December 20th

Ella's Point of view:

I listened as Leo left the room, walked into his office and firmly slammed the door.

I glared across to Connor.

"This was meant to be the happiest time of my life and look what you have done," I snapped.

"I'm sorry-"

"You are not sorry. You wanted my mate dead and you still do. Don't even try to deny it."

"I'm sorry that he is your mate. He is a bad man, why can't you see that?"

"Because I love him, Connor!" I shouted. "He's my mate, the father of my child and I love him!"

"You don't love him. You feel the mate bond but you don't love him."

"I am happy with him. He treats me well, he-"

"He does not treat you well Ella," Connor interjected. "Listen to the way he orders you about like some kind of pet! I can hardly bear the thought of my sister spending the rest of her life with that man!"

At that point, Cato woke up and started screaming- drowning out all other sounds in the room....drowning out all other sounds...

An idea popped into my head- a solution to this mess. An incredibly stupid solution that probably wouldn't work but a solution all the same.

I jumped to my feet and dragged a chair to the back door. I climbed up onto it and found the key from the door of the door frame.

"What are you doing?" Connor asked. "Are you insane?" he added as I unlocked the back door.

"I believe the expression is saving your bacon," I hissed as Cato continued to wail. There was no way Leo could hear anything but him. Not the click of the lock or Connor's voice or me desperately trying to undo the knots around his wrists.

"Ella no," Connor said sternly. "You don't have to put yourself in this position because of me."

"Do I have another choice? I refuse to watch my brother rot in a prison cell for the rest of his life," I replied tugging at the rope. "I will stall him while you get as far away from here as possible. Never come back. Understand?"

"This will never work," Connor replied. "Stop."

"It's worth a try," I said finally releasing his wrists.

He hugged me tightly before quickly hugging our Mom and then kissing Cato on the forehead.

"Go," she said a tear in her eye.

I nodded and watched as he fled out of the back door. In seconds he was just a faint shadow in the dense forest and then he had completely vanished. I relocked the door and returned the key to the door frame and the chair to the table like I was trying to pretend nothing happened.

One little problem with that...it's fairly obvious that there was no longer a 6 ft man tied to one of the chairs.

I took Cato into my arms, who despite my mother's best efforts was still crying his eyes out and held him closely to me. I then sat beside my mother, held her hand tightly and gently rocked him until his cries slowly ceased. It wasn't until quiet returned to the room, five minutes later, that the door to Leo's office opened.

My heartbeat began to rise and so did my Mom's. I gently squeezed her hand and took a deep breath as we listened to his footsteps come into the room.

His eyes immediately landed on the empty chair and then flushed with anger. Clenching his jaw and hardening his face, he turned to me with a cold deathly look in his eyes. Without a word he then marched to the back door and forced it open before racing into the forest.

"Oh God," I stated after Leo had disappeared into the forest at a much faster pace than Connor had, "Mom you should go," I said, "When he gets back he's going to be furious. I don't want you to see that."

"How can I just leave you?" she asked in shock.

"Because I can handle him alone," I said, "And it's best if everyone else is out of his way."

She was still reluctant.

"Mom, he will not hurt me," I told her taking her hand, "And when the anger passes, he'll understand

She nodded, "Call me tonight, okay dear?"

I nodded, "And I'll see you soon, right?"

She forced a smile, "We'll see."

After she'd left I just sat silently on the sofa with Cato still in my arms.

I so nearly had everything.

A happy family, a stable relationship, a peaceful life.

And in the space of ten minutes, it had all come crashing down.

My brother was now an enemy, I'd worked against my mate and my Mom had seen the terrifying side of him.

I sat there for half an hour with no word from Leo. I hated Connor for doing this but at the same time, I prayed to the moon Goddesses that Leo wouldn't find him. I couldn't be sure that he would pose no further threat to the pack but I could be sure that I didn't want him imprisoned for decades on decades.

The anticipation was just about to send me into a nervous breakdown when there was a pound on the door.

I slowly made my way down the hall with the sleeping newborn in my arms. For some reason, I had a bad feeling about the forceful knocker and I couldn't bear to leave him alone in his crib.

The knocker had an unfamiliar and intimidating scent so I opened the door only an inch or two so that I could get a glimpse of the visitor. He was very tall with dark, thick hair and black, terrifying, malicious-looking eyes. I immediately tried to push the door shut again in an attempt to keep the unfriendly man outside safely outside.

"Where's the Alpha, sweetheart?" he asked in a bored tone using his strength to forcibly open the door with one hand in a relatively lazy manner.

"He is not here," I replied quietly.

He looked down at me and then to Cato and then back to me before inviting himself into the house.

"So you're the famous Luna and that is the future Alpha I presume?" he said looking around the hallway like he was new to it all.

"Who are you?" I asked.copy right hot novel pub