Her Pack by Tamara White

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The three ofus are on the edge of pack lands, not that I can really tell the difference. It still all smells the same to me. I guess as I adjust more to my wolf, the more I’ll be able to distinguish what the others can.

We seem to be in the middle of trees that look just the same as every other tree around us. How Aiden can tell it’s the pack boundary when I can’t, annoys me just a little.

There’s not a marker in sight, so how the hell can he be so sure? But Jake didn’t disagree with him, so I guess he must be right.

“How long until they get here?” I ask, glancing around the space, wondering if there is some kind of path through the woods that I can’t see.

Aiden glances over at me with a frown. “I’m not sure. Unfortunately, the hunters who are helping me out, have no choice but to bring their son along as they couldn’t find a sitter. I’d imagine because they are bringing Duncan along with them, they’re going to be carrying as much weaponry as possible in the chance they think I’m leading them into some kind of trap. Which could also mean they take a while in an effort to map out their escape route.”

“They think you, a fellow hunter, are luring them into a wolf trap? Don’t they have any faith in you?”

“Well, yes, and no. But they too have believed as I have. That all wolves are evil. It took a lot of convincing to get them to bring Maria here. I’d imagine it’s another reason they will be heavily armed. Unfortunately, they don’t have the same concoction that she was being dosed with so they’ve been forced to give her human grade sedatives every two to three hours to keep her somewhat subdued and compliant.”

“But what does that have to do with you leading them into a trap. Are you not their friend? Are you inviting hostile hunters to our pack? Because that is not on.”

The guys would kill me if they knew potential threats are coming close to this pack. Hell, Vivienne would ream me out too. This is her home. She’ll have to live with the knowledge hunters now know where they all live.

“No, they aren’t hostile. They’re actually my closest friends. But, they’re wary of your kind. They too have experienced death from one of yours. They’re just being cautious is all.”

Hmmm, that doesn’t sound cautious to me, but overly paranoid. How come they even agreed to do this if they are so worried to be near wolves? I mean, it doesn’t make sense. It scares me that they will be coming near to Eli’s pack, though. Who knows whether or not they will choose to come back and hurt those who are innocent?

All the more reason to make a deal with Aiden and the rest of his kind so that they understand the rest of the packs have nothing to do with the few who have gone rabid.

“Did they say how Maria was? Did she at least go with them willingly?”

“No, I wouldn’t say it was willingly,” Aiden chuckles, his eyes sparkling. “But I’d imagine that would have more to do with the fact she was being held by humans, only to then be kidnapped by more humans. I doubt that would brighten anyone’s day.”

Jake snorts from a few feet away. “No one likes being kidnapped. Did you?”

“You were kidnapped?” Aiden’s eyes are wide with disbelief. Why is it so hard to believe that me, a future queen, has been kidnapped? I mean, surely that would be the typical thing for anyone who is in power, regardless of what kind of species they are.

Jake chuckles, trying not to dissolve into full blow laughter. “Are you kidding me? Dani is the queen of kidnaps. It’s why she’s always got a shadow. We can’t trust her not to be taken by someone who means her harm.”

“Hey, I resent that! It’s not like I mean to get bloody kidnapped. Do you think it’s fun, because it’s not. It sucks to feel stupid and weak, like I should know better, yet it still happens.”

“Relax, Dani, I just mean you seem to always have a beacon shining over you. Which as a leader of a whole people, it’s understandable.”

I grumble under my breath about kidnapping him for fun and see how he likes it. He simply grins over at me. He knows I’m joking, sort of.

The trees rustle up ahead, and I freeze, staring out into the woods. At least it’s not the dead of night. I can actually see when these hunters get closer. The sounds grow louder the closer they come until we catch sight of them, a man and woman dressed in black and walking towards us. There is another woman just behind them, which I realize must be Jason’s mom. She looks similar to my mate, but I could be wrong. I glance to Jake, asking him with my eyes if it’s her.

He gives me a nod, a smile lighting up his face. He looks just as happy to see her as I imagine Jason will be. I guess he has been just as involved in her search as my other mates. While Jake and Rick weren’t close friends with my mates before they met me, they still interacted and knew each other. They bonded differently but were at least acquaintances. Now they are even closer, so it makes sense they would sympathise with each other more now.

My eyes are drawn to Maria’s side, where a small child walks in sync with her. He has a hand in hers, and she actually doesn’t seem bothered to have him holding her hand. When Aiden said the hunters would bring their son, I didn’t think it would be someone as young as five years old.

The four of them stop not far away from us, and I find myself unable to speak, too thrown by the child’s presence to articulate my thoughts. Aiden seems to sense that and quickly steps forth to greet his friends. “Thank you both for coming. Malcolm, Denise, I know that this wasn’t an easy choice, but I promise it was the right one.” He turns to me, and gestures me to come and introduce myself. I square my shoulders, trying not to focus on the age of the boy. He’s a hunters’ child, which makes him a hunter in training.

“Hello,” I begin with a smile. “My name is Danielle, and I am the future Queen Alpha of wolves. The woman you are returning to my pack is one of my mates mothers. You have done me a great courtesy for bringing her back. I truly appreciate that you accepted Aiden’s request. Is there anything me or my pack can offer you as compensation for your help?”

The man frowns at me, like he’s not sure what to make of me. He’s got to be in his forties, or at least late thirties. His dark hair already has a tinge of grey to it, and his eyes show obvious crow’s feet. “We want nothing from you, we’ve been paid directly by Aiden.”

I nod slowly, sensing a ‘but’ coming. “Okay if that’s truly all you need.”

The woman smiles and takes a step towards me; I sense Jake tensing but thankfully he doesn’t move to stop her. “Your highness, my name is Denise. While my husband says we do not want anything, that is not entirely true. We want your kind to stop hunting ours. Unfortunately, there have been more and more people being killed by your kind. We want you to care that innocent people are being hurt as a result of your kind and actually do something about it.”

“I assure you, if I had any idea of what was happening before Aiden told me, then I would have put a stop to it then. As I have already told Aiden, once I’ve dealt with the people responsible for encouraging such activities, I will then venture out and help him remove those who are still causing mayhem.”

She smiles at me, her eyes filled with genuine happiness. “Then that is all we ask. If you need our help, we would gladly offer it.”

“Thank you, Denise. I appreciate your offer and may take you up on it if needed.” While I doubt I will need any of their help, because my mates will probably be with me, it would be stupid to out right turn down their offer. You never know when you will need help.

Maria crouches down and says goodbye to the little boy, then she approaches us, her eyes wary. She’s never met me before. I’m not sure if she’s met Jake so for all I know she could be thinking that she’s being traded off for one set of hostiles to another.

The couple gives Aiden a nod of approval. “You can call us if you need help. We will keep the existence of this pack secret.”

“Thank you,” he breathes, his eyes conveying his gratitude. “Stay safe.”

With that, they turn, the woman picking up her small child. We all stay and watch as they leave. I do so only because the others do too. I imagine Jake is ensuring they actually don’t double back and try to hurt us or any of the other pack members.

Once they are out of sight, I turn to Maria with a small smile. “Mrs. Parks, I’m so glad that you’re safe.” I bow my head softly to her, trying to show her respect even if I rank higher than her. “I’m Danielle Jackson, future Alpha Queen of the packs and the mate to your son Jason. It’s an honor to finally meet you,” I murmur, my words as true as the feeling behind them.

I’ve been waiting to meet his mother. Jason has talked about her many times now that I feel like I’m meeting a legend. And after everything it took to get her back, it’s even more exhilarating.

Maria Parks looks me up and down, and I get the feeling she’s none too pleased to meet me. “I’ve heard about the whore in the packs collecting Alpha men. I should have known you’d be just like your mother.”

My eyes widen, taken aback by her words. My mouth opens and closes, unable to respond. How dare she call me a whore!

I’m not the one to react though. Jake is suddenly there, his hand wrapped around her throat. “I get that you are an Alpha of your pack, and I get that you’ve been only gods know where, for gods know how long, but you do not get to speak to your Queen like that!” He’s all but growling spittle in her face.

She’s growing paler with every second he holds her in place. My gaze goes to Aiden, wondering what he thinks of this, and he looks just as pissed as Jake is.

“She is not my Queen!” Maria spits out, even while Jake is holding her. “Luke is my King! That bitch will never rule us!” She starts to struggle in Jake’s hold and Aiden rushes to help keep a hold over her. But she manages to break free from them, her wolf trying to rip from her human form.

Without hesitation, I lunge at her, delivering two quick blows to the head like dad taught me. In an instant she drops to the ground between the men, completely unconscious. Jake stares down at her, as do I. Though I imagine my expression is one of horror. I just hit my mate’s mother. This is totally going to come back and bite me in the ass.

Aiden backs away, glancing between me and the woman in a mixture of awe. “Whoa, how the hell did you knock her out with two punches to the head? We’re taught wolves can’t be taken down with anything short of a gun or silver. That should have been impossible.”

“You can take us down easy enough if you have the strength behind the hit. But if I had hit her twice in the jaw, it wouldn’t have made a difference. I had to ensure my hits landed on her temple, near the pressure point. While it will knock us out, it still won’t be for as long as a human, so we need to pick her up and carry her back to the pack. Quickly, or we won’t be able to restrain her before she comes to.”

“I’ve got this,” Jake says, hoisting Maria up over his shoulders like it took no effort at all. “We better be quick, though. I do not want to be dealing with an angry wolf who wakes up after being knocked out.” He starts walking back through the woods, Aiden and I hastening to follow him.

I frown the whole time walking back to Eli’s house, knowing this isn’t going to go down the way I wanted it to. I thought it would be a joyous occasion, one that we would celebrate for days on end. And more than anything, I hoped it would make Jason happier than he’s been in a while.

Now though, I don’t think it’s going to be such a joyous reunion. I’m going to have to inform him that his mother is not only a traitor, but that she was knocked unconscious by me too.

Then I also have to wonder if Jason had an inkling of his mother’s true allegiance. He said I would be welcome in his pack, that his mother would welcome me with open arms. Calling me a whore isn’t exactly saying welcome to my family.

“You’re second guessing your decision to find her, aren’t you?” Aiden is staring over at me, his eyes showing his concern. “Don’t get all worked up before you know everything. Maybe she isn’t a fan of Luke’s and has just been brainwashed or something. It could have been why they had her hidden in a human insane asylum. It would be the perfect place to do such things on your kind with no one any the wiser.”

His words, while reassuring, don’t exactly make me feel all warm and fuzzy. I doubt Jason is going to find the lighter side to that either. People stare as Jake carries an unconscious wolf past them to reach the stretch of homes. Once we reach Eli’s house, I have to take in a deep breath to prepare myself.

The front door opens, the Elders coming out, followed by Jason. Everyone stops and stares at Jake, their gazes filled with confusion. I clear my throat, drawing their attention. “Ah, hey, guys! So, good news, I found Jason’s mom.” I grin at them, my smile shaky. “Ah, there’s bad news too though,” I rush out before Jason gets too excited. “She may have been brainwashed.” I glance between them a little worriedly. “Don’t suppose anyone has some silver chains to spare?”