We have been moving for about forty–five minutes. I don’t know this part of the city, but it doesn’t look great. It’s very industrial and much abandoned. Maybe even condemned.
“Phoebe?” Mr. Knightly says when the car comes to a stop.
“Hmm?”
“Would you be upset if I asked you to stay behind me so I can see who we’re dealing with?” he asks, clearing his throat.
“If we don’t fight as soon as we get out, we’re going to be surrounded by more wolves. If we’re taken inside how the fuck do we get out? I’m biting someone if they touch me. It works for my son.”
“I triggered the backup alarm. We need to buy twenty minutes, tops. In and out. What if this leads back to Nathan and the twins? Don’t you want to know a name to give him and your psycho little sister?” he smirks.
The car is surrounded by men holding guns. The thing about trusting this man to fuck shit up when it comes down to it, is that it’s addicting. I have a very strong sense of curiosity and now that he said that, all I can think is who the fuck did this?
“Fine. Twenty minutes.”
“You might not have to ruin the shoes after all,” he shrugs.
I want to laugh, but I’m a little annoyed with how easily he can sway me, especially after admitting that he was going to burn down my building. I already paid for the remodeling that will start next week, and it’s non–refundable. We wait for a few minutes. Finally, a woman dressed in a black–on–black suit begins to make her way toward us from the front of the abandoned building we stopped in front of.
“That’s a good entrance. That’s going in the catwalk formations.” I sit back and fix my top. He snorts and wipes his mouth with his left hand.
“Why can’t I be upset with you for lying to me?” he asks.
“Come on. Seriously? We’re about to get dragged out of your super cool car.”
The door is opened, and the woman waves her hand forward. He glares in her direction, and I have to crawl over him to be the first to get out.
“Phoebe, I said behind me,
“You’re being difficult. Get out of the car. Look at all these people holding fucking riffles, Arnold. I am scared enough. Just get out of the car and do as they say, please. I would like to see my kids again.”
He growls but gets out of the car anyway. The woman waiting for us presses her lips together and tries not to smile, but she fails miserably. She shakes her head and
1/3
103
motions us to follow her inside. As we walk past the men outside, it is no surprise that there are more inside this old building.
Actually, it’d be nice if you overlooked that it’s been abandoned for a long time. New
walls and windows would be nice. Repairing the Gothic archways would be pricey but low–key worth it.
“Are you checking out the building?” the woman asks.
“Do you guys own this?” I ask her.
“Is she high?” she asks Mr. Knightly, who is walking close behind me.
“I wish I could say yes, but no. This is how she normally is,” he scoffs.
I recognize the man standing at the end of the corridor immediately. I stop, causing Mr.
Knightly to smack against me.
“I shouldn’t have listened to you.” I shake my head.
“I’m right here.” he takes my hand. “I’ll kill him if you want me to.”
“You have a habit of taking my things, Arnold,” my grandfather says.
He looks exactly like the pictures I’ve seen of him. I used to think I looked like my father: tanned skin, thick black hair. Seeing this man now, it’s more than obvious that we’re related. Down to the dark blue eyes and soft brown freckles peppered all over my skin.
I’ve dreaded the day I’d have to meet this man because seeing him in person and admitting that I’m some kind of lost princess just doesn’t sit well with me. It’s starting to feel a lot like the final thread snapping. One last fuck you Phoebe to push me of a cliff I’ve been standing in front of since I ran away from home.
“I don’t belong to you. I’m not an object.” I let go of Mr. Knightly’s hand, needing to stand on my own here.
The man doesn’t seem as old as he is. He looks a little more mature than Mr. Knightly, but that’s it. If I’m right, this is a wolf in his prime. He will never be more powerful than he is right now, and it shows. I think Midnight knows that because she hasn’t tried to push forward. She’s calm, and it’s keeping me calm.
The way his face contorts with grief tells me that he’s making the connection to his daughter. The woman who is supposed to be my mother. He smacks his teeth and lets out a heavy sigh. He’s dressed casually in dark jeans. A regular white t–shirt, a flannel, and a green army jacket. His hair is cut short, and there’s gel of some kind in his hair that is flaking. He’s wearing riding boots. All these men, all for John fucking
Winchester, the early years.
“I’ve been thinking about what to say to you for days now,” he says.
“You don’t have to say anything. There’s no reason for you or me to be here. You’re very far away from home.”
2/3
103
“You’re my granddaughter.”
“I would have been if my mother hadn’t been so afraid that she trusted a mortal man to take care of me.”
“You don’t know that I was the cause.”
“The cause isn’t important. She didn’t want me near you, and that’s enough for me to stay away.” I look between him and Mr. Knightly.
“All I want is a moment of your time.”
“You know, there’s this thing called a phone you can use to talk about shit like this. You just kidnapped me, and you sent your son to kill me. To take my kids. I don’t want anything to do with you people. I have enough problems as it is. I don’t need this shit.”
“I don’t know what they have told you about me-” he tries.
“He hasn’t said anything about you. Obviously, you’re not important enough to talk about. I never cared to ask either. So, that’s not the issue.”
“Then what is?” he demands.
“Everything. My entire life was fucked because of who 1 was supposed to be. I almost lost my baby because of you people. I just want to be left alone so I can get to know my family properly. So, my kids have everything they deserve, and your family is adamant about taking that from us. Please, let us go.”
“I can’t do that, Phoebe.” he shakes his head. “You and your children are all that’s left of my bloodline. Without you, our pack will fall.”
“There is no way in hell I will ever become part of any pack or associate myself with alphas ever again. If I can keep my kids out of them, I will. When they’re grown, the choice is up to them, but as of right now. You can all go to hell.”
“I didn’t send Garrett after you,” he raises his voice. “I didn’t even know you existed until a couple of days ago.”
“How did you find out?”
“The Alpha King informed me.”
“That motherfucker.” I scoff. Mr. Knightly snorts.
“I told you,” he shrugs. “You didn’t hear my warning.”
口
