hug. His scent wrapped its way around me calming me to my very core.
He was Alpha. He was safe.
“You are brave my child. Please call frequently. Keith doesn’t have much left in this world, and he loves you more than you can imagine.”
I nodded against Isaac’s chest.
I pulled away and wiped away the trails of my tears. Isaac lifted his chin slightly and I bowed my neck. It was a sign of respect on both our ends. He smiled at me. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
I smelled Keith before I saw him. I turned. He stood in the doorway. I walked over to him, to the large man who had ever been my gentle caretaker during these years of my life.
“Never thought I would see the day.”
His eyes filled with moisture.
He could see I felt like he did. That goodbye between us was the hardest. I think I filled the hole in his heart his mate had left behind. I knew he filled the hole my father had left in mine.
“It’s not goodbye. You made me a promise that you were never going to let me go.”
Keith’s eyes lit up.
“You remember that? From all those years ago, you remember?”
I nodded with a smile. When Keith had scooped me up when we left the warehouse Griffin and I were held captive, he had whispered to me that he would never let me go.
I was going to hold him to that promise.
“I love you baby girl. Call me as often as you can. You let me know if you need me, alright?”
Keith pulled me close. I felt even more engulfed by his body than Isaac’s. I knew physically Isaac was bigger, but Keith had been my shelter for so long.
“Of course I will. I love you, Dad.”
I didn’t look at him because I couldn’t. I hugged him a little tighter. It wasn’t the first time I had called Keith my father, but the occasions were rare. Keith claimed when I called him that he felt like an imposter. And to be honest, for some strange reason, I felt as if I was betraying a phantom from my past I never knew.
“Colette, we are leaving,” Jude’s voice rang out in the small entranceway.
I pulled away from Keith and he kissed me on the forehead. I could see the longing in his eyes to just scoop me up like a child again and take me far away. That was no longer a possibility. I headed outside. I knew I wouldn’t see Griffin when I left this morning.
And truthfully I didn’t want to see him. Saying goodbye to him would be like saying goodbye to a piece of my very being. I knew that Hunter would never quite understand the connection we had, nor would he easily accept it, but it was there. It was real for both of us.
Outside there was a large Ford truck. I wasn’t a car person. I never claimed to be. Cars to me were classified as truck, van, or car. Sometimes I could point out specific brands, but only when they were obvious.
The truck had a trailer hitched on to the back. It was an equipment trailer, all black on the outside and shiny steel on the inside. Billy was pushing one of their bikes into the back and I looked around. Jameson, the larger of the twins, was sealing the back of the truck. Jude stood at my elbow as if ready to grab me as if I was ready to run off.
I didn’t trust Jude farther than I could throw him. I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to give this a shot. But he was making me feel smothered. I shifted. He moved with me. I was sure they could all smell the fear wafting off me.
Hunter came out from the equipment trailer and looked in our direction. I was tempted to follow his line of sight, but I already knew who he was looking at. I knew what he was probably thinking too. I could see the need to fight in Hunter’s eyes. I could see the need. His wolf had to claim what was rightfully his.
Me. I was his, not Griffin’s.
Hunter came over and grabbed my hand, dragging me towards the car. There were still two bikes out of the trailer, and I observed him cautiously. The only time I had been on a bike was I had been unconscious. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the man,