I was confused by her statement, "Stop me from what?"
"Stealing my son! I was supposed to marry him!" She screamed as she pointed at Titus.
"I'm not going to argue with you," I said calmly, "You signed away your rights and left your son in the hospital. The only reason you are pretending to care about Christian is because you want Titus back."
She scoffed as if that was the most preposterous thing anyone had ever said.
"If you were a real mother, you would understand the pain and shame I went through everyday knowing I left them. But you didn't carry Christian for nine months. You didn't go through the sickness, the fear, any of it!"
"You're right. I didn't. I picked up the pieces of the mess you left behind. I raised a child that wasn't biologically mine. I stayed with my mate despite the fact he was engaged to you before and had a child with you. I accepted everything and dealt with it because I am a stronger woman."
"You're not better than me! Christian will never look at you as his mother now. He will find out that you had me killed and he will hate you for it."
"Oh we're not killing you. You are banished and exiled."
Surprise colored her face. She really thought I would condemn her to death? Did she really think I was that type of person?
"Exiled? Titus," she begged.
"The decision is final. You will be held here until transportation can be arranged," Titus said apathetically.
Her glare set on me. I swear I felt her hate radiating, like she was throwing it at me. She knew she lost and she wouldn't accept it.
"He will come for you again," she said darkly as she practically pierced my soul with her chocolate eyes.
"He is dead," I responded, "I killed him."
She laughed, "I bet you didn't drain him. Have to drain them," she scolded.
I didn't drain him but I practically beheaded him. There was no way he survived that...right? I looked to Titus for confirmation that Andre was dead but he looked less than sure.
"That's what I thought," she said triumphantly.
"He would be stupid to come for her again," Titus defended.
"Doesn't matter. He will come for her and he will take her. This time, you won't get her back."
"Come on," Titus said, trying to get me to leave.
"So you know his plan?" I asked.
"Of course."
"Don't listen to her," Titus said.
"Hold on," I held up my hand to Titus, "What do you know?"
"Everything. Didn't you find it strange that you were able to 'kill' him so easily?"
I hadn't thought about it but she was right. In the moment, I just assumed I was so filled with rage, I was able to overpower him but maybe I was wrong. Maybe he had a bigger plan that I wasn't seeing. What if he was still alive?
"She doesn't know anything," Titus tried to assure me.
"Don't try to fool her, Titus. I'll tell you everything," she offered to him.
"At what cost," he scoffed.
She shrugged, "Divorce her and marry me."
"Never going to happen."
"You would rather her be taken somewhere you can never find her and raped until she can't produce any more children? You know a vampire's lust is insatiable. He will take her ten times a day without the mercy of death."
Titus couldn't have been more tense. A deep growl rippled through his chest at the image she put in our minds. I couldn't deny, the thought was terrifying.
Titus wrapped his arm around me possessively and forced me out of the building. Once outside, we went straight to the car but didn't get inside just yet. I could tell he was worked up and afraid though he would never admit it.
I stood in front of him, molding my body to his as I cupped his face with both of my small hands.
"Nothing will happen to me. If he comes, we will deal with it."
"We are moving into the pack house until we can confirm he is dead," Titus said with finality.
"Titus-"
"Don't argue. It's not safe for you or Christian in our house right now. Besides, I'll be spending a lot of time there anyway so we might as well live there for now."
I sighed but knew I wasn't winning this fight, "Okay."
It wasn't that I didn't want to live in the pack house; I just didn't want to leave home. I was pregnant and I wanted to be in the comfort of my own home. This was going to be an interesting time.
Zac walked up to us with his hands in his pockets. He was contemplative but angry at the same time.
"We won't let anything happen to you, Liz," he assured.
I half smiled, "Thanks, Zac."
"We're moving into the pack house today," Titus grumbled.
Zac nodded, "I figured. I had the west wing prepared."
"Thanks."
"No problem. Hey, Liz, do you think I could run something by you?"
"Of course. What's going on?"
He ran a hand through his onyx hair as he looked anywhere except me.
"It's about Rachel," he trailed.
"Is she doing alright?"
"Yeah, she's fine," he assured, "It's just...she's illiterate and I want to help her but I don't think I'm doing it right."
I half smiled, "Zac, do you have a crush on her?" I teased.
"No," he instantly denied, "I mean, she's pretty and she's nice and funny," he said as if he was considering her best qualities.
Even though he denied it, I knew he liked her. I also knew it would be hard for him to admit that he liked her. I would imagine he would feel like he was betraying Eva by being happy with someone else.
"Okay, maybe I like her but it wouldn't work out."
"Why not?"
"She has a mate out there and I can't take her from that."
"She knows her mate?" I asked.
"Yeah but she won't talk about it. I don't know what his deal is."
I shrugged, "Maybe I could talk to her and find out a little more."
He looked interested, "You would do that?"
"Of course. I'll see what I can dig up."
******
Okay so this chapter is super short but it gives some insight to Rachel's mind. I'll have a longer chapter up in a couple days.
I slumped on the love seat in our bedroom as Titus pulled out a few suitcases from the hall closet. I sighed in frustration; I wanted to live my normal life without the drama of Andre possibly being alive. I hated that I caused this. I mean, I knew it wasn't directly my fault but I hadn't been totally honest with Titus. If I had been, he would have taken steps to ensure Andre would never be an issue.
"Hey, Titus?" I asked as he walked in the room.
"Yeah?"
"Were you mad at me for killing Andre?"
He looked over his shoulder at me, confused by my question, "No. Why would I be?"
I shrugged, "You seemed upset."
"I was upset because I almost lost you. It was my fault that he even took you in the first place," he said tightly.
"I should have told you about him," I said quietly.
I truly regretted not telling Titus about my past and putting all of us in danger. It was careless of me but I didn't want him to know the truth. My parents had always told me if my mate knew the truth, he would leave me. Now I knew that wasn't the case. Now I knew the bond is deeper than I could have imagined. There wasn't a single reason in the world that Titus would leave me. I could probably even cheat on him and he would eventually forgive me. Not that I would ever do that but we were that close. He wasn't just my mate; he was my husband and my best friend.
He sat next to me and put his hand on my thigh, squeezing just lightly, "You should have but that's okay. We will deal with him now if he isn't dead."
"If I'm being honest, I will be a little happy if I didn't kill him."
"Why?"
"It's all I can think about lately. I know he deserved it but I've never killed anything and I completely lost it. What if that happens again?"
"It won't," he assured me, "You had
every right and reason in the world to kill him and no one would ever question you on it."
"I was just...I was so angry," I whispered.
He kissed my temple, "It will be okay, Liz. I will take care of it."
I shook my head lightly, "This is my fault, Titus. I need to deal with it."
"He is not your fault. This is your parents' fault," he tried.
"I put Christian in danger."
"I promise, I will take care of this. He will be dead and you will never have to worry about him again," he promised.
I rested my chin on his well-defined shoulder and exhaled roughly. I felt the anticipation deep in my veins but I refused to show Titus how much the situation affected me. I didn't want him to think I wasn't capable of handling stressful situations because I was capable. I could handle Andre just as I had every day growing up. Even though I had only interacted with him a few times, I knew what he wanted from me--even as a child I knew.
Titus leaned over and kissed me gently.
"Come on. We should get going."
I nodded and followed him into the closet to start packing.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Three days. Three damn days at the pack house and there was still no word on Andre which meant he was more than likely alive. The Order wouldn't have just let him die. They would protect him at all cost so it was stupid of me to think I had actually killed him. He was thousands of years older than me and with age came knowledge.
I sat next to Christian on the couch as he napped with his head on my lap. I absently stroked his blonde hair as I thought about how naive I had been.
Rachel took a seat on the armchair next to me and half smiled at Christian.
"He's so cute," she commented in a whisper.
I smiled lightly, unable to force a true smile at the moment.
"He is. I don't know what I would do without him."
"I've been wanting to talk to you," she started. I could hear the nervous tone in her voice which I thought was interesting.
"About what?"
"Well, Zac has asked me to stay here but I was hoping to get your take on it. I mean, we came from the same place and it seems like you adjusted just fine."
"Yeah but Titus is my mate. He made me feel comfortable. Wouldn't your mate be upset if you left?" I asked. I figured that was the perfect moment to ask about her mate and I couldn't pass it up.
She looked down and fidgeted with her fingers. I knew something was wrong with the way she was acting.
"He, um...I don't want to go back to him," she whispered.
"You don't want your mate?" I questioned as if she was insane.
She shook her head sadly, "I can't live like that anymore."
I noticed tears streaming down her ivory cheeks and I felt so bad for her. She was only nineteen and she didn't want to be with the one man that was supposed to love and protect her.
"You can tell me what happened," I said softly, "I won't tell anyone."
She wiped her cheeks but more tears fell, "He is evil."
"Evil?"
She nodded, "He found me when I was twelve. He's a vampire in the coven so my parents gave me to him then and there. He let Master have me whenever he wanted."
I felt like there was more to the story but I didn't want to push her too far.
"He took my virginity on my thirteenth birthday and that's when he started punishing me for disobedience."
The scars. I knew she had to have a horrible past to have scars like that. To think that they came from her own mate disgusted me more than anything. A mate is there to love, not to control.
"He...he made me do things...with other girls because he liked it," she silently cried.
Jesus. I felt my heart breaking for her. Granted, I was pregnant and emotional but her story was gut wrenching. Sex was not supposed to be used in that manner. It was supposed to be a connection shared between two people and instead, this vampire made her fear it and he used it as a means to control her.
"Being with Zac is the first time I've ever felt like someone cared about me. I know I'm not good enough for him but I don't know how to tell him that."
"Rachel," I said softly, "You are good enough for him. I think this is something you should tell him."
She shook her head quickly, "He would be disgusted by me. I'M disgusted by me."
"None of it was your fault. I may not know what it's like to be you but I know it is always better to tell someone you care about. Zac cares about you in a way that I have never seen him care about anyone. I honestly think you are each other's second chances at being happy. I know you're not mates but that doesn't mean you can't love him."
"Do you really think he will be okay with everything that has happened to me?"
"Of course. He is caring and considerate. He will listen and understand if you just explain."
She nodded and partially smiled though it was far from happy, "Thank you, Elizabeth. I needed to talk to someone about this."
"You can talk to me anytime," I assured her.
*********
I couldn't imagine the shame and pain Rachel experienced when she told me about her mate. How could anyone, especially her mate, do that? Her mate was supposed to be her rock. He was not supposed to pass her around. I was shocked he wouldn't have been uncontrollably jealous with another person touching her sexually. Heads would roll before anyone except Titus touched me. He would make damn sure of that. Then again, in my experience with that coven, they were so brainwashed that they would do anything and everything for Andre. It was disgusting.
I knew Rachel wasn't looking for pity from me and she wouldn't want it but I did feel bad for her. She seemed so innocent despite what she had been through. A man never showed her she could trust men which was sad because I knew she wanted to be with Zac. Their road to any sort of a relationship would be beyond difficult. He had lost his mate and hers was still alive and probably not willing to let her go. I knew exactly what was going to happen. She would get into the swing of things with Zac and finally be happy for awhile then her mate would show up and work on her emotional connection to him to get her away from Zac. Honestly, I couldn't be sure that she wouldn't go back to that. To deny her mate, regardless of his actions, would be devastating. I wasn't sure if she was strong enough to do it. I just prayed he never came for her. Zac and Rachel deserved to be happy after everything they had done for others. Zac may have been a stern Alpha but he was compassionate and Rachel was just so naive and innocent. She traveled all this way for her sister. I still wasn't sure what happened to her to cause the wounds I treated but I was sure that would be an interesting story to hear.
"Hey," Titus said as he sat next to me.
He tossed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. The calming sensation he always caused flooded my mind, putting a small smile on my lips.
"Where did you disappear to?" I asked.
"We're going to take out the Order."
I instantly pulled away from him and frowned but Christian's sleeping form didn't let me go far.
"I don't want you to get hurt."
"I won't. You forget I've been trained for this," he said with a smile.
"Titus. I'm being serious."
"So am I. This isn't just about killing Andre anymore. They pose a huge threat to us an our allies. They need to be dealt with."
"But what if something happens to you?"
"You will be okay, Liz. Trust me."
I absently shook my head, "But without you-"
"Without me, you will be sad but you will take care of our children and this pack. You'll find someone else that will love you."
He was dead serious. His hazel eyes bore into mine with sincerity but I knew that wouldn't be the case. I would never want anyone but him. Sad was the understatement of the century. I would be devastated, in mourning for years. I would never stop missing him even if I d
id survive long enough to raise our children. I just prayed I didn't lose my mind like most did when a mate died. Just the thought of losing Titus was hard enough. I couldn't imagine it actually happening.
"When?"
"After we get back. We're still working out the logistics."
I nodded stiffly, "Promise me you won't do anything reckless. I need you, Titus," I admitted.
He rested his hand on the back of my neck and pulled me in to kiss me gently.
"I promise I won't do anything reckless."
"Seriously Titus. I only care about what happens to you," I said.
He laughed lightly, "Lizzy, come on. I don't have these muscles just for your viewing pleasure," he teased.
I rolled my eyes but laughed since he was trying to make light of the situation.
"You are so ridiculous," I said with a light laugh.
"But you love me," he said with that signature smirk that could only really be his.
"Yeah, yeah. You're still ridiculous though."
He shrugged, "Maybe. How long has he been out?" He asked, motioning to Christian.
"About an hour. I don't think he's sleeping at night."
"I know. Do you think we should do anything about it?"
I shook my head slowly, "Not yet. Lets see if he does it on his own."
"Alright. Maybe we shouldn't let him nap during the day so he's tired tonight."
"If that's what you want to do," I trailed.
"We can send him on a patrol," Titus suggested.
"No!"
"Why not? I was running patrols at his age."
I scoffed, "Titus, that's dangerous."
"Just a small one in town. Come on. He will be fine."
I bit my lip and stared down at Christian. I wasn't sure it was a good idea with everything going on but Titus was right. Christian had to learn sometime and if it was just a small one in town maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"Who's going?"
"Brent, Jodie, and Sam."
I frowned. I would rather it be with Titus and Zac but Brent was Third in Command so I guess that was okay. Jodie and Sam were two of the best warriors; I knew they would die before ever letting harm come to Christian. Even if he hadn't been the Beta's son, they all would love Christian.
"If you're sure nothing will happen then fine," I reluctantly agreed.
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