The Broken Wolf
Chapter 78

I leave Seth to speak with the adult Turners while I go into the other room with their daughters.

“Are you really a princess?” she asks me, eyes wide.

I giggle at her. “I am, but I’m pretty new at it.”

“That’s ok. I bet you’re a really good princess,” she says, leading me into the room. “This is my sister Gracie and baby Madeline.”

I look over at the smaller girls, each with their wavy brown hair, sitting on the floor playing with some wooden blocks, a few dolls laying on the floor nearby. There’s a full-sized bed covered in a quilt with flowers against a wall and a crib in the corner. The two older girls must sleep together.

“This is my sword,” I hear Sadie say to me.

I look down and smile at her. “What are you planning to do with that sword?”

“I’m going to hit the bad guys with it if they come back,” she tells me with a confidence that tells me she truly plans to.

“That must have been pretty scary,” I say to her and sit on the floor near the smaller girls. She nods. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

“There was a loud sound, and I could hear Daddy’s wolf growl. There was a lot of growling,” she says, her eyes wide. “Mommy came in and locked our door and shifted into her wolf. Daddy came back and said they were gone. We all got to sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s room then!”

“That was probably fun, getting to have a sleepover,” I tell her and she nods enthusiastically.

“Mommy says we can again tonight, too!”

I can’t help but giggle at how excited she is, even in such a terrible situation. She hands me a doll. I stay in there with the girls for quite a while until I can smell Seth in the doorway behind me.

He smiles at me, looking at me with the girls. “We need to head back soon. We don’t want to walk there in the dark.”

I nod to him, and hand the doll back to little Sadie. “Thank you for letting me play with you. I had a lot of fun.”

“I’ll see you later, Princess Molly!” she says brightly, taking the doll back from me.

Seth takes my hand and leads me through the house. Mary smiles at me as I walk through.

“Thank you for playing with them, Princess Molly” she tells me. “They’ll remember this their entire lives.”

“I’ll also remember it,” I tell her. “They’re very sweet girls. You’re very lucky to have them.”

We leave, following Alex back to his home. Thankfully, he walks slower this time so there’s no need for me to stall.

“Sadie told me what happened. How did they know they were there for the girls?” I ask.

“Rich heard them outside the house talking before they came in,” Benjamin tells me. “They must have arrived in human form and then shifted just before. I’ll fill you in on all the details tonight while Seth goes on patrol.”

I nod, thankful that they’re willingly keeping me in the loop.

When we arrive back, we replace that everyone is gathered around the table waiting for us. Dinner is ready and we join them. Benjamin leans over and is talking to Lily, who looks over at me and nods to him.

“Did you have a good walk?” Jenny asks us, though I’m pretty sure she only cares if Seth did. He doesn’t answer her, so I elbow him gently.

Seth chuckles a little bit but looks at her and smiles. “Yes, Jenny. It was nice. Thank you.”

“Do you want to play ball with us after dinner?” she asks him with hopeful eyes.

Seth shakes his head at her. “I can’t tonight. I’m going to help your dad out.”

“Oh, OK,” she pouts, and it makes me giggle that she doesn’t ask me.

After dinner, Seth leads me back to the tent. “I have to leave in a bit, but I wanted to fill you in before we leave. It’s odd that they appeared in human form, and then shifted. Generally, you move in wolf form to be more quiet. The entire situation is very weird. Mary said they didn’t smell like rogues, but didn’t smell like something they recognized.”

“Robbie said he hasn’t felt anyone cross the border, even leaving,” I tell him and he nods.

“I remembered that. There’s a small part that neighbors another pack, and the rest is surrounded by the rogue land. I’m going to contact the Alpha there once we’re back. I believe it’s the kid who was with us the night you showed me the kitchen.”

I smile at him. “Chris. And I was showing HIM the kitchen, you just tagged along.”

Seth lies back on the mattress in the tent and stretches. “I can’t believe you volunteered me for this. It’s the right thing to do, but I haven’t had to patrol for quite some time.”

I only volunteered you because Alex was so adamant that Benjamin join them, and he can’t.

I’m worried about leaving you here with him. If something happens, he can’t protect you.

If anything happens I’ll go to the house.

“How long will you be gone?” I ask him and he just shrugs at me.

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I’ll link you and let you know,” he says, pulling me down to lay on his chest. “I don’t want to be away from you.”

“It’s a few hours, and then you’ll be back here with me,” I tell him, not wanting him to leave either. We stay there for a while, content just being close to each other.

We lay there together until we smell Benjamin and Lily approaching the tent, signaling that it’s time to leave. Before I move though, I reach into my mind and replace the box that links to Benjamin and slowly remove the lid. I don’t try to contact him, there’s no need to. But I feel better taking this step to open up and allow Benjamin, my biological father, to be able to reach me.