Chapter 27 - Lena

Shivering in the passenger seat of Father's truck, I can't believe I've come so far just to end up back here again. I try to tell myself that Jack will come for me—that he won't let anything happen to me, or to Sam.

But he doesn't even know where we are, or what's happening. How can he possibly protect us now?

Father sings along with country songs on the radio, occasionally turning to grin at me. His smirk is cold and gleeful, showing off his sharp teeth and hard eyes. I have never been as afraid of him as I am right now.

Several times, I hear Sam's ringtone. Father must have taken my brother's phone when he kidnapped him and used it to send the text message to throw me off guard.

"What have you done to Sam?" I try to make my voice sound strong, but I can barely speak. Father laughs.

"You'll see when you get there. It's a surprise!"

I shut my mouth and look out the window. I won't show him any weakness. It's hard to hide my fear, but I manage to stay quiet and not beg or plead with him.

He seems to be heading back to Silverton but turns down a rough dirt track before we get near the main road. My stomach lurches in fear as I realize we are nowhere near any kind of civilization.

No help. No people or houses. No nothing.

He stops the truck under a tall tree and orders me to get out. I do, but I'm so shaky I almost fall to the ground. Father grabs my arm and hauls me to my feet.

"Fucking hell, girl! How did I put up with you for this many years? You're beyond useless."

His grip on my arm tightens and he drags me through some thick scrub. A small clearing opens up in front of us and there is a little light from a small fire crackling in the center.

"Took you long enough!" Kelly's whiny voice shrieks from the tent. "What the fuck did you do, walk there and back?"

"Keep ya hair on," Father laughs. "Not like you can, though—you've bleached it so many times I doubt there's any left."

Kelly emerges from the tent, her face a mask of fury.

"Go fuck yourself!" she hisses. "You're the one who said you liked it blonde!"

"Yeah, well, I never said I wanted you bald, either."

Watching them bicker gives me some satisfaction, but I'm too worried about Sam to let it go on for very long.

"Where's Sam?" I ask, my voice high and frightened. "Where's my brother?"

Both of them start cackling. Kelly even leans forward to hold in her stomach as she wrestles with the gales of laughter rolling through her.

"Oh, honey. He's not here," Father says condescendingly. "I was going to grab him and teach him a lesson, but the scene was just too hot back in Silverton. Couldn't hang around for the right moment. Snatched his phone, though. I thought it might make it easier to get you."

"He's not here?" My relief is a palpable force, making my skin tingle and my knees weak. "He's safe?"

"He's safe," Kelly sneers. "But you're not."

I look between the two of them, and the full seriousness of the situation suddenly hits me. I'm out here alone with no help; no one knows where I am. I thought Father just wanted money or leverage, but it's finally sinking in that he might want more than that.

How is he planning to get away with this?

Easy answer. He can't.

That means there is only one way this situation can end.

"Are you going to kill me?" I burst out, my voice high with fear. I can't believe this. For all his abuse over the years, he's still my father.

He reaches over and grabs the front of my shirt, yanking me up against him. As I stare into his eyes, he slowly pulls a long knife out of his boot and presses the sharp tip to my throat. I recognize the knife. It's his hunting blade, and it can cut through bone.

"What do you think?" he whispers.

"Hang on, Pete," Kelly says, sounding genuinely confused. "I thought we were just going to ransom her, maybe rough her up a bit. You said we were going to go to California with the money."

"Jesus, Kelly," Father says, turning around and waving the knife. "Will you relax, and shut the fuck up while you do it? You don't need to tell her the whole plan."

"Oh, right," Kelly agrees, coming over to stand next to him. "I guess I shouldn't have said that."

"It doesn't matter where you go," I whisper. "Jack will find you. Decker and Bailey will find you. You won't just be an outcast rogue, you'll be a traitor, not fit to be called a wolf. You will be marked for death, and every shifter from here to Mexico will be howling for your blood."

Father tightens his grip on my shirt and shakes me hard. "I don't care! The world fucking owes me! How many times now have I tried to take what's mine, and someone always got in the way. I don't give a fuck what those puppies think of me. I'm going to show them what pain really is."

He lets me go, shoving me away from him and slashing with the knife at the same time. The sharp edge catches my upper arm, slicing open my skin and spraying blood. I stumble back, tripping and falling hard on my side.

"Pete, she's no good to us if she's dead," Kelly says.

"Oh, I am getting sick of you," Father snaps. "Always in my ear with your bullshit. It doesn't matter if she's dead or alive—we can still use her for ransom, they won't know the fucking difference. You should probably know, though, I had no intention of letting her live."

There is silence between them, and I can smell Kelly's fear.

"Okay," she says harshly. "Whatever you want. I don't care."

I hear Father's heavy boots coming towards me. I curl up on the ground, but he grabs my arm and turns me over. I try to cover my face, but the next thing I see is him swinging his foot towards my belly.

"No!" I scream, my voice tearing my throat. "Not my baby!"

Father pauses, staring at me. That horrible grin creeps back onto his face, and his eyes shimmer in the moonlight.

Oh, God, what have I done?

"Really," he says, chuckling. "Got one in the oven, do you? That makes this way more interesting."

"Please," I gasp, trying to wriggle away as he reaches for me. "This is your grandchild! Please, Father!"

He yanks me to my feet, his hand clamped on my arm so hard, it feels like it's going to break.

"That thing inside you has nothing to do with me," he hisses. "It's the spawn of a weak she-wolf and lowlife fucking scum. Don't try to bargain with me for its life—because I don't give a literal fuck."

"Please," I can't stop pleading with him. "Please don't, Father."

He shakes me again. "You're going to pay! You're going to pay for all those years of pain you put me through! All I've ever done is try to support you and your useless little brother, and this is how you repay me—by getting us kicked out of both packs!"

Father leans forward, holding me tight with his left hand while he teases the tip of the knife along my face with the other.

"Maybe I'll carve you up a bit first," he whispers. His quiet voice is even more terrifying than his screaming. "I'm going to destroy two packs at once with this move, because you mean so fucking much to both of them. Not only that, I'll finally have my satisfaction."

I close my eyes, turning my head away. Then I feel the tip of the knife on my belly.

"Or maybe I should start here. Make you watch. Damn, I wish your brother was here, or your husband. I could put on a fine show."

"Peter!" Kelly's voice booms through Father's. Both of us turn in shock to see Kelly right next to us with a shotgun pointed at Father.

"What the fuck are you doing, woman?" he asks, mystified.

"Let her go. I didn't get into this thing to kill babies. As a matter of fact, I never agreed to killing her, either."

"Jesus fucking Christ," Father growls, letting me go so quickly that I stumble to my knees. "Have you lost your goddamn mind?"

"No, I found it," Kelly snaps. "Put the knife down, Pete. It's over."

He grins, and I know this is about to go very badly. For Kelly, and for me.

Father relaxes for a second, smiling as he opens his hands and drops his arms by his side. He almost drops the knife, and Kelly relaxes.

"No!" I scream, seeing the ruse.

Father rushes her, coming up under her aim before she can level the shotgun. He stabs forward with the knife, driven by purpose with perfect aim.

The knife goes into her belly to the hilt. A faint gasp of shock comes from Kelly's mouth as Father grabs her chin.

"Too slow, my dear," he hisses. "Too fucking slow."

He holds on to her with his left hand and slashes her in the belly a few times, finally shoving her away. She falls into a heap on the ground, and a huge puddle of blood quickly forms around her.

I can feel the bile rising in my throat as shock hits me. I'm shivering harder than ever, and as Father approaches me with a slow stride, I can't even breathe.

I love you, Jack. I tried, I really tried. Get free of this, Sam. Just have a good life, please!

I can't struggle anymore. I can't even breathe. I look up at Father, trying to understand what's happening. Was he always a maniac? What did Mother see in him? I'll never know, and right now, that seems one of the saddest things of all.

Suddenly, a black blur hurtles through the air, knocking Father to the ground. His knife goes spinning through the leaves and ends up close to my hand. I struggle to sit up so I can see what's happening.

A huge black wolf stands in the middle of the clearing, his night-dark coat shimmering with highlights of deepest blue. He's like the night sky come to life, the instrument of vengeance itself.

Jack!

He turns to look at me, just for a second, and when his crystal-blue eyes meet mine, I'm no longer afraid.

Father twists in the leaves, flipping to his feet. The shock of the attack made him shift, and his wiry, skinny gray wolf looks like a chewed-up plush toy next to Jack's majestic self. Father sinks back on his haunches, snapping and bearing his teeth. Jack's ruff rises as he growls, low in his throat.

Watch out, Jack!

Father may be a weak coward, but he has rage and cruelty on his side. He will fight dirty if it means winning. I know there are some things my beloved simply could not do—and Father is capable of anything.

With a sharp bark, both wolves leap at each other. For a few seconds, I see nothing but shimmering fur, rolling waves of gray, black, silver, and blue. Then, there is a sharp yelp, and they pull apart.

To my shock, Jack is holding up one front paw. He staggers back as Father bares his teeth and grins, drool running out between his yellow teeth. His muzzle is stained with blood. Injuring his enemy seems to have given him strength.

"Jack, no!" I can't help screaming as Father leaps at him. I see the grey wolf latch on around the black ruff and close my eyes. There is a brief struggle, the sound of jaws snapping and skin tearing. Then there is a horrible, wailing yelp, followed by a loud snap that echoes around the clearing with the finality of a gunshot.

Too scared to open my eyes, I stay curled up on the ground, rocking back and forth. When a warm, wet nose presses against my cheek, I flinch away, but when I open my eyes, I see Jack's black fur and crystal-blue gaze.

"Jack!" I would scream if I had the strength. He shifts right in front of me and raises a hand to my cheek.

"Lovely Lena," he whispers. "You're safe now, my love."

Tears pour down my cheeks as I throw myself into his arms. Jack holds me tight, soothing me until I can stop crying.

"How did you find me?" I ask, wiping tears from my cheeks. Jack grins.

"The stupid fuck left ‘find my phone' on. It was so simple I really didn't think it would work, but once Sam activated it, the dot showed up straight away."

A harsh laugh cracks through my chest as I shake my head. Suddenly, there is a roar of engines as trucks pull up further down the track, and the forest comes alive with the baying of wolves as both packs arrive and join together in a victory howl.

Both packs? One pack. We are truly one now.

Jack brushes my hair back from my cheek and kisses me, wrapping his arms around me. In the crowd of people running into the clearing, I see Bailey, Decker… and Sam.

Everyone is safe! We really did it!

I fall into Jack's kiss, letting all my fear and worry melt away. This is my new life now, and no one can take it from me.