Chapter 18 Chapter 18
POV Liberty
I couldn’t believe my eyes, in front of me I was seeing a ghost from my past.
My jaw dropped in surprise as I took in the lady in front of me
She stood as if she hadn’t died in my past, my stomach twisting inside with grief, as excitement ran through my veins and I couldn’t help but smile at seeing her semi familiar face.
I gasped as she came into view, “Mum, is that really you?” I couldn’t hide the excitement from my voice.
I ran to her and embraced her tightly as if I was going to lose her from my life again. I took in her familiar scent that I longed to smell for years, letting it fill my senses as I had longed for her for so long.
“What is that smell?“Carissa asked..
I was to blind to listen, I just wanted this moment to last, holding my mother again, feeling her warm breath against my cheek as I shuddered with the sobs that filled my body.
Carissa pushed forward and pushed the woman away from her, knowing that danger was close she scolded me for not listening before.
She shifted taking full control of me and I cursed her out, “Jesus Carissa, it is mum let me forward“, I screamed at her trying to gain control and shift back.
I was so busy in my mind crying and swearing Carissa out that I didn’t realise she was protecting me until I heard her say, “Jenkins pack is here!“,
I froze and had not noticed that Zeus stood besides Carissa protecting her from the danger they sensed together.
“That is rather interesting that you can do that“, My mother said, narrowing her eyes and smirking at the sight of my wolf in front of her.
“Answer me“, Carissa demanded I could sense a shiver run up our spine and I knew she felt vulnerable here.
“I am your mother, The Jenkins pack is not here any longer☐☐.search for yourself“, she said, staring at Zeus and waving to the cabin behind her.
Carissa swung her head to the side nodding to Zeus to go check it out as she watched Zeus walk towards the cabin, I could sense her uneasiness inside as my stomach started to hurt and twist again pulling hard inside me.
My mother walked to Carissa and touched her face with a frown, “How are you doing that?“, she asked again.
Carissa sent out a warning growl and I yelled at her from my mind,“Stop that Carissa!“.
“Liberty, love I am your mother, you must take control so we can reunite, I have longed to speak with you instead of watching you from afar!“, she said.
I was stunned by her words, she had been watching me all this time I wondered.
Carissa did not acknowledge me, she stayed alert and her uneasiness grew the longer Zeus took from her side.
“Doing what?“Carissa spoke suddenly, taking a step back.
Stunned, my mother frowned and asked, “Doing what?“.
Carissa spoke,” You asked how I am doing that? What am I doing? Is my question?”
Stunned, my mother started opening her mouth but closed it again shaking her head. She took a deep breath, “Disconnect from your human like that?, from Liberty like you are now. I have heard stories that this can happen but I have never seen it before,” She said astonished, scratching her head with bewilderment, never taking her eyes off my wolf.
Carissa didn’t speak but we both wondered the same thing lately and we couldn’t even pinpoint when it started happening either
“You know, if you do not fix it, whoever is stronger will be the one that stays, the weaker one, well☐☐.” she said, raising her eyebrow.
I frowned at her words and wondered what they meant but both Carissa and I were confused, we both wondered why we were separating like this when we used to be so close.
As I sat there in her mind waiting to regain control I realised It had been getting stronger all day and even though I wanted to ask my mother why that was, why was I so lost from my wolf, would she even know? It would be nice to ask my mother anything, why did you leave me? Why didn’t you protect me from Harris? Why didn’t you tell me I was a healer? What was a healer? So many questions yet no voice to ask them with. Inside I realised that Jake hadn’t lied to me, that his words were true and I took comfort in that I could trust him. I was running out of people I could trust but he wasn’t going to be there forever. His words had led to me meeting my mother once more and for that I must be thankful.
Thoughts once again turning to Jake made me concerned that Zeus had been too long.
“Is it that the wolf has bonded with him or have you?“, my mother asked, with a frown upon her face.
“Why did you never let Liberty know you were alive?,” Carissa asked suddenly.
I felt as if she wanted to avoid that question all together, she hadn’t wanted to say it was her, I could sense her fear if she admitted that she had bonded with the wolf that her human wanted to reject.
“So she never got her powers and so the Alphas wouldn’t use her like they did me,” she answered honestly. In the moonlight her face looked ugly and withered as she spoke of the past nothing like the beautiful mother I had known and loved, there seemed to be coldness that sat still around her feeding her energy making me shiver inside. “Why did you curse Alpha Jake and his sister?,” Carissa asked, persistent with finding the truth.
“Because Alpha Drakos took my daughter away from me, promising me a refuge and it was hell. He was no better and he laughed each time I withered away, he soaked in his greed for the invincible army I had given him. So I cursed his children, they were the ones that had to pay for his mistakes.“She spat.
“I did not know then ( she paused) that he was the one who was fated to you,!” she said remorsefully.
A vile look settled on her face as if just talking of her past was tearing at her insides as if she relived the whole thing again in her mind. Carissa stepped forward to comfort her as she too felt the pang hit her heart from her mothers grief.
Just as she stepped closer a man from the Jenkins pack was launched through the front window and the smashing sound echoed through the wood:
He hit the ground with a thud and he whimpered in pain.
High alert Carissa jumped back creating distance between the man and herself she growled and when she couldn’t see Zeus she called for him, “Are you okay?“.
I couldn’t help but be intrigued by her connection to Zeus as if her feelings were alien to me, sadness gripped me of her struggle to be loyal to me but also to him.
It was Jake who came running through the front door moments later jumping over the bannisters to where the man he just threw out of a window had just landed. He grabbed the man’s hair and pulled it back and gritted his teeth, “Why are you here,” he hissed.
The anger was palpable and Carissa was feeding from his emotions; she too mimicked his feeling as it washed over her, tainting every nerve inside a slow growl rumbled through her.
Jake hesitated and looked from the man to Carissa, his dark eyes full of anger changed instantly as they rested on her.
He held his hands up to her, “It’s okay, I have this, you speak with your mother, it is okay I promise,” he said, each word calm and clear as if it was just him and her standing
there.
The man let out a cackle of laughs that pulled Jake away from Carissa. The annoyance was evident on his face, he lifted the man’s head up by his hair and then he slammed the man’s head into the ground.
Carissa turned calmer than she was before to face our mother and she looked down on her, I could feel the coldness as she spoke, “Why is a member of the Jenkins pack here?” she asked as she lifted her paw and grazed her claw down our mothers face.
I watched as my mother flinched as the claw scraped her cheek, the obvious pain was evident on her face.
The pain of such an action was too much for me and I pushed forward, “Enough“, I shouted.
I was pushing forward to force a shift back and regaining my control for now.
I looked at my mother with pleading eyes and shaking my head. I said, “Please after so long no more lies,” I felt the tear roll down my cheek.
Jake had rendered the man unconscious and left him lying on the grass, I could hear him approach me and when he touched my shoulder to show support, it was sending shivers running up my spine and the goosebumps raised on my skin.
Liberty’s Secrets
Jake had rendered the man unconscious and left him lying on the grass, I could hear him approach me and when he touched my shoulder to show support, it was sending shivers running up my spine and the goosebumps raised on my skin.
“Liberty“, he soothed.
Tears fell quickly and free and my mothers expression never changed, she did not soften nor did she become harder. As if she was neutral she just watched my heart break all over again, “I wish you would stop this nonsense,” she uttered finally.
“Jenkins pack was here!I did not know that man was hiding in my home“, she said pointing towards him.
“As you can see I am not as pretty as before so none of the Jenkins pack recognised me,” she said, this time I saw a flicker of emotion in her eyes.
“Why was Jenkins pack here at your home?“, I asked.
“For you!, they have searched the whole pack after your display, Milo and the border patrols saw most of them off. They are looking for Liberty. They knew you were not here Alpha, so they searched where they could until they were chased away” she answered honestly without emotion.
“They left though, but I fear they did not believe me when I said I did not know you. I am an old woman cast to the edge of the pack lands. I would not know you. They couldn’t have believed me as this man has hidden in my home!“, she said, narrowing her eyes at the lifeless body of the man on the ground..
“Please Liberty come inside and talk with me,” she pleaded with sincerity.
I felt confused and looked to Jake for the answer which he shrugged. He then used our mind link to talk with me, “It is empty in there now, I will wait here for you“, he encouraged.
“Anyhow, I have this man to talk with“, he said with a wink and a smile, as he walked towards the man that still didn’t stir on the ground.
The man was impossible, he was cold one minute yet made me feel utterly safe in his hands the next. I frowned at the warmth that touched my body from his words. I shook my head knowing that it was getting closer to my 18th and soon I would have to reject him and forever be fighting with my wolf because of it.
Yet there was nothing inside me that screamed that I wanted to be mated with such an Alpha not in just life but in death also. I would never live up to his expectations and he could never live up to mine, right now though I needed to know what I could do to survive.
I realised that I had only two options, one was to die for my mate whom I did not like and who definitely did not like me or I was to die at the hands of Alpha Jenkins because he wanted to harness a power that I had no idea how to control or what it even was.
Both options seemed quite depressing and bleak as a fate to be mapped for me
I couldn’t help feeling lost inside.
My mother spoke, pulling me from my thoughts, “Lib, come with me,” she said, holding her hand out to me.
I swallowed the fear and anguish I felt inside, the excitement to see her had vanished when I didn’t recognise the cold woman in front of me, all her warmth and love that shone through had dispersed and that unsettled feeling gnawed at my insides causing pain to ripple through. Yet I had to swallow it down and push it deep inside ignoring
- it.
“I do not know if I can trust you, I have grieved you a long time ago. Yet you stand in front of me as If you didn’t leave me, as if I was a stranger rather than your daughter” I said with a sigh.
“Liberty, we must talk. You must have so many questions which only I have the answers to!“My mother said, reaching for my arm and giving it a gentle squeeze. I instinctively pulled my arm away from her and resigned to the fact
I knew deep down she was right and even though I could feel Carissa disagree with me, I could sense she was not pleased yet did not voice her objections.
With Jake not far away and I took comfort in that if I needed him he would come as he wanted to prove his words were true. I couldn’t help feeling my stomach in knots and my palms all sweaty and trembling. I turned to my mother, who I had thought had been dead for 5 years and I took her hand and forced a smile at her, “Lead the way and explain it to me,” I said.
