Finding Forgiveness

He nodded, “Of course you will.”

“I’m guessing you haven’t told Leo,” I said as I pulled away, wiping my eyes.

He shook his head, “He can’t know until I’m off the territory. Just let him know later tonight, okay?”

“I won’t have to if you don’t hurry up and leave before he gets home,” I said. “He texted me five minutes later saying he was just about to leave the base.”

“Oh shit,” Max said before giving me one last squeeze, “I’ll call you soon, okay?”

I nodded before he pulled away and headed back towards his car.

I was just following him down the steps to say goodbye to Milly as Leo appeared at the end of the drive. He furrowed his eyebrow at the sight of Max’s car with Milly in it but didn’t question until he reached the doorstep and looked at my teary eyes.

“What’s going on?” Leo asked.

Max scratched the back of his neck again and winced, “I’m leaving with my sister, Alpha.”

“Leaving? Where are you going?” he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know,” Max replied. “Milly has always wanted to go to San Francisco so…”

Leo let out a short laugh, “Have you lost your mind, Maximus?”

Max sighed and looked to the floor before taking a deep breath.

“I know I have duties in this pack but they are nothing my brother can not fulfill. Right now my sister is my priority,” Max replied.

“Why can’t your brother take Milly to fucking San Francisco?” Leo asked, irritation rising in his voice.Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

“Because I don’t trust Mason,” he said.

“But you’d trust him to take over one of the most important roles in this pack whilst we’re under attack by Martinez?” Leo snapped.

“I meant I don’t trust him to take good care of Milly,” Max said, staring into the trees of the forest and not into Leo’s glaring eyes. “She’s already upset. The last thing she needs is Mason.”

I liked to avoid Mason at all costs. He was the eldest of Max’s three younger brothers and although I struggled to like any of them, he was the one I could tolerate the least.

“You are not abandoning this pack,” Leo replied. “Milly will be fine. She already has my protection.”

Max didn’t do anything but look back down to the floor silently. Leo still stared intently and I noticed through the window of Max’s car, the concerned look on Milly’s face.

“Leo,” I said tugging his hand. “Come inside. You too Max. You both need to talk about this properly before any decision is made.”

“Ella’s right,” Leo said. “I can tell you are not yet seeing how completely insane this is and I need to talk some sense into you before you do anything stupid.”

Max clenched his jaw, “Fine.”

I could tell he had a lot to say to Leo, all bubbling and festering under the surface. But unfortunately for him, Leo’s his Alpha.

Once I had ushered them all inside, only Milly accepted my offer to sit down at the kitchen table. Max and Leo opted to stand at opposite ends of the room of each other, Leo glaring at Max with his arms folded across his chest as Max stood with his hand on Milly’s shoulder. She watched Leo as he eyed her brother and held her hands tightly together as we all waited in an intense silence for someone to speak.

“So as I have made very clear,” Leo began, “You are not leaving this pack. Not until Andrea Martinez is dead.”

Max looked down at the table and clenched his jaw.

“Where do you plan to protect the civilians when he attacks, Alpha?” Max asked, “The base?”

“As always.”

“And that means that when I go to fight I will have to dump my sister amongst all of the wolves who just saw her nearly kill a boy with Hecate’s powers, right?” Max replied. “What happens if you are killed? Let’s face it, it’s not unlikely. And then what will be protecting Milly from their witch hunts? The orders of a dead man.”

“If you are concerned, she can accompany Ella and my kids in one of the vaults,” he replied, “It’s safer there than the base anyway.”

Max paused, “And then the second he is dead, we are free to leave?”

Leo nodded, “You have my word.”

“Which vault?” he said.

“The one three miles North of the base by Lake Jada. The second you hear word of Martinez’s attack, take her there and it will not be bolted up until she is inside. Once she is, I can guarantee her safety.”

Max nodded, “Okay. Deal.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

Crisis averted.

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Thanks for sticking with me 🙂

Ella’s POV

“Luca told me you had a panic attack earlier,” Leo said resting his hand on my back later that night.

I was sat brushing my hair in front of the dresser but at his words, I stopped and only clutched the handle of the brush as my mouth dried.

I looked up at him and forced a smile, “I’m okay now.”

“Are you really?” he asked, looking at me through my reflection in the mirror.

I shrugged, “Everything’s going to shit again,” I told him, “And it overwhelmed me for a moment. I still have the incredible and constant level of fear that will not leave me until Andrea is dead but I’m coping.”

Leo nodded kissed the top of my head before he took the brush out of my hand and began gently combing through my hair.

“I can’t make you any promises,” he began softly, “I can’t guarantee you that we can defeat him and I can’t say that life will ever go back to how it was. But I can promise you that this entire pack is working tirelessly to put its everything into making those things happen. We are doing everything we can and no matter what he throws at us, we will not give up. Allies all around the country are sending us supplies and men, the base is being fortified as we speak and the men train through the night. This pack is no stranger to war, Ells.”

“But you’ve never fought a war against Andrea Martinez,” I said, “Your men are used to battlefields and force against force war. Andrea does things differently.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“He doesn’t play fair. Assassination, ambushes, machine guns, planting bombs-” I listed.

“Planting bombs…” Leo repeated under his breath.

“He used to do it all the time. At parties, in cars, in people’s homes-”

“Homes…” Leo repeated, suddenly freezing halfway through a stroke of the hairbrush.