Page 215 of The Alpha's Pen Pal

“Why didn’t you keep Haven from coming here, though, if you weren’t allowed to let her near other lycans and wolves or packs?” I asked.

It made little sense. Why go through all that trouble to keep her away from me, to then let her just move here, anyway? Not that I was complaining; I just didn’t understand the logic.

“The blood contract said ‘while she grew up.’ And she was fully grown by that point. I guess he didn’t think that part of the contract through very well. We tried to convince her not to leave, but she left anyway. And since the blood contract said we weren’t allowed to physically harm her, we had to just let her go.”

“Why did you disappear? Where did you go?” Sebastian asked, gripping the back of Melissa’s chair in his hands, the tip of the knife grazing her bare upper arm.

She flinched away from the knife, her teeth clenched from the touch of silver against her skin. “We didn’t want to. We went to sleep one night, and when we woke up, we were no longer in our own home. Lennox’s father had drugged or spelled us and had us moved. He locked us in cells, and we had no clue where we were.”

“Wait,” Haven said, interrupting us. Her brow furrowed, and I felt her confusion and racing thoughts through the bond.

She tilted her head to the side. “I’m confused. You said Lennox’s dad’s mate had twins, but Mary and John didn’t have any other children. Lennox was the only kid in their family. What happened to these twins? Where were they all these years?” Haven rushed out, the words almost running together with how fast she spoke them, showing how quickly her mind was working.

Melissa blinked at her and laughed, the first show of authentic emotion she’d had since we started questioning her, aside from the one look she’d given her mate. She shook her head, and then looked her straight in the eye. “I never said John was Lennox’s father.”

CHAPTER 73

HAVEN

“I never said John was Lennox’s father,” Melissa said, her harsh laugh ringing in my ears.

It took a few seconds for my mind to catch up with my ears and for her words to make sense in my brain. I was still reeling from the revelation that she was Lennox’s mom. That the whole time I knew her and knew him, he was her son.

I thought back over the years, over all our interactions and her interactions with him, and it all made sense. The way she treated him, the way they were always so close. And, of course, how they always wanted us together, always emphasized how we’d make such a cute couple.

But that didn’t answer the question of who his father was.

“So then, who is his father?” King Malachi said, his voice deep and authoritative, the way it had been when he’d questioned Sarina earlier and asked Melissa about why Lennox’s father wanted us to be mates so badly.

The power behind it made my bones vibrate, and every wolf in the room with us tensed every time he used it. But even though I could feel the power, it had no effect on me. I didn’t know if it was because I was human or because I was Selene’s daughter. But either way, Wesley had to remind me to pretend as though it affected me the same as the rest of them.

“He told me his name was Paul Tilley. But I suspect that was a fake name. The blood contract outlined that we were never allowed to ask him his real name, what pack he ran, or where he was from,” Melissa said, her laughter finally gone.

“And who were John and Mary?” the king asked.

“People from his pack. They were heavily commanded, and I’m guessing they signed blood contracts on top of that as well. We couldn’t get any information out of them.”

“But why did he have them raise Lennox instead of taking him back to his pack?” Sebastian asked.

“I don’t think his mate knew about Lennox. He never seemed as if he was an honest type of man. At least, not after he showed his true colors to me. So, he had two people he could trust, two people he could fully command who were from his pack raise Lennox so he could be raised the way he wanted him raised. To be the alpha he knew neither of his twins or any of his other children could be.”

I heard all her words and listened as she continued to explain, but all I could think about was how they had treated me. How they had used me. How they had raised me for one reason and one reason only—to be Lennox’s mate. His prize. Like I was some piece of meat.

I wasn’t even a person to them. To any of them. Lennox had made that clear from the start, made it clear I was just an object to him, something to claim and possess. But it was even more obvious now that Melissa and her husband—her mate—felt the same way. I was just a means to an end.

My stomach churned, and my eyes watered. Everything I had eaten in the last few hours threatened to make its presence known. My knees shook and almost buckled. But before I could collapse to the floor, those strong, protective arms I had grown to love and crave wrapped themselves around me, holding me against Wesley’s warm and solid chest.

“You’re safe now,” he murmured into my ear. “They can’t hurt you anymore. Never again. You are loved by so many people. People who would do anything for you,” he reminded me.

My head leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as he stroked my hair. He was my safe place, my rock, my home. And he was right. His pack was filled with people who loved me, people who had become my family way before I even knew that’s what they were to me. That’s what they had been twelve years ago, and that’s what they were now.

“Do you need to leave? We don’t have to stay if you’re uncomfortable,” he said.

“No. I want to stay. I need to stay. I will be okay,” I reassured him in a whisper. “I just need you to hold me,” I added as my stomach bubbled up and threatened to spill again. “Just help me be strong. Be my strength.”

“Always, Sugar Plum.” He kissed the top of my head. “I will always be whatever you need me to be.”

I nodded and closed my eyes for a moment, to gather my strength and resolve. To absorb the strength I needed from him.

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