Chapter 207
Don’t stop. Perry shouts in my head as I slow the car.
She jumps up on top with Jordan and Tulie. The kids are crying, and I don’t know how to handle the situation. Tulie climbs into the passenger seat and reaches over me to open the trunk. Jordan slides in with her, and Perry climbs in through the back.
“Can someone else drive?” I ask.
“No, focus. You need to keep yourself from freaking out.” Jorda
Ys. “Try to remain calm.”
“Hi, babies,” Perry coos in the back. Her tone is gentle. “We’re
okay,”
“Mommy,” Aizen is the first to break. The three of them had been trying their best not to freak out.
“We’re okay, Baby. We’re going home,” I try to reassure him.
“I want my brother,” Melody cries. “I want to see Derek.”
“He’s on his way to us, Princess. I promise,” I say shakily.
“Daddy too?” Ayrie asks.
“Yes, and Pop–pop,”
We leave the border of the pack and hit the highway. My body is shaking, and I have to grip the steering wheel tightly. I don’t know what the hell that was. Or maybe I do, and I don’t want to consider it because that would mean I have to leave the pack. It’ll mean Ashley coming in to take over. She’ll take the pack the only way Knightlys know how. By force.
Even if I tried to stop it, what just happened is more than enough provocation for them to decide what to do, regardless of what I may think or want.
“They were paying her,” Jordan says after a while.
“What?” I try to focus on the sound of something other than my tho
“They were paying Allison to try to make you want to leave. There were four of them. All elders,”
“The ones that didn’t make the cut,” Tulie adds.
“They knew she was out, and they attacked. She was panicking back at her house. They were packing and arguing over what was happening.”
The panic in my body begins to fade, replaced by hurt. She was jumping ship. Did she ever really think I could run the pack? Wa all bullshit? I thought we were becoming friends. The time we spent together was fun, and I thought I was finding my place. Ou place.
“Phoebs,” Perry sighs. “They don’t deserve your tears.”
“I know. I just can’t believe how fucking naive I am. I swear I never learn my lesson.” I wipe my face with the back of my sleeve. “I thought we’d finally found our place. didn’t want to be here at first, but it was starting to grow on me.”
“Not everyone is against you staying. There are a whole lot of people who want you there. Just let us thin out the others,”
1/3
Chapter 207
“Perry, you can’t just kill everyone when they don’t want to agree with you. That’s not how things work.
“It is the only way things work in our world, Phoebe. We’re not mortals. We don’t believe in all lives matter. We’re animal: We believe in those who believe in us. We are loyal to those who are loyal to us. Fuck everybody else. You saw what just happened. It’s you or them. They understand that, and they just tried to take advantage of your kindness. You don’t need to love everything
“I can’t just decide that,” I shake my head.
“You don’t have to. We can make that choice for you. All you have to do is look the other way. I told Knight it was too soon to bring you into all of this. I’m sorry we expected so much. I’m sorry we put you and the kids in danger.”
“D.A.D. says we’re always in danger,” Aizen says quietly. “Because we’re special.”
“You’re dad is right, which is why we have to be more dangerous than they are. Don’t ever forget that,” she says.
I get us to the beach house. When we arrive, Elliot and Maria are already here. Perry, Jordan, and Tulie get out to run the perimeter.
I try to take in what happened, and I can’t even fully process it. I jump when the door is opened.
“Angel,” Knight sighs and pulls me into a hug.
“Daddy,” Ayrie cries out.
“Get them out of here,” I manage to say.
“Derek!” Melody cries out.
They take the twins out, and I finally let go of the steering wheel. Knight tries to help me out of the car. I slide out of the car, but my legs don’t understand what’s happening, and I almost hit the rocks. Knight lifts me up and kicks the door shut. I stare at the condition the car is in as he takes me up to the house.
The entire side of the car is littered with bullet dents. If Arnold hadn’t insisted on making the vehicle bulletproof, we would have died. Ayrie, Aizen, and Melody would have been killed in that assault.
“The doctor is here,” Mr. Knightly says. Knight sets me down in the living room. “She can help calm you down.”
I nod. I don’t want anyone near me. I want to take the twins upstairs and lock myself in there with them, but I need to make sure my baby is okay. The twins run over to me and I sit them up on the couch. When Melody steps into the living room, I reach out for her, and she doesn’t hesitate to come sit with me.
Everything goes by in a blur. The doctor tells me everything is okay with the baby and that I need to rest without any interruptions. I lay the kids down, and I shut their door behind me once they’re asleep. My back hits the wall, and I slide down until I’m sitting, finally having a minute to myself.
, and
All of it. From the moment I stepped off that plane until now. It hits me, and all I can do is sit here and cry. The tears don’t stop, the ache in my chest doesn’t fade. Knight picks me up off the floor and takes me to our room. He shuts us in and ensures monitors are working before setting me down on the bed.
aby
“Please, don’t say it,” I cry and turn around to bury myself in his chest. “Don’t apologize for something that isn’t your fault.”
“Okay,” he says gently. “And I’m not apologizing for what comes next. We tried things your way. Now, let me take the lead. There’s not a single thing you can say to stop me.”
