Chapter Twenty-Seven
The doors slammed closed behind them and Catherine heard the shattering of glass and the breaking of several large objects. She stared at the closed door until she heard Rebecca calling her from down the hallway. She turned her head to see Rebecca smiling at her warmly and holding her hand out. Catherine, feeling as though she were drifting through a fog laden sea, walked to the luna. Rebecca looped her arm through hers and ushered her down the stairs and into the large kitchen. She deposited Catherine on a stool facing the kitchen island and started rummaging through the cabinets for something.
“I was told you like to cook,” Rebecca mused.
Catherine blinked and tried to reorient herself. “Uh, yes, I’m a chef.”
Rebecca made a sound of approval. “Wonderful, we just lost our head chef. Would you be interested in taking the position?”
“Who told you I was a chef?” Catherine asked.
“Mary told me.”
“You’ve spoken to Mary about me?”
Rebecca gave her a smile. “Of course I did. When I found out our Graham found his mate, I wanted to know everything about you. Here, do you like Earl Grey?” she asked, setting a steaming cup of the tea in front of her. She looked down with a crease in her forehead.
“It’s my favorite.”
“Thought so.”
“What… what is happening?” Catherine couldn’t help but ask. “Why are you being so nice to me? You just found out your mate had a child with someone else.”
Rebecca gave her a look of pitiful understanding. She sat down on the stool beside her and sipped her own tea. “Lycans live a long time, Catherine. You and Graham were very fortunate to find each other at such a young age. It’s a truly rare occurrence for our kind. I was nearly a century old when I found Jensen… and I had a kid of my own.”
Catherine choked on the hot tea. She coughed and hit her chest. “Stuart isn’t my brother?”
Rebecca chuckled. “No, he is my son. It may come as a shock to you that I didn’t wait nearly one hundred years to lose my virginity.”
Catherine’s face sparked fire. “I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay,” Rebecca laughed. She sipped her tea some more.
“So when Jensen said I was his eldest…”
Rebecca sighed. “Jensen and I have tried to have children together. For whatever reason the fates have been against it.” She reached her hand over to cup Catherine’s. “Now, I understand why. Stuart was never built to lead but as he is Jensen’s adopted son, it was going to be him.”
“I don’t understand,” Catherine whispered, wishing she could massage her temple but not wanting to pull her hand away from Rebecca.
“Right, well, wolves and lycan hierarchy work a bit differently. Where wolves tend to stick with the more natural way: strongest leads. Lycans tend to think in more human terms with their being something like a royal family that leads. In a way it is the same. The thought is strong blood breeds strength. As lycan kind became threatened, this pack decided it would be best to have the heir apparent become the beta. That way they gain as much political, military and societal experience as possible before taking the alpha position. It’s been like this for centuries and it is one reason the Blackmoore pack is the strongest in the country, if not the world.”
“But Jensen said he’d offered the position to Graham.”
“Yes, Graham’s father was beta for many years before I met Jensen and when Stuart was still maturing. He saw great promise in Graham, a leadership quality that my Stuart just doesn’t possess. It is a bit of a loophole. If something were to happen to Jensen while Graham was beta, he would take over as alpha and the council would vote on whether to keep him or hand it over to the heir.” Rebecca shrugged. “Jensen knew the council would choose Graham.”
“But Graham never accepted. Why?”
1/3
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rebecca gave her a look. “I think that’s better coming from your mate.”
A crash sounded, causing the two women to leap from their stools. Growls echoed down the hallways and something came charging down the stairs. A moment later, Graham’s lycan form stalked through the kitchen. He spotted her and his shoulders relaxed. He walked toward her and sniffed her neck before burying his nose there. He stepped back and glanced at the door while his body vibrated with energy.
“Go for a run. I’ll wait here for you,” she said, understanding what he needed. He gave a slight nod before charging through the open door and into the
woods.
“Are you okay?” Rebecca asked, putting her hand on her shoulder. Catherine realized as she watched her mate take off, she’d begun to cry.
“It’s just… a lot to take in at once.”
Rebecca took her into her arms and ran her hands down her back. “It’s going to be okay.” For whatever reason, Catherine believed her.
“Did Grey leave?” a strongly masculine voice asked.
Both women parted to look at the alpha in the doorway. He was wearing only a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt with his hands in his pockets as he stared out the back door. The same two men from before stood in formation behind him and she realized they were probably his guards.
“He needed to go for a run,” Rebecca said, stepping toward her alpha mate. She touched a fresh bruise under his right eye, his brown eye. “You let him punch you?”
He smiled and gently took her hand. “Yeah. I let him punch me.”
She sighed and kissed him. “He’s getting too strong for you. Maybe you should stop antagonizing him. One of these days he’ll challenge you and then where will we be?”
His smile grew even more genuine. “On a beach sipping mai tais.”
She laughed and shook her head. She stood on her toes and whispered something in his ear. His eyes glanced up at Catherine and he nodded. He kissed his mate on the forehead and sighed.
“Catherine. Might you take a walk with me?” he asked.
Catherine’s body locked up. “I told Graham I would wait here.”
One eyebrow rose. “You’ll choose an order from your mate over your alpha?”
“He didn’t order me and you’re not my alpha.”
Rebecca laughed and covered her mouth. His expression turned stern. “Right, well, I just meant a walk around the property. We won’t go far and Graham will be able to find you. He’s the best tracker we have.”
Before Catherine could argue further he was walking out the back door, expecting her to follow. She sighed, hugged Rebecca and followed. She felt the gazes of the two guards as they in turn followed her out the door.
“You two stay,” Jensen ordered as he waited for her to catch up. “I would like a word alone with my daughter.”
Catherine’s steps faltered at the term. His expression was unreadable as he watched her pace slow. Instead of waiting, he turned on his heel and continued down the pebble path toward the garden. He kept his stride short so that only a few moments later, she’d caught up to him. The silence stretched on as they entered the garden. She brushed her fingers along the silk petals of roses and the fragrant blooms of gardenias.
“Graham told me you were left on the steps of an orphanage,” Jensen began, his voice sounding… shy?
Anger churned in her stomach. “Yes.”
He glanced down at her. “But you were raised in MoonStone.”
She wondered briefly how much Graham had told his alpha. Surely he didn’t tell him about her mark? Or that she’d been running from someone when she
left.
2/3
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“I was adopted and raised in MoonStone. I left five years ago.”
“Because of Dominic DeAngelo,” he said with a nod. Her gaze flicked to his face. Did he know? “I know many people have left the pack after Lionel and Isobel were killed. Did… did you ever meet Isobel?”
His gaze was piercing as he waited for her to answer.
“She was the luna.”
“So?”
“No, I never met her. Very few people did.”
“I’m sorry. What she did to you, to us, I’ll never understand it. I wish she were still here so I could ask what she’d thought by keeping you from me.”
Catherine’s feet turned to lead. She stared down at the pebble pathway as his words swam around her mind. Tears burned her eyes and the anger in her stomach churned and rose upward.
“Isobel was your mother, Catherine,” Jensen confirmed, adding more kindling to the fire within her. “We were together for a long time before she met Lionel and I met Rebecca. I thought about making her my chosen mate but laws within my family were strict and I wasn’t as strong as your mate is to say no. I didn’t know she was pregnant with you when she left me. If I had known…”
“What do you want from me?!” Catherine shrieked, turning her glare on the man proclaiming to be her father. His eyes moved over hers and she wondered what he saw there. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips but he schooled his features before she could read them.
“I want to get to know you. I want to help you reach your full potential. Then I want you and Grey to take over Blackmoore pack.”
Surrendering to Destiny
