The Betas Tribrid Mate

2 - Please, don't send us back there!

Melissa

I sit nervously in the chair in front of Alpha Leander’s desk. Jessie rests her head on my chest with her legs on either side of my waist, and I gently rub her back.

It didn’t take as long as I thought it would for us to arrive at Gray Shadows Pack, but it took too long at the same time. I was so worried about Mom the whole way. I was so scared Mike would realize we’d gone and come after us that I almost threw up a couple of times.

Mom was taken straight to the infirmary, but Jessie and I weren’t allowed to follow. Of course, I protested, but Kit told me it was for the best. Mom needs to be taken care of, which can’t happen with her children there.

We were then ushered into the Alpha’s office by his Beta. Kit explained what he knew to Alpha Leander and asked if he would allow us to stay. Kit said he’d explain everything to Alpha Lorcan, but Alpha Leander was displeased. He said Kit should have informed Lorcan right away. Perhaps he should have, but Kit wanted to get us out of Silver Paw ASAP.

As Alpha Leander now stares at me, I know what he’s going to ask, but I’m unsure how to answer him. I guess I’ll have to tell him the truth, and I only hope he understands. Not just Leander but Lorcan.

“Kit and Frankie have explained why you couldn’t stay at Silver Paw. However, I’m unsure why you never spoke to my brother, your Alpha, about what was happening at home. Did you not think he would help you?”

I shake my head.

“It wasn’t that, Alpha Leander. I knew my Alpha would help, but my father is a scary man. I couldn’t risk him killing my mother before help arrived. No one has any idea how much she has suffered.

“I know many will say that I could have sought help, and they would have rescued us before that happened. But unless you’ve lived with an abusive man or even a woman, you have no clue what it’s like to be so scared you barely breathe.

“My father kidnapped my mother from her pack when she was fifteen.” Alpha Leander stares at me, his eyes widening a little. “I’m not trying to feed you a sob story, but my mother’s life was hell with that man. He raped her, beat her, and left her pregnant with me.”

Luna Sara and Alpha Leander share a look.

I know what they’re thinking.

Do I have the figure 8?

The truth is, I do have the figure 8 etched into my skull – the sign of rape. It will never be removed, and no one will ever love me because of it.

“The little one is a product of rape also?”

I shake my head at Sara.

“All I can remember for as long as I’ve been alive is my father angry and my mother sad. Dad ran our house like a concentration camp. He abused us and tortured my mother every damn day, especially if I did something he didn’t like.

“Then, one day, Mike said he had to leave for a week. He gave my mother orders, told her he had eyes everywhere, and said he’d know if she defied him. Deep down, I knew he wouldn’t know anything; he wasn’t my mother’s mate. They had no mate link, though they did have a mind link through the pack, thanks to Alpha Lorcan accepting Mom. Alpha did so because Mike somehow convinced Alpha Lorcan that Mom was his mate.”

I hear Kit sigh.

I look at him, and he shoots me a sympathetic look.

I look back to Luna Sara and Alpha Leander.

“When Mike left on business for Alpha Lorcan, Mom decided she wouldn’t waste that time wallowing. She wanted to leave the house, even though Mike forbade her from doing so. I was scared he’d find out, and we’d both be in trouble. Mom promised she wouldn’t let anything happen to me, and I wasn’t to worry about her. Didn’t we deserve a little happiness?

“We spent the first day together, just us, then she decided we’d go out the second day. Mom plastered makeup on her face to cover the bruises, dressed in her best outfit, and then took me off packgrounds.

“I’d never been anywhere but Silver Paw before that day. We had so much fun, but then Mom suddenly stopped walking. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes had clouded over. I turned to see what she was looking at, and this handsome man was staring right back at her.

“Quicker than I could blink, he was in front of my mom, and they were kissing. I was shocked because I didn’t know what the hell was going on. My parents never kissed like that in front of me, but then I doubted they kissed at all. Then the stranger picked Mom up and dashed away with her, forgetting all about me.

“I stayed where I was, realizing my mother had found her mate. I could only wait for her to return, which she didn’t for three days. I’d returned to Silver Paw, hoping she’d know to come there to me.

“When she did return, she was so upset. I didn’t know how to comfort her, though I tried my hardest. She felt awful for leaving me alone, and she cried hard. In the end, she explained what had happened and then told me how she’d rejected her mate after they mated.

“Mom was so afraid of what my father would do that she had no confidence that her mate could protect her. I don’t believe she thought her mate was weak, but my father and his abuse altered her mind so much that she couldn’t see past it.

“Mom covered the mark her mate gave her with heavy makeup so my father wouldn’t see it. But it didn’t work, and the moment he saw it, he lost it. He’d scented another man on Mom, and her punishment was so bad I thought he’d killed her. But something kept her from leaving this world.

“Then Mike, suddenly, out of the blue, said, ‘I realize how much you actually love me, Alison. Sure, you cheated on me with your so-called mate, but I understand that couldn’t be helped; he tricked you. But you rejected him and came home to me, so I forgive you.’ Then Mom explained that she was pregnant by her mate with such terror in her voice. We both thought Mike would beat the child out of her, but he didn’t.

“Mike allowed Mom to keep the child, hoping the baby was a boy. Mike thought he could mold the child and make him a monster who would help him overthrow the Alpha.

“Sadly for Mike, Jessie was a girl, and my mother paid dearly for that. Mike wanted to get rid of Jessie, but I managed to mind-link Luna Gianna as soon as Mom went into labor. Much to my father’s annoyance, Luna came over and delivered my sister. He couldn’t do as he planned after that, though Mike kept mumbling that he should have kicked the baby out of Mom.”

Leander shifts in his seat. “Did your mother’s Wolf never fight back?”

I cough a little, scared of what Leander will think when I tell him the truth.

“My mother isn’t a Wolf.”

Alpha Leander squints his eyes. “She’s human?”

I shake my head. “No, she isn’t human. I found out when I was five that my mother is a hybrid. She has a Wolf, but she’s also a Feline.”

“Wait, what?” Luna Sara gasps. “Your mother is a Feline shifter?”

“Yes, a Lion shifter.”

“Wow.”

“How is it that your mother's Lion couldn't fight a Wolf? That doesn’t even make any sense.”

I shrug my shoulders.

“I really don’t know; I just remember my father screaming how my mother would never find her way back to the King of Lions. I’ve never seen my mother shift into her animal form. She told me she had a Wolf but was too weak to shift. With what Mike said about the King of Lions, I assumed Mike meant that Mom was also a Lion.”

Alpha Leander and Luna Sara seem to be mind-linking, so I sit quietly for a moment.

I sigh just as Jessie lifts, sniffing the air and struggling in my arms.

“Jessie, what is it?”

“My Alpha!” She screams, jumps off my lap, and runs towards the door.

As the door swings open, revealing Alpha Lorcan and Luna Gianna, I leave my seat, and my stomach turns over.

Jessie jumps into the air and right into Lorcan’s arms. Jessie is a different kind of Wolf; she has crazy speed and can leap much higher than any Wolf I’ve ever known. She can also read minds, or it seems that way.

Yes, my sister is very different.

Until recently, Mike hid Jessie from the pack; he didn’t want anyone getting too close and finding out she wasn’t his child. However, Jessie got out of the house this morning and ran into Alpha Lorcan. I ran after her, stunned to see the Alpha holding my sister. They were smiling at each other, seemingly talking through the pack link. Then Alpha Lorcan pressed his forehead to Jessie’s, and she giggled.

Alpha Lorcan looked at me, and that’s when he demanded that I tell my parents he wanted to see them in his office. He didn’t want any excuses, and he wanted it right then.

Goddess, how did we end up like this?

I had to save my mother; regardless of going behind my Alpha’s back, I had to. I pray that he understands.

“My Alpha,” Jessie mumbles while holding Alpha Lorcan’s face between her hands.

Jessie acts so familiar with Lorcan that it is as if she’s known him for years and they’re best friends. I didn’t realize a child could be so attached to someone so quickly.

Alpha Lorcan smiles. “Hello, little one.”

“Did you come to save me?”

My stomach churns, and I clasp my stomach with my hand. I look at Frankie, who smiles slightly.

I am terrified of what Alpha Lorcan will do to me for leaving with Jessie. He seemed to take a shine to her, and as we never got to his office, I’m worried he’ll punish me. Jessie and I are still members of his pack, and no one is to take a member of Lorcan Dalgaad’s pack without his permission. It doesn’t matter that Jessie is my sister; I still did the wrong thing and went against my Alpha. Alpha Lorcan scares me because of who he is - The Monstrous Alpha. Goddess only knows what he'll do to me for this.

“Lorcan, Gianna.”

“Leander,” Alpha Lorcan tips his head at his brother as Luna Gianna and Luna Sara embrace. “I got here as quick as I could. Thanks for informing me as to where they went.” Lorcan looks directly at Kit and Frankie with anger burning in his eyes. “What the hell were you thinking, Kit?”

“I’m sorry, Alpha. Frankie said she needed to help her friend, and I didn’t think twice. I know I should have brought the family to you, but Mel was afraid of Mike finding them. That and Alison was in such a bad state,” Kit sighs. “I did what I thought was right. I was going to contact you, but Leander beat me to it.”

“Regardless of why you did it, Kit, you took a member of my family off pack grounds.”

I narrow my eyes.

What the hell is he talking about?

“Lorcan,” My Alpha looks at his brother, who is now standing behind his desk. “She’s safe, so don’t be too hard on your Gamma; he only did what he thought was right at the time. However, there is a lot for us to talk about. Why doesn’t Jessie go with Mel, and I’ll have someone show them to a room?”

“No, No!” Jessie yells while wrapping her arms around Alpha Lorcan’s neck. “I want to stay with my Alpha. He’s my best friend and cousin like you, Leander.”

My eyes widen in shock, and I think I can feel myself falling. . .

“Here, honey, drink this.”

I smile at Luna Sara while taking the glass of water from her hand and sipping it. It seems that I passed out for a minute there. Luna Sara and Luna Gianna helped me to the couch; Luna Gianna sat on one side of me, and Frankie on the other.

Now Luna Gianna is stroking the back of my head. Frankie is holding my hand while Luna Sara is sitting in front of me.

I don’t know where everyone else is, but it seems Alpha Lorcan has taken my sister with him. I hope Jessie is okay, and I pray Alpha Lorcan isn’t too angry with me.

I also need to get to the infirmary to see my mom. The doctor sent word that Mom was in critical condition because I wasn’t allowed to go with her. She still isn’t healing, and she’s not responding to treatment.

I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose my mother!

“I’m so sorry I caused all this trouble.”

“Melissa,” I look at Luna Gianna as she speaks my name. “You haven’t caused trouble; you were trying to help your mother.”

“I know I should have come to you, Alpha Lorcan, or both. But I was so scared, Luna.”

“Shh. . .” Luna Gianna wraps her arm around my shoulder, and I rest my head on her shoulder. “We’re not angry with you, Melissa, just worried.”

“I’m sorry, too, Auntie Gia,” Frankie sighs. “I should have told you that Melissa and her family needed help.”

Luna Gianna smiles. “Let’s not talk about it now,”

“Is Lorcan going to want to take them back to Silver Paw?”

I shake my head at Luna Sara, but she’s not looking at me; she’s staring at Luna Gianna.

I jump out of my seat, clutching the sides of my head. “Please don’t send us back there.”

“Mel,”

I shake my head at Frankie. “Silver Paw is a happy place for you, Frankie. But it was hell on earth for me and my mom and sister. No one ever liked me but you, and even that hasn’t been long.

“My mom and sister need protection. I know Alpha Lorcan would do that. He’ll probably kill Mike, and we could go home. But for now, Luna Gianna, Luna Sara, please let us stay here so my mother can try and get better.”

Luna Gianna gets out of her seat and hugs me. I cling to her, shaking with fear and adrenaline.

“Everything will be okay, Melissa. Lorcan and I will leave you in Leander and Sara’s capable hands until your mother is better and Mike has been dealt with.”

I nod my head and sniff back my emotions.

I don’t want to cry, but Goddess knows it’s not easy.