“Yes Colton. When Shelley reached out and let her know that she had Jess and Cairo with her D was relieved.”
“Why?” I can hear the accusation in my own voice.
“Because then you were out of reach of the council. Cairo and Harlem were factors we didn’t anticipate, with Harlem he is now the rightful heir to both packs, not you. Cairo was thought to be dead; the council knew from a young age that Cairo is unable to be lead which is why they wanted him exterminated.” I flinch and dart my gaze to my brother; he doesn’t seem shocked by this revelation.
“So, to sum it all up the council wants power and Jess, Harlem and this Belle can give it to them?”
“Yes.” Vince seems uneasy as he stares at Ro.
“Okay, so then it’s simple. We take Jess, Harlem and Belle out of the equation and then we devise a plan to take them down from the inside.”
“What the hell are you on about Ro?” Cairo turns to me and the look in his blue eyes gives me pause.
“I’m going to the council and pledging my allegiance.” Chaos erupts and everyone begins to shout and talk over each other, I stare at my brother unable to believe what he just said. “Enough!” everyone begins to quiet down at Ro’s request, I can’t wrap my mind around this! “If I go, I can play the jealous brother and they will eat it up. They won’t trust me, but they will try to make it seem like they do for information. If I do this then that means we will get a man inside and then we will be able to prepare and take them down.” What he is saying makes sense, but I don’t want my brother to put himself in harm’s way, I won’t lose him!
Creed decides that we all need a break and sleep on everything we have learned. Waking this morning I feel so tired and restless, I tossed and turned most of the night, learning that my bio mom is alive and everything else in the mix played on my mind all night. Guilt has been eating at me, I had no idea the real danger my son is in because of me and now my brother wants to risk his life to help us. When did everything become so difficult? Why couldn’t I have just had a normal life and been a normal human girl! I don’t regret meeting Creed; thanks to him I now have my brother and our son, but I just wish he hadn’t lied. I’m not blaming him, I know he hates what he did and truthfully, I know I should be mad with my mom for hiding all of this from me but how can I be mad at a ghost?
Creed and the others are at the meeting this morning organizing the search and training program, I honestly didn’t have the energy to sit through that, so I decided to take Harlem down to the beach and let him play before meeting Shelley. I sit here and watch as my son giggles and runs around collecting seashells. Harlem has been the biggest blessing in my life, I don’t know if I would have survived losing our daughter without him. He looks so happy and unaware of the danger that surrounds him.
We need to shift!
I jolt in shock; Sheba and I haven’t been on good terms since the night she killed Josh.
No!
You weaken us by keeping me caged.
Whose fault is that Sheba?
I did what you couldn’t, we need to shift Jess. If we don’t shift, we remain weak and vulnerable.
I close the link between us and grit my teeth, she’s right but I haven’t been able to shift like before. Ever since I ran from Creed the night Sheba killed Josh, I have kept her locked up, I only shift when I have to. Each full moon I would stay locked up so Sheba wouldn’t run and try to find Creed, I have never been on a pack run because of it. I have watched the others run together and envied them so much, I want to run with them and share in the excitement but I’m...scared. I worry that Sheba will attack someone and kill them, but in all honesty, I think I just need help to overcome my fears. Now that Creed is here, I will be able to go on my first pack run. Each time the full moon has come I watch and wait to see if Harlem will shift, I made sure my son knew exactly what we are from the moment he could understand. I never wanted him to grow up and be kept in the dark like I was, he needs to be prepared. Harlem hasn’t shifted yet and Ro told me it isn’t anything to worry about, he will shift when he is ready it’s not something myself or anyone can force. The sound of footsteps approaching has me peering over my shoulder, I smile when I see Meg making her way toward us. Harlem spots her and squeals in delight as he bounds toward her, he wraps his arms around her legs and Meg rubs his head. She bends and whispers something in his ear that has his chest puffing up a bit and then he is racing back toward the water’s edge. Meg drops down beside me and rests back on her elbows as we both sit and watch Harlem play. It warms my heart to see how much she loves him.
Chapter
Twenty Two
Jessica
Meg and I have been sitting here chatting and laughing as we watch Harlem roll through the sand and make sand castles. He ran through the water and tripped over so he is soaked but refuses to leave the beach and change so here we are half an hour later sitting in the same spot because my son is having fun. It warms my heart to watch him laugh and play around like a normal child, that’s all Creed and I want for him is to be free of the burdens we have placed on us.
“You have done an amazing job raising him Jess, you should be proud.” I turn to Meg and smile; she will never know how much her words mean to me.
“Thank you, Meg, hearing that means the world to me.”
“I see so much of his father in him.” The sadness in her voice has me turning back to watch Harlem.
“Creed loves you Meg, being here with Davina won’t change that.” She sighs sadly, I can’t even imagine what she must be feeling right now.
“It already has.”
“How so?”
“I just found out my mate lied to me from the first moment we met.” I snort.
“Yeah, I know exactly how that feels.” Meg and I both chuckle.
“I heard about Shelley.” A whoosh of air escapes me. “Callie told me you found out last night.” Ro had filled everyone in this morning about what happened last night.