Chapter 3

Samuel POV

            Entering the conference room in the Pack house with Jasmine I looked to see my parents had already arrived and were seated at the table.  Jasmine’s place was at my right side – whether we were in a meeting or eating a meal, my Luna would always to be to my right.  Traditionally my Beta Jason would be to my left but for this meeting, my parents took those seats.

            Helping Jasmine into her seat, I take my seat at the head of the table.  Sitting for a moment, my mother, Luna Maria, speaks first, “Have you seen Maddie today, Samuel?  How is she?”.  Surprised my mother hadn’t already been over to see her, I did know she’d been avoiding Drake once she found out Maddie was his mate.  She didn’t know the full story yet, but I would be telling them shortly. I found it peculiar that my parents hadn’t asked how this stranger knew he was her mate.  They simply had accepted it.

            “She’s the same, mother. I am sure she would value a visit from you both.  I have to believe she can hear us, and I hope, in time, she will come back to us,” I say with confidence.  They can’t give up on her now.  None of us can give up on her. 

            “That’s why I have asked you both to come here this morning.  I need to fill you in on what has been happening.  And how Drake knew he was her mate,” I say.  My parents look at each other like they know something but neither offers any words.  Taking that as my cue, I feel Jasmine take my hand and squeeze it.  Feeling encouraged by her support, I start.

            “You will recall when we almost lost Maddie, she experienced severe pain, and shortly after went into a coma?” I say.  My parents both nod, my father taking my mother’s hand.  “Well, what we didn’t know is why this may have happened.  What caused her to go into a coma with no obvious cause?  And how did this stranger know he was Maddie’s mate?” I say as my parents both gasp. 

            For some reason I feel like they have some of these answers, but I continue.  “There is a possibility that Maddie is a twin.  When she experienced her break down, her possible twin coincidently died at that exact same time.”.  My mother has tears in her eyes now, as my father puts an arm around her shoulder.

            Frustrated, I simply ask, “What do you know?”.  My father looks at my mother as she lifts her eyes to my father and nods.  My father clears his throat as he beings to tell us the story of Maddie.

            “Maddie came from a rogue, Samuel.  He found us.  He told us the story that Maddie was a twin and that he wanted to place the children with good homes. We immediately said we wanted both the girls, but he refused.  He said the other twin already had a home and that it was Maddie or nothing,” Alpha Jax says.

            Sitting up, my mother says, “You have to understand Jared; I was devastated when I learned I couldn’t have any more pups.  We loved you so much.  You were more than enough but when this little girl arrived in our lap, we felt it was for a purpose.  That the Moon Goddess wanted us to raise her. We quickly accepted, we agreed to the terms the rogue outlined for us and we never saw him again.”.

            “What were the terms?” I ask confused as to why they would deal with a rogue.  “We had to make sure Maddie was protected at all times.  We could never take her off the Pack lands and she was never to have to fight or learn to protect herself as we would always protect her.  We had felt that was odd at the time, but we were so desperate to have our little girl, that we did everything he asked.  We continue to do what he asked, so we don’t lose our little girl,” my mother adds.

            “You entered an agreement with a rogue?  Why didn’t you simply kill him father?  That would have been the best way to protect Maddie,” I say.  “We couldn’t kill him, he told us others were working with him and if they found out that he had died, they would come and take her back.  We couldn’t take that risk.  We wouldn’t take that risk.  We let him go and he has left us alone all these years,” my father says.

            “Now she’s an adult.  What stops her from doing all the things you promised she wouldn’t do?  What if the rogue decides he wants her today?  What can we do to protect her?” I ask suddenly aware some random stranger could come and steal my sister away.  We may never find her, should that happen.

            “That’s why we have instilled in her the sense that she doesn’t need to fight.  She doesn’t need to practice self-defence.  It’s the only way we could protect her Samuel.  It’s why we never let her leave the Pack.  When she turned eighteen and didn’t find her mate here, we knew we had to keep her within the confines of the Pack.  We couldn’t risk her mate being from another Pack,” my mother says.

            Gasping, Jasmine says, “How could you do that to her?  She has a right to find her mate!  She deserves her mate.  Regardless of where he lives.  At some point the threat this rogue holds over us must end.  Her mate, if he is her mate, is strong and will protect Maddie.  We have to trust that the Moon Goddess does not make mistakes.”.  I can tell Jasmine is outraged on behalf of Maddie.

            We had all enjoyed the love of our mates; we never had to worry about second chance mates or chosen mates.  Why would my parents be comfortable denying that same love for my sister?  “What was your plan for Maddie?  That she would live alone forever?” I ask dismayed thinking of my sister’s bleak future.

            “No, we already started talks with another Pack to arrange a chosen mate for Maddie.  A mate who would agree to move to our Pack lands.  He is a warrior within his Pack.  He has seen pictures of Maddie and wants to meet her immediately.  Unfortunately, she fell ill before he could meet her.  Now look at the mess we are in!  She may very well have met her fated mate,” my mother says in distress.

            I cannot believe what I am hearing.  Both my parents have lost their mind.  In all my years growing up I was taught never to negotiate with a rogue.  I was raised to be a strong fighter.  I could out-fight all my warriors, including my Beta and Gamma when we were sparring.  We fought as if we were fighting to the end.  Otherwise practicing was a waste of time and effort. 

            Looking at them both I shake my head.  “We won’t stand in the way if this man is her mate.  I won’t deny my sister the love of a mate nor will either of you,” I say.  My parents start to raise the alarms, “He can’t take her from here, Samuel.  This man will need to move here to protect Maddie. We can’t lose her after all these years!” my father explodes.

            As I sit there with Jasmine staring at my parents, I realize their fear is very real.  Both of them truly believe we will lose Maddie if she leaves.  “She has missed out on so much life!  How can either of you believe this must continue?  What if this rogue is dead?  What if he was bluffing all those years ago?  What if she should have been learning how to protect herself?” I have so many questions I am throwing at my parents.  I am so confused and lost as to how to move forward.

            I would need to speak with this Drake man to share what I have learned.  If there is any real threat against Maddie, I will do everything within my power to protect her.  And if this Drake guy is her mate, he will do the same.

            “I want to see this agreement you had with the rogue. I want to know the man’s name.  I will have my own investigators see what they can find out about this man and this agreement,” I say.  I have a plan and I will put it in motion.  Regardless of what this man Drake has to say, I will protect my sister with everything I have.

Jasmine POV

            I was devastated for all Maddie had lost growing up.  She had a good upbringing and was cherished, as every child should have been.  But she had been protected to the point of making her fragile.  She couldn’t protect herself against an intruder or a rogue.  I cannot imagine how she must have felt all those years being left out when everyone around her was training and preparing to fight threats to the Pack.

            I had been trained at a younger age.  Not as young as Samuel had started his training.  Not that I ever expected to become a Luna.  I was a warrior’s daughter and was certainly strong in my own right. I expected to be a warrior as I grew up. I expected to be mated with a warrior. I guess in a way I was.  Samuel was the strongest fighter I knew and whenever we were attacked, I stood beside him every time.   I knew he feared for me whenever we fought a threat, but he knew I had the skills to fight.  I never put myself at risk.  I knew how important it was to survive for Samuel and Samuel to survive for me. 

            “How are you going to tell her?” I ask Alpha Jax and Luna Maria.  They both look at me with confused looks on their faces.  I repeat, “How are you going to tell her?”.  Luna Maria speaks first, “What do you mean, Jasmine?  Why would we tell her anything?” she asks.  I huff in indignation.  “The time for secrets is over.  Regardless of if Drake is her mate or not, she needs to know her history.  She needs to know she may have had and lost a twin.  She needs to know why you protected her so vehemently over the years.  She needs to know the potential reality that her father was a rogue and there is no information on her mother,” I concluded.

            The look at me with disgust on their faces.  “We will never tell Maddie her father may have been rogue and I forbid either of you to tell her,” Alpha Jax says trying to use his Alpha command on us.  As we both outrank him, he cannot command us as he must have forgotten.  “Father, that doesn’t work on us and yes Maddie will be advised of her history,” Samuel says supporting me against his parents.

            His mother now has tears streaming down her face.  “Don’t ruin her confidence, Samuel.  It will destroy her to know she was adopted,” his mother says.  “It will destroy her to know she’s been lied to all these years.  I had no problem not telling her she was adopted when I believed, as you had told me, that her parents had died, and she was an orphaned pup needing a good home.  I loved her from the day we got her, and I love her today, regardless of her past.  You both need to accept that she is a young woman who has lived a sheltered life.  It’s time for her to understand exactly what happened and how we are going to protect her,” Samuel says.

            Taking my hand, Samuel pulls me up into his arms.  “We are going over to see Maddie. I suggest you both take some time to consider visiting her.  The longer you stay away, the longer she will know something is wrong.  I believe she can hear us and not hearing from you will devastate her,” Samuel says as he takes me out of the room.  We are on our way back to visit Drake.