Captured - Cara Wylde Page 0,47
pretty much what I’d expected. Jax’s “you’ll be our slave forever” had made that clear.
“I understand, Mama Rose. Thank you.”
She didn’t reply. Instead, she got up and went to open the door. “Pups, come here. I need another word with you.”
Reid, Thorn, and Jax shuffled back into the cabin. They looked worried and suspicious. But Mama Rose wasn’t thwarted by their dark expressions.
“Isabel will stay with the pack. I give her permission to be a member. It’s going to be your job to make sure she adjusts.”
They gaped at me in shock. I met their glances and did my best not to flinch.
I knew better than to believe this was going to be easy, but that was okay. Mama Rose had said I had to be patient, and I was going to follow her advice. I believed what she had told me. I believed I could have something more with the Woodward brothers. And I would fight for it.
Fifteen
Jax
Isabel left with Reid and Thorn. Mama Rose wanted to leave, too, but I stopped her.
“You can’t do this,” I told her in the calmest voice I could muster. I was boiling inside. She was more than our mother. We all called her Mama Rose because she was the mother of the entire Woodward Pack. That meant she had a lot of influence, and even though my brothers and I were the Alphas, when she wanted something, we obeyed. Not this time. This time, what she wanted was insane and didn’t serve anyone. “Isabel can’t be part of our pack. She’s human. She’s also our brother’s killer.”
“That’s not true, and you know it.”
“Her blood is tainted. She comes from a long line of murderers.”
“Listen to me, pup. She’s not like her family. She’s different. I can see it in her eyes, and if you stopped being so stubborn for a minute, you’d see it too.”
I shook my head.
“When have I ever been wrong, Jax? She’s your mate. Reid’s and Thorn’s, too. Give her a chance, and you’ll see.”
I sighed. Okay, she got me with that. She was old and wise. She’d seen so much, witnessed so much… I guessed I just had to prove her wrong, then. So, I nodded, let her believe that I agreed to her decision, all the while making a plan of my own. She motioned for me to lean forward so she could place a gentle kiss on my forehead. Her touch soothed me, if only for a moment. Once she was out of the cabin, I could think clearly again. Mama Rose’s energy was strong and commanding. She’d learned to be that way from my father, the Alpha, because she needed to impose her authority in order to raise four rambunctious male pups. But we weren’t pups anymore, although she insisted on calling us that. This time… This time I knew better than Mama Rose, and I was going to prove it to her. Isabel Bishop could not be our mate. Not if I had something to say about it.
I stormed out of the house and went to look for the human female. I found her with Thorn. They were just having breakfast. When I saw them sitting at Thorn’s small kitchen table, eating and chatting like they didn’t have a care in the world, I saw red. This was ridiculous! What was Thorn doing? She’d betrayed him, and he’d already forgotten? Since when was he treating her like a human being? I felt like I’d been missing something here. Like Thorn had actually been pretending with us, not with her.
“I’ll take her,” I growled.
They both stood up. Thorn twitched slightly, and for a second, I thought he was going to stop me. I stared him down.
“You’ve had her all night.” I tipped my head toward the bed. “Don’t think I’m blind.” Strings of rope hung to the floor. “It’s my turn.”
Thorn raised his hands in defeat and took a step back. That was my cue. I grabbed Isabel by the arm and dragged her out of my brother’s cabin.
“You’re hurting me,” she complained.
I squeezed harder as I sneered at her. “So you think you have rights now? Just because Mama Rose said you could join the pack? Let me tell you something, cunt. Mama Rose doesn’t decide. The Alphas decide, and I am one of them. You’ll do as I say, or you’ll have a bunch of regrets by the end of the day.”
She kept her mouth shut, and I took it as obedience. Good.