Page 67 of The Alpha's Mates

"Father decided he'd had enough of me," I explained. "He was kicking me out of the pack. As much as it hurt knowing I'd have to leave Mom behind, I didn't want to make trouble for her, so I packed my meager possessions to go."

Thinking back on that night, I frowned. "I don't know what changed."

"What do you mean?" Atlas asked.

"He was willing to let me go. The whole village had gathered to watch my banishing. He was going on and on about how outsiders and freaks weren't welcome. Then..." I bit my lip at the looks on Atlas's and Calder's faces, then continued. "Then he sort of went quiet for long enough that people started getting antsy. Then out of nowhere, he just attacked me."

"He attacked you?" Soren's voice was filled with rage. "Why would he do that?"

I shrugged. "No clue. I was shocked. He'd been so calm up until that point. I mean, I knew he hated me, but everything changed in a second. Maybe that had been his plan the entire time?"

"Or maybe he had a little push," Atlas suggested.

Focusing on him, I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If Arune really is connected to your family, maybe she made a deal with him to kill you."

That hadn't occurred to me. Mostly because the knowledge that my grandfather had been in league with the goddess was so fresh. And we'd been doing nothing more than surviving since I found out. "That...almost makes sense. Arune knew what I was, what I am. And my father wouldn’t need much encouragement for violence."

"What happened next?" Soren asked, tone gentle for my sake, even though I could feel the fury building inside of him.

"I ran," I told them. "Not to try to get away, because even though he's a devious bastard, my father is a strong alpha. I just didn't want to have to fight where the rest of the pack could pile on and kill me easily if I got the upper hand."

"Smart," Calder told me. His eyes were filled with pride.

"Only my mom and brothers followed us." A lump formed in my throat as I tried to hold back my tears. Soren was purring now and though it was helping, I was still distraught. "Mom begged for him to keep his word. I don't even want to know what she'd had to do to wrangle that promise from him," I admitted. "I can't imagine what she gave up for me over the years, just to keep me alive." A tear slid down my cheek. "She must have lived through horrors every day and night being force mated to him, but she never complained. I never knew because she always had a smile and a hug for me."

"You were her world." The absolute certainty in Calder's voice eased some of the guilt. "That's what parents do for their children."

"She saw that her pleas weren't having an effect on Father. She looked me dead in the eyes and told me to run," I said with a small sob. "Then she just...attacked him. She was a beta female. She knew she had no hope of winning against him. In the past she'd always used cunning to keep me alive. This time she shifted and threw her wolf at him with the savagery of an alpha."

"Maybe, in a way, that was her way of freeing herself," Soren explained. "She knew you would get away and be safe, and she wouldn't be stuck, chained to that asshole anymore."

That gave me a little sliver of peace. She'd taken her life into her own hands in the end and made the decision that was best for her. "I begged my brothers to help. Batu just told me to shut the fuck up. That they would get to me once they killed the bitch. Neither Drez or Cain did anything. They were never as bad as father or Batu growing up, but they weren't good either." They didn't stop what happened that night. They watched my father tearing my mother apart with rapt attention. The glee that had been written all over Batu's face had been absent on my other brothers’ expressions, but they did nothing. "And for that, they'll die right alongside the others."

"We'll help with anything you need," Soren told me.

"How did you escape?" Atlas asked.

I scoffed. "My brothers thought I was so whipped that I'd just stand there and wait for my death. I spent years biting back my retorts to their needling. Never fighting back. Never stepping a toe out of line where anyone, other than my mother, could see, so that when the time came, I could use it against them." My laugh was humorless. "I shifted and ran. They were as bad as my father so they never assumed a female could be so fast, so cunning, not even an alpha. They always thought they'd be ableto catch up to me easily so they didn't try as hard at first. By the time they realized they needed to put effort in, I was gone."

"And you've been running ever since?" Atlas asked.

I nodded, throat too tight to speak.

Soren's hand tightened around the back of my neck and I gasped. Not because I was worried, but because I liked it. I could feel through our connection the love and deep desire they held to keep me safe. I felt the same for them. Soren brushed his lips over mine. It would have been easy to deepen the kiss, but this wasn't the time or place for it. "Thank you for telling us, Little One."

Ducking my head, I tried to sort through my emotions. What I needed was a minute alone to get them figured out. The guys must have felt my need because they stood up, Soren placing me on my feet.

"I have to take a piss," Calder announced.

There was a stream nearby. I went over to it, keeping the corner of my eye on the clearing as I stared at the water. All three of my mates went the opposite way to relieve their bladders. I could still see them, backs facing me. I knelt down, dipping a finger into the stream, waiting to see if something would happen. When nothing did, I splashed some of the cool liquid over my face. I wouldn't trust it enough to drink it; our canteens were full, so there was no need. But this felt great. I cupped the clear water in my hand and slapped it on the back of my neck. It helped clear away my tears.

"You know, I was wondering something."

I glanced up as Soren walked over to me. "What's that?" My eyes strayed over to the other two, who were talking together and pointing toward the route they wanted to take. There were multiple paths out of the clearing.

"Do you think your mother ever regretted having you?"