Page 6 of Mates: Posy

"I think we all would," Roses added.

My brothers looked at each other, then at my mates.

"When we were pups, our mother was kidnapped by rogues," James began. "They had her for three months before Father found and rescued her. Seven months later, little Posy was born."

"She wasMama’sbaby, not Father’s," Aiden said. "He never forgot or let her forget, either."

James must have seen the confusion on my face.

"Father wasn’t your father," he explained. "One of the rogues was your father."

That was even more confusing. Why would Mama want a baby with a rogue?

James realized he hadn’t made anything clearer and tried again.

"She didn’t have a choice. He, uh, forced her." He rubbed the back of his neck, then muttered, "Your mates can explain it to you later."

"Thanks, dude," Vanilla said. "Way to pass the buck."

Aiden said something back to him, but I was too busy in my thoughts to pay attention. I gathered the courage to ask another question since my brothers were being so nice to me.

"The pack?"

"Do you remember when you first shifted into your wolf?" James asked. "It was your twelfth birthday."

I nodded.

How could I forget? That beating had nearly killed me. It had taken four months for Lark to heal all my injuries.

"Mom had just died, and your wolf is a mirror image of hers, right down to the white on the tips of your toes. As soon as he saw it, Father flew into a rage and gave the pack orders on how to treat you."

I blinked up at James. Father hated Lark because she looked like Mom’s wolf?

"We pulled you out of school then, remember? I know we did it in a harsh way, but if he thought we were doing it to protect you, he wouldn’t have agreed."

I remembered that day. They’d told me I wasn’t worth an education.

"Why bother sending her to school, Father, when she can cook and clean here?" Aiden had asked.

"It’s a waste of time and money to pay a housekeeper when Posy won’t amount to anything even with a diploma," James had said.

That argument had sealed the deal. Everyone knew of Alpha Kendall Briggs’ miserly ways.

"We still wanted you to get as much of an education as you could, so we snuck books and stuff to you whenever possible," Aiden said.

My eyes widened with wonder and shock.

I was always finding books of all kinds tucked here and there. The laundry basket, under my blanket, in my bathroom cupboard. Sometimes, a sheaf of paper would slide under my door early in the morning, or I’d find pens stuck in my apron pocket. One glorious afternoon, I'd returned to my room after lunch to find a box of art supplies: watercolors, brushes, assorted paper, colored and drawing pencils, and even some air-dry clay.

Those mysterious gifts had given me hope, as did knowing at least one member of the pack was kind enough to provide the runt with such treasures.

"I know taking you out of school isolated you even more, but it saved you, Posy. If no one saw you, they wouldn’t be forced to hurt you." James took a deep breath. "That’s why we all kept our distance and avoided you. None of us wanted to hurt you. It sickened the whole pack."

"Why didn’t you take over as alpha when you turned eighteen?" asked Maple Syrup.

"The old man wouldn’t step down and even together we weren’t strong enough to take it from him."

I stared at James.

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