The Defiant Mate

The Official Letter

Jay-la POV

Eric Stanton, the CEO of Stanton & Co Law Firm stood in front of her desk, tapping a black envelope in one hand while he waited patiently for her to end the call she was on. He would not rush her, it was one of her clients.

The minute she hung up the phone, he stated, “How is it you know the Browning Corporation? And why is it you have not brought them in as a client?” He sounded a little annoyed with her, probably ticked off that she had not mentioned her affiliation with the company he was talking about.

But all she could feel the minute he mentioned the Browning Corporation, was how hard her heart was hammering inside her chest. Her eyes moved to the black envelope in his hand. She could see the white lettering on it. 'It couldn’t be'.

‘No’ Kora echoed her thoughts.

Those envelopes were reserved for serious offences against the pack; an official notification.

Eric had absolutely no idea what he had in his hands. All he knew was that on the back was the official human world pack company seal. To him, it was just a multi-million dollar corporation, one of whom was writing to one of his lawyers by name.

“How did you get that?” she asked, trying not to show Eric how nervous she actually was.

“The head of the mail room had to sign for it. He alerted me to the corporation it came from,” he shrugged, “standard policy.”

Jay-la stood up to take it from him, but he stopped her. "Again, how do you know this corporation? Are they trying to head-hunt you?” he frowned down at her.

“No they are not.” Jay-la shook her head, “Please may I have it.”

“Explain yourself first.” Eric stated in a flat, no-non-sense tone.

“Fine…, I grew up within the Browning Corporation. My family still works for them. I, however, was tossed out at 20.” she said, trying to ignore the ache that suddenly hit her chest; she always missed home.

Eric stared at her. His light grey eyes focused solely on her green ones, quite intently. She could tell that he was trying to decide if she was speaking the truth. He was again tapping the envelope in his hand. Then he simply tore it open right before her eyes, clearly having decided not to believe her.

Jay-la prayed to the Goddess that it was not worded in Wolfen. That the Alpha had thought things through, and figured that this letter might end up in the hands of a human.

Her whole body froze as he read the letter out aloud.

‘Jay-la Freeman,

You have 3 days to respond to this letter.

You will return to Browning Corporation within 7 days.

Or I will have you brought in.

Nathan Browning, CEO Browning Corporation’

Eric up-ended the envelope, and Jay-la saw a long glass vial with a cork stopper fall into his hand. Inside the vial was a single purple wolf-bane flower. It meant nothing to Eric. He held it up and turned it over and around, trying to make sense of it, frowning at it the whole time.

Jay-la’s heart, however, sank. This letter was a threat that the new Alpha, her once long-time childhood friend and lover, would use brute force, by any means necessary to bring her in, if she did not comply with his request.

What he even wanted of her she had no idea. The original letter had no topic, just a demand to come home more or less. Not that she wanted that. She had left at his order, and she did not wish to return. The Luna already hated her, perhaps he had just taken over as the Alpha, and now Sophia and he could finally punish her, and officially turn her rogue. Was he so cruel that he wanted to do it in person? His Luna probably still harboured a grudge, and he would do anything for her. They probably wanted to see her in pain, as she was severed from the pack.

Jay-la plucked the letter from Eric’s hand, and the glass vial as well, and read it for herself. Kora whined at her, now also worried that if they did go back, they could not take the triplets with them. They would have to find someone to watch them and then hope and pray to the Goddess that banishment to a rogue status was all this was about. That once it was done she could leave and return to her life here in the human world.

The other thoughts going through her mind were killing her. What if the Luna wanted to torture her, imprison her or worse, kill her? Leaving her children as orphans in the human world, fear was creeping inside of her, but she had to push it down.

No, she could leave them with Tony and Lauren, even though they had no knowledge of Wolfen Society, and if the worst happened she knew they would take them in, and raise them. Their first shift would terrify both them and the children probably, but what else could she do? She could not leave them to her real parents. The Luna would surely kill them the minute she figured out they were the Alpha’s bastard children. She wouldn’t want any competition for the heir to the pack, raring up from out of nowhere, and if they were given to her parents. It wouldn’t take long for Alpha Nathan to scent out his own flesh and blood, his wolf would smell them the minute they hit pack territory and his Luna, she would be out to get rid of them at her earliest convenience.

Eric drew her attention back to the present by tapping her on the shoulder. “What is that all about?”

“I don’t know.” Jay-la shrugged in all honesty. “I’ve been gone six years Eric. You hired me right out of university. Have I not been here the whole time?”

“Hmm,” he nodded. “I don’t want to lose you Jay-la. Why don’t you call the office number, it’s right there on the bottom, you can try to bring them in as a client.”

Ha, that is never going to happen, she thought to herself, 'you, my dear Eric, have no idea who he really is, or what he can do, and you don’t want to either'. “I doubt I would be able to. To be completely honest with you, the man hates me.”

“So why the demand for you to return?”

“Perhaps…” she seriously thought about it. Other than punishment for attacking his Luna, only one other thing stood out to her. The pack had paid for her law degree; she was supposed to return and work in the pack's legal department. Be a productive member of their society, which she had not done, at his order. “I guess I owe them law school fees. The Browning Corporation paid my tuition, and I was supposed to work for them right out of university. But seeing as I was tossed away, two years into the degree and told never to go back, I never did.”

“And they still paid your tuition?” he asked, sounding confused.

“Yes, the CEO at the time was Blaine Browning, I guess he did. His son Nathan is now the CEO, and he was the one who tossed me out. Perhaps Blaine thought I would return or something.”

Eric nodded “Do you have the money to pay it back?”

Jay-la sighed “Not all of it, but about half I guess.” If it was just a case of 'we want our money back', she could give them half and then organize a p*****t plan. Heck, she could draw up the contract herself and make sure it was to her benefit, and add an iron-clad clause that he would leave her alone forever afterwards. Even put in a clause, that the minute the debt was paid she would find another pack to take her in; solving the issue of attachment to them as well.

The real question was, could she do all of this without involving her children, or having him find out about them? He wouldn’t think they were his, or at least she doubted it; not unless he laid eyes on them. Then could she find a pack that wouldn’t use them as leverage, if they found out whose children they actually were? Too many what if's at this point.

“I could write you a contract and give you the rest. You can pay it back later, Jay-la. Would that be an option for you?”

Jay-la smiled at him, she knew why he was offering, the last divorce case she had worked on and won had just brought the company a whopping 5 million dollars of profit. The client had been so happy he had even referred his sister for her prenup before she was to get married next year. Jay-la was currently Gold to this law firm, she was bringing in the dollars. She was professional, methodical and always read the fine print, she never laxed in her duties and she knew how to play hardball. What she couldn’t win she would take to mediation, and work out compromises that suited everyone, regardless of how long that took. She never gave up, a dog with a bone she’d once been described as. Ha! They had no idea how true it was.

“No, its fine Eric, once the settlement from my last case is in, and you pay me, I’ll have the rest of it.”

He nodded, seemingly pleased “I’ll get that to you A.S.A.P then.”

“I’d appreciate that,” Jay-la said in all honesty, and watched him leave her office.

She sagged into her leather chair behind her desk, thankful for the plushness, glad she had shelled out $2500 for it, she put her head down on the desk and muttered, “Three days.” She could run, she supposed. Three days was plenty of time to sever the connection on her end from her pack and run the hell away. ‘The minute we do, he will know we’re running’. Kora piped up ‘it’ll anger him even more’.

‘I know that Kora, but there is a chance he just won’t care right. What else can we do?’

Kora huffed, she too, it seemed, needed time to think it through. Surely, between the two of them they could come up with a plan.

Or they had three days to come up with the courage to make a phone call that she never wanted to make. To hear his voice, so filled with anger and hatred; for the woman who dared cause harm to his Mate and now Luna.

There would be no softness, no playfulness, no seductive undertones of the past, where he’d once teased and seduced her with his soft sexy voice during their nights of pleasure. Nights she longed to forget, but somehow still haunted her dreams, nights that were burnt into her very soul. So much so, that she and Kora were still plagued with dreams of him on occasion, usually on the full moon.

Though she and Kora had learned to let go of him, they would both forever be bound to him, by the pups they shared. Pups he had no knowledge of, pups she wanted to keep hidden; they were all she and Kora had left of their old life.

Tim was no match in bed compared to her Alpha, but how could he be? He was human after all, she sighed and closed her eyes...three days…