West POV
T.J. was more than shocked to see him come out of the Alpha Suite across from his own suite, dressed and ready for morning training, but then just smiled at him as he walked down the hall. “What brought this on?”
“Nothing, I just didn’t want Miranda in my bed anymore.” he replied simply.
“Could have just moved her to another room?”
“Wasn’t it you,” he said pointedly, “just the other day, nagging me about using the Alpha Suite.” he finished, irritated by the man's question.
T.J. put his hands up. “Hey, I didn’t make you do it.”
Training and a shower, then he was off to visit Lark’s new chew toy. Heath.
His eyes met Wests. “You killed her yet?” he smirked right at him.
West's jaw tightened as he unlocked the cell door and yanked it open, walked over and punched the man so hard he was swinging from that hook. The man spat blood and locked eyes with him. “Not yet, huh! I wonder how long it will take?”
“I would keep that mouth shut unless you want a broken jaw.”
Heath actually laughed “Break it, you’ll still.”
West, with all of Volt behind him, hit the man so hard teeth flew from his mouth and he lost consciousness. He would never hurt her. West stalked out of the cells and back to the pack-house, banged into his office, really wanted to beat the living hell out of something.
That mans insistence? Was it just a word game to enrage him? Or did he know something else? Sat down in his chair, might have to be in control next time. He’d been goaded into a rage and he knew it. T.J. was right about the man trying to fuck with his head. The problem was West was letting him get in.
Definitely couldn’t go in there alone again, might just kill him and he’d promised Jo-anne he wouldn’t. Needed to approach him in a different matter. Sighed and rubbed his temples and asked the guard on cell duty to let him know when the prisoner was awake. Got an affirmative.
Buried himself in work til lunch time, when he walked over there to the cells again, only this time his mother was with him. She had strolled into his office and stated she would be having a word with the prisoner and sat herself down on the couch and had not left his office til he’d gotten word the man was awake. He was still curious about her conversation with T.J. and when he asked she’d looked up at him, smiled and said “now son, that is mine and Terence’s business.” and said nothing more.
“I hear you moved into the Alpha Suite.”
“Mm,” was his only reply.
“So, when do I expect Jo-anne to move in with you?” said it as though it was expected of him.
West had stopped walking altogether. “Excuse me.”
“Oh, son, I am not so stupid. I just keep my mouth shut most of the time where you are concerned.” she put her hand on his arm and tugged him back into walking along with her. “I smelled you all over her in the hospital.”
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing. This was not the time or place to be having this conversation. “Lets discuss it another time.”
“Why, I cleared the way already. We’re alone, son.”
He stared at her a little surprised and she smiled right up at him, “Luna, remember. So when can I expect her to pick up her Luna training?”
“Mother, it is not like that,” he stated flatly. Jo-anne hadn’t even so much as mind-linked him about what had happened. Probably regretted it the minute she’d woken up and realised it was him and not T.J.
“Hmm. Well, perhaps it could be, if you sat and talked to the girl. She never hated you. You know that right.”
“I know,” he nodded. “Doesn’t mean I have any right.”
“Hmm, I see. I’ll come back to it, in what, say 2 weeks then.” there was a half smirk on her face.
He knew she was talking about the full moon that was coming, “Don’t get your hopes up mother, T.J. will be her Mate and you know it.”
“Unlikely.” she shrugged it off.
They walked the rest of the way in silence. She wrinkled her nose at the rotten stench of rogue scent, that came off of him and stared right at the man hanging from the hook. He looked right at her. “Oh, you brought your mummy with you.”
“Enough!” his mother stated flatly, and rolled her Luna Aura at him, only to have him laugh.
“I’m a rogue Natalia, that won’t work on me anymore.”
“Heath, do you recall, why I picked you to raise that little girl?” she got right to her line of questioning.
He was glaring at her all of a sudden, but said nothing.
“I think you do.” his mother folded her arms across her chest “shall I remind you.” it was not a question, a pointed statement.
“Don’t bother.” he replied.
“Your Mate,” she ignored him, “she had just died, giving birth to your first born...a little girl I believe, who also died.”
“Shut up.” he snarled at her. So the man had a weak spot, West thought.
“You were at a loss. To loose both a Mate and a child is a terrible thing.” she actually sounded sad for him. “then a miracle, little Terence finds a baby girl out in the snow, and name her Jo-Jo.”
“Enough.” Heath was suddenly yelling at her.
“What was your Mate's name, Heath?” she asked calmly.
He was thrashing and straining at his bonds. “Fuck you.” he snarled at her “Shut the hell up.”
West was more than interested now. He’d never looked into man's history, never saw a need to, but right that minute, he was more than interested in the man's reactions.
“Jo-anne, I believe…I chose you, Heath, because Terence had already nicknamed her.”
“Fucking shut your mouth.” he screamed at her.
His mother ignored the man, “what you called your own Mate, Jo-Jo.”
Heath was staring at her, West could see the pain in his eyes, he couldn’t hide the pain of the loss of his first Mate, made West wonder if Karen was chosen or Goddess-Gifted to him. Might have to look into that.
“I gave her to you, because I thought you would love her like your own, be able to get passed all that grief and live, knowing you had something to live for, a memory to hold on to. A name sake for your lost Mate. She even has the same grey eyes as your Mate, doesn’t she?”
“You chose wrong.”
“I did, it seems, but why? You loved that little girl. I saw it every day for many years. What changed you?”
“None of your business.”
“Hmm,” she turned and looked at West, he just shrugged, she shook her head, turned back to Heath “. None of my business...Do you know? Heath, that her birth mother is somewhere in this pack. What do you think is going to happen when she finds out what you did? To her little girl.”
“You don’t even know who it is,” he spat.
“Don’t I? Are you 100% certain of that?” she was staring right at him.
That was an interesting statement. West wondered if his mother did know who Jo-anne’s birth mother or father was, for that matter. He did not know, it was not documented anywhere he knew of.
“You don’t, its all bluff.”
“Hmm, you want to hope so.” she smiled right at him “Because she’s not so small, not so weak, a good strong warrior of a woman now. The news is not yet fully out about what you did, but I know she has seen her child’s injuries.”
“She never wanted that brat.”
“Maybe she had her own reasons, but somehow. I’m betting that woman would feel pain at the thought of the loss of her child, like any mother would. West here is going to do his mother a favour today and tell everyone of your crime, including your Mate and 2 other daughters.”
“Leave them out of this.”
West smiled, oh he hated Karen. “Of course mother, what time suits you.” He would make sure the first link was to that bitch and her daughters and hold so darn tight she or they couldn’t close it off.
His mother turned and smiled right at him. “Now son, suits me just fine. Don’t forget to mention he’s a traitor to this pack. Let's word it this way, tried to kill his own daughter, a Luna Ranked wolf, who you've willingly accepted back into the pack, are happy to have home.”
West nodded he actually didn’t see a problem with that at all. He didn’t want Jo-anne anywhere else but in this pack. Had never wanted her to leave him, even if he’d been an ass-hole the whole time and knew what she had done had been for her own sanity.
Opened that pack wide mind-link, it was going to cause him a headache, but he would deal with it. Once he felt he had everyone’s attention, made his statement to them didn’t even really need time to think about it “I your Alpha, have a crime to report to you all. Heath Morris, attempted to kill his eldest daughter, Jo-anne Morris. My former Mate, who I have accepted back into my pack. Glad she has come home to us once more. Heath is now considered a traitor to this pack for attacking a Luna Ranked wolf. The former Luna to this pack, your pack. He went rogue and is now captured and in the cells awaiting punishment. Lenience granted from his death sentence, which you all know to be the penalty for such a crime in this pack, Lenience granted to him by his own daughter, Jo-anne. Who is saddened by this turn of events, but does not want him executed. A generous and forgiving daughter he has.” he cut the link and looked at his mother.
She smiled right up at him, “Now son. There is the true Alpha in you that I raised. Well done, I’m very proud of you.”
He felt a swell of happiness inside of him. Last time they had talked she had questioned him and his ability to be the Alpha. He was glad to see she was proud of him. Even Volt was happy. She was proud of him. ‘ Did good.’ his wolf told him.
“What’d you tell them?” Heath yelled at them. No longer a member of the pack, he had not received the message.
“Well, I guess you’ll never know, seeing as you’re not a pack member anymore, Mother is there anything else you want?”
West watched as she turned and looked at Heath. “No, not right now, lets go have lunch, son. I’m hungry.” she walked over to him and slipped her hand around his arm, and they left the cells together.
“I’m not sure how Jo-anne will feel about this mother.” he sighed. It had to be done and he’d felt concern come from her through the link, almost instantly.
“She’ll deal with it, West. That girl…” she shook her head “is resilient, to say the least.”
West nodded, she was at that.
“ Do you actually know who her mother is?” he asked out of curiosity.
She just looked up at him, but said nothing. Even if she did, she was not about to impart that news to him, that was perfectly clear to him.
T.J. had been waiting for him by his office. His mother let go of his arm. She knew T.J. wanted a word with him. Already Jo-anne had approached him with concerns about back-lash at her stepmother and sisters, and that the pack was going to treat them differently. Which they likely were, side effect of being a family member of a traitor. Jo-anne it seemed, was a big ball of bloody compassion. For people that didn’t deserve it in his eyes, she didn’t want harm to come to anyone.
T.J. had told her it was an Alpha decision, that West was not likely to rescind it. Which West was not. Jo-anne had not been happy about it but had to deal with it.
The whole pack now knew what that son of a bitch had done to his own daughter. That the one he had attacked, had managed to convince him, the Alpha of the pack, not to kill him for his crime. Now knew that he was alive only because the one he’d tried to kill, did not wish harm back.
West still thought it was too forgiving of her, but so far T.J., in the past 24 hours had not been able to convince her. West didn’t think that anyone was going to be able to. So it was likely that Heath was to live out his life rotting in his cell, to be T.J. and Larks chew toy, not to mention Wests personal punching bag.
West was never going to allow her near the man, no matter how she felt. Forgive him or not, West would never forgive that man for harming her.