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Chapter 289
LEAH
I’m sitting in our bed, reading a book to Ethan, who is drifting off to sleep after just finishing a bottle,
when Aaron slips into the room.
He looks weary, like the weight of the world is sitting on his shoulders, as he comes over and stretches
out on the bed next to us, trailing his fingers over Ethan’s soft curls.
“How did things go with Emily?” I ask, even though I can tell they probably didn’t go well.
“It’s worse than I thought,” Aaron replies in a heavy voice. “I’m worried she might never recover from
this. We still might lose her, if she can’t take it anymore and goes rogue.”
Guilt for the part my family played in this-in destroying an innocent girl’s life-is like acid in my veins.
“Aaron, I’m so sorry,” I tell him, the words desperate and heartfelt.
“I know,” Aaron says with a quick smile. “But it’s not your fault, Leah. You can’t be held responsible for
the actions of your
Brother and father.”
Aaron’s words might be true-and I’m grateful to hear them- but it doesn’t make me feel any less guilty.
“Maybe there’s something I can do to help,” I offer. “Maybe I can talk to her-”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBut Aaron quickly shakes his head.
“Yeah…that’s not a good idea right now, Leah. In time, yes, I want you both to get along, maybe even
become friends for the sake of Ethan, our family and the larger pack. But right now, Emily can’t see
past her hatred toward you for what your father did to her.”
Aaron closes his eyes for a moment, an expression of pain on his face.
“I don’t even want to imagine what those ba tards subjected her to. I don’t know if I can hear it without
losing it to the rage already festering inside me. I’ve told her she needs to start seeing the pack
therapist, but eventually I think I’m going to need to know exactly what she’s been through as well.”
I reach over and take Aaron’s hand.
I also don’t want to think about what terrible things my father and brother might have done to Emily.
thing was impossible, that they
weren’t bad people who would hurt an innocent girl for the
sake of simply hurting her.
But now I know better.
“Will she be okay, left to her own devices?” I ask, wondering if I dare approach Jessica and ask her to
keep an eye out and let me know if it seems Emily is getting worse, not better.
Aaron already has so much on his plate, especially now that he has a seat on the Council.
It seems keeping the peace in the pack and looking after its members is the least I can do for him. And
it is partly my role as Luna anyway.
Jessica has never exactly been my biggest fan, but in the few days since she returned, she’s actually
been surprisingly nice and even somewhat respectful toward me.
I’m not sure what she did while she was away, but it seems to have changed her for the better.
“I put Axel in charge of watching out for her,” Aaron says. “Same way it’s James’s job to look out for
you.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea,” I reply.
I used to chafe against James following me everywhere, always checking up on me.
But that was when I thought he hated me.
It meant he was there through the good times and the bad times, even when I didn’t want him to be.
And eventually, he’d become one of the most important people in my life.
My best friend.
I hope the same can be true for Emily.
“I’m glad you think so,” Aaron said with an amused look. “Because Emily certainly doesn’t think so.”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“She’ll come around,” I say confidently, even though I’m not actually sure.
But it’s what Aaron needs to hear.
And it is what I hope for my sister-in-law anyway.
I never had a sister, only my brother, Liam, who betrayed me and tried to kill me.
I’d love to have a sister for real, and I cautiously wonder if Emily can heal and eventually, we can
perhaps become that for one another.
It would be ideal for all of us-Aaron and Ethan included.
Pack is important.
Family is important.
And I want to do everything in my power to make ours one of love, acceptance and safety.
The opposite to what I had in the end.
Before Aaron can say anything else, his phone buzzes, and he sighs as he pulls it out of his pocket.
However, his eyebrows arch up in disbelief as he sees the
screen.
“What is it?” I quickly ask, worried some new calamity is about to befall us.
“It’s Ryker.”
B
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