand what happened to my nan, only what was told to me by my father. And as we've discovered, my father is not exactly known for being the most truthful person out there."

I snort, at the grin on Cam's face. "Yeah, that’s a bit of an understatement."

He chuckles softly. "Yeah, it really is. Which is why after we've gone back to the pack and helped the people who are hurt, only then will we deal with my pops and his friend."

My eyes narrow when he misses an important detail about that 'friend'. "His hunter friend, Cam. Don't forget that."

I groan, the start of a headache coming on. The world is getting way bigger than I thought it was. Who knew hunters even existed. Dad never mentioned them to me, neither did James or any other wolf I've met. Surely, someone would take the time and say 'hey, just so you know, be careful out there, there are people hunting us' but no one ever said a thing, which leads me to believe, no one knew.

"Did you know that there were hunters out there? Or that they were set on killing our kind?"

Cam shakes his head, a slightly bewildered look on his face. "No, that was a shock to me too, Dani."

"What should we do about them? We can't just let them continue killing our kind."

Rick happens to appear at the end of my question. "You study them, just like you would any threat. You can't just go after them without a plan, Dani. You need to take the chance to figure out how they operate and only then can you decide what to do. Just keep in mind, they may be hunters, but they're humans too. If you go after them, then you risk drawing even more attention to us, but by all of human kind, not just a select few. That is something none of us is prepared for."

"I know that. I wasn't just going to go out killing people. What kind of person do you think I am?"

Rick flushes, and rubs a hand on the back of his neck. "Sorry Dani. I just don't want us getting ahead of ourselves. We have so many things going on at the moment, that it's honestly something that should not be on your radar. We have to deal with Luke and now what remains of Jason's pack. I don't want you overwhelming yourself. Not with everything going on. I need you at your strongest."

"Don't worry, Rick, I'm fine, but I need to have all the facts in front of me. The last thing I would want is something to sneak up on me because I just pushed it to the side like it didn't matter, only for it to come back and bite me in the ass. The last thing I want is for more wolves to die because we didn't act quick enough."

"Yeah, you're right." He agrees, his eyes filled with warring emotions. "I'll do my best to get as much info as I can until we can actually interrogate Aiden about his kind."

"Thank you." I know he will do everything he can to get me the information I need from Aiden about the other hunters. That’s just one of the many roles he has as an enforcer.

I look out at the open area, noticing that most, if not all, of the wolves have been moved to the vans. Which is why my mates are now walking back to me, trailed by Jake, who is no longer in his wolf form. He grins and throws me a wink when he catches me staring. "Don't worry Dani, everything is all sorted."

"We can go back home now?"

Eli is the one to answer, a smile aimed my way. "Yeah, it's definitely time to head back" The exhaustion in his eyes tells me I'm not the only one tired from this day. "Once we get back, I'll help my mother get the injured set up with other pack members and hopefully they can start the healing process."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." I turn to Jason, the pain from our connection saddening me. The agony in his eyes confirms what I feared. "Any sign of your mom?" I ask softly. I have no clue what his mother looks like, but I didn't see him hovering over anyone in particular so my guess is that she wasn't found among any of the wolves, wounded or dead.

"No, she's not here. I searched among everyone, but no such luck. Even the informant who called me isn't here. I'm just not sure what to think right now. Either he knew of the impending attack, and sent me here so I would be killed too. But then why wouldn't he have been here to do so? Unless he found out and tried to help my mother, and they took off together? My mother wouldn't do that though. It goes against everything she believes in. She wouldn't leave her pack, her family, to be slaughtered by anyone. She would fight tooth and nail to make sure they were all safe."

His voice is choked up with unshed tears. I go to him, wrapping my arms around him tight. He's rigid in my hold, but I don't let go. When he finally sinks into me, accepting my hug, I lean back and look up into his eyes, trying to give him all the reassurance I can. "We will find her, I promise. Whatever it takes. We won't stop looking for her."

And I mean it. I will do all in my power to find his mother. Surely someone in his pack has those answers for him.