Erick POV
I lie next to her, holding her. I lean down and kiss her shoulder. She smiles sweetly. I can hear her wolf. I don’t typically hear a wolf unless they are a member of my pack. This is different. She speaks directly to my wolf and me. “You are destined to be together. You are mates,” the wolf says.
I pull her as close to me as I can get her. Our wolves are talking to each other. It is strange to listen to at first, but then we let go and allow the wolves to speak to one another. I hold her on the floor before the fire as we fall asleep.
I awake in the middle of the night to loud noises. I get up and dress quickly. Kate hears the noise and starts getting dressed. I look out the window and see a familiar truck. “Who is it?” Kate asks.
“It is my father. Stay here. I will go outside and see what in the hell he wants,” I say to her.
I go to the door and open it slowly. I look back to Kate, who is terrified. “Everything will be fine, trust me,” I say as I go out the door. I go out on the porch and wait for my father to get out of the truck to talk to me. Jackson and Theo get out of the truck instead.
“Why are you here?” I ask.
“Your father sent us to talk some sense into you. Are you going to risk your future over a slave?” Jackson says.
“Jackson, you and Theo need to leave,” I say to him. I let out a deep growl to let them know I am serious. The two back away from me.
“Listen, Erick, your mother is concerned about you,” Theo says.
“I do not care. I said leave now, or I can make you leave,” I say.
“We are here under orders of the Alpha,” Jackson says.
I see lights in the distance coming up fast. It is Gypsy. She is driving like a bat out of hell to get to the cabin. She pulls into the cabin, almost hitting Theo with her truck. She jumps out of the truck. She grabs a shotgun from the back seat and quickly joins me on the porch. She aims it at the two of them.
“I got two bullets, both full of silver, so I suggest you leave,” Gypsy says.
Gypsy pulls the gun back; it is ready to shoot whoever moves first in the wrong direction. Theo and Jackson start to back away, moving toward the truck. “This is not over,” Jackson screams at me.
Theo and Jackson stand by the truck, waiting for something. I look to see if my father is in the truck, but he is not. Screams start coming from inside the cabin. I turn to go inside to check on Kate. Theo and Jackson start running toward the cabin. Gypsy shoots both of them. They drop immediately to the ground.
I go into the cabin to see my father trying to kill Kate. “She has to die, son. She cannot live. You do not understand what it means for her to be alive. It changes everything,” Alpha screams at me. I grab the fire poker from beside the fireplace and go after him. He drops Kate to the ground. I begin stabbing my father with the fire poker. Kate runs outside, terrified and screaming.
My father is stronger than me. He fights me as I continue to stab him with the fire poker. Gypsy comes into the cabin. “Move, Erick!” Gypsy screams at me. I release my father and run for the door. BANG! Gypsy shoots him dead. My father lies on the cabin floor, dead in the same place I made love to Kate.
“Your pack is going to kill me,” Gypsy says.
“No, they will not. I am now Alpha, and it was a terrible accident,” I say to her.
“What are we going to do?” Kate asks.
“Lie, we will have to lie about what happened here tonight,” I say.
“How in the hell are you going to explain all of this?” Gypsy asks.
“Easy, my father came here to talk, and we were attacked, but no one saw who it was. It happened very fast. Gypsy, you did not come until you heard the shots got it. Kate, you were asleep when we were talking,” I say to both of them.
The two women agree with me. I carry my father to his truck and put him on the truck's bed. I place Jackson and Theo with him. I go back into the cabin and grab blankets out of the closet. The women watch me as I cover the three men.
“Gypsy, I need you to take care of her while I take them back to the pack. I will be back tomorrow,” I tell Gypsy.
“I understand,” Gypsy says.
I grab Kate and pull her into my arms. I hold her tightly. “Listen to me carefully. Please stay in this cabin and not talk to anyone but Wan and Gypsy. I will be back early tomorrow. I have to handle this now,” I say.
I can feel her tears against my chest. “I am sorry this happened,” Kate says.
“Don’t be. They brought it on themselves. I need to know you are safe while I am handling this,” I say.
“I will stay in the cabin, I promise,” Kate says.
I kiss her forehead. Our wolves are talking to one another as I walk away. I stop, go back to her, and kiss her softly. “You are mine forever, don’t forget that. I choose you,” I say.
I pull her into me and hold her. I do not want to leave her. I cannot take her back with me until I handle this with my mother and the pack. I need her safe for the night. Tomorrow we will find out about her past, and I will make her my mate officially with the pack. My mother is going to be furious that I have chosen a mate.
I get into my father’s truck and drive down the long gravel road. I have a two-hour drive back to the pack to inform them that their Alpha and his henchmen are dead. My only concern is Kate. I do not want this to come back on her or Gypsy.