The One He Claimed

Chapter 174: Attack

Jocelyn

I feel sick to my stomach in a way that I haven’t since the day that Zahn caught me in the woods and forced his mark on my neck, mating me in front of his ranked members while they cheered and I cried.

Just remembering that day has me rushing to the bathroom and emptying the contents of my stomach. Since I haven’t been able to eat much since Alpha Hunter and Luna Sophie stopped by this morning, there isn’t much to come up.

“Jocelyn, honey, you’re going to be fine,” Sandy says from outside the door.

I flush the toilet and wash my mouth out before opening the door.

“It’s not that. I mean, it is. The thought of returning to that pack makes me sick, but…Sandy, what if someone gets hurt or worse…what if someone else has to move into this area because of me?”

And there is the crux of my concern. These women have become like family to me in a very short amount of time. Their pups accepted me with no question, sitting beside me when I’ve been too weak to do more than watch as they plant their garden, or even to leave the house when I first got out of surgery. Some of the younger pups even brought books to read to me like their parents do for them when they’re sick, I don’t want to be responsible for more women and families having to become part of this survivor group.

I love every one of these people and the thought of Zahn’s pack members hurting them to get to me…well, it makes me want to agree to leave with him. And if I thought he’d leave it at that, I might do it. But I know Alpha Zahn. He holds grudges, he doesn’ t let things go. He might pretend that he’s trying to make changes, but I’ve seen the real person that he is. He’s not sorry that he caught me, stripped me bare, raped me, and marked me in front of his pack members. He feels that it’s his right as an Alpha. He has no remorse at all. The only remorse that he has is that I absolutely refuse to have sex with him. And since Cassidy has been absent, and I’ve been so broken, he can’t exactly force himself on me without possibly killing me.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

It’s why I know that he was excited to hear that Cassidy is healing me. It’s not because he’s happy that I’m healing. It’s because he wants his d**n heir. If I’m healed, and Cassidy is present, there’s nothing to stop him from raping me until I get pregnant.

What he didn’t expect was Sophie. I guess he also didn’t expect Alpha Hunter to be the kind of man who actually cares about his mate and Luna, giving her a place in the pack that is more than just a title. He truly lets her rule the pack beside him as an equal, something Zahn would never do. My role is to give him an heir, end of story.

So, coming here was merely a ploy to make others think he cared and then he’d been as shocked as I was when they actually followed through on their words and gave me back control of my life and my decisions.

And now, I’ve realized how true Brooklyn’s words were. This pack is special, almost magical in its cohesiveness. Everyone really does care about each other and Zahn’s an idiot for not seeing how strong it makes them.

Sandy wraps her arms around me. She’s a strong woman to have survived the loss of her mate, someone she absolutely adored. But I know she did it for her pup, her daughter, Samantha, who is a teenager. She told me that she couldn’t leave her daughter alone in this world with no family. So, she survived, and every day is a struggle for her, but every day she gets up and makes the most of her life. She says she does it for her mate so he can continue to be proud of her as he watches over her from the Moon Goddess’ realm.

“We’re a strong pack, Jocelyn. And we know they’re coming. Alpha Zahn doesn’t know that we know and that give us the advantage. No one will get hurt, well, not from our pack anyway,” she says fiercely. She still has a warrior’s spirit, or maybe the spirit of her mate resides in her now. I hope that one day, I can tough like Sandy is.

“I know, I just…I care about all of you so much. You’ve all done so much to help me, to protect me, to heal me. And I don’t just mean my body,” I say.

“I know. There’s a lot of emotional and m**al healing that has to happen too. Around here, we understand that very well.”

“I know you do. It’s why I feel a kindred spirit with all of you here. We’re all healing from something, and everyone understands that, accepts that we’ll have good days and bad days.”

“We’re a family. That’s what families do, they support each other, protect each other, and love each other.”

She nods her head. “Come back out to the living room. G**a Penny is here. She’s apparently your personal guard until the battle is done.”

Ga**a Penny. That’s another first for me. Not only is she a woman, the first female Ga**a, but she’s also underage. The woman was on the run, so she understands some of what I’ve been through. But she’s tough as nails. Another woman for me to look up to and strive to be like.

“Jocelyn, I want you to know that I’ll keep you safe. I know I’m underage but…”

“It’s not that. Truly. I’m sure that you’ve earned your spot as the Ga**a. I’ve seen the respect that the other pack members have for you. My fear is for the others who may be injured. I’m protected, but what about them?”

She c**k*s her head at me. “We protect each other. We fight together. And we’re a large pack. I don’t know how large Alpha Zahn’s pack is, or how many may make the trip to fight, but it won’t matter. We’ll take them down. Alpha Hunter makes sure that we train every day. Our warriors are the best. I’d put any of our warriors up against any other pack’s warriors and bet every cent that I have I have on them.”

I smile at her confidence. It’s hard to worry when both women are looking at me as if I’m missing the big picture here.

“So, what’s the plan?” I ask.

“Business as usual until the alarms go up,” she says.

“And then?”

“And then, we get you to the safe room. If you don’t get into the safe room, you’ll get a firsthand look at why I’m this pack’s G**a,” she says, smiling a nearly feral smile. She’s definitely the Ga**a for a reason.

We go about the day, gardening in the afternoon, then making and eating dinner. As the evening wears on, I become more and more nervous. The chatter from earlier is gone and everyone is quiet. I’m too nervous to sleep, so Sandy turns on the television in the living room. I have no idea what we’re watching because I can’t focus on anything but every little noise I hear outside.

I keep glancing at Penny, and I see that she’s maintaining contact with the rest of the pack, probably the border patrols.

When her head snaps up, we all look at her. She turns, looking at something past the walls of the room where we’re sitting.

“Time to go,” she says, a moment before the howls of alarm go up.

We jump up, grabbing the bag of things sitting by the door to take to the safe room. They were right, better to be prepared and know that the battle is coming.

I follow Sandy and Samantha, with Penny right behind me. The safe room for the Survivor Center was built underground. I learned today during the drill where it was. As much time as I’d spent here, I’d never even seen the entrance, it’s that well- hidden.

The sounds of wolves’ paws pounding on the earth becomes muted by angry snarls and yelps of pain. A wolf races right at us and in one of the most elegant moves I’ve ever seen, Penny leaps and shifts, her wolf ripping out the throat of the attacking wolf. When she lands, her body spins and she shifts back into her human form, crouching down on all fours before looking up at me.

“GO!” she yells, startling me out of my shocked amazement.

I continue running to the safe room, helping some of the younger pups who are struggling to keep up. Penny stays behind me, her eyes going in every direction.

When we get to the safe room, there’s a bottleneck as the mothers send their pups down first. I see Penny leap again and turn just in time to see her take on another wolf, snapping and ripping its flesh.

“JOCELYN!” Sandy yells and I turn, seeing her holding out her hand to me.

I run forward and make my way inside the safe room as Sandy shuts and locks the door behind me.

“Is everyone here?” I ask.

“Yes, we’re all accounted for,” one of the other mothers says, holding her pups to her and rocking them. The scent of fear is palpable in the room, and I feel nausea roiling in my stomach again.

“Miss Jocelyn, will you come sit with me?” Samantha asks, patting the floor beside her.

I smile, knowing she’s doing this more for me than for herself. But I go sit, wrapping my arm around her, as Sandy goes around and checks on everyone.

The sounds of fighting are muted inside the safe room, but we can still tell when they get close. I’m not sure how long it is before everything goes quiet.

We sit around, waiting to get the all-clear.

“It takes them longer to get to us out here,” Sandy says to me quietly and I nod.

When the knock finally comes, Sandy is the one who opens the door. Standing at the door is a very b**dy Beta Lucas. Beside him and just as bl**dy are Penny and Jaime.

realize that Beta Lucas has a phone to his ear.

“Yes, Alpha, the pack is secure.” He looks over at me. “Jocelyn is safe.” Then he growls menacingly. “Zahn is unconscious in our cells.”