Page 67 of He Claimed Her Heart

“Ann, charming as always, I see. You got away from your babysitters, why didn’t you just slink under a rock and disappear? That would have the smart move. Instead, you’re causing all kinds of trouble and for what?” chided Uncle Reese as he surveyed the situation in front of us.

“For what? I want to correct my mistake. That’s what this is all about. I want to get rid of what never should have been born in the first place!” bellowed my mother as she spewed her venom at me.

“Now Ann, you know better than that. Breonna was meant to be born. She was not a mistake. If anyone was a mistake, it was you. Let’s start there, shall we.Alpha Bennett and Beta Theodore Mathis, step forward please. We need to correct this she-wolfs thinking,” commanded Uncle Reese.

“Yes, Elder Reese!” Alpha Bennett and my dad sad in unison as they stepped forward. My dad gave my arm a gentle squeeze as he went by me.

“Beta Theo,Your former mate seems to think that Breonna was a mistake, is she correct in that thinking?” Uncle Reese asked dad with a scowl on his face.

“No, Elder Reese, she is not correct. Breonna was not a mistake. Shenever was and never will be according to me and her brother,” dad answered with pride beaming from his face.

“What aboutit Alpha Bennett? Is Breonna a mistake?” Uncle Reese asked him.

“No,she’s not. She’s always been a perfect example what I am looking for in a pack member. You know that brother. I am very proud of her. You know she won the female tournament here this year? She’s freakin’ awesome!” admitted Uncle Bennett.

“Now, now Bennett. I do know she won it. I was here incognito, of course. I too am very proud of her. She has brought nothing but honor to our family,” gushed Uncle Reese.

“What are you two talking about? She’s not apart of your family! You’re getting us off track. I want to ” was all my mother was allowed to say before Uncle Reese cut her off.

“Silence!We will talk about what I want to talk about. Not you. I’m in charge here. Now Blaine, why are you on her side? Why did you pair up with Ann against your own niece? What do you have against Breonna?” Uncle Reese asked him as gasps could be heard throughout the gathering of wolves.

As they were talking,wolves from each pack were looking at each other with confusion on their faces. Drake was there as Elias with the same expression—absolute confusion. I found them in the gathering looking at each other as if to say, ‘what are they talking about.’ I held eye contact for a moment and turned away with a sad smile.

“I don’t have anything against Bree. I figured it was easier to get all the evidence against Ann if I went with herand acted accordingly, like you knew she was going to do. I have everything on the flash drive and the disc as evidence for the council per your request brother. Bree, you know I would never want any harm to come to you or to our family. I just wanted to make sure we got her this time, and she couldn’t slither away. Please say you understand,” begged Uncle Blaine as he handed the disc and flash drive over to Uncle Reese’s second in command.

“I understand, since you all are calling each other brother, does that mean our family tree is now out in the open? Does that mean I can finally recognize you all as my uncles?” Iinquired with a little hesitancy in my voice as I looked from one uncle to the next.

“Yes, dear niece, it does. Wecan finally let the whole world know of our family origins since our little problem will be solved today. Will that suit you Bree dear?” Uncle Reese asked as he reached to tickle me in the side like he did when I was six years old.

“Yes, it will Uncle Reese. I mean Elder Reese. Sorry,” I said as I bowed quickly as I heard gasps coming from the crowd of onlookers.

“Silenceeveryone! My niece may call me ‘Uncle’ anytime she wants to without condemnation from you all. No worries, Bree. I like hearing you call me Uncle. Now, where are your manners? Where’s my hug?” demanded Uncle Reese as he held his arms out for me to give him a hug.

“Love you Uncle Reese,” I whispered as I gave him a bear hug and a kiss on the cheek much to his pleasure. Uncle Reese chuckled like he always did when I was little.

“What about me? Don’t I get one too?” pouted Uncle Blaine as he stood with his armsoutstretched for me to step into.

“Why should she give you a hug? You sided with Ann. You don’t deserve one right now. Traitor. In fact, what do you think Bennett, do you think he deserves a hug for his participation here today?” dad asked Uncle Bennett who was standing next to him with his arms across his chest with a smirk on his face.

“Why are you asking him?And for the record, I am not a traitor. I got the proof we needed. You need to behave little brother, or I’ll have to just put you in the corner again like we did when we were growing up,” teased Uncle Blaine with a smirk on his face as he stood in front of dad.

“Little brother?He’s your little brother? Wait. I’m confused,” my mother stuttered as she looked from Uncle Blaine to Uncle Bennett to Uncle Reese to dad and back down the line again to me.

“Let me explain mother. You were kept in the dark all this time because of your ‘power hungry’ways when you first met dad. It was noticed right away. It was decided to keep the family tree a secret until such a time as this to illuminate everyone. Uncle Reese is the oldest. He took over the position of Elder from grandpa. Since grandpa had four sons, he needed to find positions for them, so he created packs for them. Thus, the twins, Uncle Bennett and Uncle Blaine became Alphas of their own packs. Then, of course, their sister Maria was born. Then dad was born. He’s the youngest of five. Dad was always a fighter, the protector so to speak. Grandpa decided he would help Uncle Bennett by being his Beta after Dad declined a pack of his own. Does that clarify things for you mother dear,” I sneered as I walked back over by my dad who gave me a side hug.

“So, you’re not of a Beta blood line, you’re an Alpha blood line. How did I not know this? Why did you keep this from me? I should have been told this as your mate!” demanded my mother to dad asher eyes got wide with amazement.

“Because Ann dear, you werea power-hungry person. Look what you did as a Beta female. Imagine what you would have done as a Luna,” Uncle Reese shuddered as he spoke to her. “Now, hold on for a few more minutes, let me finish up with this and then we will take care of you, okay? Now Bree, I need you to come here please. I’m going to need you to shift into your wolf and sniff what’s in this bag to find this wolf. He should be here. Will you do this for me?” Uncle Reese asked me as he held the bag in his hand.

“Yes, I can do that,” I replied with a smile on my face.

“Take a step back. Shift Breonna!” commanded Uncle Reese as he opened the bag for me. I shifted into my chocolate-colored wolf. “Now, smell the contents. Get a good whiff. Got it. Go find him. Go!” commanded Uncle Reese in his authoritative voice.

I gracefully bowed to Uncle Reese before walking over to the bag to get a good whiff of the contents. I recognized the scent. I think I know who it is but I’m not sure. I’ve smelled it before, but … wait … no! It can’t be. I got a good whiff and at the command to go. I trotted off towards Uncle Bennett’s pack members. I started sniffing the air to catch the scent.

Got it! Now I have you!

I made a bee line to him. I growled at him and startedbutting my head at his back to get his attention.

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