Page 61 of The Alpha Enforcer and His Dancing Warrior Vol. 2 (Ribbon #10)

Freya linked me, “Stop trying to contain your anger, just feel it.” I planned to….well not all of it.. my box of rage couldn’t be let loose in its entirety. I screamed in frustration, agony, and anger. That LYING HORRIBLE WOMAN THAT WAS NOT MY AUNT! She started this!

This was obviously a massive plot, but Stephanie McCann was a player in it all. She knew. She knew the moment I woke up in the hospital that she was lying. I took off running passing several golden eyed people along the way. They’d spread out.

Duke Spencer Cambridge was waiting by the pack houses. He smiled greeting, “Hello Melanie, I’m Spencer.” I told him, “I know that… I’ll meet you officially later. Right now, I have someone’s butt to kick…. SEVERELY!”

Spencer laughed, “I wonder if you know how interesting it is that you know me on sight. As far as the rage you feel, that is an emotion I understand well. I believe the one you are looking for just came out of the pack house.”

I laughed humorlessly, “He left her here. Serves her right.” Spencer frowned asking, “The Warlock?” I nodded because I was not saying the name Ajax out loud. I grumbled, “Freaking pervert claiming to my dang uncle.” His eyes blazed brighter.

I took off the second I spotted Stephanie.

Booker, and Ajax fled together. Ajax left her behind and that was honestly what Stephanie deserved.

I linked my Warriors, “Someone find me Trevor McCann.” One answered, “He left after Angela Conners did.” MOTHER FRIGGING FUDGENUTS!

Of course he did. Booker ALWAYS protected him over everyone else because he was JUST like him.

Whatever. I could track the both of them down later.

I launched myself at Stephanie screaming, “YOU LYING SACK OF WHEEZING HAGGARD BITTER BONES!” I tackled her to the ground and began to punch her in the face. I screamed, “WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? THEY AREN’T DEAD! YOU KNEW THEY WEREN’T! WE AREN’T EVEN RELATED!”

A crowd gathered but I knew that no one was going to stop me. No one liked Stephanie in this pack. She treated everyone as if they were beneath her. Several began to whistle and clap. A few gasped at my accusations.

Stephanie growled, “You would be a bitch and figure it out.” I snarled at her. Her eyes widened and she whispered, “You got your wolf.” Freya took over, “Yes, my human has me now. I have my mate. The real one, not the one you tried to force on Melanie.”

“You’ll know the furthest reaches of hell before I’m done with you because you knew I was kept from her.

You were probably part of the plan and then told everyone here she had no wolf.

You forced a Beta’s daughter to go through turmoil you can’t imagine.

Because even though your wolf LOATHES you, you had her.

You will suffer for what you did to my human. ”

I was thrown back to the front of my mind while Freya panted.

I linked her, “You’ve never done that.” Freya said, “I need a minute to recover. Stick with mate, I’ll come back to the strength I have quicker than without him.

” I assured her, “If he wants us, I will.” Freya snorted, “He does.” I really wanted her to be right.

I knew Stephanie was unconscious, but I didn’t care. Nothing was real yet everything was real. It was too much to feel. I’d just been wishing for my dad back, and now... I couldn’t even look at him. What was wrong with me?

Logically the answer was being hurt and betrayed.

I felt like he abandoned me. Him, mom, and Tristan.

Jason abandoned me a long time ago in my mind, so that didn’t hurt as bad…

.but he’d written. Or maybe it wasn’t him…

but the pretense of our relationship didn’t die.

We still communicated even if it was mean.

I hit Stephanie harder when I remembered Kai’s words. Everyone said he looked like his dad because Tristan was his dad. I was so dumb. I thought I was a genius, but I wasn’t. I didn’t even know my family was alive.

My mom’s voice broke through telling me it was ok.

OK? We were so far from ok we couldn’t even see it in the rearview mirror.

Stephanie locked me in closets and let her stupid husband paw at me.

When I broke his hand, I’d been the one who was accused of doing something wrong.

She’d mocked me every single time I was punished. She tried to starve me to death.

At first when I came here... I respected the Alpha and Beta position because that’s what I’d been taught to do. Even the Gamma, and he was the biggest punisher I had. Rage filled me when I thought of Booker.

He could run… but I knew all the places he could hide. I had the Ring’s network…well some of it. That meant Booker couldn’t stay hidden from me for long. I had a more expansive network of spies in the Resistance than he could ever imagine. I’d find him AND his wretched son.

My anger at Stephanie fired all over when I heard my dad.

She’d turned me against Jason. She made it so I didn’t have my brother.

So I was all alone. Why would Alpha Kyle work with her?

Freya whispered, “He didn’t. Thunder is genuinely distraught and doesn’t understand.

None of the Red Run wolves do. Hell, none of the wolves here understand what’s going on.

” So they were all still talking to her.

Eventually I felt sparks… they were getting stronger than before.

Which was crazy. They were so powerful already.

Freya explained, “As I get stronger so will the sparks you feel. You would always feel them. Even those without a wolf, they just intensifies with one.” She sounded stronger again.

An overwhelming sense of needing Alexander to comfort me hit me.

I buried my face in his chest. My head, heart and body hurt. How could they leave me? Xander comforted me leaving me speechless by saying that he’d known the entire time who I was. Freya coughed, “Told you so.” That was true, she had. I needed it all to go back into the box .

Freya linked, “We know what to do now. We leave with our mate. Spear is ready and he wants us to be happy.” That was true. At one time... I’d always known I’d be by Xander’s side. Now... I had this pack. I was in a position of leadership here. Caine taking over was good… but he’d need me.

Caine linked me, “The Resistance fight carries on. We have holoports all over, and you can still fight that fight. We are all still in the Resistance together, but I’ve got this. You trained me and I’m ready.” He was. Eventually all of us Resistance members were going to have one heck of a meeting.

Xander was going to figure it all out. Heck…

they all were. Alpha Eric looked pretty suspicious…

. So did a lot of the Hackura related to Xander.

I noted Hastein wasn’t here… but that was ok.

I knew where he and his siblings were. Dark on a mission.

That was fine. I shook that thought out of my mind for now.

Buck linked me, “You want them to keep me on as the GAMMA?!” I replied, “Change is hard… you have these moments… and I know there’s a good guy inside you. He’s just buried under the survival mode…. person.”

“I think you can do it, but if you don’t… I’ll be back. Avery still believes in you. I believe in Avery. Don’t let her down…or me…because I did research your whole bloodline…to prove you were a good choice for the Gamma…because…people deserve the chance to be the people they are…”

“You were raised in fear…and you did what you could which is more than most. You have a rapport with Caine and Dax that is like what a Gamma does…you step towards Caine when Booker sneers at him…you’ve had his back…so yeah…the Gamma.” Buck nodded to me, his surprise and gratitude evident.

I linked Caine, “Xander told me they are leaving people behind to help you.” He said, “Well that will be nice. You always said they were different kinds of Alphas than I was used to. They’ve more than proved that in less than fifteen minutes.”

Tears pricked my eyes because it was true. These were the good Alpha’s that I’d told them about, and this is what you did. You didn’t let good people fail. An Alpha’s job was to protect people. It flowed through their very veins, and the Conners were good Alphas.

I left them to talk because I knew Former Alpha Eric was in control here as the Leader of the Werewolf Council. Once we reached the King’s house Xander snapped all my stuff packed. I needed to get my stuff from my other place. I had things there I wanted.

I opened the floor safe and nearly cried in relief that my Xander wolf was there.

Mason told me he’d found it. I linked him, “Thank you.” I needed both him and Hendrick in Black Mountain with me.

They were my anchors through the whole ‘Drake not being my dad’ storm.

They centered me. They helped bring me back from the brink.

They agreed to come. I linked them both, “I know I keep saying it…but thank you.” Mason threw me the keys to my bike.

Freya linked, “Our family is waiting outside to talk.” I muttered, “I’ve been waiting nearly seven years…

.and never got what I wanted. I’m choosing avoidance, and they can deal. ” Freya said, “Fair enough.”

I opened the garage and took off. The anguished faces of my family and all the Red Run wolves seared into my brain. I didn’t want to hurt them, but I needed a second. They’d ignored me for years… I really couldn’t be given a few moments to grasp the fact that they all somehow survived that day?

To cope with the fact that they never came for me. Did they think I was dead, like I’d thought? No... Kai said I was dancing. So, they knew I wasn’t dead. My dad even asked how I wasn’t in New York. Thoughts swirled while I quickly made the drive to my other place.