Chapter 5
Paxton’s POV
“Brenna was made for me. I can’t wait to mark and mate her. She will be a great Gamma female. There is no stronger she-wolf in our pack. I can't wait to make her mine,” Rex stated. I knew he was the one to choose her for the job, as he had wanted Brenna for a long time, too. She was a strong fighter, even stronger than he was. He couldn’t overpower her. He is from Gamma blood, and Brenna has Alpha blood in her, with a Beta ranking. That was the second reason that Rex hadn’t come forward to try to force her to be his. The shame of being bested by a woman would have made him furious. The main reason was that we were not confident that we could beat their father, James, in a fair fight. My father was still afraid of him, deferring to Beta James too damn often over the years.
My father was weak as an Alpha. I dealt with Beta James efficiently and without getting a scratch on me. I have lost any respect that I had for my father. I did what he couldn’t do, and I don’t feel bad about it. Plus, Beta James had hurt Cara. He wasn’t mean to her, but he allowed the pack to become more aggressive towards her in the last five years. I had to agree to make Lisa my Luna to get her to lay off Cara. I only slept with Lisa because she was always there, offering herself to me. I never had to look for company. She always placed herself in front of me. She seemed to be under the impression that she was some type of prize or something. She wasn’t.
She was well used before I had her, but her father was the Gamma. He also pushed for me to accept her, and Lisa was attractive. She was a ranked she-wolf, and although I only wanted Cara, I couldn’t have her. All three of Beta James’ daughters were off-limits to me and everyone else. He wanted all of his daughters to find their true mates, not to settle for being a chosen mate. I know what happened to him was the reason why he felt that way. I had already marked and mated with Lisa. Beta James knew I wanted Cara, but he had the nerve to tell me that I made my bed, now lie in it.
So I bided my time. Once I realized that Lisa was not going to be able to bear my child after the last three years. I waited another year before making my big announcement to the pack. I knew that Cara got my message loud and clear. Unfortunately for me, her father realized it, too. He had come to my office the next day to warn me to leave her alone. That was his biggest mistake. He couldn’t tell me, his Alpha, what to do. He signed his death sentence that day. I made sure to get rid of them both at the same time. I had to make sure that the girls were alone. The rest of the pack wouldn’t help them. It would be easier to control them this way.
I had called Clay the previous week to tell him to pack up and get out here, even before they had been found. Clay had given me the idea of what to do the last time we spoke. We had come up with the best plan for all of us. I knew when they were going out, they never kept it a secret. I knew that they would never be coming back. I sent Rex to follow them into the city. It would be obvious if I had gone there myself to do it. No one would question Rex about it; if they did, I would run interference for him. We were in it together to be able to get our dream girls.
I had a thing for Cara a lot longer than 6 years. Clay and Rex just weren’t aware of it, as I kept it to myself. When I turned thirteen and Cara was eleven, I knew I liked her. I didn’t care about the rumors that flew around her. I knew that Beta James had fallen in love with a witch himself. It was taboo, but I didn’t care. Cara was the most beautiful girl in the pack. The most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She was what I deserved to have as a mate.
I knew that Cara was the proof of their love. I know that looking at Cara over the years had to be hard for Ellen to do. She was not a bad step-mom to her. The fact that the pack was against her didn’t matter to me. I was completely in love with Cara when I was sixteen. It has only got stronger over the years. Being near her was heaven, but I couldn’t do it very often. In fact, it was rare for me to be able to be near her. So, I picked up the hobby of bullying her occasionally. I wished to the Goddess I hadn’t. I know that because of my actions, others followed along with my bad example.
Everyone picked on her from that point on, getting progressively worse. They felt that she was less than they were, all because her mother was a witch. Cara wasn’t a witch. Her mother left when she was still little, and she had no training. I couldn’t feel any power in her. She was as defenseless as a human here in the pack. The only reason that she was safe was because no one wanted to piss her father off. That changed once she turned eighteen and didn’t receive her wolf. I felt terrible for her. I could see that things went from bad to worse for her.
Beta James wasn’t outrightly mean to her, but he didn’t defend her like he used to, and the whole pack knew it. Her sisters did, and any who hurt her, had the same thing dealt out right back to them. The pack learned Cara may not have her father’s support, but she sure had her sister’s support. Only Lisa and her friends persisted in it. Most likely because she believed the pillow talk after we had sex. I didn’t want to take her on as my chosen. I only did it to get her off Cara’s back. Lisa knew I cared for Cara. Lisa’s threat to kill Cara was not an idle one. Lisa pointed out that the pack didn’t like Cara, and one small accident could likely kill her. I did what I had to do to protect her from Lisa.
Being belittled and occasionally shoved was far less punishment than what Lisa wanted to dish out to her. Once Lisa became Luna of the pack, she settled down for a while. She was very jealous of Cara. So, I avoided Cara and allowed Lisa to give her demeaning jobs to keep her calm. One morning at breakfast, it hit me. Lisa was scared of Brenna. That was the real reason that she backed off of Cara. The fact that Lisa laughed in my face when I confronted her was eye-opening for me. I never realized it at all, and it took me years to figure it out. I felt sick about it. I had been convinced that I had sacrificed myself for Cara, only to find out that Lisa had stopped because of Brenna.
Things went downhill fast for us at that point. I couldn’t stand to be around Lisa anymore. I stopped sleeping with her, and I didn’t want her to bear my heirs anyway. I always wanted Cara to be the mother of my pups. She was half-werewolf despite not being able to phase. I was sure that she could give me strong pups. The problem was that Cara couldn’t stand me. She didn’t want me. But I had already made the announcement to the pack. Cara immediately understood what I was trying to say. She knew she would be the one to provide the pack with their heirs.
I was sure that everything would work out fine after she bore the pack heirs and a few choice words from me. I would deal with Lisa. I warned her that if she hurt Cara, she wouldn’t finish the week. I was serious. I would kill her with my bare hands. No one was going to take Cara away from me. I would wage war on whoever tried to. I was serious; I would risk the whole pack to have her.
“Paxton, what is up with you, man? You completely zoned out on us,” Rex asked.
“I was just thinking about how I need to deal with Lisa. You know your sister is a possessive bitch. I only accepted her as my Luna because I knew Beta James would never allow me to claim Cara. I thought she would chill out by giving her the title she wanted, but she hasn’t. She eased off for a little while, but she has been pissed off ever since I announced that I would choose a pack member to bear my pups,” I replied.
“You knew who she was before you accepted her. She is a royal bitch to everyone, including me and Dad. The only people she likes are her two friends and Mom. That is it. The fact that Brenna will be my mate soon will ensure I don’t get anywhere near Lisa again. I know why you chose her. You would have been better off leaving the pack and finding someone else to be the Luna here. Lisa will never leave another girl alone. You must know that she uses the pack funds as her personal bank. She will run us into the ground and leave when the money runs out. You already knew it before you marked her,” Rex scoffed at me like I was stupid.
“I know how Lisa is. I guess if I need to, I can have Lisa visit the cells permanently. I don’t want to have to fight with her constantly over this. I am the Alpha here. What I want to happen is the most important thing. Cara will eventually learn to love me back. Once she has given me a pup or two, I am sure that she will grow to have feelings for me. It is only natural. Otherwise, she will end up locked in her gilded prison in a special room. One that allows me to ensure she stays pregnant with my pup until she learns that she should appreciate me more. I have done everything in my power to make Cara mine. She needs to have the proper appreciation for all that I have done for her,” I replied to Rex.
I watched Clay and Rex nod in agreement with what I just said. I was serious. I couldn’t kill Lisa; it would hurt me, too, as we are marked and bonded together. Lisa would live until I could find a way to reject her and break our bond. After that, I will decide what I want to do to her. If she is draining the pack's funds, as Rex stated, I am sure that they will be fine with me putting her to death for it. The pack funds are not for her to piss away. I have mentioned that before. The only reason that I am allowing it this time is because I want some time alone with Cara. I need a few days to charm her. But, if she refuses to come to me willingly, that is fine, too. The decision isn’t hers anymore. It is mine, and what I want, I get.