Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
I respond sarcastically. “Get her here.”
“Man, I
“NO, MORE. EXCUSES.”
“Okay, okay. I get it. But I think I am going to need to carry her. I will need help to avoid aggravating her injuries. Can you send my dad back to the packhouse to help me?”
“Fine. Yes. But hurry.”
“Will do.”
I turn to the four parents. “Nick just mind-linked me. The Little Brat is not cooperating. She is pretending to be unconcious. Nick needs help carrying her here. Beta Robert, please go and help your son.”
“James, is this really necessary? I do not understand why she needs to be here,”
Margie protests, for what has to be the 10th time in the past 15 minutes.
“I do not think it is necessary for me to take a chosen mate, but I am going along with your plan. The least you can do is cooperate with mine. You want pack unity, give me pack unity.”
Beta Robert and Margie exchange looks. Beta Robert starts to say something, but seems to change his mind. He gives Margie a peck on the cheek and then leaves, headed for the packhouse.
(Beta Robert’s POV)
I am completely baffled as to why James cares so much about Lily all of a sudden. For years, he has done everything in his power to avoid her. And for understandable reasons.
If Lily had not been in the woods whoring herself out six years ago, Stephanie would still be here. We raised our daughters better than that, and I cannot blame James for hating Lily. If I lost Margie because of something Margie’s sister did, I would hate Margie’s sister too.
The only reason that I can tolerate Lily more than others in the pack is that I know that I am equally to blame for Stephanie’s death. The rogues that attacked her got through our border security without detection. To do that requires help from someone on the inside, a serious breach in border protocols, or- -most likely-both. No matter what it was, it was ultimately my responsibility. I will carry that guilt
I do not know why Lily is not here. It is completely disrepectful for her to be absent. Margie mentioned that Lily got hurt earlier, but James is right: with or without a wolf, a fall down a single flight of stairs should not be that big of a deal for a she-wolf.
I can only guess that Lily is faking for attention. In a perfect world, I would ignore Lily and refuse her the attention that she seems to be begging for. Unfortunately, however, James is demanding that she be here.
Before I left to help Nick, I was tempted to assert rank and tell James “no”- I still outrank James until he takes over for Alpha Randall-but I decided not to. The truth is that I expected James to fight us more on the concept of taking a chosen mate. Fated mates are important to werewolves, and I know he had been holding out hope that he might receive a second chance mate.
James took the ultimatum we gave him far better than we all predicted. Margie and I had actually expected that James would push back so much that his parents would relent and give him an extra year. The fact that James is cooperating, this year, and that all he has asked for in exchange are a few minor tweaks to the plan and Lily’s attendance…. I can deal with that.
I just hope that Lily has a good reason for her behavior. I do not need any further embarassment or shame cast on my family. I guess I will see for myself when I get to the packhouse. 2
***TRIGGER WARNING: THE FIRST PART OF THIS CHAPTER WILL INCLUDE MOTHER-ON-DAUGHTER
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THAT MANY COULD FIND UPSETTING.***
(A few hours earlier)
(Lily POV)
On the rest of our way back to the packhouse, Rose and I worked out the details of our plan to leave West Mountain Pack for good. The plan was that we would leave right after Stephanie’s memorial events; this was to school anyway. Then, just before when most pack members would expect us to leave to go! we crossed the border, we would say the necessary words to reject the pack. With that, it would be a done deal and no one could stop us.
Given my age and the lack of financial reliance on my parents, we would not have to come back to the
West Mountain Pack unless or until we wanted to. To avoid becoming rogue, we would need to join another pack relatively quickly, but I had developed a good relationship with several Red Rock pack members, and I was hopeful that their pack would accept me. If not, Rose and I would research other packs that might be a good fit.
As we discussed the plan, my stomach continued to have some painful knots in it, but I could not think of a logical argument against the plan. It was eerily simple, and truthfully I was really excited about it. In fact, Rose and I were already debating what drink I should order first on my 21st birthday.
I admit that the idea of leaving the pack permanently also felt a little bittersweet, but ultimately I knew that Rose was right: it was not healthy for me to stay here any longer.
I have grown a lot since I went to school in Red Rock. I have become stronger emotionally, and I have learned that much of my treatment at West Mountain has been unfair and inappropriate. Despite this growth and these realizations, however, something about being here at West Mountain takes me back.
emotionally to how I used to be. I may be stronger, but I am not yet strong enough to deal with the demons of my past. Perhaps one day I will get there, but not today.
It was about 8:00 am when I entered the packhouse. At this point, I had not eaten anything since I left Red Rock the day before. The packhouse was mostly empty, because most wolves were either off work or busy preparing for Stephanie’s memorial events. I decided it was probably safe to go into the packhouse kitchen and snag something to eat.
I looked around to make sure no one was lurking around, and then located an apple and a banana. I put them in my backpack and started to head upstairs to the beta suite.
Unfortunately, my mother was waiting for me at the top of the stairs.
“I saw you take that fruit,”
she told me. “What makes you think that you have the right to eat this morning? On the anniversary of your sister’s death?”
I said nothing. Experience told me that there was nothing good that could come out of responding to my mother when she gets into one of her rages.
“Do you have any idea what Stephanie is eating right now? NOTHING. She is eating NOTHING because
SHE IS DEAD. Because of you!”
With that, my mother slapped me hard across the face. I stumbled back, trying to avoid falling.
“And do you know what I had to do this morning?”
my mother continued angrily. “I had to meet with Alpha Randall, Luna Jane, your father, and James to discuss James TAKING A CHOSEN MATE.”
Something in me involuntarily recoiled at the thought of James taking a chosen mate. I thought my facial. expression was subtle, but my mother noticed it immediately.
“Does the thought of James taking a chosen mate disgust you? IT SHOULD! IT SHOULD BE YOUR SISTER IN HIS BED, NOT A CHOSEN MATE AND NOT THOSE WHORES HE USES AS A DISTRACTION. IT
SHOULD BE YOUR SISTER!”
A tear ran down my cheek, which only served to trigger my mother even more. She immediately pounced, launching into the worst part of her physical attack.
She started by shoving me down the stairs, causing me to tumble fast and hard. Once I got to the bottom, she started kicking me. Over and over and over again.
When she got tired, she grabbed my backpack and took the apple and banana out of it. She threw the apple at me and then opened the banana and smashed it in my face.
Still not satisfied, she headed to the kitchen and came back with a large stack of plates… some of which were obviously still dirty. She started to throw the plates at me, one by one. When the plates were all smashed, she started to throw other things at me, including a coffee maker, a couple of steel frying pans, and a few knives. Almost everything she threw hit me on some part of my body.
And then… still not satisfied, and seeing that I could barely move… my mother picked up some of the broken plate pieces and used them as makeshift knives to cut my back and stomach with.
Ultimately, I was conscious for about 45 minutes of her abuse. I do not know if or for how long she continued after I passed out.
You are probably wondering why Rose and I allowed my mother to abuse me like this without fighting back. I do not have a great answer for that question. Or at least I do not have an answer that I am satisfied with myself.
I can tell you that, after six years, I am used to being treated this way by her. The attacks are usually not this bad, but I have grown used to at least some physical violence on every visit home.
I can also tell you that she is my mother, I remember the time in our lives that she used to love me, and I do not want to hurt her.
And I can also tell you that I know and understand that my mother’s violent rages stem from her grief about losing my sister. Even if I fought back, I could hurt never my mother any more than she is already hurting inside. That is not an excuse for her behavior and I would never, ever, ever in a million years tolerate someone hurting my pups or anyone else the way my mother hurts me… but I do understand why she does it.
There is another factor too. Rose has repeatedly warned me that we have to be careful not to reveal our strength or power, especially while at West Mountain Pack. Even if I wanted to fight back, I do not know the extent to which Rose would let me. She loves me, and I know she cries for me during my mother’s attacks, but whatever is but there that Rose is afraid of, it is far more dangerous than any abuse levied at the hands of my mother
I wake up in my bedroom. I do not know how I got here, and I do not know how much time has passed.
My body aches and hurts all over.
“Rose?”
I whisper through our link.
“I am right here, Lily. I am right here.”
“Are you OK?”
I ask her.
“I am fine. You… are not. You have been unconscious for at least a couple of hours.”
“Can you heal me?”
“I want to, Lily, but I cannot. It is not safe. If I heal you, it might reveal who we are to your mother. We cannot take that risk.”
“Why can’t my mother know?”
I ask, as though I have not asked that question multiple times before.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?