Page 44 of Prey

I feel her emotions rise again.

“He…seeing him like that was…” she trails off. “I need to make sure they get him somewhat taken care of before my mother sees him. She can’t see him like that.”

“We are pulling in now. The quicker we get to Jessa the better. We can see how he is and go from there ok?” I say.

She nods and scoots off my lap, wiping at her face and trying to dry her tears. I can feel the resolve to not let her father see her upset. Gods, this woman. She is one of the strongest and most resilient people I have ever met.

We park and Kadi comes around to open her door and hug her. He fixes her hair and tucks it behind her ears. Shasta straightens her clothes and then holds out her hands for both of us to take. Feeling her tiny hand in mine, knowing that she trusts me to be there for her through this, it’s more than I ever thought I’d have.

Kadi opens the door to the building and we walk in to help my little mate with one of the biggest things to ever happen in her life. Going to meet her not actually dead father.

Chapter twenty-three

Broken Hearts & Reunited Souls

SHASTA

It’s weird having Ethan be so attentive. But when he saw my mom lose it, I saw understanding in his gaze. He knows whatloss feels like. The only difference is his parents won’t magically reappear. The fact that he wanted to help me sort through my emotions about Logan’s mother was a big thing too. Though, I guess the guys do know what killing someone feels like. I’m surprised that they might feel bad about it. It never occurred to me.

Jessa meets us in the hallway and I notice she looks a little pale. I grab her hands and lead her to the nearest chair. She’s pushed herself too hard trying to heal my father. I just know it.

“Hey are you okay?” I ask her.

“Yeah, I just need a minute to catch my breath. Shas…he’s in really bad shape.” She looks at me with unshed tears in her eyes.

I swallow. I mean, I knew he was. But Jessa looks horrified and I know she has seen some crazy shit in here. Maybe it’s just because it’s my dad in particular.

I nod. She squeezes my hands and then leans in for a hug. That’s when I notice the two sets of small bite marks on her neck.

“Uh, Jessa? What is that on your neck?” I whisper in her ear when she leans in.

I feel her freeze, then clear her throat as she whispers back. “Let’s just say I met someone, well two someones. I don’t really want to talk about the rest. I’m not sure how I feel about it and now isn’t the time anyway.”

I pull away and look into her eyes. She doesn’t look angry, just…confused? Uncertain? I’ll deal with it later but I have a feeling it has something to do with the looks Joaquin and Laken were passing back and forth earlier today. I’ll kill them both if they hurt her, I don’t care how old or strong either of them are.

We stand and Jessa takes my hand, leading me to the room my father is in. The very same room Ethan was in.

He’s sleeping. His sheet covered body is so thin. I stifle a sob. I knew it was bad, I saw him in that basement. But in the heat of the moment and worrying about being caught, my main focuswas just getting him out of there. I feel the guys at my back, offering solace through the bond.

I gingerly sit on the edge of his bed and stare down at him. His face is familiar, but so thin he looks like a different person. His eyes drift open. They widen at the sight of me sitting next to him. He reaches out a hand and grips mine very gently. I don’t think he has the strength for anything more.

“Shasta, my darling daughter. I told you to leave me behind, but I’m so glad you didn’t.” His voice sounds raspy, damaged, weak. I can only imagine how much he spent screaming while being held captive.

I gently reach out and touch his face. “There’s no way I was leaving you there. You’ve been too missed here, Dad.” Tears are streaming down my face now.

I see my dad’s eyes widen and the next moment my mother and Grams walk through the door. My mother launches herself at my father, knocking me to the side. I gladly move out of her way. Ethan and Kadi come up on either side of me and wrap an arm around my waist to help steady me as I stand.

My parents are holding onto each other so tightly and crying in great, wracking sobs. Grams is standing in the corner, her hands to her mouth. I can’t imagine how she must feel watching her only daughter be reunited with the mate that she thought was gone forever.

Jessa motions me out the door. The guys and I follow her, along with Grams. It’s only fair that we give the two of them some time alone.

She hugs me when we get out to the hallway. “I am so happy for you, but I need to tell you all the things we did for him too, because he’s going to need some more care. I know Coven members can give that to him when you take him home, but there are some other things I’m concerned about that they can’t help with.”

“His mental state.” I had already thought about that. I don’t care how strong a person is. You can’t be held captive for over twenty-five years and not end up with some issues, especially if torture was a regular occurance.

She leads the four of us to her office. Grams and I sit in the chairs and the guys stand off to the side near the wall.

“There wasn’t a place on his body that wasn’t wounded. He had so much internal bleeding that I don’t even know how he was alive. Shas, he should have been dead a long time ago.” She says pointedly. She looks like she’s waiting for an explanation.

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