Filed To Story: Their Bullied and Broken Mate by Teri Petry
“Good morning, thank you for meeting so early this morning. I heard you all had an eventful night, and I congratulate you on taking care of that situation so thoroughly. Beta Rico, may I ask where your Alphas are?” He asked. Rico replied, “Apologies, your majesty. The Alphas are with their mate, who is still in the hospital after the ordeal last night. She is pregnant and is taking longer to come around after the black out. I was asked to sit in on the meeting as we were unaware you would be attending.” The king accepted Rico’s apology and sent his condolences to my sister. He then asked for the documents listing my qualifications and bloodline information. He took a moment to read through them and then placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his fingertips. Sighing to himself, he looked at me and said, “Well, Mr. Carter, I do have some questions, as well as some concerns. Let’s get started, shall we?” I sat straight in my chair, and placed my hands on my lap. I acknowledge that I was prepared to answer anything he needed, and had nothing to hide.
“Good, good. I see you are Beta David Carter’s son. This concerns me, considering how David and his other sons turned out. What makes you so different from them?” he started. Hitting a hard one right off the bat. “Well, sir, I wasn’t always so different. I too allowed my father to manipulate my head at his bidding. I was just as guilty as they were of contributing to beating and degrading my sister. I never took it as far as the rest, and eventually refused to do it anymore. I never thought it was right. I was also abused sexually, mentally and physically by my brothers and father, and when I started to stand up for myself and my sister, it only got worse. So I stopped, and participated at the bare minimum. It’s not something I am proud of. I will never let anyone ever hurt her again. It was me who found her the night she almost died and brought her here. I just wish I would have been stronger earlier on for us to escape before that happened.” I answered. I wanted to look down, so that he wouldn’t see the shame in my eyes, but I held eye contact as a sign of respect. I took a deep breath before he could speak and continued, “You see, your majesty, I loved my father and brothers, as you should love family. However, I didn’t respect them and hated them even more because of the people they were. The days they died, I felt no sadness, no remorse. I would have wanted them to die over and over for the heinous crimes they committed towards my sister. She was innocent in all of it, and never deserved the severity of her punishments.” After I fully answered, he sat back in his seat and whispered something into Iris’ ear. She nodded her head and whispered something back, and he nodded to her. He then turned his attention to Rico. “Beta Rico, has Mr. Carter showed remorse for his actions against his younger sister, your Luna?” Rico stood to answer the question, and replied, “Yes, your majesty. Jason had not only shown remorse, but also used to beat himself up daily for ever harming his sister. The two of them now are extremely close, and it was her who suggested that he be nominated for the position in question.” Rico sat back down, and the king clapped his hands one time.
“Wonderful. Not only are you truthful about your faults and misdoings, you are showing that you are willing to grow and learn from your mistakes. That shows promise. As you know, however, sometimes, as an Alpha, you have to do things that need to show a little mercy. It’s not always easy decisions. You can’t just fold because you are being pressured by others. Given your history of giving in to your brothers and father, this concerns me,” the king stated. I quickly stood to defend myself, and said, “Your majesty, in all due respect, I was a child then, and had been brainwashed for years. It was hard to break that cycle and mentality, but I did it without help from anyone. My mindset isn’t weak any longer. I not only helped carry out the executions of my family, but helped eliminate the threat of Mammon. If you choose me for this position, I vow to not only run the pack with confidence and compassion, but also with a stern and just hand. I will not let you down, and that is a promise. My only interest is taking care of my family, and being the best Alpha I can for Dark Star.” The look of shock filled the faces of all the council and the look on the king’s face, I couldn’t decipher.
King Dezmond stood and placed his hands on the table. He demanded me to stand back up, and I obeyed. “Young man, you have some nerve standing up and speaking to me in that manner. Not many would do so. I respect that in you. However, don’t make a habit of it, I only take so much from my Alphas,” he said, and then it registered what he had said. ‘His Alphas’. A smile spread across his face and he stretched out his hand towards me. I placed my hand on his and he shook my hand with a firm shake. “Congratulations, Alpha Jason Carter of the Dark Star Pack.” I was elated with his decision, but asked if I could make a request of him. He nodded and I asked, “King Dezmond, I feel that Dark Star has a tarnished name thanks to Callum. May I request a name change once my mate and I take over?” he agreed and asked what I had in mind. Without hesitating, I mentioned Starry Moon. It was a combination of where all my family, who I loved greatly lived. He gave the order for the name change, which he loved, and then asked if I had any idea of who my Beta and Gamma would be. I looked at my uncles, and asked them both if they would do the honor of taking those positions. Jorma spoke up and said, “Jason, we would be honored. If you choose for us to have them, then we will serve those positions with pride.”
Unexpected Meeting
*Melian POV*
2 days later
So many changes, but it’s time for me to fully grow up and quit depending so much on my brother and Rebecca for support. I need to lean more to my mates, and I know that. However, I already feel like I burden them enough. It’s just another thing that I am working through with Peter. I feel sorry for him sometimes when we are in our sessions. I have so much baggage and insecurities that a Luna shouldn’t have. At least in my opinion. He always tells me that my “baggage” is validated, but the constant merry go round of emotions about it makes it feel like I can’t get past it. Mostly the anger and feeling of being a burden. “Melian, we can ride the ‘merry go round’ until you decide it’s time to get off. Once you get tired of being in a dizzy state of disarray all the time, that is when you know it’s time, and I will ride with you to help you through until the wheels fall off,” Peter stated. I just sat there taking in what he just said, and I heard him call my name. “Melian? You still with me?” he asked. I looked up at him and replied, “Ye..yes, sorry, I was just processing what you said. You are right, as usual. Why is it so hard?” I asked. He laughed and told me that he felt it was because I was too focused on the past, and not focused enough on the future. That’s when it fully hit me. My jaw dropped and I quickly closed it. “I hate when you are right , Peter.” I laughed. He laughed along with me and said, “Hate me all you want, let’s just get through the work. It will be worth it, I promise.” I knew he was right, and our session ended.
I walked out of Peter’s house and started towards Nick’s Place to get Maddix. Deep in thought, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and ran into a solid form. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” I apologized and then saw who I had run into. “Nadine? What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at the sanitarium?” I asked. Fear filled my body, and I kept my distance from her. “I’m only here temporarily, Luna,” she sneered. “I am to leave with the council and King and be housed in their hospital. So, I will be out of your hair tomorrow.” she continued. “How are you able to roam freely? Shouldn’t you be in the cell house until your departure?” I asked. She looked at me with disgust, and walked away. I immediately called Loki to ask what the hell was going on, and his reply was that she was supposed to be in the cells. I told him I would keep my eye on her until a guard could fetch her, and he said he would investigate what happened. I turned on my heel and followed Nadine from a distance. She wasn’t acting peculiarly or anything, but I think that is what concerned me most. I noticed she was getting closer and closer to the forest edge, and I linked Loki and told him to hurry with the guards. I explained why, and the guards near by were immediately on her trail. She fought them when they tried to detain her, and it only confirmed my suspicions. She was trying to escape. Once she was securely on her way back to her cell, I continued on my way to get my son.
Entering Nick’s Place, to my surprise, my uncles were there playing with the kids. Each one had one of the twins in their arms. Jorma had Regina, and Leif had Riley. Maddix was using Jorma as a jungle jim, even with Regina in his arms. Jorma took it with great stride, and they had a great time together. I was going to miss them. It’s strange to feel that way about people you haven’t had a relationship with since you were very young. However, this is how my heart was feeling. I sat on the floor with them, and Maddix came and sat in my lap. He started to paly with my hair so I knew he was starting to get tired. “Uncle Jorma, may I ask you a question?” I asked. He told me that I could ask him whatever I wanted, always. “OK, well, I guess I want to know more about our side of the family. Were they all as loving as my mother and you two? Are there any others still living? How many others in our family are like us?” I started asking. He gave a hearty laugh at all the questions, and answered them one by one without hesitation. “To fully explain our side of the family, it would take a great deal of time. Maybe we can meet for lunch tomorrow and I will tell you all you want to know. As far as being a loving family, yes. Our mother, your grandmother, was a full-blooded Fae. Our father was a hybrid like us. There was always laughter and happiness. Our parents made sure of that. It broke my mother’s heart when your mother went to be with David. At first he seemed great, and then all of the kids came. His attitude started to shift, he became colder, and always seemed overwhelmed. He started treating Lily differently when no one was around, and when there was, he was the doting husband and father. As to your question about anyone else living, we aren’t sure. Because we had to go into hiding, we had lost track of our family, and once settled at Starry Moon, we would like to try and find them. Now, as far as how many other hybrids are in the family, in total, from the beginning of our kind, there have been at least 50. You are the last one, so far.” He said as he glanced at my belly.
Choosing An Heir
*MELIAN POV*
Tucking Maddix into his crib, I thought about the words Jorma had said to me. There had only been around 50 of my kind in our family that he was aware of, and one or all of my girls could add to that count. Loki and Liam said they needed to speak to me tonight once we were all in our bedroom, and it sounded serious. I missed dinner, so I ordered a couple of pizzas and some hot wings, and told them to meet me in our room when they were ready. I ran down to the kitchen and grabbed a 12 pack of soda and some juice, and went up to our room to wait for them. I put the drinks in the mini fridge, and went into my closet to change into my nightgown. I was exhausted, but not tired enough to go to sleep. I clicked on the TV and waited on the sectional couch bundled in my fuzzy blanket. I turned up the volume on the baby monitor to make sure I could hear Maddix if he woke up, and turned on a true crime documentary about Jeffery Dahmner. I was so in tune to the show that I didn’t hear my mates come in, and when Liam kissed the top of my head I jumped with a scream. I cursed him a few times, and Loki was laughing harder than he probably should have. He definitely earned a glare from me. A knock on the door let us know the food had arrived, and Liam went to retrieve it. “You assholes got her just in time,” I sneered. Liam apologized again, and I finally let it go. “You shouldn’t be sneaking up on a pregnant woman anyway, baby.” I told him.
The guys placed the food on the coffee table, and I got our drinks. As we were filling our plates, I asked the guys what it was we needed to discuss. Casually, Loki said, “The council wants us to decide which of our children will be our heir.” I stopped chewing and shook my head. “Why now? Maddix is only a year old and the girls aren’t even born yet,” I told them. Liam nodded his head and said, “Because there will more than likely be a war when we go to the former Dark Star pack. We have already received word that they will not give up the pack to Jason so easily. Therefore, as a just in case measure, they want us to appoint an heir.” I still didn’t understand, even if something were to happen, the children weren’t of legal age to take over. Rico would have to run the pack until they were able, and that is if he even wanted that responsibility. Otherwise, the responsibility would be mine. I would do as I must, but would still need a strong person to run the pack beside me. I growled in frustration and said, “Fine, who are you choosing?” Loki was the first to answer and he said he thought that whichever girl was born first, and Liam agreed. This built my frustration a little greater and I blurted out, “Why not Maddix? He is the oldest. He may not be your blood, but he is mine. Plus, he has Alpha blood as well.” Both men looked ashamed that they hadn’t even considered him and couldn’t give me an answer. I threw my plate on the table and stood up to go to bed. “I have one last thing to say before I go to bed, because I am finished with this conversation. You can both choose on your own, because obviously, the clear answer doesn’t matter. The alpha role should go to the oldest child. Period. Maddix is the oldest. He IS your son. You both chose to adopt him. Now that you have your own blood children on the way, Maddix’s rights aren’t even being considered. I will respect your choices, but I don’t have to agree.” I scolded them. I moved to go towards our bed, but at the last minute I changed my mind. I left our room and went straight to the nursery. I picked my son up out of his crib and laid him on the spare bed and cuddled next to him under the blanket. Was I being selfish? I loved my girls as much as I loved Maddix. He may have started as my nephew, but he wasn’t that child anymore. He was our son. If the girls weren’t involved in the equation, would he still be overlooked? It was an answer I was afraid of finding.
The next morning, I was woken by Maddix blowing raspberries on my face. “Good morning, little man. Did you sleep well?” He smiled and went in for another round of raspberries. I had to laugh at his goofy mood and got up to get us ready to go to breakfast. After changing him and getting him dressed, I placed him in his crib so that I could use the restroom and get dressed myself. I picked him up and carried him down to the dining hall, and put him in his highchair. I made him a plate of fruit and scrambled eggs. He was learning to feed himself, even if it was with his hands, and was doing very well with it. I was watching him as he ate, and he looked towards the door, “Da da’s” he said, as he reached his arms towards them. I sat silently as they approached and Maddix got more excited. He loved them both so much, and deep down I knew they loved him. “Can we talk?” Loki asked. I nodded my head and motioned for them to sit down. They sat on each side of Maddix, and Loki began to speak, “We’re sorry Mel. It wasn’t as if we forgot about this little guy, because we didn’t. He was our first choice. We just weren’t sure how you were going to feel if we chose him over our blood children.” This once again fueled my anger, but I tried to keep my voice low. “You seriously thought that I would be upset if you chose our son over our daughters? Have you both gone mad?” I retorted. “I’m mad because you didn’t mention him first. I would be fine with ANY of our children taking on the role of Alpha. I know our daughters would be kick-ass female Alpha rulers, but I also know that OUR son would rule just as badass! SO, don’t ever assume you know how I will feel or react.”
Conflicted Emotions
*LIAM POV*
After Melian stormed out of our bedroom, I contemplated going after her. It was Loki who reminded me that if I did, I would only piss her off more. Loki ended up passing out on the couch waiting for her to come back, so I went to make sure she was at least safe. I had a feeling I knew where to find her, so I went straight to the nursery. I poked my head in the door and saw my mate and my son fast asleep on the spare bed. He was snug in her arms, and he was holding onto her beautiful hair. His little leg was kicked up on her rounded belly, and my heart broke. How could I have been so blind? How could Loki and I assume that she would have wanted one of our girls to take over instead of Maddix? We would raise him to be honorable and kind. To be the best version of himself that he could be. That would make him an amazing leader. We had to do this right, but would Mel see it as pity because she exploded? This was about to get tricky for Loki and I. I snuck back to our room, and laid in our bed. I tossed and turned all night long, not being able to sleep without my mate snuggled between Loki and I.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.