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"I wouldn't survive losing you, my sunshine."
She pulls my hand to her lips and kisses her tattoo. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Now we need to find Sarah and Ben."
Right. I focus on the road, following it until we reach my father's house. Dad's truck is sitting out front, but nothing seems too out of the ordinary. We climb out of the truck, and because I just need reassurance that she is okay, I pull Paige into my arms.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
We make our way up the stairs to the front door. I can hear noises on the other side, but nothing specific. I rap my knuckles on the door. After a moment, Sarah is there, looking a bit frantic.
"Oh, it's you." She seems to relax a little upon seeing us, but she is still looking over our shoulders, looking for someone I don't know.
"Are you alright?" I can't help but ask. With how this morning has been going, I wonder if something happened to them, too.
"Yes, yes. Come in." She opens the door wider so we can step in. The house is the same for the most part. The set of stairs right in front of the door leads to the bedrooms on the second floor. The living room is off to the left, and the office to the right. Beside the staircase is a hallway that leads to the kitchen and dining area. I remember when Dad had knocked me back so hard, I broke the table. This is not the time to fall into bad memories.
Ben comes skipping down the stairs and stops in front of us. He looks up and gives a timid smile.
"Are you here to help us move?"
I look over at Sarah in confusion when I notice a few bags in the hall packed. Sarah fiddles with her hands and then scoops up Ben.
"I don't know, Sarah. Are we here to help you move?" If she wants to leave, we will help her, but she might not know what has happened this morning.
"Well, um."
Paige doesn't wait before she jumps in. "Liam is the new Alpha."
Right, I could have started with that.
"What? How? When?" Sarah looks shocked; I mean, I can't blame her. Damn, I need to get my head straight. I'm the new Alpha.
"This morning, I challenged Mic and won—not that long ago, actually. Also, Arthur is being taken into the council. You've been released from your mating. You no longer have to be connected to him, and he is no longer welcome here."
Tears fall from her eyes as she holds on to Ben; something releases in her, and she finally looks like the world that has been sitting on her shoulders has been removed. She wraps her arms around, Ben squeezing tightly.
"Really?" she whispers.
"Yes. I know it might be hard to imagine, but…you're safe. I don't blame you if you want to go somewhere else; we will move you if that is what you want, but if you stay here, Paige and I would like to be a part of your family. I will take care of you and Ben."
She still seems to be in a daze, shocked by the information. "Would you like some coffee?"
Sarah sets Ben on the ground, and he runs off to play. Paige answers yes for us, and we head into the kitchen to sit down. Paige has such an easy presence around people that Sarah seems to open up easily to her.
"So you were planning on leaving?" Paige asks.
"I was—I mean, I don't know. This morning, everything was normal, or at least as normal as it ever is for us. Arthur had been on edge since your visit, but things got scary after he received a phone call from someone in the pack. Arthur has always been quick to anger; he has yelled at me often for not living up to his expectations. But how he reacted this morning really scared me. He tossed his chair across the room, and I knew something had to change. I was done walking around afraid. I knew that if we stayed, something would eventually happen, and for Ben’s sake, we needed to leave."
I want to kill him; him going to the council might be too good of a punishment.
"I'm so sorry," I can't help but say to her. Somehow, I feel responsible. Maybe if I had stuck around, he wouldn't have gotten another mate just to have another child to conform to his will. If I had checked in on him over the years, maybe I would have known sooner and been able to help.
"It's not your fault. You can't carry the sins of your father." I quietly watch her as she finishes putting coffee in the coffee maker and presses the button. "I knew whatever happened, he was going to be coming back here angry, and something in me said we needed to leave before that happened, so I packed our bags." Sarah comes to sit at the table with us, and Paige leans over to put her hand on top of hers. She is going to be a great Luna.
"Liam and I will help you move if you want. My best friend is the Luna of the Twilight Meadows pack, just a few hours away from here. I'm sure they would happily find a place for you and Ben there, but…if you want to stay here, we would be happy to help you. I know it's going to be an adjustment for me, seeing as I left this pack because of how the people treated me, but that does not need to be your future; you can choose whatever you want. Maybe you want to return to your pack? We can make that happen."
Sarah is quiet for a moment. She goes from looking at us to looking out the back window. She must be struggling through what to do, what is best for Ben and herself. Part of me hopes she will decide to stay. I may not have had the best family life, but I can see a better one in the future, with my mate and baby and with Sarah and Ben. We could create a close family, one I could have only ever dreamed of. She finally turns back to us, pushing her breath out of her mouth.
