Mine to Protect Chapter 134: MOM VS SON

*Hazel*

We get quickly back to the pack, and I head straight for the shower, wanting to clean up all the dirt and feel like a person again, but mainly I wanted some time to think up a strategy to get Alice back, no matter what Derek and Damon say, I will rescue her, no matter the cost.

Derek has gone straight to his office with Damon, in the hope of gathering the street surveillance recording of the area around my apartment, my now non-existent apartment, my baby. I only slept in there two nights, just two nights! This is so unfair! I will avenge you, my baby.

I step into the hot water, feeling immediately better and calmer. Focus, Hazel. Jackson’s pack, the Westside River Pack, is around 8 hours’ drive from here, and Anderson’s is even farther, there’s no way I can get there without being stopped on the way by Derek or his warriors. They’ll know exactly where I am directed. And I am not even sure if Jackson is actually in contact with those people. I could try to mind-link him first to make sure, even if anything that comes out of his mouth can’t really be trusted. I can at least try.

I imagine Jackson in my head and will my inner voice to carry out to him.

“Alpha Jackson?”

He replies immediately, with a slimy voice that makes spiders crawl on my arms.

“Luna Hazel, to what to I owe the pleasure?”

“I need to get in contact with that bad imitation of Umbrella Corporation; I was under the impression that you talked to them during your “investigation”, so if you have their contact, send it to me.”

“This is a very rude way of asking such a big favor. I would have expected higher negotiation capabilities from a Luna, I am a little disappointed.”

I can’t help rolling my eyes in frustration, this guy really is a prick!

“Well, I am afraid you’ll have to find a way to deal with your disappointment, because I don’t do negotiation. Give me the contact. Please? Is this polite enough for you?”

“Not even close; but this evening I feel well-disposed enough to partly grant you your wish. I will arrange a meeting with them, I will let you know details of the meeting soon.”

“It must be immediately, I don’t have any time to waste,” I say firmly, my tone not admitting any opposition.

Jackson laughs, a sound which seriously grates on my nerves.

“A little demanding, aren’t we? I will do what I can.”

He cuts the link, and I have to refrain from screaming out my frustration; that man annoys me to no end.

I would have rather contacted those people myself, with him as the middleman, things are even more uncertain. He could be lying about the meeting, and just lead me into a trap to catch me and try to exploit my powers, or to sell me out for personal gain. I’ll have to be incredibly careful.

I am considering if I should share this information with Derek, when I hear the door of our room burst open and hear people shouting.

“She’s in the bathroom, I can hear the shower running!”

Who the hell is this? And why are they looking for me? They don’t seem friendly.

I switch the water off, but before I can even grab a towel to cover myself, the door slams open, and three unknown men and a woman run inside and grab me by the arms to haul me out. I am not sure how, but I can feel that they are members of my pack; it wouldn’t be right to use violence against them, so I try with a verbal approach.

“What are you doing? What do you want with me?”

“Shut up and don’t try anything funny, there’s hundreds of us, and only one of you,” one of the men says menacingly.

“Chill, I wasn’t planning on doing anything “funny”, but you could at least let me put some clothes on before you take me to my execution, or wherever it is you are taking me.”

The same man huffs in disdain.

“It shouldn’t be a concern for you, as every person on this planet has already seen you naked.”

He snickers unnervingly, and I start to lose my cool; would it really be so bad if I hurt them just a tiny little? A burnt spot here and there, maybe some hair gone…

I let them manhandle me to the garden, where they throw me rudely onto the ground, making my irritation rise, I have just finished showering for crying out loud! People gather around me, there are at least one hundred people, and they are looking quite menacing. Did the people from the lab manage to pitch the pack against me? Maybe they have offered them something in return? Or they have used some kind of controlling poison?

I stop guessing at possible causes, when a figure makes its way in the middle of the circle with me. It is a beautiful tall woman with dark long wavy hair and brilliant blue eyes, a shade of blue I am very familiar with.

Immediately, rage pulsed through me, I shot to my feet and my claws are out before I can stop them. A growl tears out of my throat, and I am one second away from messing up that stupid smirk she has on her stupid face.

“Derek, get to the garden, be quick, before I do something I won’t regret. Your mom is here,” I mind-link Derek, hoping that he is still in the packhouse.

“Fuck! I’m coming,” he’s frustrated reply comes. Today is really a day to forget.

“So, now everyone knows what kind of slut you are, and they don’t want someone like you to be their Luna, to represent their pack. You are just trash, and it’s time you go back where you came from,” Melissa says with a victorious smile.

True to his word, Derek gets to the garden in seconds, and stares surprised at what is going on there.

“Can someone explain me what the fuck is going on here?” his voice thunders over the crowd, while he strides menacingly in my direction, making the crowd part at his passage.

His powerful aura is raging around him, and he looks incredibly pissed. His patience was already thin because of what happened to Alice and to our warriors, he didn’t need this additional drama.

I need to make sure that he doesn’t hurt any pack member in his rage, it wouldn’t look good on him.

He comes to stand beside me, his side touching mine, giving me some comfort, and I retract my claws.

“Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” he asks me in a concerned tone.

“No, I am fine,” I reply with a smile. His concern still gives me butterflies; after going so much time without it, it feels kind of surreal to have his loving and caring self-back.

The he stands to his full height, in an intimidating way, and unleashes his most threatening frown towards his mother.

“What are you doing? Last time, I told you very clearly to stay away from my Mate,” he says in a low rough voice.

She doesn’t seem phased in the least, maybe she is sure that her son would never hurt her.

“Hello to you Derek. Did you forget how to greet your mother?” she says chirpily.

Derek doesn’t reply, just keeps glowering impassively at her.

“Well, in answer to your question, I am here to help the pack remove this obscenity from our grounds. They deserve a better Luna than this dissolute thing,” she says with unconcealed disgust.

Derek starts trembling slightly, and I know he is one second away from shifting, so I place my hand on his arm, trying to calm him down a little, and it seems to work.

When he speaks, his voice is deadly, pungent as a cold winter night.

“You won’t speak of my mate this way ever again, otherwise, mother or not, I will make you regret it,” Melissa looks taken aback by his words, she probably didn’t expect this kind of threat from Derek.

He lets the threat linger for a second, and then continues in the same chilling voice, “We both know that those ads have been put online by you, in an attempt to discredit her. You have stolen the photos from my phone, with the help of an unsuspecting Rose, and created those ads. I feel ashamed of you, and I wanted to let dad deal with you, but now you live me no choice.”

Hearing Derek’s words, people in the crowd start whispering animatedly, sharing disbelieved expressions. I am astonished myself, when did he find out the truth? And why didn’t he tell me? Ok, maybe he did it because he was worried, I would have killed his mom in cold blood, like I did with Carol, and looking at it this way, he kind of did the right thing, because I sure as hell want to murder her now, more than I wanted before.

“It doesn’t matter if those ads are real or not! The fact that she let herself be immortalized like that clearly shows her low morale. And let’s not forget that she cheated on you! She is a slut, why can’t you admit it to yourself? Stop protecting her, your feelings are clouding your judgement!”

Derek releases a powerful growl of anger that makes several people step back from the circle.