Captured - Cara Wylde Page 0,61
didn’t know what to do. I swear I didn’t want to escape. I wanted to stay, but he sent me away!”
“I know, I know. Shh… Jax is an idiot. I know what he did. There’s nothing between him and Layla. He was acting out.”
“But why did he… Why…”
She was sobbing so hard that she alerted the Elders and the pups, who emerged from the cabin. Mama Rose was amongst them.
“He didn’t mean to.” I couldn’t believe I was defending Jax’s sorry ass! “He freaked out.”
She cried for a minute longer, then she seemed to accept that Jax had just been a moron and nothing that he’d said to her was true. She looked up into my eyes.
“What was that thing? The lake monster…”
“The Pale One,” Mama Rose said. “Come, child. Let me see what they did to you.” Isabel complied, and Mama Rose started touching her face, her arms, inspecting her wounds as she went on. “That’s what the rogue wolves call her. There are a few packs of nomads who worship her since they discovered she lives in the lake. They think she is a goddess of the moon. That’s all nonsense. She is a creature of the depths, as ancient as these mountains. She is a part of nature. She isn’t malignant, and unless disturbed, she doesn’t hurt anyone. But every time they summon her from the depths, they bother her, they annoy her, and yes, she does devour the prey they offer to her. But not because she requires human sacrifices in exchange for gifts of power and prosperity. Those are all fabricated stories these nomads have come up with because they have no meaning and no purpose to guide them. They needed something to believe in, something that would hold them together as a pack, and they chose the creature of Black Diamond Lake.”
Isabel was in shock. I could tell. Mama Rose was doing her best, but Isabel was barely reacting. Instead of making her feel better, the story only served to freak her out even more.
“Mother, enough. She doesn’t need to hear all that.” I grabbed Isabel by the arm and pulled her away. “I’ll take it from here.”
At first, Mama Rose looked at me with wide, incredulous eyes. But then she saw that I meant Isabel no harm and that I was finally stepping into my role as the human’s mate and taking care of her as I should’ve done from the start. She nodded, gave Isabel a smile, and patted her on the cheek.
“You’re in good hands, my dear. It will all end soon. Go with Thorn.”
I took her hand and guided her to my cabin. We got in, and I made sure she was comfortable on the couch with a huge, thick blanket thrown over her, then I got dressed and made her a cup of tea. When I offered it to her, she stared at it with wide eyes, then refused it.
“What’s wrong?”
“They put something in my tea, and I fell asleep. I was so weak that I couldn’t defend myself. I just… Maybe I’ll just drink water for a while.”
“I understand.” I set the cup aside.
“Jax and Reid. Where are they?”
“By the lake with the entire Woodward Pack. They will end this once and for all. We should have finished the Redwoods a long time ago. We should’ve never let it come to this.”
“They’re in danger!” She jumped off the couch, and I caught her and forced her back down.
“You need to rest. They’re fine.”
“We have to help them!”
I smiled. Oh, she was being so cute and innocent. “The Woodwards are stronger and more numerous than the Redwoods. We’re not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere.” I sat down next to her. “Ever. I won’t leave you again, Isabel.”
With a sigh, she collapsed into my arms, and I held her gently. For the first time, there was nothing sexual about it, and it felt good. It felt right.
“I love you, Thorn,” she whispered in my chest, and my heart started beating faster. “I love you, and I love your brothers. I just want to be with you until my last day on this earth.”
I pulled her closer, squeezing her so hard that I was probably hurting her now. She didn’t complain.
“I love you, too,” I murmured. It was the first time in my life when I was uttering these words. My face burned, as I’d never felt so vulnerable. I realized that if she wanted to hurt me, she could.