I drove for ten miles until the road had a pullout overlooking the Mississippi River. Laying on the brakes, I stopped my Harley, put the stand down and got off just as Marcy pulled in next to me. "Are you all right," she asked as I looked over the moonlit river valley.
"No," I said. "I'm a long damn way from all right."
"Niesha is with her family? Safe?"
"Erica was there, she'll take care of her. I left before any family arrived." I kicked a rock under the guardrail, listening as it tumbled down the cliff. Part of me wanted to follow it, but I couldn't. I'd made a blood vow, and it wasn't over yet. Everything, including my handsome mate, would have to wait.
"Something happened, Nisha. Your heart is still racing."
I took a breath, forcing myself to calm and pushing back my wolf. "Erica wasn't alone. Remember what Eduardo said about the investigator in Fort Worth?"
"Yeah, Special Agent Randall Meechum, FBI and Sulphur River Pack." She looked at me as I nodded. "Oh shit. He was there?"
"Yep. He was eating with Erica when we arrived."
"The gunshot I heard, you killed him?"
"I couldn't," I said as I sank to my knees. "I just scared him so he wouldn't follow me. He... he's my MATE, Marcy."
"Holy shit." She turned and looked up at the sky. "Your mate knows you were the one in Fort Worth who killed four people, his family has talked to the Council about you, and he's your destined?"
I picked up a rock and threw it as far as I could, which was quite a long way, given my vampire strength. "Yes. He's going to find me, he'll never give up. And when he finds me, he'll figure out that I'm not a normal werewolf, that I've been working with Vampires and have mixed my DNA with them. He's going to find me, reject me and drag me back to the Council to be executed."
"Or he'll chain you to his bed so you can't run off until he's sated your lusts for each other." I looked at her, she was always an optimist. "What are you going to do?"
"Niesha is safe, there's no more business for me now. I have my blood vow, and that takes priority over everything. The first thing I need to do is to get my nephew back to his mother."
"Let's go, then. We can make Des Moines before sunrise if we leave now." She walked back to her car. "Are you going to be all right, Nisha?"
My wolf was whining in the back of my head, she wanted to return. I shoved her down as I straddled my Harley. "I haven't been all right for years, Marcy. I'll survive."
"You'll survive and we'll help you figure this out. You have a mate out there, you can have your life back when your vow is over if we do this right. He's an Alpha's son, the two of you can retake your Pack and fulfill your destiny," she said as she closed the door.
Destiny? I'd never be Alpha. No werewolf Pack would accept me now, my mate wouldn't accept me either. I wasn't a werewolf anymore, I wasn't a vampire, I had no place in this world anymore. I was an instrument of vengeance, nothing more, nothing less.
The Moon Goddess must hate me.
Ch. 17
Niesha's POV
LaCrosse Pack House
We had stayed in Erica's cabin for almost an hour before I started to yawn. It had been a long ride up from New Orleans, and I was beat. I was still fighting symptoms from withdrawal as well, so as much as I hated to leave Erica, I had to go. "Aunt Teri, I need to sleep," I told her as I settled into her side on the small couch where I was sandwiched between them. Grandpa was in the recliner across from me, while Erica was sitting on a dining room chair.
"Go," Erica said as she got up. She came over and hugged me. "I'm so glad you are home, and Nisha is all right," she said. They had wanted to talk about what happened to me, about what was going on since I was rescued, but I wasn't ready to go through those memories yet.
I just wanted to feel like I was home again.
"Come on," Uncle Clark said. "Let's take you home." He picked me up like I weighed nothing, which wasn't far from the case. Just being next to Erica or Nisha showed me just how much my body hadn't filled out. I was skinny, weak and vulnerable where they were strong. I relaxed into his arms as he carried me to the car, like he used to do when I was a young girl visiting with our parents.
I stayed in his lap as Grandpa drove us. I was relieved that they weren't pushing a bunch of people at me, they were letting me get used to them first. Even when we arrived at their Pack House, I didn't see anyone around. He carried me up the stairs, down the hallway of the Alpha Wing, past their offices and into one of the guest rooms. He set me in the bathroom, where Teri was already getting the shower going. "I'm tired," I said as I leaned against the vanity.
"You're full of road dust and tears, baby, just a quick shower. Clark, go get some pajamas out of our room." He walked off and she closed the door behind him. "Come on, take those off and get in."
I closed my eyes, pushing back the thoughts invading my mind. She wasn't like Peggy, I wasn't being held in a whorehouse, and I'd be all right. I pulled off my shirt and got undressed, stepping into the warm shower. I heard Teri gasp in shock; she must have seen the scars.
Niesha's POV
39 months ago, one week after giving birth
The man who held me captive, raped me until I was pregnant, then took my baby from me had been gone for six days. Time was difficult to tell for sure in my basement prison; sometimes I could see light from the bottom of the door from upstairs, sometimes I couldn't. Day and night merged into each other as I pushed back the hunger.
When he took my baby, he left me without food. I had all the water I wanted from the hose, and I'd drink a bellyful when my hunger got too bad, but I was weakening. I'd survived this time, only to be abandoned and starve to death in a basement?
Luna couldn't be that cruel to me.
It turned out she wasn't. I heard someone moving around upstairs, and I sat up with my back against the pole watching the door. The deadbolt moved, and the door opened, spilling light into the dark room. The man was big, his shoulders turning sideways to go through the doorway. He walked slowly down the stairs as I covered myself, unwilling to let him see my nakedness. "Hello, Niesha," he said in a low, gravelly voice.
I didn't say anything as he reached the bottom of the stairway. "The Alpha sends his regards. The baby is doing well; the Luna returned with him two days ago, and he was presented to the Pack that night. Everyone is praising the Goddess for finally blessing their pack with a strong male heir." He came closer, bending down at the foot of the mattress while I shook in fear. "Your Beta was right, you'd provide a strong child, with Alpha bloodlines on both sides. A much better option than having some pack slut or human surrogate."
"Can I go? You got your baby, I won't say anything!"
He roared with laughter at my question. "He doesn't want a war to break out, and he can't let there be a reason to question the legitimacy of his heir. No, your part is done, and with that comes the problem of what to do with you. The Alpha left that up to me. Killing you and burying you in the woods would be the simplest fix."
"NO! PLEASE! I'm just a kid, I didn't do anything to deserve this!"