She snorted. “I’m not actually an idiot. She came of her own choice even if I lied to her.”
“Actually, you didn’t,” my adoptive mom—no, Mrs. Edwards mumbled. “My mate is in grave danger. Creed could tear him apart.” Nothing shocked me more than when she looked at her mate with hate. “And Ihope he does.”
“What?” I gasped, several echoing me.
“Yousworeto me that you were leaving him alone!” she growled at her mate, ignoring the rest of us. “You promised that you would leave him alone to be happy! If I didn’t go visit him in prison and beg his forgiveness for what your brother did—that was the price for him to be free after prison. Nothing you say is ever true and I hate you!”
Aurora was clearly as shocked as I was since she let the wolf go and blinked at her.
“You don’t understand,” the Beta tried to defend.
“No, enoughlies!” she screamed. “I’m not nearly as stupid as you think and my love for you was real unlike your brother’s mate who just wants power. I put up with your whores and so much else, but I loved him like he was mine. You hid so much from me, and I knew there were battles we had to be careful for so we could keep up appearances—I hate you.I hate you!”
“You are so useless you can’t even keep your fucking bitch in line,” Alpha Edwards grumbled at his brother.
I gasped when a wound opened across his chest, my gaze darting around.
“Whoops?” a soft female voice chuckled on the very wind.
Aurora simply smirked at me. “Again, I am not an idiot. Of course I brought backup.”
I sighed and tried to control my desire to spank her even as my love for her swelled. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and my lion reacted before I even realized what was happening.
I changed forms and intercepted the Alpha when he made a desperate move to get the upper hand… And go for Aurora.
“If you kill him, they would try to make you Alpha, Creed,” Mrs. Edwards screamed as I was about to go over the line.
It was the sanity I needed to hear even if my lion wanted it. Aurora wouldn’t have. That life would have made her beyond miserable.
My lion released him and moved protectively in front of Aurora, making it clear to both men not to make such a foolish attempt again.
They didn’t get the chance though, portals opening and police coming through them. The Beta looked at me with shock and I simply snorted, still in lion form. Idiots. They really were so desperate to have made that play and not have thought it through.
I changed back to a man when I saw who was on the scene so I could talk and not risk the wolves slithering out of the trouble they were in. Plus, I needed to protect Aurora because she could be in deep shit no matter how she spun what she’d done.
“Ma’am, we need you to come with us,” one of the officers said to Mrs. Edwards, but she resisted.
“Creed, please,” she begged, waiting until I glanced at her. “I did so much wrong and I know I don’t deserve to be forgiven. I just need you to know one thing.”
“You didn’t know they bound his lion,” Aurora whispered from next to me.
Something healed inside of me when tears filled the wolf’s eyes. “No, I swear I never knew. I had—I would have gotten him out. I would have—I did a lot to protect my own kids because the Alpha—nothing excuses what I’ve done. But I could never have done that. Never.” She broke down sobbing and allowed herself to be led away.
“How did you know?” I asked Aurora.
She didn’t answer right away but then let out a slow breath. “Because I’ve been where that poor woman has been.” She looked up at me and gave me a pained smile. “The line kept moving back on her. One more thing allowed to keep the peace or keep people safe. One more sin for the greater good in her mind that distorted everything.
“Shifted reality and seemed not so bad, but that was her line. That was too far and she knew it. That was how—I always knew the little steps over or near what I fought for broke some part of me, but certain things I would never have been able to accept. Kenneth selling Ellie to someone horrible. Allowing an elder to have her—I knew the lines I would die or kill for.”
I swallowed loudly. “You said that one—did an elder try for that?”
“Yes.” She cleared her throat and looked away. “One almost had Kenneth convinced it would be the best idea since I was broken and could never give him a son. Kenneth thought it was the best way to puppet Ellie later and keep control, but it was foolish.”
“And you sacrificed yourself to make sure he realized that,” I whispered.
She nodded. “Several times.” She looked back up at me. “And that woman would have done the same. She loved you like a true mother even if she failed you a hundred times. You were loved, Creed.” She blinked back tears. “Us mothers whofail recognize our own.” She muttered bullshit about needing to speak to someone and hurried off.
“You heard that, right?” I asked Ellie as she walked towards me.
