The Shadows in the Hills: Triple Threat

Chapter Thirteen

Jackson had insisted on carrying me up to bed as soon as I had calmed down. It was hardly surprising given the state of the sofa. It was fit for nothing but burning. The events were so hazy in my mind. Jackson tried to explain it to me, but it made no sense. I barely remembered anything at all. Only really the feelings. At first I was fading away, the emptiness creeping in with the never ending blackness. Then out of nowhere came a burning rage. It made me crazy, lashing out at everyone.

"I was there. He said he would kill you and the triplets. That's what set you off."

"There is no way he meant that."

"He was pretty convincing. You're the one who tried to eat him over it. You must have been convinced too or you wouldn't have reacted to it." Jackson was right. I had reacted, but I was out of my mind.

"Jackson, he was trying to trigger me. That was the point. I can't believe you would think he is a risk to me and the babies. He wouldn't, he just wouldn't, and I find it hard to understand how he managed to rattle you."

"I don't know. Whether he meant it or not, he played into your fears. It just felt so wrong." It felt like Jackson was trying to convince me to hate Brodie, and I didn't need any convincing. I still couldn't believe he was capable of killing his own children. I was more concerned about why Jackson was trying so hard to make me hate him. There was no way Jackson thought Brodie was capable anymore than I did. He didn't want Brodie there. He didn't trust him not to hurt me, but not in the way he was arguing. Jackson was trying to protect me.

"No matter what he said or did, I need to speak to him." At the very least, I needed to be straight with Brodie. He had stayed out of the way. He hadn't pushed himself on me. I was thankful for that, and I needed to know what he was thinking. It wasn't like him not to insert himself and want to control everything. There was something in me that needed to know why he had deviated from his usual ways.

"I don't think it is a good idea, but I get it. Do you want me to send him up?"

"Please. Best to get it over with." He eased himself off the bed beside me, looking more than a little disappointed. He was trying to hide it, but not succeeding at all. I knew he loved having the freedom at the house just as much as I did. The only explanation I could come up with was that he didn't want it to end. He was so convinced that Brodie would find a way to get around me. That I would forgive Brodie and Jackson would be forced to return to the pack with me. I couldn't help but wonder how much Mikkel had to do with his feelings on the matter.

I was still in so much pain and could barely move. Mikkel had made it clear that I needed to wait at least a few hours before he could fix my dislocated hip. Even once he had, it would take weeks to recover fully from the trauma. It was such a kick in the teeth that I couldn't heal myself like I could for others. Being stuck in bed wasn't all bad. At least it would give me the chance to go over everything. I had so many decisions to make and things to organise. Not that I was sure how I could organise everything three babies needed when I hadn't made any headway on providing for one.

The knock on the door threw me. "Come in." It seemed ridiculous that after everything we had been through, we had been reduced to polite niceties. I watched as his eyes automatically drifted to the little nest on the floor that held the babies. Thankfully, it was only temporary. His eyes snapped away just as fast, as though he shouldn't be looking at them. I felt guilty, but I wasn't really sure how I wanted him to feel about it. The whole reason I had left was so he wouldn't get attached and stop me from having my own life away from the pack. At the same time, I wanted desperately for him to love them.

My emotions were all over the place, and it was hard to be sure about anything. Brodie just stood there, just inside the door, staring at the floor. He looked so vulnerable, which was even more unexpected. The awkward silence was intense. I had expected him to come into the room bold as brass and push his own agenda. Instead, he just stood there waiting like a naughty schoolboy. "Why did you come?"

"I knew you would be in danger. You should have stayed. It would have been much safer."

"I might have stayed if you hadn't made it impossible for me to." I couldn't hide the slightly aggressive note in my tone, but if Brodie noticed it, he ignored it completely.

"Everything isn't as it seems."

"So, you didn't kiss Cassie?"

"Cassie kissed me and I had it out with her. Turner put her up to it. He was trying to manipulate me into favouring Cassie over you. He thought she would have power over me and he would control me via her. I returned to the cabin late that night because I was dealing with him. The whole family is gone. They were gone long before you left the note. I should have dealt with the situation long before that, though. I'm sorry I let it go as far as I did. Turner was important for the pack and I let it cloud my judgement." I didn't know what I was supposed to say, let alone if it changed anything at all.