Page 72 of The Return
“What? But—”
I wanted one last night with Jonas. To be held in his arms and hear him promise me that everything would be okay. If I had that, I knew I could survive this.
“It has to be done quickly,” she said. “I’m sorry. I truly wish there was another way.”
And I could hear the sadness in her voice. “I misjudged you,” I told her. “For that, I apologize.”
She chuckled. “When I was younger, wolves were very patriarchal. Women were meant to stay in the home and care for the pups. The idea there would ever be a female on the Council was ludicrous at best, insanity at worst. I have been called a ballbreaker more than once, I can promise you that. I’m okay with that, though, because it pushes me to work harder, to let the girls know that they can be anything. Now that we have a few female Alphas, it’s getting better faster. Still a long way to go, but we’re getting there.”
“I’ll be ready,” I told her, though looking at Jonas, I wanted to beg him to let me stay.
We disconnected the Skype call, and I tumbled into Jonas’s arms. “Tell me I’m not making a big mistake.”
“We both are,” he murmured, his breath tickling my ear. “I honestly can’t think of a way to keep you safe without help.”
There was a knock on the door, and I cringed, because we only had two hours. I had so many things I wanted to say to him.
He crossed the room and peered through the peephole. “Shit, it’s my dad.”
“You know I can hear you” came the booming voice.
“Why do you think I said it?” Jonas replied as he tugged the door open.
His father had always been big to me. I never realized it was because he was an Alpha wolf, but now it made sense. He grabbed Jonas and pulled him into a tight embrace, then turned his attention to me.
“Good to see you, sir,” I said.
It only took three steps before he was in front of me, staring down. I felt like a bug trapped beneath a glass, with a giant staring at me. When he reached out and yanked me off my feet, I yelped, then a moment later, found myself pulled to his chest.
“Corey, I am so very sorry about my many mistakes,” he said. “You have every right to hate me and—”
“I don’t hate you,” I said. “Never. I was upset, yeah, but hate you? No. Your family always cared for me. You made me feel like I belonged in Harken’s Corners. You gave me Jonas, for goodness sake. How could I hate you?”
There was a very real possibility that I could die, and I didn’t want any regrets, so I had to clear the air. And every word of it was true. He was my mate’s father. My father-in-law. For Jonas and for my family, I would get past the hurt.
If I lived long enough.
CHAPTER19
JONAS
“It’s a wise precaution,”my father said. “Fort Andres is easily defensible, and I can’t think of anywhere safer for them to keep Corey.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Why is this happening now? It doesn’t make sense.”
Which I kept telling myself. “I don’t know. Maybe they figure they can make me suffer too?”
“Um….”
I looked at Corey. “What’s on your mind?”
He shook his head. “Never mind. This is all wolf stuff.”
“No,” Dad said, reaching for Corey’s hand. “This is family stuff. Say what you think.”
He sighed. “I know what I’m about to say will make me look stupid. You said that if something happened to me, it might cause you to go feral, right? Maybe that’s the whole point of this.”
Dad looked at me, his face a stone mask. “He’s right. What if, by hurting Corey, they’re really trying to hurt you? It would explain why they waited so long to do something. You came back, and now they want to make you suffer.”
I hated that he was right.
