Filed To Story: Their Bullied and Broken Mate by Teri Petry
I was beyond happy to have my brother here. Jason was being all sentimental and making us all cry happy tears. Who knew he could be such a sap? I loved seeing him this way though, and it was better than the alternative of how he used to be. He took turns holding the girls, and made sure Trinity was able to get her fill of each one. She was so adorable with them. She would rub their little heads as her daddy held them. I was starting to get hungry, and I asked Jason if they wanted to have dinner up here or down in the dining hall. Honestly, I was hoping he said dining hall, because even though I had just got home, I needed to go out of this room for a while. Thankfully, Rebecca said dining hall, because it would be easier to feed Trinity that way. I called the nanny in and my mates helped me down the stairs to the dining hall. They had called ahead to make sure our table was set family style, and a highchair was available for Trinity and Maddix. Tonight was an Italian night, so I knew to expect lots of pasta, breads and pizza. Sure enough, as I sat in my seat at our table, the Omegas brought out bowls of different pastas, tons of bread and 4 different pizzas. My mouth was already watering just from the smell.
“This looks amazing, sis!” Jason exclaimed. “What would be the odds of me borrowing one of your cooks to train ours?” he asked. I looked at him weirdly and asked why he would need a cook to train them when he had Meribeth. He explained the situation and I was elated. I didn’t know why I was just finding out, but I was beyond happy for them all the same. Liam told him it wouldn’t be a problem, and that they would send over one that wasn’t mated. He didn’t want to separate mates because it would prove to be too hard on them. Jason was happy with that, and so was Rebecca. She said that having food with flavor was going to be awesome. Sitting and enjoying a meal like this with my family made me feel so good, but also a little sad. I know they hadn’t been gone for that long, but it felt like an eternity since we had been able to do something like that. Jason’s phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call. ‘Pack business’ he stated. Which more than likely meant that the uncles were confused about how to handle something. He was gone for quite a long while before returning and the look on his face wasn’t good. “Mel, we may have to leave quicker than I anticipated. Leif found something that not only concerns Starry Moon, but also Blood Moon in the papers that were piled up in my office.” he said with a somber face. The last part got Liam and Loki’s attention and Loki asked what he meant by that. With fear in his eyes, he looked at Loki and said, “We found your mole.”
“You found our mole?” Loki asked. Jason nodded his head and said they couldn’t talk about it here in the dining hall. The men in my life quickly finished eating and left Rebecca and I sitting at the table. I wasn’t going to lie and say that I wasn’t pissed that they just left us there when we should have been involved in the conversation. I linked Liam and expressed my feelings, and he apologized. He was quick to come back to get us, and we took the kids to the nursery for the nannies to watch. After we were all in the office, Jason and Loki also apologized, and we waited patiently to hear the news. As soon as Jason received a picture on his phone, he turned it to show Liam. Liam’s face went white, and he leaned back in his chair. “Can the secrecy fucking stop already?” I huffed. Liam slammed his fist on the desk, and had Jason show the rest of us what he had received. Loki’s face turned red, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was a picture of our head warrior, Timmy, Hazel and Callum at a party when Timmy was supposed to be visiting family when a ‘relative passed away’ at a neighboring pack. “There are documents and emails that solidify that he is definitely the mole as well. Jorma is sending me the emails and pictures of the other documents. Callum paid him a pretty penny for the information as well.” Jason explained. I was completely shocked. Hazel and Timmy were the last people I thought would betray us. Especially Timmy, because he fought beside us against Callum and his people. I wanted someone to help me make sense of it all, and there was only one person who could, and I stormed out of the office to get those answers. “Mel, stop!” Loki demanded. I turned to face him and told him no. Tears filled my eyes because of my anger, and Loki put his arm around my shoulder and led me back into the office.
“We are pissed off too, babe. We have to handle this correctly though. I know you are heartbroken and pissed off, but you just gave birth to our babies. We NEED you to be safe. We are going to bring Timmy and Hazel here, to the office, just to be on the safe side. No surprises that way.’ Loki explained. I knew he was right, and yes, my heart was completely broken. Hazel was my friend, or at least pretended to be. Then there was Timmy. He grew up with my mates, he has fought beside us, against the same people who he was selling information to. He had some serious explaining to do, because none of this made any sense. I looked at everyone in the room, and I wasn’t the only one upset about what was happening. Rebecca was upset about Hazel, she volunteered a lot of time to help Hazel with the bistro. She grew up with Timmy, just like my mates, and saw him as a brother. Liam and Loki were so pissed off that they couldn’t even look at each other, let alone anyone else. “Who’s calling them in?” I asked. No one answered, so I picked up my phone and dialed Hazel’s number. I wasn’t sure what to say to get her here, but I would think of something. “Hey Hazel, it’s Mel. Is it possible you could come up to the Alpha office? We are making our donations to pack businesses, and we would like to give you a donation for Coffee and Thyme. You guys fed me throughout my whole pregnancy, and you deserve it.” I asked her, trying to sound as friendly as I could. She said she would be right up, and we patiently waited. Liam had called Timmy to have him come up, and he got there before Hazel. “What’s up everyone?” He asked. “Didn’t expect to see all of you,” he said in a happy tone. That tone quickly left when the door reopened and Hazel stood on the other side.
The Explanation
*LIAM POV*
When does it stop? The best thing in the world just happened to us, and here we are, back in the midst of some drama. I never in a million years would have guessed Tim to be part of the whole mole situation. I keep telling myself to hear him out, but looking at him right now, pretending everything is fine makes me want to end him. His happy-go-lucky tone with us is quickly about to end, and he has a lot to account for. Once the door opened again and Hazel was on the other side, Tim’s demeanor quickly changed. “Come in Hazel, you are just in time,” I told her. She tries to back out of the door to leave, and Loki prevents that from happening. “Have a seat, both of you,” I command. My tone is monotone for now, but if needed, I will use my alpha tone. Jason goes to sit next to his sister and mate, and I motion for them both to take the seats in front of the desk, and Tim finally asks what is going on. I had already printed out the evidence against them both, and I tossed the pages across the desk to them. He picked them up, and his face dropped. He looked at Hazel, who sat sobbing, and kept her head down. “Liam, I can explain.” Tim started. I slammed my fist on the desk and told him he was to address me as Alpha. He took a deep breath and started again. “Alpha, like I said, I can explain. I know what this looks like, but I didn’t do what you think I did,” he said. I cocked my head and said, “What is it you think we are thinking? That you took money to tell our enemy everything going on in our pack? That you made sure to let the rebels know that my pregnant mate was in the pack without us, so they could attack while we were gone? What? What is it, Tim? We fucking trusted you bro! Tell me what the hell you think we are thinking?!?!?!” I bellowed. My patience was growing thin, and I wanted answers quickly.
“It wasn’t Tim, it was me,” Hazel admitted. Her sobs were more intense, and she couldn’t even look at us. “Hazel, don’t..” Tim pleaded. She finally looked at him, and shook her head. “No, I can’t let them hate you for something I did just because you are my mate,” She said. His face softened and he took her hand. “It’s just as much my fault, I didn’t try and stop you once I found out. Liam..I mean, Alpha. Yes, the information was given, but not what you would think. They were only given half-truths, and we didn’t give the rebels anything. Callum and his people had things hanging over Hazel’s head. Callum is related to her, and helped her at one point with money. She put it in her business, and he was demanding cuts of her profits. When she couldn’t afford to do so, he demanded repayment in the form of information about the pack and the Luna. We have known we were mates for a while now, but fought the bond because she didn’t want anyone to know what she was doing. Especially with me being so close to both of you. There for a long time, I thought she was going to reject me. I made her tell me, and the picture you saw with us both at one of Callum’s parties, we were there to confront him and tell him she wasn’t going to give him any other information. I was going to pay off her loan, but he refused the payment. We gave him false information on many occasions, and he was starting to catch on, so we had to give him at least one factual thing, or he was going to kill her.” Timmy explained. I didn’t know how to feel about it all, and I felt like he was talking in circles. It could have been just nerves, but I could relate to trying to protect his mate. “You could have come to us, Tim. Either of you could have. Hazel, you were good friends with Melian, you knew you could trust her to help you.” I stated. She finally looked me in the eye and said, “Alpha, I care deeply for Mel. I wasn’t sure what to do, especially when she became pregnant. I didn’t want any danger to come to her. Then, when you captured Callum, I thought it was over with. That’s when his rebels started trying to extort me. I honestly thought I could handle it myself, but that proved to be wrong. I swear to the goddess that we did not give the rebels any information about you being away from the pack when they attacked. I stopped all communication with Dark Star once he was captured. I had to leave the pack briefly to attend to my aunt in the nearby human town, but that was it. She lives with my sister who was mated to a human, and my sister needed me to stay with her for a couple of days,” she expressed.
I looked around the room, trying to read the expressions on everyone’s faces. I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes. Running my hands through my beard trying to calm myself. If what they were saying was true, it would make sense. I didn’t like it, but it didn’t change the fact that she was afraid. I just wish Tim would have trusted us enough to come to us with it. I understand it was her business, but it essentially affected us all. A tiny voice entered my head, and told me she loved me. I opened my eyes and looked at her, and she had a small smile on her face. I linked her back and asked her what we should do, and she said to give them grace. Give them grace? Was she serious? She closed her eyes and gave me a slight nod, and I looked at Loki. He gave the same motion. I couldn’t allow them to go without punishment, but like my brother and mate, I understood their plight. I started to pull at my long curls and then leaned forward to get closer to them both and said, “Here is what is going to happen. Because our trust has been broken, Tim, we are going to have to demote you for the time being. You will be a regular warrior with the opportunity to earn that head position back. You can keep your lodgings where you are, because I have no doubts you will work your ass off to regain our trust. Hazel, although I understand your position and hardship, I cannot allow you to go unpunished either. You, willingly or unwillingly, put our pack in danger. That isn’t acceptable in any way, shape or form. The punishment for being a traitor is death, but given the circumstances, I think my mate wouldn’t be happy with that punishment, and honestly, neither would we. So, I am going to have to discuss your punishment with my brother and mate, and get back with you on it. Until we come to a decision, you should not leave pack grounds. If you do, don’t come back.”
‘
Changed for the better
*LOKI POV*
I was thankful that Liam chose to take the lead in this situation with Timmy and Hazel. Here lately, I’m the one with the level head, but I don’t think I could have been anywhere near level-headed with this. We have known Tim since we were in 1st grade, and growing up he practically lived with us. It was always Rico, Nick, Timmy, Liam and I. Sure there were other friends, but the five of us were thick as thieves always. I’m staring at my childhood friend as he explains what’s going on to my twin, and I don’t recognize the man I am seeing. I understand that the mate bond will make you do things you normally wouldn’t, but I guess I overestimated the bond to the pack in comparison to the mate bond. As I’m listening to the conversation, and Liam is about to give them their punishment, my twin looks over at me. I didn’t understand why at first until I heard a little voice say, “I asked Liam to show them grace. What they are telling him is the truth.” It was my mate explaining to me why Liam was looking at me like he was. I closed my eyes and gave him a slight nod, and I heard him make the decision. Tim would be demoted, effective immediately, and would have to earn his title back. No other perks would be taken from him, like his special housing situation. Hazel, he wanted to talk to Mel about, but she wasn’t allowed to leave the pack grounds without an appointed escort, or she would be banished and cast out as a rogue. That alone was enough in my opinion. We knew she would have to go to town to check on her family, and get supplies for the bistro, but she would have a warrior escort with her to make sure there were no secret meetings with anyone else looking to extort her on the name of Callum Starr.
Liam ended the meeting and excused everyone. The three of us were ready to get to our children, and rest for the rest of the night. Rebecca was last to leave, and commended us for being fair and hearing them out. She said it showed that we had grown, and didn’t act on impulse anymore. Before, we would have just sentenced them both to death without hearing them out. A traitorous act was a traitorous act, no matter the reason why. Melian explained that she didn’t see what they did as traitorous, because they never fed the full truth to those who were threatening Hazel. However, I didn’t see it that way. They could have come to us. Any of us. Especially if they were afraid for her life. Then there was the whole fact that she was related to Callum this whole time and never said a word. I mean, I guess I can understand, but there’s just so much that makes no sense to me. Maybe it isn’t supposed to, but damn I wish it did. “You guys ready to head up?” Mel asked. I shook my head and told her that I needed to grab some stuff out of the kitchen first, and Liam closed his laptop after sending an email to the Royal Council. “Yea, I want to go see our girls and our boy.” Liam said. The two of them headed out to go to the nursery, and I went down to the kitchen. I always get the munchies when I’m stressed out, and I made up a bunch of sandwiches and grabbed a couple bags of chips. We had drinks upstairs, but I grabbed a 6 pack of beer anyway.
I dropped the food off in our room, and went into the nursery where my brother and mate were. Mel was feeding Adelina and Asteria, while Liam was changing Maddix and getting him ready for bed. I picked up Alette and grabbed her bottle off of the counter and fed her. I know the girls are identical, but they each have their own personalities to set them apart. For example, Alette sleeps with her little left hand tucked under her chin. Adelina’s brow was almost always furrowed, like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Then there was our runt, Asteria. When she slept, her little arm was usually tossed across her forehead. Then there were little things like Adelina had a little more hair than the other girls, and Alette had a birthmark on the back of her left calf. If it weren’t for little things like that, I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. They would have to wear name tags all their lives. People used to say that until Liam and I got older, they couldn’t tell us apart if we were dressed the same. Thankfully, that didn’t happen very often. My dad was totally against the idea of dressing us the same once we reached a certain age. My mom said it was because he definitely couldn’t tell us apart no matter how hard he tried. They would have loved the kids so much, and it breaks my heart that they never got to experience being grandparents.
Speaking of grandparents, Mel told us what she had found out about Gretchen. We are letting her deal with that situation in her own time. She hasn’t even told her brother or uncles yet. I just find it crazy how our lives have become so intertwined family wise. My cousin is mated to hers, and our sister is mated to her brother. I’m just thankful she found her way to us, and that the Goddess chose her just for us. Our lives have been chaotic ever since, but at least it hasn’t been boring by any means. Alette finally finished her bottle, and I lifted her up to my shoulder to pat her little back so that she could burp. I sing to her softly as I pat and rub her back, and I catch Mel staring at me. I smiled at her and whispered, “What?” and she simply shook her head with a smirk. With all the kids changed, fed and tucked in safely asleep, the three of us retreated to our own room. We each ate the snacks I had brought upstairs and watched Mel’s favorite Roseanne re-runs. Our lives have changed so much in such a short period of time, but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
Facing the past
*MELIAN POV*
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.