Chapter 61
61 Unexpected Ally
Maureen POV
“Maureen, Penny is safe” my mother’s voice whispers in my mind. The fear I had for my daughter is completely gone and
replaced with rage for this b**ch who put her hands on my pup. “Drop her John” I say, leaving no doubt that I am not asking. He
releases her, dropping her to the ground at my feet. “Don’t hurt Carter, John” I say over my shoulder before I reach down,
grabbing her by the hair. I pull back and punch her square in the face. “What did you plan to do with my daughter, you b**ch?”
She wipes the blood from her mouth and smirks at me. “I’m bringing her back to where you all belong. With those disgusting
rogues that want you. You don’t deserve to have a mate like John. He should have been my mate instead of a f**king rogue.”
She looks around me “John, we can still be together and get rid of these rogues. I promise you it’s not that hard to kill a mate that
isn’t worthy of you.” I feel bile rise in my throat. She killed her own mate because he was a rogue. “The woman who is about to
end you for touching our daughter is my mate”, John says, and I love him for claiming Penny as his own. She makes it to her feet
and takes a fighting stance. We start to circle each other. She throws a punch directly at my face but I dodge. I punch forward,
making contact with her ribs. She gasps trying to pull air into her lungs. I see her eyes change color as her wolf is at the surface.
I land one more punch to her face, knocking her on her a**.
She rushes to her feet and growls. She begins to shift and I am glad to oblige. “My turn to make that b**ch plead for mercy”
Clarice says. I laugh knowing there won’t be any pleading in wolf form. The wolf seems taken back by Clarice’s size and color.
She is bigger than most average wolves and white as snow. Clarice starts to circle her wolf. The wolf snaps at Clarice’s leg and
manages to sink her teeth into our front leg. Clarice manages to shake her off and now she is even more pissed. Clarice growls
and I feel like it shakes the trees. The wolf whimpers and starts to back up. Clarice stalks forward and the wolf tries to take off.
She reaches her in three long strides, pinning her to the ground. She begins to shift and Clarice steps back. “Please I’m sorry, I
wouldn’t have hurt her” she pleads as she scurries back. “Shift Clarice, she’s mine.” She does as I say and I see relief on her
face. “I’m glad you believe me Maureen” she says as I walk toward her. She gets to her feet. “I don’t believe you. I would have
forgiven many things, but taking Penny isn’t one of them.” I pull back my arm, extending my claws before I punch forward into
her chest. Her eyes get big before I wrap my hand around her heart. “I’m sure what the goddess has planned for your crimes is
far worse than anything I could do to you”, I say and pull my hand back. Her body falls to the ground and I drop her heart to the
ground, too,
I turn to John who is still holding Carter although he is on the ground now. He waves his hand and I’m dressed. I smile before I
walk toward both of them. “Love, where is Penny”, John asks me. “Mother said she is safe.” “Thank the goddess but how, she
had her?” “John release Carter and I’ll try to explain.” “Maureen” he says and I can hear the concern in his voice. “John, I
promise you that he is not a threat.” He releases his hold on him and John comes to stand next to me. He threads his fingers
through mine and squeezes my hand. “John, Carter is the second in command of the collective. He is also the only reason we
were able to escape from Damien.” “I took Penny from that evil she-wolf and hid her near a tree.” “Thank you Carter.”
John POV
When she tells me to release the wolf, I’m not happy. He was part of the rogue attack and I trust him even less than I trust Ethan.
I link Lincoln to tell him what just happened and he orders me to bring the wolf to the pack house. “Lincoln wants to see us in the
office with him”, I say pointing to the rogue. She turns to me, “his name is Carter and I promise you that he means no harm to me
or Penny.” “I understand why you don’t trust me, John, but she is right. I don’t agree with the things that Damien has done.
Especially the things he did to Richard and Maureen.” I feel Maureen stiffen at the mention of Richard. Carter walks in front of us
toward the pack house. I have so many questions but I stay quiet as I can tell she is processing what Carter just said. Once we
reach the office, Maureen heads in first. I hear a growl that shakes the walls once Carter walks inside. I step in before Lincoln
reaches him. “Alpha Lincoln I know he was part of the attack but Maureen believes he is no threat and he has information about
Damien” “Lincoln, let’s hear him out and then make a decision”, Amelia says, and I’m grateful. He takes a step back and I can tell
Ethan is uncomfortable with his presence too. I just pray that Maureen is right. We all take a seat and I have to tell Lincoln about
Maureen killing a warrior. I know they have accepted her but she is technically not a pack member.
“Before he tells us anything, I need you to know that Clarice is dead.” “My warrior is dead by whose hand” he says, looking at
Carter. “It was not Carter. Clarice took my daughter after she incapacitated Judith with the intent of taking Penny to Damien.” I
see Lincoln’s anger fade and he looks at Maureen. She nods “I killed her for taking my pup.” “You were well within your rights to
take that action against her.” “I know this doesn’t matter now, Lincoln, but she also admitted to killing a rogue that was her mate.”
“She killed her own mate. What kind of monster kills, their own mate” Lincoln says, like a question, but he needs no answer. “The
goddess will deal with her for what she has done to her mate”, Lincoln says. He is absolutely right. Our mates are a gift and the
goddess doesn’t take rejection kindly, so I can’t even imagine the punishment for killing one’s mate.
Carter POV
The Alpha looks at me as soon as we all take a seat. “Carter, I suggest you start talking and explain why I shouldn’t put you in
the cells after you helped with the attack on my pack” the Alpha says. “I have no good answer besides that I was following
orders. I have been Damien’s second in command for a very long time. He has always been a ba**ard but I could live with his
decisions.” I can see he doesn’t like my answer but he continues to listen. “It wasn’t until Richard, Maureen, Judith, and Penny
joined the collective that I saw what he was really capable of. He knew something was different about Richard but he didn’t know
exactly what it was until Desiree figured it out. Desiree is a witch that would do anything for Damien.” “So what exactly did they
figure out about Richard,” Lincoln asks. “Richard wasn’t just a wolf. He was a hybrid. A hybrid of creatures we don’t often see
together.” He looks at me confused. “Richard was part Fae. Once he found that out, he wanted Richard out of the way.” “That
doesn’t even make any sense. He wants me to mate him but I am not part Fae” Maureen says. This is the part that Maureen
doesn’t know and I could never live with after Damien told me his plan. “Maureen, he only wants to mate you to control Penny.
He plans to use her when she is old enough to mate and breed.”
Growls are heard around the room and Maureen is on her feet. “I will rip his d**k off before he ever touches my daughter.” John
stands and wraps her in his arms. “That is exactly the reason that I helped Maureen escape. I wouldn’t let that happen.” Maureen
comes back to sit in front of me. “What happened to Richard?” I had hoped she would never have to hear this story, but I guess I
have no choice now. I wish I had reached them sooner and I could have helped Richard escape with them. “I was scouting out
the pack on Damien’s orders. When I came back I headed right for Damien’s office but he wasn’t there. I linked him and he didn’t
answer. One of the rogues told me that he had headed with Richard and Desiree into the forest. I shifted and ran as fast as my
wolf could but I was too late. When I reached them, Richard was dead. “How” Maureen whispers? “I don’t know exactly how they
overpowered such a strong hybrid. All I know is he looked like they had taken all the moisture out of his body. When I questioned
Damien he laughed. They burned his remains. That is the moment I knew that I could no longer follow his orders blindly. I made
the plan that day to get you, Penny, and Judith out of the collective before we went to meet with that ba**ard Atlas.”
I can see the pain in her eyes and I’m glad to see her new mate will be there to help her heal. He pulls her into his arms and I
turn back to the Alpha. “Damien sent me to make sure that Ethan made it out of the pack with Penny. He also wanted me to kill
Ethan the minute he crossed the border. “What of my mate if I was to be killed?” “Ethan, the only thing I can say is that we need
to stop him before he can make any of his plans happen.” Ethan nods at me. “You have no reason to trust me but I promise you I
am only hear to stop him from succeeding with his sick plan” I say to the Alpha. He nods and I thank the goddess that they
believe me. “I have a plan and Damien is going to get exactly what he wants” a woman that I can tell is also a witch says. I have
a feeling that Damien is going to be very sorry he f**ked with this pack and Maureen.