Jo-anne POV
No, no, no, she shook her head, hearing Wests voice inside her head, telling the whole pack what her father had done to her. It would put her sisters and her stepmother in the line of fire. Wolves did not like traitors or even their family members. Her heart was racing inside her chest.
Jo-anne left her room, ran down the hall, heading right for his office. He had to take it back, or pardon her sisters and stepmother. She could see his door was open, and ran right inside without even knocking. Only T.J. was there, behind the man's desk.
West was not there, where was he? She had to beg him to change his mind, find a way to get him to listen to her. Her panicked eyes met T.J’s.
She really wished she could speak already, had to use the mind-link ‘T.J. he has to take it back.’
‘No he doesn’t.’ he leaned back in West’s chair and folded his arms across his chest.
‘It’s not right, Karen and my sisters, will be hated by the pack.’
‘So?’ he sounded so uncaring.
‘T.J.’ she practically begged him, ‘that’s not right, it isn’t their fault.’
‘No, I guess not. If they all renounce him formally here in this office and severe all ties with him, problem solved.’
‘T.J. they’re never going to do that. It will tear them apart. You can’t ask Karen to reject her mate, do you know what that will do to her?’
‘Yes. Free her from the burden of her traitorous Mate.’
Jo-anne really wanted to just scream at him. He knew that was not what she meant. But the pain of a bond breaking was supposed to be dreadfully painful. She had been lucky enough to have the goddess gift no pain to her when she had severed ties with West, but she doubted many were that lucky.
Jo-anne couldn’t physically scream at him yet, but she really wanted to. Stood staring at him, ‘Help me T.J. please, they’re my family.’
‘No they are not.’
‘Yes, T.J. they are. My sisters. Please, you have 2 sisters of your own. Help me to save them.’
‘They can save themselves, Jo-anne. Let them do what they want.’
‘Would you sever ties with your father?’ she shot at him, angry for his uncaring manner towards her family. She knew he didn’t really like them, but they were still her sisters.
‘If my father tried to kill one of my sisters. I would kill him without hesitation, Jo-Jo.’
Jo-anne just stood there and stared at him, he actually meant it, she could tell from his tone. He was not kidding, he would kill his own father. How could anyone even consider doing something like that? That was completely insane. It would hurt him as well as his mother and his sisters.
‘I don’t...What if…’ she didn’t know what to say to him.
‘You don’t understand. Well, it's simple Jo-Jo, a man who can kill his own child, will kill anyone inside the pack, so he can no longer be trusted. It is that simple, has to be put down.’
‘But what if there is a good reason?’
T.J sighed heavily and stood up, walked right over to her, looked down at her, tilt her chin right up to make her look at him. ‘Tell me Jo-Jo, what is a good reason to kill your own child? If you can find one, perhaps you can change my mind.’
Jo-anne stood staring up at him, how was she supposed to answer that question? She didn’t know, frowned, she couldn’t answer that question.
‘Alright Jo-Jo did you do anything to that man to warrant such an attack on you?’
She shook her head. No, because she had done nothing and she knew it.
‘Then, Jo-Jo, there was no good reason for his murderous intent, now was there.’
She could see his point but still, it wasn’t right, her whole family would suffer just because he had hurt her. It was very unlikely that Karen or her sisters knew anything about it until this very moment.
‘My sisters, and stepmother don’t deserve this T.J.’ she pleaded up at him. And when he said nothing she knew he was going to do nothing to help her, turned to leave and go find them herself. Only to have his hand land on her arm. ‘No Jo-Jo. I can not allow you to go to them while still injured. Please, if you insist on talking to them, use the mind-link. Go back to your room for now.’
She couldn’t believe it ‘and if I ignore that?’
She watched as he sighed heavily ‘I’ll make it an order.’
Her eyes widened up at him, he would never.
‘Please go back to your room.’ he released her arm and followed her out of the room, stood and watched as she debated ignoring him. She looked at him and he was staring right at her. She turned away from him, bit her lip. She already had a bunch of orders on her. What was one more? Took a step towards the front door ‘screw it.’ she thought, then she found Ricky and Cole right in her path.
‘Excuse me.’ she mind-linked them.
‘Sorry Jo-anne. Beta’s orders back to your room.’ Ricky informed her.
She turned and looked at T.J. he just raised an eyebrow at her. Then he turned and walked back inside the Alpha’s office. She had no choice, it seemed. She turned and went back to her room. Both Ricky and Cole walked her all the way there.
‘I just want to see my family.’ she told them at her door, hoping they would understand.
‘I’m sorry, Terence’s order is as good as Wests Jo-anne.’ Ricky looked at her, seemed a little like he understood her need but couldn’t help her.
She stepped inside her room and closed the door. Sank down on her couch and sighed, tried to open a link to her stepmother. It was severed instantly. She tried again only to be rejected again. She’d never established a link to either of her sisters before, they’d not had their wolves when she’d left and had no idea how to connect to them. Without being in their presence to actually see them to direct it at them.
She stood this couldn’t be it, there had to be a way to go and see them. Had to be away out of the pack-house, she could use the omega stairs and head through the woods get as close as she could to their house, T.J. would never need to know. She walked over to the door and opened it to find Ricky leaning on the wall still. “ Going somewhere?” he asked.
She banged the door shut, on guard, it seemed, to prevent her from going anywhere. Well, there was one more way. One she knew was going to piss them all off, but so be it. They can’t stop her from seeing her family. Walked over to the wind and pushed it up all the way. It was only about 10 or 12 feet to the ground. Glanced at the door. That was the Gamma out there. Shit if he was trying to sense anything he might pick up what she was about to do.
Getting back inside the pack-house would be the bigger problem. There was no way from the ground to get back up here. She’d have to come through the pack-house which would alert them to her having gotten out. And with Ricky out there in the hall, that meant they would know she’d dropped from the window.
West would likely go ballistic, did she really want his wrath aimed at her. She closed her eyes. She knew why he hated her near balcony’s and being up off the ground. Hell she could well imagine the rage he would direct at her, when he found out. Opened her eyes, and walked away to flop down on her bed, she’d have to find another way.
She stayed in her room all day, didn’t leave it for a single second, and when T.J. walked in with food at dinner time she just rolled over and away from him, still lying on her bed. She had pretty much been there all day. He sat down on the bed next to her. “I got your favourite,” he commented.
She highly doubted it, she’d been gone a long time, and her tastes weren’t all the same as before, she wasn’t even the same person she had been, the last time she was here in the pack.
“Come on Jo-Jo, don’t give me the silent treatment.”
Jo-anne could give him the silent treatment all she liked, she didn’t have her voice back yet, so he would just have to deal with it.
He sighed “you need to eat something, how is Clova going to heal you if you don’t eat properly.” he leaned right over her, “Jo-Jo please. I only did what I did to protect you.”
She doubted that, what harm was there in her going and seeing her family, to try and explain to them that she hadn’t wanted West to do as he had done. Her family was of no threat to her. Never had been.
Heard him sigh, “Don’t be like this Jo-Jo, I don’t like it.”
Well, he should have thought about it before he put guards on her. To make sure she couldn’t go anywhere at all. She’d been forced to come back here. Leave her happy, peaceful life to be locked up in this room like a prisoner. Huh, she was as much a prisoner as her father was. It hurt more than a bit.
“Jo-Jo.” he reached out and touched her. She shifted away from him, he didn’t try again. Got up and sighed, “ Please eat something, if not for you, for Clova.” and then he left the room. She stared across the room. She was hungry just didn’t want company.
Sat up and looked at the tray he’d placed on the bed, when he’d stood up. There was a cup of tea and a plate of roast pork and baked vegetables, even a slice of mango cheesecake. She did like all those things, it would not make up for him putting guards on her and keeping her in her room though. She sat and ate absently. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t go and see them. What if she didn’t go alone? What if she took someone with her? A compromise maybe. She got up after eating her meal, to return her tray to find no-one outside her room, looked both ways to find, though the door was not guarded, Cole and Ricky were sitting on the stairs leading up to the 2nd floor. Just moved further away.
She ignored them as she walked down the hallway, she watched Ricky’s eyes glaze over and glared right at him. Dibber dobber, she thought, then continued off down the stairs and saw T.J. step out of the Alpha’s office and turned away from him. She was not going to talk to him. She could at least find someone else to go with her. Perhaps Ella would go with her.
Put the dishes in the sink and the tray away and turned around to find T.J. walking towards her, she sidestepped him and continued back out of the dining room and saw Miranda coming this way, Grabbed the woman and tried to mind-link her, couldn’t and frowned tried again.
“Oh, I’m not actually a full-pack member.” she seemed to understand Jo-anne was trying to talk to her.
Jo-anne needed an escort, Miranda was a good choice, though she wouldn’t be able to explain it to her that was annoying, let her go was going to need someone else. Waved her off apologetically and moved on.
“Jo-Jo, if you need something, I can go with you.” she heard T.J. say to her.
Ignored him completely and headed off up the stairs. She knew Ella would be upstairs having dinner.
“Jo-Jo,” he called out, seemed annoyed. Well, he could join the bloody club.
She took the stairs two at a time, and then turned and headed up to the 2nd floor. Ella would be on the 3rd floor. She pushed past both Ricky and Cole, still taking the stairs two at a time. Both of them were looking at her curiously. And from the second floor she could see not only T.J. watching her, West had stepped out of his office and was also watching her. She stopped on the half landing and looked at Ricky and Cole, then T.J. and West. Flipped them all off and turned to continue to her destination.
Didn’t care about the consequences, she was over all their shit. Had flipped off her Alpha and his Beta. Flipped off the Gamma and Delta. Disrespected the lot of them, but what could they do about it scold her is what. She was already in lock down, wasn’t allowed to leave the pack, wasn’t allowed to live anywhere else but that bloody room and she wasn’t even allowed to have anyone touch her. The only thing left to him was to put her in the cells for a night and well, hell, she’d agree to go willing to see her father.
Moved down the 3rd floor hallway to knock on the Delta Suite, Ella opened the door and smiled at her “Whats up Jo-anne.”
‘ They’re all a-holes.’ she shot down through the mind-link.
‘Still can’t talk?’
Jo-anne shook her head. ‘ Can we get out of here for a bit? I’m not allowed to go anywhere on my own, it seems.’
‘Not surprising though, is it?’ she indicated Jo-anne’s neck.
‘It’s got nothing to do with that, they don’t want me to go near my sisters or Karen. I wanted to go and see them and was marched back to my room and was guarded all day from leaving.’
‘West can be such a dick.’
‘It was T.J.’
‘What, no? That man would never.’
‘He did. Can we just go for a walk or something?’
‘Sure. But are you allowed?’
‘I’ don’t know, guess we’ll find out when we try to leave the pack-house by the front fucking door.’
Ella burst out laughing ‘Alright, let me get my shoes on.’
Ella pulled a pair of boots on and then stepped out of the suite, linked her arms through Jo-anne’s “Where to.” she grinned right at her as they walked down the hallway.
T.J. was just coming up onto the landing, looked right at her, was frowning.
“ Where off for a walk, Beta Terence.” Ella informed him, all smiles.
“Where too?”
He was blocking their path and it was clear he was not going to move until he knew where. Ella laughed “night swim out at the lake.”
“Neither of you are wearing swimmers” he narrowed his eyes at them both.
“Oh my, must mean skinny dipping time.” she giggled and pulled Jo-anne around him, who was also trying not to laugh now. “Girls only. You perv.” she shot back up at him.
Found Cole staring right at her with narrowed eyes as they came down to the 2nd floor landing ‘Jeez Jo-Jo, you weren’t kidding were you.’
‘Nope.’
‘Man, it's almost like when you Mated to West, this lot always tracking your every move.’
‘Huh?’
Ella snorted ‘Did you not know? Always one of them trailing you at a distance.’
Jo-anne frowned right at her. No, she had never noticed. ‘Well this will piss him off, let's actually go skinny dipping.’ The man hated her being naked in front of others back then, but he couldn’t bloody stop her now, she was no longer his.
‘Sure I’m up for it, I’ll call the others.’
‘On the way home, you think, we could stop by Karen’s.’
‘I don’t see why not.’ she shrugged.
They walked all the way down stairs and right out the front door. She could feel eyes on her, didn’t really care to be honest. Several of their friends joined them on the way to the lake.
All 6 of them did actually go skinny dipping, it was very freeing, not something she had been allowed to do ever. Well, she had before mated to West anyway. She and the girls used to sneak out on those hot summer nights and come down here and just hang out. Swim about and cool off. Talk about who they all thought they might be Mated off to when 18.
Lots of giggling and splashing, today was just a nice relaxing time and they talked about anything and everything, but their Alpha and his a-holes of a unit. Not that anyone could listen the entire time, they were in a 6 lined mind-link she’d opened herself and kept open so they could all freely talk and hear each other.
The girls all thought it was weird that she could do a multi mind-link, and sustain it for hours. None of them could do it, but she’d always been able to, even as a 16-year-old in school. Never had an issue with it. Didn’t even cause a headache which the library books had said it would normally do, sustaining a multi mind-link for long periods of time was taxing, or supposed to be. Not to her.
They stayed at the lake for an hour or so. She didn’t want it to get too late, and have to wake Karen to talk to her. She and the girls all headed back, but only she and Ella headed for Karen’s house. It was her old home. She knocked on the door, Ella was standing next to her. The door opened and Karen stood right there.
Stared at her for a long moment and then just slapped her right in the face, Jo-anne touch her own face in complete shock. Turned her eyes towards the woman, as she was yanked backwards. Ella slapped her right back, and snapped a flat palm into the woman’s chest, “Don’t you ever hit Jo-anne.”
Jo-anne stood there. She had not deserved that, but she guess she could understand a bit. After West’s announcement, ‘Karen I just wanted to see you and my sisters. Make sure you were all okay.' she told her stepmother through the mind-link.
“Just leave, you are not welcome here.”
‘Please, I didn’t want any of this to happen.’
“Then you should have stayed away.” and she slammed the door shut.
Ella turned and looked at her, “Jeez Jo-anne, that’s going to leave a mark.”
‘Better go before T.J. gets here.’
‘Shit, I forgot about that connection you have. Come on quick.’ they turned and left in a hurry,
Karen’s house was quite a bit away from the pack-house. So it would take him a bit to get here and if she was somewhere else, perhaps he wouldn’t suspect where she had been. They were moving quickly through the streets and took a couple of short cuts through a few yards, when Jo-anne saw the playground and pulled Ella right to it.
Shoved her on the round about and jumped on it after running it around and setting it off spinning. T.J. appeared in the park a few minutes later, looking at them, narrowed eyes on her, her hair was out and the spinning would stop him from getting a good look at her. Though she knew he was not fooled. Would have felt the sting in some way to her face. Who the hell knew how it worked? But he always knew.
Ella yelled out to him “Hey you.” and then jumped off and left Jo-anne on it, spun it again and then ran over to him. ‘I’ll distract him, you run like the wind back to your room.’ her amused voice came down the mind-link and then jumped on him, wrapped her arms and legs around him and was kissing him. Even Jo-anne looked on shocked. T.J. looked more than shocked, didn’t seem to know what to do with her. His hands up in the air as if to show he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Bloody woman was going to get herself in trouble.
Jo-anne hopped off and stared at them for a few seconds. Not only was Ella kissing him, she was rubbing herself all over the pack Beta, grinding up against him. ‘Run Jo-anne’ Ella shot through the mind-link.
‘Your insane.’ she shot back with a giggle and ran as fast as she could away from the park, wondering what would happen? She knew T.J. did like the girl and Ella definitely liked touching him. Shit they could end up naked right there in the park. Well, she was sure Ella would enjoy herself.
She was about half to the pack-house when Ella’s voice appeared in her head, ‘better run faster he’s coming Jo-anne.’
‘Managed to get you off him, did he?’
A roar of laughter came down the link. ‘It was a struggle for him, I’m a Delta, I think he forgot that.’ she was so amused with herself ‘and well, Jo-anne, hmm. Fucking huge he is. I’m gonna get him one day.’
Jo-anne could see the pack-house, was racing up the stairs when she heard him yell her name. She shot through the door laughing so hard, she nearly fell over, didn’t care who saw her and bolted for her room, banged right into her room and snapped all the locks into place, still laughing and leaned on it.
He was banging on the door a few seconds later.
‘Come on T.J. why chase me when Ella was more than happy to mate you?’
‘ Open this bloody door.’
‘Nope. I’m fine.’
‘What the hell happened?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. Good night T.J.’ she cut the link.
Could hear him growling outside her door still.
‘You make it girl?’
‘Barely.’ Jo-anne replied to Ella. ‘I owe you one.’
‘Yeah, one Beta. Now I’m all hot and bothered, guess I’ll have to play with vibrator Terence.’
Jo-anne snickered ‘ You name your vibrator Terence?’
‘I did.’
Jo-anne sighed and shook her head, guess the girl really did like him. Part of Jo-anne wondered just how much of a fight he put up, a little, none at all, hell Ella was a complete package the man should just mate her already. She flopped down on her bed still smiling to herself.
Her head whipped around when she heard one of the door locks unlock, ‘shit.’ he had the damned keys. Bloody man just couldn’t let it go. She hopped up from the bed and rushed to the bathroom, closed the door, no freaking lock. Turned the shower on and got in clothes and all. There was no time to take them off before getting in. took them off in there.
There was a banging on the door “Jo-Jo, get out here.”
‘I’m in the shower, come back later.’ she mind-linked him.
‘ If you think I won’t come in there,’ he shot right back.
Now that was interesting, she knew he was not interested in her that way. But he wanted to play it that way, dropped her voice turned it all sultry ‘T.J. you want something from me, I am naked.’ She knew it was wrong and playing with fire, but she was willing to bet he’d back off first.
There was quiet, but she could feel his annoyance down the link. ‘or should I come to you.’ she teased and turned the shower off. Felt almost shock from him as he realised she was going to come to him. She grabbed the towel but didn’t wrap it around her, just held it to her front and opened the door, a sweet smile on her face. He was right there.
Backed up real fast, she smiled right at him and leaned on the door frame. Hadn’t realised he was not the only one in the room. West was standing by the room door. It was his angry snarl that drew her attention to him. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. She had not been expecting him.
His eyes were on her, well, the towel to be precise. He looked pissed when his eyes finally moved to hers, his jaw was tight and ticking like crazy. Saw his eyes move to her cheek, the hand print would still be there, her eyes moved to T.J. and found him with his hands on his hips staring at the ceiling.
“Put some bloody clothes on.” West grated out between gritted teeth.
‘I sleep naked.’ she answered him honestly. She did, mostly usually just in panties.
A snarl came from him, his hand reached out and latched onto T.J. and pulled him from the room and closed the door with the both of them on the other side of it.
She sighed and pulled the towel around her properly. Walked over and locked it, not that it seemed it would stop either of them from coming in. Then went and flopped down on her bed, buried her face in the pillow and laughed. Shit, one of these days she was going to get in so much trouble.