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 hees 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 yed 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-”


    But 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


    be friends for the sake of Ethan, our family and therger 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 te, 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 be one of the most important people in my life.


    My best friend.


    I hope the same can be true for Emily.


    “I’m d you think so,” Aaron said with an amused look. “Because Emily certainly doesn’t think so.”


    “She’lle 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-inw anyway.


    I never had a sister, only my brother, Liam, who betrayed me and tried to kill me.


    N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material.


    I’d love to have a sister for real, and I cautiously wonder if Emily can heal and eventually, we can


    perhaps be 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, eptance 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 cmity is about to befall us.


    “It’s Ryker.”


    B


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