Hannah POV
I enter the kitchen. I'm so pissed off. How dare he make himself sound like a victim in this whole situation! I don't believe him, I don't believe that he's sorry, and I don't believe that he doesn't pose any threat to us.
James and Jason are eating breakfast, and Rosie is playing with her cereal. I sit next to them, and they all look at me.
"It's OK' I say, trying to calm them.
"Hannah, we should talk," says Rose, coming after me into the kitchen. "Kyle, please take the boys and Rosie and show them the house. You know the playroom and so on," she says to the tiny, maybe 17-year-old blond omega boy, who is cleaning the dishes and was watching my siblings when we were in Alpha's office.
After they're gone, she looks at me.
"You shouldn't talk to Hayden like that. I know you are angry and confused and don't believe him, but I assure you he is no threat to you and your siblings."
"He raped your daughter!" I scream, and she pales visibly.
"I know what he did, and I have never forgiven him for that. But I know he is sorry and regrets nothing more than what he had done. So if you don't trust him, please trust me."
"And why should I trust you? You wanted Maddie to stay here and to accept what he did to her!"
"I was just against her running away. Omegas going rogue usually die very quickly. It was an absolute miracle that you and your father helped her; if not, she and the boys would die long ago. I know Maddie didn't have the best memories from here, but a lot has changed since Mikkeli is the new Alpha. Things that happened to Maddie don't happen anymore. Hayden changed after what happened between him and my girl, and he helps Mikkeli change the pack. He's guilty of a big crime but is a good man now".
She slowly presses her hand to mine, and I feel like I'm about to cry; her hand is warm like Maddie's hand was.
"I only ask you to keep calm until you can return home. If the rogues are close to your house, you can't stay there. It's dangerous for the children."
"OK, I'll try to keep myself calm," I say; I have no strength to argue anymore.
Rose makes me a cup of tea, and after I drink it, I decide to find my siblings and Kyle. I spot them in the garden at the back of the packhouse, and to my horror, I see Hayden talking with boys and holding Rosie in his arms. I want to run to them and scream for him to let her go and stay away from them, but I'm interrupted because a big hand is suddenly covering my mouth. Someone drags me into one of the rooms and presses me to the wall.
Mikkeli Blackwood stares at me with anger in his eyes.
"I've warned you not to disrespect my family again," he growls, holding his hand in my hair. "If my brother wants to talk with his children, he is allowed to. Be happy he's showing some sympathy towards your sister, too. He may be patient with you, but I don't intend to."
He leans closer to me; his teeth are so close to my exposed neck that I can feel his warm breath on my skin. And I don't know why I must for sure have a death wish because I say:
"How's your cheek still stings?"
He smirks, but I can see the fury in his eyes. He leans closer, and his tongue slowly is pressed against my bruised face. He licked me, fucking wolf!
"I'm sure better than your face," he whispers lowly into my ear.
He takes his hand from my hair and slowly steps away. I think he wanted to say something else, but we were interrupted. His brother entered the room. I can see at once he's not happy finding me alone with the Alpha. Mikkeli smirks again and leaves the room.
"Hannah, may we speak?" Hayden looks in my direction
"Do I have a choice?" I reply with anger
"I know you saw the boys and me, and I'm sorry. I didn't intend to step out of my boundaries, but Kyle wanted me to be introduced to them. I didn't tell them anything, I swear. I know I don't deserve it, but I want to be allowed to have some interactions with them, at least as long as you are all here."
He looks so sad. I know I should be angry, I know I should say no, but honestly, I'm not some warrior of justice who should be the one to punish him for what he had done. Plus, it is his house; he is the brother of an Alpha; it's not like I have any real power to stop him from doing what he wants. And I'm painfully aware of that.
"Alright, but I am uncomfortable with it, especially not with you being near Rosie."
"I promise you I mean no harm and won't say anything. Can I... Can I ask you how much the boys know?"
"They have known that my father wasn't their biological father since the beginning. Maddie and Dad told them their father was a werewolf but didn't love Maddie enough to stay with her. And that one day, if they want, she will tell them where they can find him. We had that conversation last year".
"OK, thank you for your trust," he smiles softly, "and Hannah... please try not to irritate my brother too much. He's very quick-tempered sometimes. This is a pack territory; we have different rules here. I know you are not interested in knowing them, so I only ask you to try not to make things too nervous. Kyle and your siblings are still in the garden. They were asking for you".
And with that, he leaves me alone. Of course, I don't want to be alone, so I quickly join my brothers and sister. Kyle decided to take us for a walk, and he showed us a portion of pack territory, training grounds, the nearest lake, and quite a lovely clearing in the woods.
He is an omega, as I expected, and he told me he works in a packhouse under my grandma, who is in charge of all housework there, something like a main maid. It was fun to talk with Kyle, who is a lovely person, and I have a feeling that we will quickly become friends. The boys seem to like him very much, and so does Rosie.
After returning to the packhouse, we found Rose sitting in the kitchen with a quite well-built man with scars on his arms and grey hair.
"Hello there, this is Jake, the previous beta of the pack; now he's in charge of training," Rose says
"So you are the talk of the day," he said and smiled gently at all of us
"Why is Hannah the talk of the day?" Jason asks suspiciously
"Well, according to Caleb, you attacked the Alpha with the knife and made him bleed. And you also overpowered Andrew, almost killed him, and managed to give quite a challenge. Are you professionally trained?"
"I was," I reply, and Kyle and Rose look at me, amazed. "My dad was a firefighter, but he was also a trained marine and taught me well. He also started to teach boys not so long ago."
"Sad I cannot meet him; you know, as an instructor, I feel a little ashamed. After all, his student managed to beat my student. But Andrew said that you were trying to seduce him, and he didn't see it coming."
I shrug my arms as if that were an excuse for his pathetic behavior.
"Dad used to say that when you fight for your life, there is not such a thing as a fair fight; you use whatever you have to win."
"True," he replies. "Andrew is a pack warrior. He shouldn't be stupid like that. It will be very interesting to have you here," he says and leaves.
"Be careful with him," says Kyle. "He's not happy with what happened with Andrew."
It seems I have a natural talent for making werewolves hostile toward me. What have I done in a previous life to deserve that? I have a strange feeling that staying here will not be too calm, and it will not necessarily be my fault.