Paxton’s POV
Chapter 33
I thought she was dead. I knew who she was the moment she appeared. She looked just like Cara. The resemblance was uncanny. After Saoirse left, James assured us that she was gone forever. We all thought that he had killed her, and that was why she never returned. My father was worried for years about her return, but once it reached the fifteen-year mark, we were all convinced that she was dead.
So when Cara turned eighteen the next year and didn’t phase, she caught hell. Beta James took back his support for his own daughter. Once that was known, the last few months of school were awful for her. She made it because her younger sisters suddenly took up the slack. It had been over twenty years, and I never thought twice about her mother returning.
Things improved a little for Cara until she graduated. She had to work in the pack, as we all had to have jobs to make sure the pack ran smoothly. Lisa amplified her hostility towards Cara at that time. She made sure that at least once a month, Cara was hurt—not a nick or scrape, but seriously hurt. She didn’t heal like we did; it took a lot longer for her to heal from an injury.
What kind of mom would allow what was happening to Cara to continue? It was one of the reasons I didn’t fear pursuing Cara. How dare she choke me and demand I call my men to come to get me? My throat still hurt. Her grip on me got progressively tighter the longer she held onto me. She may not have physically put her hands on me, but she sure as hell choked me.
I wanted to rip her apart, but she didn’t give me any time to regain my strength. I had been horrified to see her in Cara’s room. The fire I saw shining in her eyes made me realize she was furious. I can only assume that she read my mind, as I have a little bit of a headache. If she knew what was going on, wouldn’t she have come back to get Cara? I don’t know if Dad or Beta James would have let her go. Beta James might have been mad enough to give her back, once he knew she didn’t have a wolf.
I had seen a picture of Saoirse before. There was one in my office, in one of the bottom drawers. My father was scared to death of her, and he showed me her picture back when he was an alpha. He told me she would never return, so why is she here now? I have to admit when she picked us all up like it was nothing, I’m not going to lie; it was scary. But when she asked ‘Any last words’? That really increased my fear. Where the hell is she taking us? Does she plan on killing us?
Holy shit, I didn’t tell Michela that we were coming back here. I was scared she would tell her father to gain his favor again. They won’t even know we did because the Council members kept telling us we should move on. To let it go. That returning here would be considered an act of war. This shit was really pissing me off. This crazy bitch could end us, and no one would know that they needed to pin it on Black Adder. They might get off scot-free on this. How messed up was that? I wished I had sent out a text or something to someone. But, honestly, the least number of people who knew what we were doing was best at the time.
It was not quite legal, and the Council had warned us. Goddess, why didn’t I just fucking listen to what they said? I had to listen to Clay and Rex continually bitching about how I refused to let go of the girl I wanted, yet they had lost both of theirs. They needed to stop crying about it. I was the Alpha, not them. They could make do with someone else. But I refused to leave here without Cara. That is what I was doing when I got caught. How did they manage to find her mother? Why would my father and Beta James be so sure she wouldn’t return? Somebody fucking lied to me.
“So, nothing to say?” Saoirse said to me with a smirk. She was looking right at me. She knew what I wanted to say. Might as well give her want she wants.
“This isn’t over with. I will come back for Cara,” I replied.
“Oh, I highly doubt that Paxton, but it’s always nice to have dreams,” She remarked with an even bigger smirk.
“I was told you were dead. Where did you come from,” I asked. I needed to know.
“I have been patiently waiting for this moment for the last twenty-one years. Cara just happened to be given a letter I sent her. Once, I was told that James had been locked away from her all these years. As soon as she opened it, I could pinpoint her location. You see, Paxton, I was forced to make a deal with James. He would keep Cara safe and sound. He promised to love and take care of her. I promised that I would stay away and leave his family alone. He didn’t keep up his side of the deal. I am so angry right now. I want to go and level your pack. Punish everyone who hurt my daughter, but I will wait. You are a terrible Alpha. Your chosen is even worse than you. You two will personally destroy the pack without my help. But I will come one day, and you will feel my vengeance. Cara will have justice for what the Kamaria pack did to her,” Saoirse stated.
She held the three of us up in the air all together. She turned towards the group gathered in front of the two SUVs and said, “I’ll be right back for my daughter.”
The next thing we knew, we were in front of my pack. It was literally the blink of an eye. I felt dread in my stomach as I looked at Saoirse. She is much more powerful than I was led to believe. She was watching us all carefully. I knew she was sizing us up. She waited a minute or two in silence before she spoke.
“I want you all to have fair warning. I will be training Cara. She needs to learn how to control her powers. I want you three to realize something. She could very well end up being more powerful than I am. Let’s think about that for a moment, shall we? You need to make some sweeping changes here. You three are some of the worst wolves I have ever come across. You think about yourselves first instead of the pack. You have sworn to protect them, but all you do is chase after she-wolfs. You are absolutely disgusting,” Saoirse told us.
“I just got here. You can’t attack my character like that,” Clay retorted. He was bold until she fixed her eyes on him.
“Beta Clay, how can you stand there and say that? Are you not aware that I know exactly who put my daughter into that hospital? She hasn’t mentioned it yet, but I can read minds. I know you hurt her. You almost killed her. Do you know what would have happened to you if you had killed my only child? I would have peeled your skin off of you. Let me assure you it is incredibly painful, but it won’t kill you. You will suffer and heal, and I will do it repeatedly. You will wish for death, but I will not grant it. You need to be thankful that her mate sent her immediately to the hospital for treatment. Very thankful indeed,” Saoirse responded to him. I couldn’t hold back my own shudder at her words. She spoke so calmly about it. It was scary.
“I am sorry, but she had broken into my home. I was…” Clay started to say.
“I know exactly what you were about to attempt to do to my daughter. That was the other reason for the punishment. You might fool your Alpha, but you are not fooling me. I know what you were planning to do,” Saoirse interrupted. She is the second person to mention that Clay would do something bad to Cara. I need to talk to him about this. Saoirse is furious with him, and Alexei was too. They both can’t be wrong about this. Clay is nervous and fearful. It was a clear admission of guilt.
“Don’t condemn him too quickly there, Alpha. I saw what you did, too. I want you to take your own advice. This isn’t over. Did you honestly think you would be able to outrun punishment for what you have done to her? Don’t strain yourselves trying to figure that one out. Spoiler alert: I don’t think you will. I can promise you that you three will get exactly what you deserve. One day, Cara and I might return here for a nice little reunion with our old packmates. I think it would be a good opportunity to dole out some justice. Cara knows who her worst enemies are. I will be here to help her get what she needs for closure,” Saoirse told us.
“We can change, we can do better. I knew that we were not good to Cara. I will address the pack, and we can make the changes we need to make to the pack,” I told her.
“I can’t see you succeeding with it, Paxton, but you can try. Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Let me get you guys back home,” Saoirse told us.
My stomach dropped. We were at the top of a hill, just outside my pack. I knew this bitch wasn’t going to let us off scot-free. With a flick of her hand, we started tumbling down the hill at a high speed. We were near the side of the packland and seemed to hit every rock, stick, and stone we encountered on the way down the hill. It was a steep hill, and we rolled until we hit the run-off drain next to the wall. We were covered in blood, with our clothes torn and ripped from falling down the slope. I could feel a broken bone in my arm. Rex was complaining about his hand hurting.
Clay cried out when he tried to stand up. He was the worst off of any of us. It was obvious that his leg was broken. I linked Rex’s father, Devin, to get a team together to take us to the hospital for treatment. My head hurt, and blood was running down my face and into my eye. I can feel a gash in my head. That bitch just tried to kill us. I am furious and ready to kill her when I hear her laugh sound from the top of the hill.
“You are not the first to come up with that idea, Paxton. Better men than you have tried, but I welcome your attempt. I will have to come up with something even better than what I have planned for Clay for your punishment,” Saoirse told me before disappearing. Goddess, my head hurts. I need to figure out how to kill that witch. I need to figure out where she is going to take Cara. She said she would return there to get Cara when we left Black Adder. Where in the hell is she going to take her?