Page 76 of Awakening His Mate

I’m not used to feeling helpless, and I hate it. I want to take back control.

“We take down your brother, and we save everyone he’s taken. We take back our lives. We live the life that we deserve. I am tired of hiding in the shadows, of being afraid for the people I care about,” Roux adds.

“And maybe one day you can even be reunited with your sister,” Halle says, and I can tell from her wistful tone that she’s thinking about whether or not she will ever have her mother back.

“Freya is gone, and even if I find her, she won’t remember me. I made sure of that.”

Sadness infuses her words. I’d always looked at Hester as someone I needed to be wary of, someone I shouldn’t trust, but she was hiding so much pain and suffering.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel sympathy for what she has been through. Knowing your brother is the one behind such horrific acts can’t be easy, but her lack of action also angers me. I get that she is scared of him, but she also has a duty to protect people from her own family.

She knows more than she’s letting on, Cade says through our pack link.

Sawyer snorts. Are you surprised she’s still withholding stuff? She’s a vault.

You want to tip her upside down and shake her? Wyatt asks. See what falls out?

Wyatt! Halle chastises.

Cade blows out a breath. “If you have anything else to tell us that might help, now is the time,” he tells Hester. “If I find out that you’ve held back things that could protect my mate, I will kill you.”

“Me too,” Sawyer adds.

“We’re leaving in the next hour,” Callum interjects. “If you want to come with us, be ready to go. We’ll wait at the gate—inside the wards, if you don’t mind. There’s no reason for us to put a target on our backs.”

He lifts his chin to his coven, and they trail behind him, the red-haired girl walking backward so she can glare at us before she follows.

Ayden hangs back, his young face wrinkled with too much strain for someone his age.

“Thanks for not killing me,” he says. “And only mildly torturing me.”

This kid…

He turns and goes after his group. As soon as they’re out of sight, Sawyer whistles. “Well, this has been enlightening. Do you have anything else to add?” This is directed at Hester.

“My brother doesn’t have magic, but he is the strongest wolf you will come across. Be careful when you deal with him.”

She turns, rushing toward the house without glancing back.

“We go to Tessa and Abel,” Roux says. “Fill them in on things. We don’t have long to pack. We’re all going, right?”

“Yeah,” Cade says. “We’re all going.”

Everyone makes their way back to their cabins, including Dove and me. As soon as we’re inside, the door shut behind us, I take her face between my hands, scanning every inch of her.

“You okay?” I need to hear the words.

“I am now,” she says as she nods, placing her hands over mine, as if she needs to be touching me at every moment. I’m happy to oblige. I like her touching me. “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?”

“We all knew Hester was keeping secrets.”

“Not one this big. She seems terrified of him, and that worries me, Jackson. What if we’re not strong enough to fight him?”

“Hey, don’t do that. Don’t doubt the choices we’re making.”

“I don’t doubt what we’re doing. Not at all. We’ve got so much at stake here. We have to find someone who can untangle our memory blocks. We need to know what happened while we were at the facility.”

I agree with her. Not knowing is the worst part. “We will. Callum might be able to help.” I reach up, grabbing a lock of her hair and teasing it between my fingers. “How did this end up blue? You’re a brunette in my visions.”

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