Hunted

Chapter 4: A Father's Thoughts

Alpha David

I had just left my daughter’s room and to say I was astonished is an understatement. Over the years my mate, Lorraine had been sending me letters and photographs of our daughter as she moved from place to place. The photos did not do her any justice my daughter was a perfect replica of her mother minus her eyes. Those were the same violet color as mine. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was starting to realize why Lora wanted to take her and run now.

I sunk into the chair at my desk and leafed through the letters she had sent and sighed. I clearly remember when I got the letter informing me that they had been found and Emmry had been attacked. I wanted them to come home right away. We could have protected them here; we could have saved them. Lora was a stubborn shifter; she was also the perfect Alpha Female. She wanted to protect not only her child but the lives of all the members of our pack.

It killed me every moment my mate was away from me. Now she was going to be away from me forever. There was a hole in my heart that never can be filled. I glanced at the photo on my desk of Lora and I holding Emmry when she was a few months old. It was right before everything went crazy.

I pulled the letter the Beta from Keystone pack had given me and sighed. She wrote one last letter. I wasn’t sure if I could deal with reading it, but it must be done. I opened the bottom drawer and pulled out my whiskey and a glass. I was going to need some pain management if I was going to do this.

I took a sip and sighed. Alright here we go. I slowly opened the envelope and slid the letter out. Her scent filled my nose and I nearly lost it. The urge to hunt and kill whoever killed my mate was strong. I worked very hard to push that desire down. I took another gulp of my drink before reading the letter.

My Lovely Mate,

I am so sorry my love. If you’re getting this letter, I’m guessing I never made it home back to you with our precious child. He must have found us again. Please do not blame yourself. This was my choice. I was not going to let our pack suffer for something that they could not control.

Please take care of our baby. This was not her fault either. She does not realize he’s going to continue to go after her. I know I told you about her attack when she was 12 but…I did not tell you the whole truth. I knew if you had found out you would demand that we return so you could find him. After the first attack and we left the pack territory he followed us. I spent years avoiding him and keeping him away from her. It was as if his obsession passed from me to her. He found us when she was 15. To this day she does not speak of exactly what happened. I’m sure you can imagine. We were lucky the warriors of the pack territory we were visiting found them before he could disappear with her forever.

I made a choice. She was…there are still long-lasting effects from what happened. I could not bring her into a pack setting. She wasn’t ready. I was hoping when she shifted, she would become whole again, but our poor angel never shifted. I decided it was better to try and find a cure and stay far away from our home. I do not know if it was the right choice, but it was the one I made.

Please help her my mate. I am not there to protect her anymore. She doesn’t understand a lot of things my love. Just be patient with her. I love you.

I’ll always be with you.

Lorraine

I felt like I couldn’t breathe. This letter was way more then one drink could help me handle. What the hell Lora? She left because she was afraid her being at the pack would bring him back to us, would bring terrible things. I remember us deciding to let her live on the edge of the pack back when Emmry was only 1. If she lived at the edge of the pack, we would be able to hide her and pretend she ran off.

It was never in our plan to have her take Emmry with her. One day I woke up with a letter and a message that my daughter was missing and so was my mate. I don’t know why she took off and the letter only makes me more confused. I did remember the letter she sent about the attack on Emmry when she was 12 but Lora never mentioned that it was that traumatic for her. She was supposedly attacked by a rogue not…him.

Now I’m finding out that there was a second attack when Emmry was 15 that my mate never told me about. She was right. If I had found out I would have commanded them to come home right away. I would have done anything and everything to get them back in my protection. I had let myself believe that Lora knew what was best. She was just protecting in the best way that she could. I should have followed my gut and gone after her.

What did that choice leave me with? A dead mate…a traumatized child. I should have fought harder. I should have done more to bring them in. I always knew what pack they lived in, that was part of the deal I made with Lora when I had found her the first time after her running away.

What happened to my child that would cause her to be this way? Was that why she couldn’t shift? I didn’t notice how angry I had gotten until I heard the slam of something against the wall. Well there goes another glass. My study door opened, and my brother Matt walked in looking around.

“The hell is wrong with you?” He crossed his arms and moved aside as one of our pack members swept the glass off the floor.

“Lora wrote me a letter.” I held it up and then placed it back on my desk. I couldn’t keep my thoughts in a straight line.

“What did it say?” He stepped closer trying to get a good look at the letter. I simply handed it over to him and sank back into my chair rubbing my forehead.

“Wait…so Emmry…was attacked?? Why weren’t we informed of this?” The wolf that lived inside Matt flashed forward as his eyes changed.

“I was aware of the first attack. The second though…that is new information. You need to get control of yourself.” I sent the warning in my Alpha tone to make sure he understood. There was the possibility that Emmry would walk down and interrupt. If she was really traumatized, then having a giant shifter whose wolf was in control would not be very good for her to run into.

“Well then what are we going to do?” Matt asked taking some deep breaths and his eyes went back to their normal violet hue.

“What can we do? We’re going to protect her and try our best to help her. If he’s dumb enough to come anywhere near me after murdering my mate, then he will die. She should be safe here for now.” I nodded my fingers playing with the mating ring I wore. They never found Lora’s according to the Alpha of Keystone pack. There was nothing on her finger or around her neck on a necklace. So, he must have it.

“Does she realize he’s after her?” Matt asked sitting in the chair across from me frowning.

“Yeah. He’s been after me since I was 12.” Emmry’s voice surprised us all. We quickly looked up to see her standing in the doorway looking at the floor.

“I’m sorry…that I caused all of this trouble. I really didn’t mean to…I don’t even know what I did to cause all of this… I swear. If you need me to leave I can…I understand. I’ve gotten pretty good at vanishing…” Her words came out in the smallest voice and I had to work hard to not get upset. I had let my daughter and mate go for the last 17 years there was no way I was going to allow this to happen again.

“You stay here. With me. Got that? I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. Do you understand me Emmry?” I saw her nod quickly and bite her lip. “I will never hurt you, child. I know you only grew up with your mother and I do not know if she spoke about me. Or why she left but it was not because of me. I would never hurt you or your mother. She meant the very world to me.” I was pleading with my own daughter for her to believe me.

“If you cared so much why did you never find us and bring us back? If you cared so much why did you let her go?” This was the first time Emmry had spoken with the slightest bit of anger. She still wasn’t looking directly at me, but I could tell this was taking a lot out of her.

“I found you 6 months after she ran the first time. She begged me to let her hide. At the time it wasn’t you he was after…it was her. I gave her 6 more months I swore my warriors would track him down. Of course, they didn’t, and your mother bartered for more time. I saw your mother once a year and each time I begged her to come home. She didn’t want to risk our pack. When you were 12 something changed, and she stopped seeing me. She went invisible. I couldn’t find her anymore. I still got letters but all pictures of you stopped. I never knew what really changed. When I found out you had been attacked, I searched for 3 years I searched. Then your mother met with me again. She told me that she had to protect you. She told me how you hadn’t shifted like you were supposed to, that something was wrong, and she was searching for an answer. That’s why I let her go. There was no way I could go to every territory and find a specialized pack doctor that could cure you while running the pack. So, I let you go. I never knew… I didn’t know about the second attack. Until now. I would have brought you home.”

I watched my daughter slowly sink to the floor while I was begging her with my words. She had to know that I really did want her here. There was nothing I could do.

“So, she died because of me.” Emmry started to sob and I wanted nothing more than to pick her up and hold her, but I wasn’t sure if she would let me. I slowly went over to her and sat down next to her.

“My little one. It wasn’t your fault.” I whispered and slowly wrapped my arms around her. She flinched at first, but my scent must have comforted her because she settled in and continued to cry. The rage I felt inside was like nothing I had felt before. Rage for my daughter, rage for my mate. The monster was going to pay for the pain he had caused.