Chapter 19 - Lena

I'm still reeling in shock after hearing Jack talk with Bailey about stepping down as beta and leaving the pack when I hear the doors swinging open behind me. Gina's hand on my arm tightens just slightly, and my stomach starts to cramp in the worst way.

It can't be.

But I know it is.

When I turn around and see my father, it's like reality melts around me. I feel like I'm lost in a void without air, without solid ground. I got out of that world and all of its pain—now, it has come to find me.

"Lena!" he calls in that honey-sweet voice he uses to manipulate people. "You look so good, my sweetheart. Come and give old Dad a hug."

Kelly appears behind him, her smirk an ugly smear of red lipstick. Sam is behind both of them, looking over Father's shoulder with a tense, worried expression.

I take two steps forward, but I don't run to Father, and I certainly don't want to hug him.

He just keeps grinning, knowing that I won't hug him. Like all abusers, he's excellent at making his victim look like the unstable person.

"Father," I say, nodding. "It's good to see you."

His grin gets wider. He knows damn well it isn't, but the bar is quite full of people, and Father has what he loves above all else: an audience.

I just want to get to Sam. I can see him standing nervously behind Father, and I want to run over there and grab him and never let him leave my side again. To do that, though, I'd have to go through Father.

He and Kelly start to walk into the room, both of them smiling and looking around. Other patrons in the bar look away, trying to ignore the scene. Sam follows them, his face getting more tense by the second.

"Bailey!" Father exclaims as he approaches us. "How wonderful that you're here. Just the man I want to see. How about we get a table and discuss a few things, man-to-man. What do you say?"

Bailey has been glaring at them the whole time but with a very controlled expression. I can tell he's angry, but he's hiding it so well the rest of the bar patrons don't notice.

"I believe there are matters we should talk about in private," Bailey says. "Would you care to come out to the back room where we can discuss our business more securely?"

"Of course," Father replies in a warm voice. "I'd prefer that. Just you and me. Leave the family out here while we get into the serious nature of things."

"No," Bailey says firmly. "Everyone is coming. My mate and my beta come with me—they are always present in discussions. I assume this talk you'd like to have involves your family, so they should come as well."

Father scowls briefly, unable to hold in his emotions. He looks up at Jack, and a moment of pure disgust flickers across his face.

"Very well," he says calmly. "As you like. Lead the way."

Father has recovered quickly, but I can see his emotions are running high. With the right kind of handling, he could explode and completely expose himself.

Then what happens to Sam?

We follow Bailey out the back to a room with a bar on one side and a long table on the other. Bailey takes the seat at the end of the table, and Jack and Gina sit on either side. I scurry to sit down next to Jack. Father and Kelly sit near Gina, making sure Sam is at the end of the line.

"Aren't you even going to offer us something to drink?" Kelly asks in a catty tone. "We have been driving for quite a while."

"I don't think the meeting will be that long," Gina says warmly. "You're more than welcome to head out to the bar and get something for yourself."

Kelly's cheeks color a little, and she glares at Gina, who smiles brightly. I've never seen anyone handle Kelly so well before.

"Father," I say, my voice low and whispery, even though I try to speak firmly. "What are you doing here?"

I heard the tail end of the conversation between Bae and Jack. I know what he's doing here, but I want to hear it from him, I want him to explain himself.

I'm giving him this one chance to tell the truth. He can be a decent person, or he can choose manipulation.

"I had a little disagreement with Decker," Father says, waving a hand. "It's nothing serious. The whole thing will blow over in a day or two, then we can go home. I just thought we could come and stay with you for a few days while we let Decker cool down. We've missed you, and it will be nice to feel like a family again."

He's staring right at me with that sharp, nasty grin. If I didn't know him, it could look warm and friendly, but I know it all too well. He's lying through his teeth.

"What were you planning for accommodation?" Jack asks. "There are a few places in town you could stay, if it will only be a few days."

"Nonsense!" Father announces, with a little laugh. "You have such a big house—we are going to stay with you! All of us, under the same roof again."

He smiles at me, and it's such a work of evil it belongs on the face of a demon.

No. Jesus fuck, no.

"What is the nature of this disagreement?" Bailey asks, his voice cutting through the super-charged energy in the room. Jack is furious, I'm terrified, Gina is flat-out shocked, and Father obviously has a rising rage that his tricks have so far been ignored.

Father turns to Bailey. "Nothing important," he says reassuringly. "Just a minor dispute over pack politics. Don't worry about it at all. Decker has always been a little volatile, but I forgive him. I'll give him a call in a couple of days and let him apologize."

I feel like I've been hit in the chest. Father really is a piece of work. I knew that, of course, but seeing him tell blatant lies so calmly is doing something to me. Deep inside, my fear is beginning to intensify into real, full-blown anger.

"If you plan to stay here for a short while, I should really call up the others to decide," Bailey says. "And if you want to stay with your daughter, that decision is up to Lena, not me."

Father turns to me, smiling. "Oh, I know my baby girl will be more than happy to have us stay. She must have missed me so much!"

Jack's calm fa?ade doesn't crack, but I hear a growl echo low in his throat. His wolf won't stand for this.

Father looks at Jack, and they lock eyes. For a second, Father looks unsure, maybe even scared. Jack did beat him up once, and at this moment, Father can't be exactly sure what Jack told Bae.

Or what Decker has told him.

Father looks back to Bailey, who sighs heavily. He looks up at Sam, then over at me.

Oh no, he's actually considering it!

"No," I say quietly but firmly.

"What did you say?" Father hisses at me.

"No," I stand up, my voice strong and clear. "I can't stay silent, not a second more."

All eyes in the room turn to me. Jack takes my hand and looks up at me, squeezing my hand as if to say, "You got this."

"Bailey, you can't let my father stay. I'm betting there is no ‘minor disagreement,' and my family has been completely kicked out of Decker's pack. My father has been involved in criminal activity; I don't even know how much. But more than that, he is an abusive monster. He uses people. He charms them, tricks them, then he takes everything…"

Tears are stinging my eyes, and I wipe at them, but I don't let it stop me.

"If you let them stay, you won't be able to get rid of them. Father will sink into this pack like poison, and it will spread until there is infighting and crime between all your friends and family."

Father is glaring at me now, and Bailey looks very calm. I think he must have known this, or at least some of it. He doesn't look surprised.

"You should kick them out." My voice has sunk to a low whisper.

Kelly snorts rudely, and Father gasps.

"You have to kick them out," I say, far more strongly. "but please, let my brother stay. He's done nothing wrong, and he's a prisoner of my father's cruelty. My father has also been using my brother as leverage against me." I turn to look at Bae, focusing on him so I don't have to look at Father. "Kick them out, please."

Bae nods. Father looks around the table, his face flushed bright red with rage.

"You can't do this!" Father screams.

The sound triggers my survival instinct, and I gesture frantically to Sam to come to me. He rushes around the table to sidle up to me, looking confused and scared.

"I have just done it," Bailey says, standing up as well. Father gets up in one sharp movement, glaring at Bailey.

"We are the family of your beta's mate," Father hisses. "You can't just refuse us. We are of the founding wolves!"

"And they would be ashamed of you," Bailey answers, his voice harsh. "I've heard a lot about you, and none of it was good. I think this is long overdue. As you are outcast by your own pack, our ally, I now name you outcast of this pack, too. You have dishonored your wolf and your ancestors. May no pack take you in, may no wolf give you sanctuary. You are a heartless rogue, and you deserve to wander alone."

Kelly has stood up now, too, and is hanging on to Father with fear in her eyes. Father glares at Bae, but he glares straight back, his pale brown eyes shimmering with primal power. When Father takes a short step forward, Bailey growls. The sound carries around the room, ringing off the walls.

Father begins to back away, dragging Kelly with him.

"Leave now," Bailey says. "Or I will call my pack to the hunt and we will come for you. You will leave our territory, or you will die."

These are ancient words, the rejection of the alpha to a wolf with no honor. I know Father already heard these words today, from Decker.

Father and Kelly turn for the back door and runs, smacking it open and shut as they leave.

I turn to Sam and throw my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. For a few moments, I can't speak. When I turn around, I let Jack hold me, looking over at Bailey with tears in my eyes.

"Thank you, Bailey," I whisper. "Thank you for saving my brother."

"As our alpha, it is my duty—and my pleasure—to protect you," he says. Jack's arms tighten around me, and a deep, fierce sense of loss rises within me, making me tremble.

"What is it, my love?" Jack asks.

"I can't believe—I mean, wow." I shake my head, sniffing. Jack strokes my hair gently.

"I just can't believe it's over," I murmur. "I can't believe I'll never see him again."

I should be happy, and relieved. I don't understand this misery that has risen within me. Maybe, finally admitting what a terrible person he is has triggered years worth of sadness and anger. My heart feels cracked by the conflict of emotions inside me.

"You are safe now," Jack says, cupping my cheeks and looking into my eyes. "Believe that. I love you, and you are safe, and everything is going to be okay."

My love for Jack soothes my heart, easing the anger and the shame. I let him wrap me in his arms and snuggle against his warm chest.

Everything is going to be okay.

I don't believe it yet, but I hope I will soon. I need time to heal from everything Father has done to me, and I know I'll always wear the scars.