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Chapter Fourteen

Talia

M y heart stops and starts back up again, the rhythm chaotic and fast.

Did Alaric think Forrester was rejecting me?

Is that why he went off the handle in the kitchen?

Did they all think he was going to reject the mate bond?

“He, ah, didn’t reject the bond?” Penn stammers, pulling back to look at me only to wince at my expression.

“Shit. I fucked this up. Fuck, shit, fuck.”

“Forrester is going to reject the mate bond?” I whisper, stopping just past the front porch and looking up at Penn.

“How did all of you already know?”

Penn sighs, ruffling his messy blonde hair and grimacing.

“Fuck, I’m not even sure where to begin.” He shuffles his feet, kicking at the grass and dirt on the ground.

“Drayton and Forrester are brothers. Well, half-brothers. Same father, but different mothers.”

At Penn’s pause, I jump in so he knows that I at least know this part of the story.

What I don’t know is how this leads to a rejection of me.

“Forrester believes that Drayton killed their father to take the spot of alpha of the pack. He believes Drayton to be a cold-blooded murderer who gets off on the power and that led him to leave the pack for some time.”

Penn shakes his head with a laugh.

“Leave it to Forrester to at least tell you that much. He never misses a chance to try to tear his brother down,” he explains, a sigh of frustration following his words.

“The problem is that Forrester doesn’t actually know much of what happened. He bolted before everything could come out after spreading some pretty fucking awful rumours about Dray.”

“So Drayton didn’t kill his father?” I ask, my need to fix this pack far outweighs my anxiety of rejection.

“No, he did. It just wasn’t for the alpha position like Forr assumes. It also wasn’t in cold-blood,” Penn murmurs, his grey eyes looking conflicted.

“It’s not really my full story to tell, it’s Dray’s. That said, I know he’ll tell you all of it anyways so I’ll give you some of it. Just promise me you won’t ask for more, okay? Drayton deserves to tell you his story himself.”

“I promise.”

Penn grabs my hand, pulling me to his side as we start on a path that winds into the trees surrounding the house.

“Drayton is the older of the two, but he’s also an affair child. His father was mated to Forrester’s mother when Drayton was conceived. Vernon never could keep his dick in his pants, something Forrester’s mother Neima seemed to ignore. Up until Drayton, that is. Drayton’s birth sent Neima into a frenzy. She hated Drayton and his mother, Ophelia. Ophelia disappeared not long after Drayton turned four and Forrester was born. It’s a common theory that Neima had her taken out of the equation.”

We walk for a bit in silence, winding through trees and past more houses as the sun sets behind them, casting us in shadows.

The forest is quiet, the houses bustling with activity through the bright windows.

It’s peaceful, being in nature but having so many other lives being lived out around us.

Penn speaks again, his voice sombre.

“Neima made sure that it was clear to Drayton that he was the unwanted pup. She made his life a living hell from the moment Ophelia disappeared. It was the worst kept secret of the pack how much emotional and verbal abuse she threw at him. The one person it was completely hidden from was Forrester. He was four years younger than Drayton, and despite what his mother did to Dray, Dray loved and protected Forr as much as he could.”

“Is Neima still alive?” I ask after a bit, unsure how exactly I want the answer to go.

“No, she passed away about five years ago. Her brother is still alive and here, though. His name is Marcus and he’s just as awful as she was. He’s the biggest instigator in the pack, trying to turn everyone against Drayton so he can finish his sister’s work once and for all.”

Penn stops at the end of a path that leads to a beautiful white house, tucked behind the largest tree I’ve ever seen.

He grabs my hand, walking me up the pathway with a smile.

“We’ll pick back up in a minute. This is where I grew up and where my mom still lives,” he explains, knocking on the light green door with the biggest smile on his face.

Without waiting for someone to come to the door, he opens it up and ushers me inside.

“Mom!”

“Penn!” A woman’s voice frantically calls back, the sound of footsteps running towards us following her words.

“Thank god you’re home! I’ve been out of my mind with worry.”

A woman about the same height as me flies into the entrance way, her blonde hair falling out of the low bun at the nape of her neck.

She has brown eyes to Penn’s grey, but every other part of them is identical.

There’s no doubt that Penn came from her.

“I’m okay, Mom. I promise! I brought someone to meet you though,” Penn detangles himself from her hug, motioning over to me.

My heart is practically beating out of my chest.

This is my first real introduction to someone outside of the prison aside from my mates.

Talking to my mates was like breathing, I didn’t have to think about it, it just happened.

Meeting Penn’s mom is a completely different feeling.

More like trying to recite ten passages from the bible for the Croisés so they didn’t light me on fire.

“You— How?” Penn’s mom looks between the two of us over and over again.

“This is her, right? The mate you’ve been telling me about from your visions?”

“It is. Mom, this is Talia. Talia, this is my mom Helen. She’s always been my biggest support when it comes to my visions so she’s been waiting to meet you for a long time.” Penn smiles at me, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

That smile calms my nerves slightly, reminding me that with him by my side, I can get through anything.

“Talia,” Helen says on a breath, her lips tipping up in a smile that looks exactly like Penn’s.

“I am so happy to have you here. This home is also yours, so if those boys start giving you too much hassle at the alpha house, you can come here to get away. When you’re comfortable, I want you to know that you can call me mom just like my boys do. Welcome to the family!”

Tears are already leaking from my eyes before she even finishes speaking.

Her welcoming words and kind voice soothe an ache in my chest that was created a long time ago.

Without knowing me, she took me into her family like it was nothing.

For so many years I debated whether it was just the Croisés that were so selfish and cruel, or if that was the way of the world outside those walls as well.

Already I can see that it’s a mix of both.

Penn’s unfinished story of Drayton and Forrester’s parents shows the cruelty I know so well, but Helen is showing me that there’s kindness as well.

“Thank you,” I say, my voice low and muffled with the emotion of this moment clogging my throat.

“That means a lot to me.”

Helen takes my hand in one of hers and pats the top with the other.

“I don’t know what happened where you were, but I do know my boy was kidnapped and taken there by these same people so I’m putting things together in my head. If you ever need someone to tell your story to that isn’t one of your mates, my ears are always open. I will never judge your reactions or your emotions. I’ll be your mom in every way I’m guessing you missed out on.”

Penn hugs me from behind, placing his chin on my shoulder.

“You’re safe with us,” he murmurs, kissing just under my ear and sending an embarrassing shiver down my spine.

“Now, let’s eat. My poor mate is starving because everyone went all caveman back at the house before she could eat.”

Helen scoffs in annoyance, rolling her eyes and motioning for me to follow her.

“Those men need a swift kick up the ass. What were they fighting about now? The fact that they couldn’t take care of their mate on the first day of finding her?!”

Penn laughs at his mom’s indignation, following behind me with an excited pep in his step.

“No. Well, kind of. It was more about Forrester and that whole feud that spilled over into the mate business. I was catching Tal up on our way over here.”

“Vernon really did a number on those two,” Helen grumbles as we reach the kitchen.

It’s open and airy, with light cupboards and lots of windows.

“You two have a seat, I’ll grab you both some of my chicken stew I made earlier.”

Sitting on the soft, cushioned bench against the wall, I scoot in, making room for Penn to sit beside me.

He grabs my hand under the table, keeping contact with me at almost all times.

It makes me and my peryton glow with happiness.

We’ve been deprived of affection for so long that the sweetness of the touches is becoming addicting.

“Where did you get to with the sordid past of our previous alpha, Penn?” Helen asks once she has the food started for us.

“I was telling her about Neima’s abuse and then how Marcus took up poisoning the pack against Drayton when his sister died,” Penn answers her, his eyes firmly on the food.

“The stew smells amazing, Mom.”

“It tastes even better!” Helen winks at us, a proud smile on her face.

It fades quickly though, as she gets ready to finish the story her son started.

“That Marcus is a piece of work. The whole family was, really. Thankfully, it’s only him left from their bloodline aside from Forrester. No one needs that family sticking around longer than they have. Forrester is a good boy, if a little lost right now.”

Helen serves us each a bowl of stew with some soft, warm bread on the side and then sits in a chair across from us.

“To this day, I swear they were poisoning Vernon to become the man he did. Vernon was a womanizer from the time puberty kicked in. He would chase any female that looked in his direction. However, that was always his biggest fault. As far as most of us were concerned, it didn’t matter much when it came to leading the pack.”

The first bite of stew is so overwhelming I almost spit it back out.

The flavours that explode on my tongue are so unlike anything I’ve ever had before that I don’t know how to process it all.

Forcing myself to swallow, I suck in a deep breath at the warm feeling slipping into my stomach.

It sets my whole body alight, forcing me to hold back tears.

This is what real food is like.

This is more than just eating to nourish myself, it’s an experience.

Dipping some of the bread in the stew, I take a bite of that and a small hum slips out of my throat.

It takes all of my strength not to pile all the food into my body right away.

I know I need time to process the food or I’ll make myself sick after not eating for so long.

It’s almost as good as the feeling the mate bonds give me as they slide into place.

“What do you think?” Helen looks at me with a concerned smile.

Penn is smiling sadly at me, his hand on my knee.

“This is incredible. It’s the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted,” I compliment her, adding in a small laugh.

“It’s kind of making me want to cry while simultaneously shoving as much into my mouth at once as possible.”

“Good! I’m so glad.” Helen sits back, looking out the window at the now dark forest.

“I’m sure the rest of your mates will be banging down the door soon to steal you away. You keep eating as much as you want and I’ll try and give you some pack drama before they get here.”

Smiling at her, I nod my head and dive back into my food, this time keeping an ear on Helen’s tale of a broken family, hell bent on tearing the pack apart.

“Vernon was a fair alpha, though he skipped out on the gifts of his sons. Drayton was destined to be alpha after Vernon, since the alpha power was passed on to him instead of Forrester. This angered Neima even more when it was revealed. She could see her family’s claim at power slipping away and she couldn’t handle it,” Helen explains to us.

“Vernon started acting differently not long after that. His temper got shorter, his normally calm demeanour turning into one of violence and aggression. Most of that came out against poor Drayton.”

“Drayton hid the bruises and scars well, turning to tattoos when he was old enough to convince Harrold to do them. That boy was hurt so much by Vernon and Neima, it’s a wonder he stuck around and turned out the way he did. It was for Forrester, though. Drayton would do anything for his brother, including bear the burden of abuse.”

Penn sits back, shaking his head as he looks at the table.

“It’s always bothered me how much Forrester refuses to see. He doesn’t want to see the type of people his parents were so he attacks the one family member that has always done right by him. Drayton killed Vernon to save his own life and to save Forrester from the threat that was mounting against him by Vernon. All Forrester cares to hear is that Drayton murdered him.”

“If everyone else knows, how can he not know?” I ask, putting down my spoon for a bit.

The question has been bothering me.

“Neima was a master manipulator and she got her claws in Forrester as well,” Helen answers me.

“He may have gotten the fake, sickly sweet side of her, but it was simply a means to an end. Everyone was a means to an end to her. Neima made sure that Forrester was brainwashed into thinking her and Vernon could do no wrong. Even with her gone, her voice echoes inside his head. Drayton was always the villain in her lies, while she and his father were the heroes. Once he saw Drayton had killed their father, it made those lies cement as truth in his mind.”

“Their relationship was doomed to fail from the beginning of time. Death by a thousand papercuts,” Helen murmurs with sadness.

“It was never the one act of self-defence that Forrester walked in on that killed that kinship, it was the thousand lies that came before that moment.”

“That’s why he’s so angry,” I say mostly to myself, my heart breaking for both of my mates.

“I knew Drayton wasn’t a cold-blooded murderer and I was right that Forrester had that potential only because he harbours so much anger and bitterness. Only, it’s not his anger and bitterness he holds onto, it’s the anger of his mother.”

Penn turns my head to look at him, his grey eyes staring deep into my soul.

“This is why we’re all afraid that Forrester will reject the bond. His anger and hatred towards Drayton has been spurned on and forced into him from a history long in the making. Growing up he was my best friend, but there was nothing I could do to stop the parasitic lies from festering in his mind. Looking at him now, I don’t even know who he is anymore. His rejection isn’t of you, because the Forrester deep inside that still holds the title of my best friend would love you so much. This twisted, manipulated version of him can’t even love himself.”

My heart hurts so much for this pack and everything it has going on.

They’ve been hurt and weakened by the selfish desires of a few people.

Forrester was right when he said the pack was going through a lot.

He was wrong though, when he thought it should push me away.

This pack needs a healing touch and a change from the ways before.

Good thing healing is my specialty.