Filed To Story: Their Bullied and Broken Mate by Teri Petry
“Ms. Young, I do apologize for my outburst. I didn’t have all the information, and I wanted to trust that my mate wouldn’t be that cruel of a man. I have since learned otherwise. I hope you can forgive me. I also hope that you heal from everything. You didn’t deserve that kind of treatment,” she said.
Alette relaxed her stature, and approached Mrs. Oliver. “Ma’am, I have learned the hard way that not everyone is who they seem they are. Even the nicest of people, the ones who seem the most loving, can be the cruelest in the world. What makes me different from those people, is I will never lose my heart. I may have lost myself in despair for a brief time, but I never lost my heart. I forgive you, Mrs. Oliver. You only trust what you have been taught. Your mate should be the one person above all you can trust the most. His evil messes are not yours to clean up,” she said.
She embraced the older woman, and offered her a place on Spirit Mountain. Mrs. Oliver declined and asked to remain in Blood Moon. However, in a different cottage. I agreed, and George and Henry said they would even help her move.
Mrs. Oliver began to leave but stopped before the door. She turned to Damian and asked, “Alpha DeLuca, may I ask what will happen to the teen girl and her baby? The baby my mate sired.” Damian glanced over at her and said, “The girl will be living in my pack. The girl has decided to put the baby up for adoption in an undisclosed pack. Only myself, my Luna, the girl, and the other pack’s Alpha know the location. That is, if her human body can fully deliver a wolf pup safely. She is very small in stature, as you saw.”
She nodded her head, and started to ask another question. Damian shook his head and said, “If you are going to ask if you could keep the child, the answer is no. That will never happen.” She stiffened her lips, straightened her shoulders and walked out the door.
I went to the bar and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. We sat around the lounge area and I poured each a glass. After the stress of this morning, we needed it. Then I remembered the conversation about Alette’s demeanor earlier. I sent Damian a text.
Me: Drink up brother, and encourage her to also. If she is going into heat like we think she is, you need to get her ass home.
When he read my words, his eyes widened. He slightly nodded his head with a smirk, and chugged his drink.
“Babe, we really need to get on the road. I have important meetings all day tomorrow, and I need to get with Buck about some of them. I’m sorry, Maddix,” he said. I waved it off, and said no problems, but Alette had other words.
“We aren’t leaving until Jack’s send-off. He was my friend, Damian. I refuse to leave until it’s over. You can go, I’ll catch a ride with my mom and dads,” she stated. Shit. I didn’t think about that. I hated the thought of this ceremony, but it was starting soon. Which meant they could get away for just a little bit longer.
*Maddix POV*
I was thankful today’s events were soon over. One more thing to do, and then I can retire to our floor to spend some quiet time with my family. No more adventures today.
Riley and I stopped by the nursery to check on Willow, and her nanny said she was sleeping now, but had just eaten pretty decently. She took my hand and walked me towards the stairs, and stopped near the top. “It’s OK to show emotion, you know?” she said.
I looked at her with a stern look on my face and said, “Babe, I do show emotion, but when I have to be strong in front of the pack, it’s hard for me. My dads always let their emotions show, but I can’t always be like that. It’s just not in me. It has to be the Carter side of me.” She wrapped her arms around me and said, “The only Carter traits you inherited are Mel’s and Jason’s. You have an amazing heart, Maddix. It’s alright to let people see it. They need to see it.”
As we approached the ceremonial fields, I could see the pyre. Jack’s body was already laid upon it, dressed in the ceremonial garb that Grace chose. She and Rico stood beside it, looking at their son. The wind was slightly blowing and caused his bright red hair to sway with it. He looked so peaceful, and my heart wrenched at the sight of him lying there.
I missed the laughter and wise cracks of my friend. I missed the pranks, and the advice he gave us all. As young as he was, he was wise beyond his years.
We joined my aunt and uncle, George and Henry, my sisters, all of their mates and our parents. Rico asked me if he could say a few words before lighting the pyre, since he refused to have an elder lead the service. I agreed, and we waited for Rico to begin. He turned to those who joined us, and said,
“Thank you all for joining Grace and me today. This is one of the hardest things we have ever experienced. I thought that losing my best friend Nick all those years ago was bad, but losing my son has rocked me to my core. Everyone who was here all those years ago can attest to how that changed me. Changed all of us. When we lost Nick, Grace and I gained each other and three orphaned boys sent here to kill our Luna at the time, Melian. As time went on, we added 2 of our own. It never changed the way we treated or felt towards our oldest boys. George and Henry now hold high-ranking titles, and our youngest two are still in school. Jack had big dreams that would have helped the pack grow larger and more successful. He died helping the people of our pack, and to me that makes him a hero. I will always honor him as such. Blood Moon now has two Guardian Heros, Nick and Jack.”
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.