Page 99 of Awakened
“Okay . . . Les.” Hope’s trembling lips pulled into a small smile.
I sat on the floor in front of her, hoping to make myselfless threatening. Placing a hand on her bouncing knee, I squeezed. “Whenever you’re ready, we’re here.”
Hope nodded, taking a quick sip of water. Then she looked at Zach, who smiled and took her hand.
Releasing a heavy breath, her gaze fell to the floor. “The night your father came to take us away, we were followed. I had done everything your father said. I didn’t stop my routine. I didn’t pack anything, but they still caught on. I tried to go back to the house, forget the whole thing, but they forced us to meet up with Beta Spencer.” She looked everywhere but at me, her knee bouncing wildly under my hand.
“Who Hope? Who made you go to the meeting?”
When she finally looked at me, the pain and guilt in her blue eyes had me holding my breath.
“My father and the alpha-to-be, Matthew Stewart.”
This wasn’t a revelation by any stretch of the imagination. Those two were at the top of my suspect list. At least the Howlers had been that helpful.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
She nodded and focused on the bottle of water in her hand. “When I realized we were being followed, I grabbed Chastity and sprinted back toward the house, but they caught us. My father threatened I would end up like Grace if I didn’t take him to the meeting spot. Beta Spencer was there, waiting as planned. When he saw my father and Matthew, he tried to put himself between us and them.” She hiccupped, shaking her head as if trying to unsee it all. “He tried to protect us. Matthew distracted Beta Spencer while my father shifted . . .” Hope dropped her gaze to where my hand rested on her knee.
“From there, I tried to keep Chastity from seeing the fight. Your father tried his best but was outnumbered and outmaneuvered. I’m sorry, Les. I’m so sorry.”
I wiped away my tears, clearing my throat. Having my dad’s last minutes described to me by a complete stranger was worse than I could have ever imagined. Additional misery points for thatstranger’s father being the one that killed mine. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t your fault.”
She grabbed my hand, squeezing it until all the blood was trapped in my fingertips. “But it was! Before we ran, I took the necklace our mother had given Grace on her 14th birthday from her room. I couldn’t leave it with that monster. It should have been buried with Grace. But he saw me leaving her room.” Her eyes went unfocused as she violently whipped her head back and forth. “I hadn’t been in that room since she died. It was my fault, it was my?—”
Hope broke down, and I pulled her off the couch onto my lap. Her body shook with sobs as her tears drenched the front of my shirt, but I continued to squeeze her tightly as I rocked us back and forth.
“No, honey. That doesn’t make it your fault. Of course, you wanted something from your sister.”
She nodded against my neck.
“Can I ask you one more thing, Hope?”
Another hesitant nod.
“Do you know what happened to Grace? Who her chosen mate was?”
She leaned away, leaving just inches between our faces. Heat radiated off her red cheeks, and the smell of her salty tears filled my nose. “I don’t know. Grace was being held in her room before I let her out to escape. My father never told her, said her mate would be announced after the marking.”
“Does Matthew have a mate?”
Her eyebrows drew together, then shot up. “No! Do you think he was her intended? Could-could he have? Oh, Goddess! He’s going to be our alpha!”
Hope’s naivety crushed me. Clearly, she understood better than to trust her father, but here she was, shocked that her future alpha was also a monster. What the fuck happened in these Old Church Packs?
“It’s a little too convenient that he was with your father thenight of your attempted escape. I’d bet money on him being the man that killed your sister.”
A strangled growl came from the couch. Zach was fighting a shift.
Gently setting Hope on the floor next to me, I eased myself onto the couch and cautiously framed his face with my hands. “Zach, sweetie. Pull back.”
Hope whimpered behind me, the tension in the room growing by the minute. I was prepared to shift, but that would have destroyed the whole low-key thing I was going for. If I had to kick my boyfriend’s ass, a crowd would probably gather, and Hope’s presence would have created a real problem for us.
“Zach cut the shit. You’re scaring Hope.”
That did the trick. His gaze settled on Hope, and his face relaxed under my hands. Shutting his eyes, he took deep breaths. It was minutes before the rise of his chest evened out, but I kept with him, murmuring reassuring words.
With one final exhale, his eyes opened to meet mine. “Thank you, Sunshine,” he said, turning his head and kissing my palm.
