The Defiant Mate

chapter 7

Jay-la POV

She was walked into the once familiar packhouse. It smelled the same; like cedar and coffee, as well as the delicious smells of many foods wafted to her from where she knew the kitchen and the pack's dining room was, it was likely dinner time, the sun was low in the sky but not dark outside. Most of the wolves would come to the pack house dinning room to eat and be social with each other at the end of the day.

Jay-la did not look up, did not care to see the stares she would receive as they judged her on her very bloodied and disheveled appearance. Nor did she wish to see the looks on anyone's faces as they realized who she was, or that she was the traitor who had attacked their Luna years ago.

She was walked into the Alpha’s office, and her heart beat rapidly and heavily inside her chest, as she felt eyes on her; she knew whose they were. She had always known when he was looking right at her. Now it was no different from before.

He didn’t say a single word, just stared at her, and she could feel the anger pouring off of him, so much anger at just the sight of her. He clearly still hated her, nothing would ever change that, it seemed. Again that familiar tinge of pain spread through her chest, only with her hands cuffed behind her, she couldn’t rub her heart to ease it away, like she would normally do.

Jackson walked her all the way across the room and pushed her gently into the chair directly in front of his desk, which he was either sitting or standing behind. She did not care to look at him.

“Look at me!” he demanded of her. She could hear how he was trying to control the anger in his voice, but failing, his rage, for her one mistake all those years ago, couldn't be contained. She could not ignore the command he had issued her. Jay-la did not want to look at this man, did not want to have to nearly feel like she was drowning in the depth of his dark blue eyes, so dark they were like looking at the ocean.

Her tear-filled eyes moved in an upward direction, he was wearing a charcoal grey suit, unbuttoned with a crisp white shirt underneath, the top three buttons also undone, exposing the smooth tanned skin beneath. His lips were pressed together in a tightly compressed thin line, his blonde hair, styled just like it used to be, short on the sides, long on the top, looked as though he’d been running his hands through it. 'No.' she told herself, likely his Luna had probably been with him recently.

Her eyes met his deep dark blue ones, so filled with anger were they, and at just having to look at her, that she couldn’t stop the, more tears spilled from her green eyes. He’d never look at her the way he used to. She could not hold his angry gaze for more than a few seconds, it hurt her way too much, her eyes fell away to look at the floor.

This man, the father of her children, hated her so much that his rage was barely contained.

She heard his office door open with a loud bang as it bounced against the wall, with the force it had been shoved open with, and her eyes were drawn to it. Alpha Blaine strode into the room, and his eyes fell on her. A look of utter shock crossed his face, as he looked over her from head to toe and then back again. “There is trouble son!” he stated flatly, though his eyes never moved from her “your mother just recorded this.”

Both Alpha Nathan and his Beta Jackson’s attention were shifted away from her and to Alpha Blaine, Jay-la took the moment to rush up from her seat and run over to him. Her former Alpha, he had not banished her, had not severed her from the pack, he must feel something, some compassion for her.

She had to beg him for help, it was not beneath her to beg, not at this point; nothing was beneath her when it came to her children, and she would beg him for help to get back to them. Her children, his grandchildren, not that he knew that. But still she had to try, had to beg and plead; he was probably the only one who could help her now.

She fell to her knees right at his feet, bearing the pain from re-aggravating her already wounded knees, “Alpha Blaine please, I beg you. Help me,” tears streamed from her eyes as she looked up at him, and sobbed out her plea.

He looked down at her, and she thought she could see genuine concern or pity for her, but her eyes were blurry with tears. She couldn’t be certain he would help her. He knew both her parents and she had made just one error in her life. Could forgiveness be granted “please.” she sobbed again when he did not answer her. “I have three children, a family.” She didn’t care at this point who knew about her children, she did not have to say who their father was, just needed him to believe her.

His eyes widened in shock; she'd not misread that at all. She heard a gasp and a growl fill the room, Alpha Blaine knelt down and touched his forehead to hers. “ Show me child.”

Jay-la knew that he had a unique ability to see into someone's mind if the other was willing, should she? Yes, she didn’t care at this point, she had to make him believe her.

She closed her eyes and pulled a mental image of her children into her mind, of them playing in the living room like they did every day. She felt his mind reach out and grab it, pull it towards him to see for himself. It took less than a few seconds, and then he let the image go and stood up.

“Please,” she begged him again, bowing her head so low that her head touched the floor before his feet. “Don’t let them become motherless.”

“Get her up.” She heard Alpha Nathan roar so filled with anger that she had turned to the previous alpha for help.

She felt hands on her arms as she was picked up off the floor and moved to a standing position. Beta Jackson’s touch had been gentle when he had gotten her up.

The wall-mounted TV turned on as Jackson brushed her blood-soaked hair from her face, she looked up into his grey eyes pleadingly and mouthed ‘please’. It was no use... Unless Nathan told him to release her, she was going nowhere, it seemed. She would remain his prisoner, regardless that she had just proved she did have children, until he saw fit.

Her attention was drawn to the voice on the TV. She saw one Eric Stanton standing before the company’s press conference podium. He looked very pissed off and unhappy. A shiver ran through her body, for even he was a scary man when he was angry. A human force to be reckoned with he was, not many in the human world would go up against him.

What he said next shocked her, he was talking about her, that she had been kidnapped, then grainy footage of her being grabbed by two men outside of her apartment building. A cloth shoved over her face and something injected into her neck with a large syringe before she had been dragged off into a dark-coloured unmarked van. It was clearly her she recognized the clothes she was wearing, although now her white chiffon blouse was filthy dirty, ripped and blood-stained, as was her light pink pencil skirt, and the stockings she was wearing were laddered and holey, and her once neat french rolled hair was now hanging loosely about her, in a blood stained and messy state.

The screen flashed back to Eric, more anger could be seen in his expression. “I believe I know who took Miss Freeman, I have provided the details to the Federal Police and an investigation is under way at this very moment.”

Eric raised his hand and there in it was the Black Envelope that she had been sent by Alpha Nathan. Eric went on to read the contents of the letter to the press and then gave the author's name. Turned it around and showed it to the camera which zoomed in on it so anyone watching the broadcast could read it for themselves.

He continued “Mr Nathan Browning of Browning Corporation, I believe this letter is a threat directed at my employee Jay-la, I am informing you, that I have used my skill and authority as a prosecutor, to make it known that I believe you are the number one suspect in her k********g.

"That you have taken her against her will and when I find out the truth, and I will. My entire team will be coming for you and your corporation. No harm must come to Miss Freeman and you will return her at once. Do not orphan her three children.”

Thank the goddess for Eric Stanton and his damned stubborn streak, the man thought he was untouchable and therefore could say what he liked when he liked. For once, she was glad he was not only her boss, but a familiar person to her. She couldn’t be more happy about his need to control everything, and everyone around him, and his take-charge attitude. She was going to hug him if she ever got back to work.

Jay-la also sent up a silent prayer to the Goddess that she had not had the presence of mind to pick up that letter when she left. She hadn’t left it on purpose, she had simply left her office in a state of fear and distress, that she'd not thought of picking it up.

Now here was Eric using that letter as evidence, and he had hit the nail right on the head, she was exactly where he thought she was and with who he claimed had her. Though how the human federal police would retrieve her from wolfen society, she had no idea.

The room went silent, the TV had been turned off, she heard Alpha Nathan curse out loud. Jackson huffed a moment later, they were all talking via their mind link about what? she didn’t know. Probably what they needed to do about the press conference. Jay-la was curious but would just have to stand and wait.

Her tears had stopped falling with the hope that Eric could save her. She had worked for him her whole career. She’d interned at his law firm the entire last 2 years of her degree, never allowing the pregnancy or the birth of her triplets to interfere in her work. He’d been more than shocked when he’d found out how pregnant she was, and the long hours she was putting in any way, working so hard to be his intern, she worked late into the nights determined not to be weak in front of him. Determined not to lose her career, she needed it to support her children.

Her dogged determination had intrigued him, she’d finished her degree at the top of her class, even after giving birth to the triplets, she’d studied hard and continuously. He’d been more than surprised to know she could speak fluent Mandarin, French and Korean. She had a knack for languages and was currently learning German in her spare time.

Eric now knew that Tony and Lauren had stepped in to help her out, seeing as she didn’t appear to have any family, kind of took her in as their own. Jay-la had passed the Bar Exam, Aced it actually, and he’d offered her a job as soon as the results were in. Now here he was trying to help her again.

“Get the cuffs off of her” she heard Alpha Nathan snap, dragging her attention back to the present from her memories of Eric. Jackson produced a small key and turned her around to release the cuffs. The moment they were off, the burning of her skin stopped, and she rubbed her wrists to ease the pain. The only part of her not injured, her hands, due to them being bound behind her the whole time.

Jackson turned her face to him and Jay-la watched his grey eyes glaze over again. She glanced at the two Alphas in the room and noted they were all in a mind-link conversation, she was not bound and no one was currently with eyes on her. Now or never, she thought to herself.

Death wish it is. Jay-la took a long slow breath and steeled herself for the fight of her life.

She slammed her knee into Jackson’s groin as hard as she could, it caused her pain too, due to her injuries, and then she turned and ran as fast as she could from the office. The door was still open, from when Alpha Blaine had burst into the room, and she knew from past experience the packhouse front door was likely open as well, only ever closed when they locked up for the night. She ran as fast as she could for the front gates, praying they were still open.

In her mind as she ran for her life she was screaming for Kora to wake up. She could finally feel her on the edge of her mind, way in the back, buried in the darkness. She needed her wolf more than ever, her speed, her strength and stamina, her fierceness and determination to protect her and get her out of here and back to their pups.

'KORA' she screamed over and over, trying desperately to wake her beast within, until finally she felt her wolf wake up 'HELP ME' Jay-la screamed into her mind, at her wolf so she would feel the urgency.

Kora rushed forward and to take stock of the situation at hand and her surroundings, looking behind her, she saw Jackson and Stephen running after her and gaining ground quickly, their wolves, Apollo and Rafe, lending all their speed. A snarl ripped from her, and then she surged forward, giving all her speed, power and strength to their shared body. They shot forward fast. Kora was always fast, not many could catch her out in the open.

A part of Kora felt excited and exhilarated about using everything she had, another part of her felt happy about being chased by two she knew would never catch her. She actually chortled in happiness at being free to run as fast as she could. Something she had not been able to do in years, to run at full force and be at the forefront and mostly in control, really made her excited and happy.

Being chased by wolves from her own pack, on the other hand, did not impress her ‘how?’ she queried as she raced down the road.

‘Drugged, wolf-bane and silver, kidnapped.’ Jay-la informed her.

A massive growl emerged from within her as anger filled her wolf ‘pups?’

‘Home, just us. They didn’t seem to know about them, til now.’

‘til now?’

‘I had to beg Alpha Blaine, tell him we had children, he insisted on seeing with his gift.’

Kora was quiet, but was spurred on by the need to know her pups were safe, she increased her speed even more. She had gotten faster over the years, even though only let out every three or four months, she had grown with Jay-la.

The pack gate finally came into view and to her surprise it was open and there was a human federal police car parked right there on the driveway. She watched as a man got out dressed in a simple black suit. He was staring right at her, completely shocked to actually see her, probably never thought she was actually here, or had been informed as much by the gate guards.

She screamed for help. Saw him get out his gun and raise it in his hand. It was aimed not at her but behind her. To her relief, she heard the footfalls of Jackson and Stephen slow and stop altogether; they would not give chase to her while human FEDs were in sight. Not after that press conference Eric had given, May the Goddess bless you Eric.

‘Kora don’t heal us when we stop.’

‘Evidence.’ Kora agreed. They were both smart, what Jay-la had studied, so had Kora. Their interests aligned. She ran right into the arms of the other human who had gotten out of the car and collapsed into his chest, sobbing like a good terrified young lady, running for her life from her kidnappers would as she fell into the arms of a rescuer.

As she got into the car she turned her eyes on the pack road. Jackson and Stephen were both standing there watching her. She didn’t hesitate to get in the car’s back seat. She just hoped they wouldn’t hunt and kill the humans with her to get her back, the minute they drove away.