Page 2 of Claimed By the Alpha Pack

“Fine … I’ll be back, eventually.” The way his gaze roams over me from head to toe makes me feel more like a hunk of meat than his fiancé.

I recoil from him and lean against the counter, wrapping my arms over my daughter. Hunter turns and stomps out of the kitchen and then grabs his clean uniform and slips it on before heading out through the back door towards his car. Moving through the house, I watch him drive down the dirt road off to who knows where. Soon as he’s out of sight, I rush back to the bedroom and grab my cell phone.

I dial my grandmother’s number and listen to it ring forever. This last interaction has solidified my decision of I need to get out. I can’t live like this any longer and it’s definitely not safe to have a baby here.

“Gracie, are you okay, little one? It’s late. Is there something wrong?” Gram’s sounds like an angel and I get lost in listening to her voice.

It takes my brain several minutes to engage before I answer her. “I think I need to leave Hunter…” I let the words hang in the air as hot tears threaten to break free.

“What has that bastard done to my baby!” Grams yells into the phone. She may be a hundred pounds of senior rage, but that woman still scares the hell out of me.

“Nothing yet, Grams. He’s changing, getting more aggressive. He’s still pissed that Ashina is a girl, and he wants to try as soon as possible for a son.” I hear something break on the other end of the line and Grams huffs several times, trying to quell the rage I know that has ignited.

“We cannot let him try again. You don’t need to be trapped by that asshole for the rest of your existence. I’ll get the cabin in shape for you two and set up an account you can use in the meantime to get what you need. What’s that nice man and his wife’s number down the road from you? I’ll get him to do my dirty work for me.” I can practically hear the gears turning in Gram’s head as she plots out her rescue mission.

“It’s Carl and Linda … I’ll text you their number.” I go through my contacts and send Grams the house number and Carl’s cell as well. Laughing to myself, I text Carl that Grams will reach out to him. He responds quickly, making sure I’m okay and that the baby and I were safe. I tell him we are safe for now and give him the short version of me needing to leave. He agrees it’s for the best and that he will reach out to my grandmother and help anyway he can since he knows I’m trapped in the house.

“You went quiet. Are you okay?” Grams’ question pulls me back out of my thoughts.

“Just texted Carl. He said he’ll do whatever you need him to and he’s going to call you tomorrow.” I stare at my texts and then clear all the messages I sent to him and then go into the trash can and delete them permanently.

“Okay good. I’m going to send you a burner phone and sew it into a teddy bear for Ashina. At least if dickhead looks, all he sees is you taking a stuffed animal out. It will have a music box in it to account for the weight.” Grams is going above and beyond, trying to save me from my hell.

“Thanks Grams, I don’t know what we would ever do without you.” Half of my stress melts away, thinking about all the wheels in motion. Grams will get Carl to find me a suitable car that is safe enough to make the journey.

Laughing. “Well, hopefully we won’t have to find that out for a very long time. I plan on living to a hundred and ten,” Grams proclaims. She’s in her early eighties and living in the mountain village of her birth. Somehow she still drives and takes herself shopping and does gardening in her yard. She is what I would call life goals. I can only hope to be in half as good of shape as she is right now.

“I hope you make it to a hundred and twenty.” We share a good laugh at my request. As much as I would love for her to live forever, it’s simply not possible. “I better get going Grams I need to get the baby to sleep and try to finish up this last book. I’m using Hunter as inspiration for the bad guy Vladimir in the story, and this is the one he dies in.” Writing has become a kind of therapy for me. It’s an escape from the horrible life I’m living.

“Make sure he dies as painfully as possible. Remember that Grandma loves you both very much. I’ll see you soon.” Grams waits until I tell her I love her before she hangs up.

Glancing down, Ashina is fast asleep in her wrap with her little rose-colored lips puckered, accentuating her cupid’s bow. She is my reason for fighting to save us. I have to get us somewhere safe, and that means heading back to where it all began all those years ago.

* * *

-Two weeks later-

“Grace, you have a package from your grandmother.” Hunter, for once, seems to be out of asshole mode.

“Coming!” I adjust the swaddle that Ashina is in and head towards the living room. There’s a large box sitting on the kitchen table with Hunter standing over it. His nosiness gets annoying. Especially now that I know in that box is the key to my salvation.

“Open it. I’m curious to see what she sent.” He practically demands.

“Alright.” I grab a knife from the drawer and slice carefully through the tape. Right at the top of the box is a handwritten note from my grandmother. I take it and set it aside before removing the tissue paper. Immediately, I noticed there were two boxes on top. One for me, one for Hunter.

He grabs his out and fist pumps. “Grams for the score. Tea to help me produce more male sperm. She gets the importance of having a son.” He looks at me pointedly before dropping the bag in his large bottle of water. “One bag in cold water once a day for three months. I can do that easily.” He scoots close and looks down into my box. Grams also sent me tea. “Look, yours is for uterine and reproductive health.” He rushes over and grabs me a bottle of water and drops the tea bag in. “I expect this to be completely gone before I come home. I’ll know if you dumped any out.” He presses a kiss to my temple, then rushes out the door to work.

Shaking my head, feeling completely doomed, I look down into my box of tea and see a small note.

Don’t fret, his tea will sterilize him while yours stops your period. Either way, no baby until you want it. The power is yours. With love, Grams.

I can’t help but laugh at the wicked genius that is my grandmother. She solved two of my problems at the same time. Hunter thinks he’s getting his way and I still have control over my body.

Chapter 2

Elinor

-Start a war- Klergy~

---