Chapter 3- A pain like no other

"How long have I been out?" I ask Carla.

Carla was rocking Justin on the rocking chair. It was night time and the last thing I remember is bathing while watching Carla hold Justin.

"For a week. It's amazing what the body can do and quite amazing what you can do. Watching your wolf exit your body is something from a fairytale. I've never heard of such a thing." Carla says to me.

"Yeah lucky she could go hunt while I was out. Although now that she's not inside me, I could do with some food. Is there anything to eat?" I ask and Carla quickly stands, giving Justin to me.

"I'll quickly make you something." She says and I smile back at her.

Carla opens the door to reveal Damian, who looked worse for wear. It looked like he hasn't slept in days and Carla was not surprised to see him as I was.

Damian avoided eye contact with me but shared a look with Xena.

"You can go rest now that she's awake." Carla tells Damian, who spares me a glance before walking in to the room and sitting on the bed.

"I know I'm the last person you want to see right now but I just had to make sure you were getting better. Look, I only rejected you because I had plans after high school. Plans that didn't include taking over as the next alpha and I knew that if my father found out I had found my mate, he definitely wouldn't waste time in stepping down." Damian confesses.

I look away, anger boiling inside me but lacking the energy to lash out at him.

"Your rejection is the least of my worries. I need you to make sure the people that killed my parents never return again. I need you to find out how they got in and how they were able to find out where we lived." I say, still looking away.

"I'm already on it. All we know is that they were human, all of them. They were part of a group of vigilantes that go around killing terrorists. We believe they thought your parents were part of a terrorist group, which is false and my father provided the proof that your family isn't what they were made to believe. The leader of the group wants to meet you, I can tell him to get lost." Damian says to me.

I stay quiet.

If I do meet up with him, what will he tell me? How sorry he is that my parents died? That his group was wrong to kill innocents?

"He will probably try to shift the blame. I'm not in the right space to deal with a group that won't take accountability for what they did to me, to Justin. Leaving us without parents and trauma to last me a lifetime. Besides, I'd probably kill him on the spot, I don't trust myself right now." I say, truth is, I'd do it before he could utter one word.

"I can be with you every step of the way. To prevent you doing anything you will regret later, if you want." He says to me as Carla walks in carrying a tray stacked up with food.

"You don't get it. I will kill him and I will enjoy it." I say.

"What you can do, as a way to apologize is go out there and find out how this group gets their information. This is all on you, on your family because your father promised to keep us safe and he didn't, you all failed to detect a breach in your own pack and  did not arrive in time to save my parents. Had I answered the call to come home, I... I.." I say, trying to find the words but falling short. Tears prickling my eyes and threatening to fall.

Damian looks away from me, Carla close to tears as she looks at me holding a tray full of food.

"I know and I'm sorry, my family and the pack failed you." Damian says as Carla nods her head.

"I'll accept your apology when you catch the bastard that wants my kind dead. I just need a name, you don't have to do anything else. Just find me a name and I will do the rest." I say before taking the tray from Carla and digging in.

Xena runs out of the house, startling all of us. Damian follows which puts me on high alert as I put the food on my nightstand and take Justin in to my arms.

"Come with me Jeannie. There's a secure room in the house built for times like these." Carla says to me as I hear Xena growl in my head.

There was definitely trouble and it followed me here. They knew I was here, that I was alive.

"I'm not going to hide. I don't hide. I will take you and Justin to that secure room you talk about but I want to look these men in the eyes before they suffer." I say as she takes Justin from me.

"You don't have the strength to fight them. You can do this another day, when you are much stronger but Justin will not lose another family member. Not today or anytime soon. Revenge is best taken when you're at your very best and right now, you are your own worst enemy." Carla says to me as she drags me out of bed with one hand, the other holding Justin.

We rush down the stairs and in through the wall. Yes, a hidden door that walks us in to a room. A room with a queen size bed, black sheets and no windows. There was a fridge inside and a long shelf from the floor to the ceiling, stacked with canned meat and baby formula.

They had prepared for something like this.

On the one side of the wall, five flat screens were nailed to the wall showing us what was happening outside. Xena was standing in the middle of four men that were lying on the ground, lifeless and Damian was in his wolf form.

A big black wolf, just like mine. Xena had Green eyes, thanks to our witch ancestry but Damian's eyes were red.

A full on werewolf alpha.

He had an arm in his mouth, eyes open and alert. He looked like a crazed animal as the arm leaked blood. His teeth crimson from it, fur wet and sticking to his body as he walks up to Xena.

Damian walks around Xena, his body rubbing against hers as he moves. Inspecting her body for any injuries but finding none. He stops in front of her and throws the arm on the ground by her feet.

The was pure show of affection, even if it was from a wolf that rejected us.

"He is your mate, isn't he?" Carla asks me but I don't answer. It was pretty obvious what our wolves were to each other and after this clear, public display of affection, it would be hard keeping Xena away from Damian's wolf.

They had decided, without us what they were to each other, ignoring Damian's rejection.

It made my heart melt seeing my all-so-tough Xena, finding love and going against anything and everything to be with her love. Together, they might have just saved us from being killed but Damian rejected me.

We need to remember that.