Chapter 017
HANNAH
"Call them now!" my mother yelled as she closed the curtains in the sitting room, her eyes darting around in panic. She dashed to the door and, after bolting it, pushed a sofa against it.
I grabbed my phone with trembling fingers and dialled Cade, hoping he would answer before I and my mother's worst fears came true.
"Are you calling them?" My mother asked as she glanced over her shoulders for the tenth time in one minute. When I didn't respond but continued to stare at my phone, she drew closer to me and yelled in my ear. "Are you going to wait till we're dead?!"
"Mum, I'm calling them!" I exhaled and dialled Cade again. "He's not responding."
"Perfect!" She threw her hands up in defeat. "They put you in trouble and then abandon you."
"They didn't put me in trouble," I said and started toward my room, knowing that if I stayed in the same room with her, she would kill me with her words before Alpha Dawson's guards arrived to finish us off for good.
In my room, I paced impatiently, my feet echoing off the walls as I waited for Cade to answer the phone. Every moment I wasted alone with my panicked mother was endangering our lives. If Alpha Dawson's guards returned, my bodyguards might be unable to hold them off again.
Finally, on the fourth ring, Cade picked up. "Hello," I said with a shaky voice.
"Hannah, are you okay?" He asked, almost like he sensed the distress from my voice.
I let out a sigh of relief, my shoulders sagging as I collapsed against the wall. "Cade," I whispered, my voice trembling.
"Hello, Hannah?" he repeated. "What's going on?"
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. "Alpha Dawson sent guards to get me. They were here to capture me and even fought my bodyguards." I paused, listening to his silence on the other end. "I'm so scared, Cade. I don't know what to do, and my mum thinks they might return."
I could hear the concern in his voice as he responded, "You don't have to panic, Hannah. Stay calm. I'm on my way to you."
"Please hurry up," I whispered before he hung up.
My anxiety returned the moment the call ended, and my mind began to whisper all the horrible things that could happen to me before Cade arrived. I was scared—terrified that Asher and his father were really desperate to hurt me. I couldn't help but imagine what would have happened if Chase hadn't insisted the bodyguards follow me home again. By now, I would probably be strapped up in a secret dungeon in Alpha Dawson's basement.
I rose to my feet and started to pace back and forth in my room again. It seemed to be the only thing that worked to calm me down.
Every two minutes, I darted to my window, looking out for Asher or his guards. My thoughts were a jumbled mix of anxiety and dread as I considered the potential consequences of my actions. I knew Asher's stubborn determination all too well, and I feared that he would stop at nothing to capture me. He obviously blamed me for the fight and embarrassment he endured in school, and knowing him, he also blamed me for losing the fight. The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
But it wasn't just Asher's relentless pursuit that worried me; it was the larger implications of what transpired between him and Jace. I feared that I might have begun a war between the two packs. His father was just as twisted as he was, if not worse. Asher surely learned his arrogant and wicked traits from someone, but it was surely not his dead mother.
I sighed as I checked my phone and window again, feeling like I was drowning. I had put my poor mother in trouble just a few weeks after my father's banishment.
It seemed like every aspect of my life was cursed. My family, my very existence, all of it was tainted with bad luck. I thought about my father, who had been tagged a traitor, blamed for a crime he didn't commit. And I thought about myself, constantly on the run from Asher.
Why did everything about me seem to attract trouble? Was I destined to be a magnet for misfortune? The questions swirled in my mind like a vortex, pulling me down into a dark abyss of hopelessness.
As I sat there, feeling sorry for myself, I heard a faint rustling outside. My ears perked up, and my heart began to race. Was it Cade that had come to rescue me? Or was it Asher, back to finish what his guards started?
I let out a sigh of relief as I saw Cade's familiar car pull into the driveway. The tension in my body began to dissipate. Soon, I saw him and Chase exit the car, and I raced out of my room to meet them.
Unfortunately, my mother, who opened the door to welcome them, didn't look as pleased as I was. It was the first time she had met them, and it was on a bad note. She glared at them furiously as they quietly entered the sitting room.
"Good evening, Mrs. Baker." They chorused together. My mother did not respond immediately but eyed them from head to toe. I knew the storm was coming.
"What are you going to do about my daughter?" she asked coldly, her voice trembling. "She has already suffered so much." Did she really ask me to call them so she could yell at them?
"I promise, ma'am. Nothing will happen to Hannah. We will make sure of it. We'll protect her," Chase replied.
"How?! Alpha Dawson is a terrible man, and he will stop at nothing to get what he wants," My mother exclaimed. "How can you possibly think you can protect Hannah from him? You brought problems into her life!"
"Mom! They are only trying to help," I cut in.
My mother turned to face me. "They have only made things worse."
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Alpha Dawson will not take kindly to their interference," she explained, then turned to face Cade. "He will see it as a challenge and come after us with even greater force. You don't know the implications of getting involved in my daughter's life."
"Hannah is our mate," Cade answered calmly. "We cannot overlook her sufferings and must be involved in her life. Do you know how much bullying she has endured in school? Do you know how she is treated—"
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