The Supreme Alphas Unwanted Mate

6 - Someone does care!

Jenna

“I just wanted to check on you. How have you been?”

“I’ve been okay.” I shrug my shoulders because I don’t know what else to say. It’s not like I can tell Sara the truth of what’s been happening since I got back.

I swallow hard again when Sara takes the washing basket from my hands. I nervously watch as she places it on the counter before smiling at me. I smile back and gasp when she pulls me into her arms.

No one other than Sara has ever hugged me before. Well, apart from Lilly. But we were children then. It seems to come naturally to Sara, and I feel emotional while wrapping my arms around her back.

Though Luna Anja spoke with me about what happened, and she apologized, she never touched me. I didn’t expect her to offer that kind of comfort; no one ever has. But with Sara, it’s different. Right now, I feel as though I were being held by my big sister if I had one.

Sara strokes the back of my head and kisses my temple. “It’s going to be okay, Jenna, I promise. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but Luther will come around. Once he does, everything will be as it should.”

I nod against her shoulder.

I don’t believe things will be okay because I know Luther will never come around. But the fact Sara is here comforting me when she doesn’t have to means everything to me.

Sara pulls away from me slightly, enough to cup my face in her hand. “How these people treat you is not right, Jenna.” My eyes widen, and my mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. Sara shakes her head. “You don’t need to say anything, Jenna, I’ve seen the bruises and know how hard you work. This can’t continue, and if Luther knew. . .”

“No,” I shake my head, cutting her off. “Please, you can’t say anything, Sara. This place is the only home I’ve ever known. My mate is here; I can’t leave him. He may not want me, which hurts, but I won’t have him claim me because he feels guilty. I can handle myself, I assure you.”

I don’t know how Sara knows what happens to me, but I guess someone was bound to work it out eventually. Not everyone is blind to the pain of others. Anna may not make it evident that she hurts me, but Sara is very perceptive and incredibly smart. I imagine she’s worked it out because she cares for me somehow. She shouldn’t care for me, but I can see that she does, and it means the world to me.

I can see the turmoil in Sara’s eyes. She wants to help me, but I can’t let her say anything to anyone. I have nowhere else to go, and Luther doesn’t want me, so I’ll be on the street.

Plus, if Anna and her children find out that anyone knows what they put me through, they’d kill me. They’d do terrible things to me, and they’d make my death look like a nasty accident.

No one can ever know the extent of the torture Anna, and her children put me through on a daily basis. If Luther ever found out, I wouldn’t be able to look him in the eye. Not that I can do that now, but I don’t want my mate to have those images in his head.

Abuse changes a person, not just the victim but also those around them. They won’t know what to say to help or make things better, and they will always look at you with both sympathy and pity. I don’t want that, not from anyone, but especially not from Luther.

“Please, Sara,” I grab Sara’s hands. “Please?” I beg.

She’s not happy, but she nods her head nonetheless. “Fine, but if I notice you hurt again, I’ll say something. I won’t let you be hurt, Jenna; you mean too much to me.”

I blink in shock at her words. I want to reply, but Sara is already talking about something else.

“I hate seeing both of my best friends miserable.”

I bite my lip to hide the smile. Sara called me her best friend, and I know the other is Lilly. Anna would rip out my tongue and gouge out my eyes if she knew. But my heart is bursting because Sara really does care for me. The Goddess knows that I care for her, too.

“Is something wrong with Lilly?” I can feel panic building within me. Lilly is pregnant, and stress is not good when carrying your first pup, any pup, but this is a Supreme Alpha pup.

Sara takes my hand and leads me over to the bench where I’m not supposed to sit. We sit side by side, and Sara keeps my hand in hers.

“Lilly should be celebrating the upcoming birth of her child, but all she can think about is Harry.”

My heart sinks. I hadn’t forgotten about Harry, but I hadn’t thought about him either. The funny little boy who brought joy to the pack would have been Lilly and Bastian’s adoptive son.

Sara told me that both she and Leander see Harry’s ghost. He refuses to cross over because he wants to be with his Mommy and Daddy.

My heart aches for the Dalgaard’s and their loss. No one should have to lose a child, born from our bodies or otherwise.

“I wish more than anything that I could bring him back, just for a moment, so Lilly could see for herself that he’s okay.”

Instantly, a wonderful idea forms in my mind. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had this ability that enabled me to bring dead birds, cats, and even dogs back from the dead. Whenever I see a dead animal, I place my hand over its heart and close my eyes. I push my energy into it, and then it breathes life again.

I was caught about a month ago in the forest performing the act. I shouldn’t have been out there, but I’d snuck out in the night so that I could shift and let my Wolf run free for a while. I saw a large dog under a willow tree. She was dead, but she hadn’t long passed.

I wasn’t thinking; I was going by instinct. I knelt beside the dog and lay my hand on her chest. I remember closing my eyes and imagining the dog running free through the woods. The next thing I knew, she was nudging her head into my hand. Thanking me with a lick of my palm, the dog ran away.

A slight cough came from behind me, startling me. I turned to face the woman behind me, and I was terrified. I knew the penalties of performing necromancy, and I was scared the woman behind me was about to drag me to either the Supreme Alpha or, worse, the Lycan King.

She didn’t do that, however. Marla, as she said her name was, told me she was a Witch and could help me harness my power. I didn’t want that, and I ran from her.

However, she found me again two days later. She explained that something could go wrong if I didn’t handle my ability. If that happened, then the Lycan King would have me killed.

When I was with Marla, time seemed to stand still. I’d leave the mansion to take trash to the bins, and she’d be there waiting for me. She’d take me to her cottage deep into the forest, where she taught me how to resurrect someone. I didn’t bring anyone back to life, but Marla showed me how by doing so herself. I was stunned into silence but awed at the same time.

Marla told me that Rich, the person she brought back from the dead, was her friend. He’d allowed her to take his life because he trusted her to bring him back.

I couldn’t get my head around that, but Marla said not to worry about it. I didn’t because I was in too much shock to think about it right then.

It took her a while, but Marla convinced me that what she did was for the greater good. She said that there was something special about me, and I wanted to believe that. If only for a moment.

Marla taught me the correct words to chant and made me promise only to use necromancy if the person I’d be bringing back couldn’t be lived without. Marla told me that many grieve for many years and wish their loved ones could come home to them. She said I would know the difference between who deserved to be here and who didn’t. The laws of nature should not be tampered with, and I needed to know that most would not want to be brought back, no matter how badly their loved ones might yearn for it.

Marla warned me to only perform the ritual if I was absolutely sure it was right for the person involved. I swore that I’d heed her warning and wouldn’t be reckless.

Whenever Marla took me back to the mansion, it was as though I’d never left. When I asked how that could be, Marla said she knew how to make time standstill. No one would ever realize I’d been gone for hours when it had been minutes to them.

The last time Marla brought me home was the last time I ever saw her. I don’t know what happened to her, who she really was, or why she felt the need to teach me such magic. However, right now, I’m thankful that she did. I finally understood why I was meant to harness my ability; it was to help Lilly in bringing back her little boy.

Here I was, begging Sara not to tell anyone what she knew about me for fear of losing my home. Now, I’m contemplating doing something that could cost me my life.

If losing my life means seeing Lilly happy, surely it would be worth it?

My life is meaningless. I’m a slave, and my mate can’t stand me, meaning I don’t have much hope for the future. But if I can raise Harry from the dead and bring him home to his parents, then it will mean my life did have meaning.

‘Don’t do anything stupid, Jenna!’

I ignore Shadow, and, with a smile, take Sara’s hands in my own. “Everything will be okay, Sara. Lilly will be happy very soon, I promise.”

Sara nods with an unconvincing smile. She has no reason to believe me, but then she has no idea what I’m about to do.

Hopefully, no one will know I was involved if I pull this off. Perhaps I can bring Harry back and keep my home.

‘And pigs might fly, Jenna. Oh, look out the window; there goes one now!’

‘You’re ridiculous.’ I laugh at Shadow.

‘You’re asking for trouble, and you don’t even care.’

I care; that’s why I have to do this. Making others happy is all I care about, no matter what it costs me.

‘It will cost you your life, Jenna.’

‘I have a feeling that I won’t be alive much longer anyway, Shadow. If Luther rejects me, it will kill me. If he doesn’t, I’ll go into unbearable heat, and Philip will destroy me. Either way, my life is forfeit. The least I can do before I die is make someone else happy. I know you don’t understand this, but I have to make my life count.’

‘I love you, but you’re crazy.’

I smile despite myself. ‘I love you, too, always.’