Blindsided: Book 2 of the Bound Trilogy

~Jack’s POV~

I couldn’t help the growl that escaped my lips at the site of my mate’s face. She had four parallel scars running across her eyes. I noticed her eyes themselves had a milky color to them, but you could tell what color they used to be, golden. I had only seen one other person with eyes that color. Although, how Devin’s mate and mine had similar eye color eluded me.

Deciding to think about it later, I brought myself under control and pulled Emily into my arms.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, I wasn’t growling at you,” I whispered to her. I could tell she did not fully believe me, as she was still tense in my arms. “My wolf took control for a moment when he saw your scars. He wants to tear apart the one who did this to you.”

She pulled stiffly from my arms, staring unseeing in my direction. Could something be wrong with her eyes? I thought. Could those scars be part of the reason?

“You don’t have to lie to me,” she whispered dejectedly.

I was incredulous. Did she really think that I was upset with her? I have no reason to be, well, other than the fact she was having another man’s baby. But, I didn’t know her side of the story, so I wasn’t going to be upset with her until I did.

I put my hands on her shoulders to gain her attention, as she was looking down again, her hands twisting and pulling each other. “Emily, love, I’m serious,” I stated firmly. “I want to know what happened.” She did not acknowledge my statement. I decided to ask, “Is the reason you didn’t know your mother was in the room with you because of the scars over your eyes?”

Her hands stilled and a single tear slipped from the corner of her eyes. She didn’t speak, only nodded. Letting out the breath I had been holding, I gathered her to me once more. Now the more difficult question, “Will you tell me what happened to you?”

I felt her walls come slamming down. Her face went still as stone, an emotionless mask. Without saying a word, she pulled from my arms and curled on her side in the bed, effectively blocking me from trying to get any more from her.

It hurt, her pulling away. It hurt more than I ever thought it could. Her cold shoulder was a stab to my heart. Sighing in defeat, I stood from the side of her bed.

Not wanting to leave on such bad terms, I leaned over and kissed her exposed cheek. The shocks were incredible, and I wish I could keep myself there so I never stopped feeling them. Reluctantly, I pulled away far enough to whisper in her ear, “You are my mate, and nothing you say will cause me to leave you.” I paused, “Please do not shut me out. I will wait for you, however long it takes.” I righted and walked towards her door. Turning back, I looked at my mate lying still on the bed.

Before leaving, I said, “I have searched for you, and now that I have found you I will not let you go. I love you Emily.” I walked out the door, closing it quietly behind me.

I wanted to go back and be with her, hold her in my arms and let her know everything will be okay. But, until she opened up to me, I know my attention will be unwanted. So, I walked away.

For now…

I walked back down the stairs to look for Alpha Matt. I needed to talk to him about Emily.

The living room was empty, so I followed the same route he took me before and found him in his office. I stood in the open doorway and studied my soon-to-be father-in-law.

He was a large man, towering over my own six-foot frame. He had short, cropped, blonde hair and steel blue eyes. That was something else I needed to ask him about, Emily looked nothing like the rest of her family. While the rest of them had light hair and light eyes, she had dark hair and golden eyes.

“Well, Jack, are you going to stand in my doorway all day or would you like to come in and talk to me?” Hearing the humor in his voice, I knew he was not upset with me.

Without a word, I stepped in and took a seat in front of his desk. Not wanting to break the comfortable silence, I looked around his office and noticed the pictures along the walls.

“You can take a look at them if you want,” Matt told me. “But first, I need to know if you have gotten a hold of your Alpha yet.”

Looking back at him, I wondered what he was talking about, why did I need to talk to Devin?

“Um, why?” was my brilliant reply.

He chuckled, “I see from your confusion you have not gotten his messages.” His face sobered, “I should have told you as soon as you arrived. I was actually about to when Emily came down.” He let out a small sigh.

“What? What is it?” I was getting a very bad feeling.

He looked me straight in the eyes, “He called me, and informed me that his mate was taken earlier this morning.”

I was stunned. How could I not know this was going on? I pulled my phone from my back pocket and saw several missed calls, but only one was from Devin.

I looked back to Emily’s father, and gulped. I did not want to leave her now that I found her. There were too many unanswered questions. How did she get the scars on her face? Who was the father of her baby? Most importantly, will she accept me as her mate?

“Does he need me to leave?” I asked almost in a whisper.

Matt looked at me with pity, but shook his head. “No he said to let you know what was going on, and to call him when you got here.”

I nodded, stood, and walked out the office door dialing Devin’s number.

It went to voicemail. I tried his office number. It rang for a while and it too went to voicemail. I called everyone I could think of and I was finally rewarded with a voice as I rang Alia.

“Hello,” a teary voice answered.

“Alia?” Why was she crying?

“Jack!” she exclaimed. “Oh goddess, Jack, Leah’s been taken. It’s awful. Dad, Devin, and Clayton and a bunch of our warriors went to look for her. She’s been missing since almost two this morning. I don’t know what to do! Mom is here, but all we keep doing is crying.” She broke into sobs.

“Alia!” I finally shouted over the line when she would not respond to her name. The sobs subsided. “Everything will be fine. If Devin has already gone to look for her then there is nothing you or I can do.” I let out a small breath, “For now, just stay by the phone in case anyone calls. Right now, I have my own issues to deal with. Keep me posted on what is going on. I’ll make sure to have my phone with me at all times. Okay?”

I heard her sniffle and then a faint, “Okay,” came across the line.

“Alright. Now, I have to go, but I will text tomorrow morning to see if there is any news.”

She said ‘okay’ again, saying our good-byes we hung up the phone.

Turning, I headed back into Matt’s office. Taking a seat in one of the oversized chairs again, I looked him in the eyes. “I don’t have to go back as he has already left. They will keep me posted on what is going on.” He nodded. “But right now, what I need to know is what happened to my mate.”

Matt leaned back in his own chair and rubbed his hands over his face. Standing, he made his way over to a side bar and picked up a decanter of amber liquid. Gesturing to me, I nodded. Once two snifters were filled half way he returned, handing one to me.

Taking a hefty gulp, he looked at me over the desk. “You may want to get comfortable, son. This could take a while.”

~Emily’s POV~

Hearing the door click closed, my walls crumbled. He said he loved me. It can’t be true. There is no way he could love a scarred, blind, fat ass. There is no way he could want to be with me and have this thing in his life. No man would want to raise a child that was not their own.

I’m not stupid. He’s probably trying to get on my dad’s good side. Suck up to the blind freak and then dump her when he gets what he wants. It wouldn’t be the first time someone tried this.

I cried even harder. If only he really did love me for me.

It kicked again, reminding me why I had built my walls.

Taking a deep breath, I sat up wiping the tears from my face. I felt my way to the bathroom to splash cold water on my eyes. Just because I’m an emotional wreck is no reason to let others see the evidence in red puffy eyes.

Wetting a cloth with cold water, I returned to my room, stretched out on my bed, and placed it over my eyes.

Feeling the cold cloth taking the puffiness away, I relaxed allowing the silence of my room to surround me, and let sleep overtake me.

The barren trees of our woods were amazing with their boughs clothed in snow. I walked beneath them as a white wolf with a patch of black over my eyes marring my pristine coat.

I was amazed I could see in this form. It was wonderful to have my site again. I reveled in having this sense back. I took in everything around me. I could see the grey clouds overhead, heavy with a coming snow. I could see the frost covering the bark of the trees. Everything sparkled in the dim light, giving an ethereal feel to the forest.

I heard a small sound behind me and looked over my shoulder.

I was stunned to see a small wolf cub jumping and playing in my paw prints. Where had this cub come from? I smelled the air, and realized this cub was a werewolf pup. But…how can this be? Most werewolves don’t change until they are around the age of puberty. I took a closer look at the little one frolicking behind me.

It was adorable, a white ball of fur with a bit of brown on the tip of its tail and ears.

Suddenly, the pup stopped its play and looked at me. I was stunned as this little one was staring at me with my eyes. The same golden eyes I had seen in the mirror, until the accident, for eighteen years.

A voice invaded my mind, ‘Mama!’

I stumbled backwards and fell on my rump. No…No! This could not be my child! Why is this happening to me?!

Arms grabbed me from behind. I was in my human form and it was summer. I was at the hot spring.

No…no…no…no…no…

I chanted over and over, this is not happening! Not again!

I was panicking.

“Keep struggling. I love it when you struggle. It turns me on,” the awful voice whispered in my ear.

NOOOOO!!!!

I sat bolt upright in bed. My breathes were coming in pants and I was covered in a cold sweat. I wanted to take a shower and wash away the feeling of his hands on me. I wanted to wash away everything that was wrong with me.

The knock on my door startled me so badly I fell out of bed. My legs were tangled in the sheets, so I ended up in a heap on the floor.

I heard the door open slowly and then the sound of rushing feet reached me.

“Emily, love, what happened?”

Great. Just great. Not only do I have a nightmare and feel like a disgusting freak, but he has to come in and see me having a mini-heart attack.

I felt his hand on my shoulder. The shocks his touch invoked causing me to shiver with want. I shrugged him off. After everything that has happened to me, I was not going to fall into the arms of someone I just met. Even if he is my mate.

“Emily?”

Sighing, I fumbled my way to my feet. He kept trying to help me, but when I felt his touch, I would brush it off. He finally got the hint and let me get up on my own.

“What happened? Why were you on the floor?” I could hear the concern and hurt in his voice. I wanted to comfort him, but I needed to be strong. I probably just bruised his ego, it’s not like he really cares about me.

“It was nothing,” I said in a monotone voice.

He let out an exasperated sigh, “It didn’t look like nothing when I walked in.” He tried to reach for me again, but as soon as I felt him come closer, I shifted away. I felt his hesitation before I heard him step back. “Emily, please tell me what is going on. I want to help you, but you’re pushing me away.”

Damn right I was, I thought. Keeping my voice free of inflection I said, “You’re right. I am pushing you away. I don’t want you here. You should not even be in here, so please leave.”

I could feel hurt radiating off him. What did he have to be hurt about? I was the one disabled, deformed, and destroyed. Not him.

He shifted closer to me. I took a step back and hit my side table, knocking over a lamp, and whatever else was left on it. He stilled at the noise. I could practically hear the wheels turning in his head. He gave a gusty sigh, and I heard his steps move away.

“Okay,” he said almost in a whisper. “I get it. You don’t know me. So why don’t we fix that?” He asked a little more hopefully.

I just tilted my head. Was he serious? How was he going to ‘fix’ this, as he so eloquently put it?

My mask must have slipped as he answered my unspoken question, “Will you go on a date with me?”

Instead of answering, I made my way towards the door. I felt it was still open so I opened it further. He walked past me, but halted was he crossed the threshold.

“Please Em?”

I slammed the door in his face. Not caring if it hit him or not. Reaching for the knob, I locked it. I wanted to be left alone.

I made my way back into the bathroom and stripped. I turned the shower on full and the hot water as high as I could stand. Once under the spray, I broke down.

Crumpling to the tiled floor, I wrapped my arms around my growing belly and pulled my knees in as far as it would allow. Sobs wracked my body. I cried out all the pain, anger, and fear I had locked away. I cried for the fact that my mate couldn’t possibly love me for me. I cried that he would go so far as to ask for a date, when I knew he didn’t want to be seen with me.

Let’s face it, who would?

I cried for all the things I had lost, all the things I would never get to see. But most of all, I cried for the little cub from my dreams.