Toxic Rose Thorns - Chapter 39: Chapter 39

Knightly
Freddie has the entire property surrounded. The NorCal alpha has permitted us to come in and try to extract Phoebe's family. Getting here was a simple helicopter ride. She's pacing back and forth with Ayrie in her arms as she tries to soothe her to sleep. Aizen fell asleep on the ride here. He's not a heavy sleeper but with everything going on lately, it doesn't surprise me how deep he's sleeping now.
It's been one shitstorm after another. How Phoebe is holding it together is beyond me. I wasn't human for very long, but I do remember how just about anything that could go wrong had the walls closing in around me.
This is one thing I missed about being a wolf. My ability to focus on everything around me without it completely overwhelming me. Peter and I haven't been out on the field for years. He hasn't had the pleasure of meeting his mate and he's a beta. The only way my parents would have allowed me to go on tour was if Pete had come with me and we've picked up a lot of things on our life on the road to send back home.
Fuck, this is everything I tried to prevent from happening when I walked away. I don't even know what her favorite color is yet and I've already fucked her life up more than I have my own.
"Everyone is in position," Peter sits next to me. He looks up at my mate and shakes his head.
"Don't,"
"I would have done the same thing," he squeezes my arm. "It hurts more because you were right to,"
"You're an asshole," I roll my eyes.
"Yup," he slaps my shoulder and excuses himself, leaving us alone.
Phoebe reclines the car seat and settles Aizen into it. I don't know how to work these things to save my life and they fucking recline. I've never seen them do that. I've also never seen them spin around, but my mom was playing with it before we left earlier and she loved that it did that.
"I'm scared," is the first thing that comes out of her mouth and I want nothing more than to reassure her but I don't want to lie. I have no idea what that fuck wants. I pull her onto my lap and wrap her up in my arms to keep us both grounded.
I'm still reeling from her telling me what Ruin's sister did to Ayrie. Had she died, Aizen would have gone feral long before shifting. It may have triggered his wolf. He could've died a slow painful death and Phoebe would never have known what the fuck had happened. By how much she loves them, I know she would never have recovered from that. That would have killed us both.
I hate him. I hate him so fucking much.
"I'm going to need you to follow every order I give you," I say pulling her hair back to fix the earpiece into her ear.
"I promise," she nods.
"This is just a presentation. That's all he wants for now," I reassure her.
"What does that mean?"
"He wants to acquaint his wolf with theirs. The way it happened with my parents,"
"I thought they were just meeting for the first time,"
"No, and yes. It confirms that they're of our blood. Connects their spirit to our pack,"
"I don't want that," she shakes her head. Her eyes fill with tears.
"They'll be part of my pack. He won't have that official connection. It just proves they are of his blood,"
"I don't want to take them," she whispers on my shoulder.
I don't either, but my father isn't one to be ignored. He'll do it. He'll kill Phoebe's dad, his mate, and all those kids. He'll wrap pieces of them up for her and find ways of making sure they're delivered to her specifically until he gets what he wants. A few months after taking out the Silver Moon pack, that sick fuck sent me their hearts encased in resin. The card read anything for my boy. Classic Arnold.
"Knight, it's time," my dad says and shuts the kids in the back seat.
"Nothing is going to happen to us," I say to both of us. She nods and goes around to get into the passenger seat.
"We've got a shot on all his men. The drones are ready. It'll be like I'm right there with you, son," he puts his hand on my head so my forehead is against his. "I'm not letting anything happen to you or that girl. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," I nod.
"Let's get this over with. See what the son of a bitch has to say," he bumps our heads together and walks away.
My mom wraps her arm around me. I can see the guilt written all over her face. She doesn't say a word when she pulls away. I get into the car and begin the drive there. Phoebe is strangely calm. Her heartbeat is steady. Her breathing is even. She doesn't smell distressed. That fiery scent of her anger is back. I press my lips together because we seem to be on the same page again.
Phoebe has been the only thing fueling my senses since my wolf resurfaced. He can scent her from miles away. He knows how far away from him she is at all times when she's on the ranch. I've never been able to focus enough to be able to do that. He never allowed it since leaving my father's pack. He seems to be behaving for the same reason Ayrie thought I was going to leave if she threw food again. He doesn't want me to take something he loves away.
It's strange to think that doing what I did, taught him to calm down. It taught us both a lesson my parents could never teach. Even during training, these past few days, he's let me take the lead. He's not fighting me. It took him realizing that what my father had taught us was dangerous for us and our mate to let it go. But what I did has had too many close encounters. I have to play this safe. The fucked up part is that we don't know how to do that. The life I've led up until now was everything, but safe. I never expected to get this far. It never mattered before.