Page 12 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

Christopher wasn’t saying anything as he continued to stand beside me, but his presence alone helped clear the panic and fear that made my brain ineffective. Once I took that first step onto the bridge, the rest of them came a little easier.

One foot in front of the other, like Bells said. Before I knew it, I was standing on the other side of the bridge and felt like I was twenty feet tall, not my meager five-foot-two.

I continued to walk toward the pack house, and I managed to push through the double doors without meeting anyone. I thought the hard part was over, but the moment I walked in and saw all the movement of people around me, my heart seized, and I started to back away. In a panic, I took two steps back and I felt my back hit a hard wall.

“You’re almost there. You can make it up the stairs,” Christopher murmured only loud enough for me to hear.

I gulped and nodded.One step in front of the otherrepeated in my head until I was in front of Aunt Kassie’s room. I turned around to thank Christopher, but he was nowhere behind me.

I turned back to the door with a smile and knocked. Aunt Kassie opened the door, and I grinned at the shocked look on her face. She schooled it quickly, but I knew she was just as shocked as I was that I made it all the way here.

“Violet! Come in, sweetie. You’ve got great timing. He just woke up.” Her voice still sounded a little shocked and incredibly happy.

I walked in and sat on the couch, exhausted over the energy I’d spent just getting here, but it was worth it. I texted Mom to let her know where I went so she wouldn’t worry. She worried a lot about everyone, but I wanted to be cautious of her feelings considering the last time I went out without telling anyone, I was kidnapped. I took a picture of Aunt Kassie walking in with her son and sent it as proof. Mom sent me back a giant thumbs up.

I took little Lorenzo into my arms. This was the best reward, though I was tired enough that I didn’t know how long I would be able to stay here. The internal fight and panic wiped me out a little.

“I can’t believe how big he’s gotten,” I said, inhaling his baby smell. Maybe if there was a baby waiting for me at the end of every place I went, I might be able to get through this.

“He’s giving me hell for sure. I can’t get him to sleep through the night.”

“Maybe he’s got more vampire than your other pups, Auntie,” I teased.

“It’s possible, but he doesn’t sleep through the day either,” she chuckled. “How are you doing? I’m sorry I haven’t been over too often lately. The kid wipes me out, and I’ve gone back to training.”

“That’s alright. You’ve got a busy life. I’m... Well, I’m trying,” I answered, giving her a half smile.

“Trying and succeeding. This is huge, Violet. Since when are you able to leave... your house, really.”

“I went to dinner at the pack house twice this month, and this is the first time I’ve left the pack grounds,” I admitted.

“Wow, I’m happy for you, Violet. That’s amazing progress.”

“I want to be happy, Aunt Kassie,” I replied softly, looking down at Lorenzo so she wouldn’t see me blinking back tears.

“You deserve to be, Violet. What happened to you... It never should have happened.”

“I got off lucky, all things considered. How’s Adrien? I haven’t seen him since—” I stopped talking, unable to finish the sentence.

Adrien was Tori’s father and Aunt Kassie’s son. He and his mate Elias found Tori that night. Elias visited me a month after we got back, but I hadn’t seen my cousin Adrien since before I was kidnapped.

“He’s working through his grief. He and Elias are visiting Sam right now. He loves you, Violet, but it’s painful for him to even be in the pack house. Her room is still untouched.”

“Does he blame me? Because Tori was trying to get me out of the house?” I asked, voicing the question I hadn’t been able to ask Mom all this time. Tori was out of the pack grounds because she was trying to cheer me up after I lost my mate. If she hadn’t tried, she would be back in university right now, studying to become an architect.

“Oh, no. Sweetie, he doesn’t. He doesn’t blame you at all. It’s just... Adrien didn’t have a lot of family for a long time, and Tori was his baby. Outside of Mama Isabel, he hadn’t lost family in a very long time. It’s a process he’s slowly getting through.”

Process. I knew all about that, so I stopped pushing.

“Lalo and Miguel are coming up from training. Is that okay?”

I nodded and held onto little Lorenzo a little tighter. I didn’t mind the males in my family anymore. I really didn’t. But Uncle Lalo and Miguel were bear huggers, and I wasn’t sure I was up for one of those yet.

They made so much noise while coming down the hallway, but entered slowly and quietly. I chuckled, hugging Lorenzo to me. Clearly, they knew of Mom and Dad’s strategies when dealing with me.

“Hey, Violet! Good to see you, cousin.” Miguel came over and pressed a sweaty sloppy kiss on my temple but otherwise made sure to keep his hands on the couch, away from me.

Uncle Lalo came and did the same, though with much less slobber. Miguel was always the more expressive one of my cousins, and I appreciated the restraint he made when he flopped down next to me, only to jump as if his butt was on fire and move further down to the other end.

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