Violet
Violet liked to think she was tough.
But after seeing her daughter held captive by those people, she felt like she was going to fall apart at any second.
She sat huddled on a rock with her arm around Arabella while Tristan grabbed all three hunters and propped them up against the SUV. They’d been unconscious, but slowly they’d started to wake up. She listened as he threatened them one by one with what would happen if they ever came near any shifters again who weren't actively threatening to kill them.
He asked them a few questions too, but she didn't hear all of their answers. And she did not want to get closer.
The wind was whipping the trees and the birds were chirping. She tried to focus on those small sounds. About twenty minutes after Tristan took care of the hunters, several of his brothers arrived. They all nodded at her but did not come close.
They all spoke with Tristan for a few minutes and then they loaded the hunters back into their truck and drove off with them.
Tristan came and crouched in front of her.
“Roman and Jameson are going to drive them back to their headquarters and explain what happened. Most likely their leader will not be happy. If they were interested in this artifact, they know how to get in touch with Roman. They could've asked for a meeting or asked for our help acquiring it. The answer probably would've been no, but no one would have minded them asking. Now they've made enemies of us. I think their leader will be pretty pissed off at them for that. Roman likes to maintain pleasant connections with anyone who knows the truth about us. They probably have more to fear from their leader than from us.”
Violet just nodded. She was grateful they were taking care of it.
Tristan got her and Arabella into his car. Arabella tried to stay awake, but she promptly fell asleep. Violet had no idea what this incident would do to her. But she got to see her father come rescue her. So maybe it wouldn't be too traumatizing.
Her arm was still throbbing. But, of course, Tristan had come to the rescue about that too. She was starting to think maybe he really was as good as he appeared to be. All this time in the back of her mind, she thought maybe he was too good to be true. But they had this bond and there was no getting out of it. And for the most part, she didn't want to.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “I put all of us at risk. I should've known better.”
“I thought we had an understanding. Why did you run again? I told you that I would take you to court. Or I’d take you in front of the pack. Did you not believe me?” he asked. His words were firm, but his voice was kind.
“I did believe you. You’ve got to understand that when I panic, I freak out. I run. I was never able to do that as a pup, but it’s become the way I cope. I feel like a caged animal, which isn’t that far from the truth. I'm not sure how to control it best. But in this case, I'm so glad that you could actually feel my emotions so you could get here and rescue us.” She gulped and wiped her eyes. “I'll never be able to thank you for that.”
“You don't have to thank me. I just want our daughter to be safe.”
“I want that too. I can't believe that I put her at risk.” She was still grappling with that.
She folded her hands over in her lap. “You'll probably have trouble believing me. I wouldn't believe me either. But I'm done running. I'm not going to run away anymore,” she said.
He looked at her quizzically. “I thought you were filled with some insatiable wanderlust.”
“I am. I don't know if I can stay in one place for too long, but I promise you I won't take Arabella away from you again. I won't try to run and hide. If it weren't for you, neither of us might even be here right now,” she said. “I think my brain finally understands that. All the promises – I'm not sure they sink in for me, but you rescuing her? That does. That sinks way down into my lizard brain or whatever the hell it's called since I’m a wolf. I know it sank into my wolf’s brain. My wolf finally feels a little more settled with you around.”
He frowned. “Were you uncomfortable around me all this time?”
She nodded. “I wasn’t uncomfortable exactly. I just often feel ill at ease. In the back of my mind, I was always afraid that something would go wrong and you would want to take her. Not out of any type of sinister plan or nefarious scheme. I just always expect the worst. It's taking a lot to retrain my brain from that.”
“I think I understand at least a little bit.” He paused for a minute. He put his hand on her forearm, the one that hadn’t been injured. “Would you be willing to see a therapist?”
She had considered it many times, but she thought it was finally time. She’d proved that with her rash decisions. “But there would be so much I couldn't tell him or her.”
“That's true if you see a human, but we have a therapist in the pack. She's amazing at keeping confidences. But if you feel more comfortable with a stranger, then Anchorage has several good therapists. Just let me know. I could even go with you. I'd be more than happy to. As friends,” he said.
“Do you mean that?”
“Yes, of course.”
“I'll do it. I don't want to. But if there's any chance that it would help, then I need to do it for my daughter. This time, taking off didn't even make any sense. If I'd thought about it, I would've assumed you could find me. I even wondered if you found me the first time through the bond.”
“Yes. That's exactly how I found you. It woke me up while I was asleep.”
She was impressed. “Well. That's pretty advanced.”