Brendon chose to ignore Grange and instead focused on Ella. She was crying, really crying, and that was something new. He’d seen her shed a few tears now and then but all out sobbing?

“Ella, talk to me, honey.”

“She was right. I’m a monster.”

“She?” Brendon asked with a frown. “Who is she and what did she say?” Grange shook his head when Brendon looked at him questioningly.

“I’ve been with you.” he replied. “It wasn’t my mate, I know that much. I think Dawn would sooner swallow her own tongue rather than make someone cry.”

“No.” Ella said, her hands gripping tighter to Brendon’s shirt as she tried to compose herself. “No, it wasn’t Dawn.”

“Ella, you gotta talk to me. I can’t make things better if I don’t know what’s wrong.” Brendon felt helpless and he didn’t do helpless well.

“I’m a whore.” Ella whispered and then her tears began to come harder as she clung to him.

“I’m gone.” Grange mumbled and he disappeared into the trees back toward his cabin.

“Why in the hell would you call yourself a whore?” Brendon demanded, fighting to hold back his temper.

“She was right. That’s what I am. That’s what I was for Faugrimm and his friends. That’s what I was for Warren and now it’s what I am for you.”

Brendon took her upper arms in his hands and shoved her away from her, holding her firmly and shaking her without even realizing what he was doing.

“Who the hell told you some fool thing like that?” he demanded angrily. Ella whimpered and Brendon realized what he was doing to her. He quickly released his hold on her arms and stepped back, removing his hat and shoving his hand roughly through his hair.

“I’m sorry.” he offered as he watched her staring at him with shock in her wide, red rimmed green eyes. Then he shook his head. “No, I’m not sorry. You needed to snap the hell out of it. You are not a whore.”

“Yes I am!” Ella insisted. “I’m a murdering whore. I killed my family! I let Faugrimm and all his men, anyone who wanted to, lay with me in order to save myself beatings. I did the same with Warren. And now I let you lay with me so you won’t leave me behind.”

Brendon felt as if he’d been punched in the chest. The blow was so strong and hurt so bad physically that he actually took several steps backward.

“It’s okay, Brendon.” Ella insisted. “Farrah was right. It is just what I am.”

“Farrah?” Brendon demanded. “Farrah put this idea in your head?”

“Yes, but….” Brendon had heard enough. Without another word he stormed away toward the cabin.

***

“Farrah, why in the world would you do that?” Trig demanded after everyone had overcome their shock of watching Ella run out the door. Farrah simply shrugged and looked uncomfortable as she picked at her arm.

“I didn’t like her reminding me of what I was. So I decided to remind her of what she was.”

“What’s wrong with Ella? Why was she crying? She doesn’t normally cry. She hadn’t even been that sad lately, even though she doesn’t smile. I think she really loves Brendon because ever since they started kissing each other she seems happier. So does he.” Maggie’s voice rambled on as she poked at Creed’s belly and made the boy coo with laughter. “Will Ella be okay?” Maggie asked, turning her dark eyes toward Dawn’s.

Dawn nodded and laid a gentle hand on her cheek.

“Of course. Everything will be just fine once everyone has had a chance to cool off. Grown ups do things that aren’t very nice to each other sometimes but things usually turn out okay in the end.” Maggie smiled.

“Okay.”

“Now, why don’t you go on out with Brie and get cleaned up at the well and then you can help me bake some cookies?” Dawn urged brightly. Maggie practically bounced with excitement and then ran to Brie and took the woman’s hand, allowing her to lead her outside.

Grange came in the front door just after they had left.

“The gates of hell are fixin’ to be ripped off this place. Who told the vampire she was a whore?”

“Me.” Farrah stated unapologetically. “And she was one.” Grange shook his head.

“I don’t care if she was a whore, a nun or a goddamn Madame. I gave my word to Brendon that we would look out for her and that girl and having you send the woman running out of here in tears only five minutes after she gets here sure don’t look real good on me.”

“I thought you agreed that sugarcoating the truth and running in circles around an issue are pointless.” Farrah countered and Grange growled when all eyes suddenly turned to him. He hated having his own words thrown back in his face.

“Normally I agree but uh… What is that you say, Dawn?” Grange asked looking to his mate for assistance. Dawn quickly stepped forward and took her place beside him, though she seemed uncertain about what he was talking about.

“Um….”

“About what we say..” Grange urged. Hell he couldn’t remember either but he was hoping the woman could think of something clever and deep that would be a lesson for Farrah.

Um.. Yes.. Uh.. Our words should only ever lift someone up or make a situation better. If they can’t then we shouldn’t say them.” Dawn offered and Grange sighed with relief.

There were many reasons he loved this woman and the fact that she always seemed to know the right thing to say was one of them.

“She called me a murderer first.” Farrah reminded them and Grange growled. So much for that quick lesson he was hoping those words would help her learn.

“Am I an alpha or a school teacher?” he ground out as he threw his hands in the air. “This is no more than a school yard spat and I’m not dealing with it.”

Dawn stroked his arm comfortingly and then the sound of pounding boots filled the air just before Brendon stormed into the cabin and had Farrah pinned against the wall before anyone could react.

Trig lunged for Brendon with a growl but Grange caught his arm and held him back.

“Brendon won’t hurt her.” he assured the other wolf. “He has a right to be upset.”

“So do I! That vampire called my mate a murderer and I’m not pinning her to walls.”

“That has more to do with your fear of getting your ass kicked than anything else.” Nickolai chimed in from the kitchen where he had been hanging back and taking everything in. Trig glared at him.

“I liked you better when you were dark, brooding, stern and didn’t pretend to be a comedian.”

Ella entered the cabin then. Her arms tight around herself as her eyes widened at the sight of Brendon just glaring and all but snarling at Farrah who was simply watching him calmly as if waiting for his next move.

“You. Had. No. Right.” Brendon finally spoke, his tone angry and his words clipped. “You have no idea what she’s been through.”

“Yes I do.” Farrah replied with a hiss. “More than you do.” Brendon took in a deep breath and took one step back though he still looked as if he wanted to teach Farrah a lesson.

“But to call her a whore? And to tell her that she’s a whore for being with me?” he demanded. “Why would you do that?”

“I did not.” Farrah replied with a shake of her head. “I never told her that being with you made her a whore.”

Brendon took another step away, though this caused him to bump into Blain and Anika who had simply been standing out of the way and watching the entire scene.

“You didn’t?” he asked, though the question was rhetorical and he turned and looked at Ella with anger darkening his features. “So that came from you? Being with me makes you a whore? It’s no different from being with Faugrimm and his men? Or Warren?”

“I…” Ella started and Brendon let out an angry yell and kicked the sofa, shoving it backward and nearly knocking Dawn (who still had Creed in her arms) over as it hit her legs.

In a blur of movement, Grange caught Dawn, put her in Nickolai’s arms and then went for Brendon, his fist connecting with the Hunter’s jaw and sending him wind-milling backward into Blain’s arms.

Blain wasn’t sure if he was supposed to hold the Hunter in place or hit him so he chose to simply hold him.

Suddenly the tension in the air was pierced by Dawn‘s voice.

“Stop it!” she yelled loudly. Grange nodded and went to stand beside her.

“I apologize Brendon. I shouldn’t have done that.” he admitted as he took his son from Dawn.

Brendon jerked from Blain’s grasp and wiped his bloody lip.

“I just want to kill them again!” he exclaimed. “Faugrimm. Warren. Anyone else who ever hurt that damn woman! I just want to kill everyone of them again!”

“Brendon.” Dawn said as she stepped toward the Hunter. “You need to go for a walk.”

“A walk?” Brendon demanded, his anger still clear to hear in his tone. “What the hell for?”

“To cool down.” Dawn replied. “You’re acting very….. Grangish.”

“What?” Grange demanded.

“I think she means, angry, overprotective and uh.. punch happy.” Trig supplied. Grange just shook his head.

“Fine.” Brendon went to the door, stopping to glare down at Ella who was standing beside it. “Don’t worry, Ella. I won’t make you lay with me again. I’d hate to force you to be my whore.”

“Well that didn’t go well.” Anika stated bluntly once Brendon was gone.

“Thank you for that wonderful observation.” Trig stated and Grange grumbled under his breath before settling himself on the sofa with Creed. “Well the vampire and the girl are our pack members now.” he stated. “Ella will have to sleep on our sofa until we get her a place and the girl…”

“Brie said I can stay with her and Nickolai!” Maggie exclaimed happily as she came skipping in. “She said Nickolai knows how to play chess. I love chess!”

“A child in our cabin?” Nickolai questioned with a raise of his brow and Brie smiled pointedly and nodded.

“Yes. I want her to stay with us.” she replied. Nickolai simply tipped his head, smiled at the girl and then resumed his stoic posture with his arms behind him.

“Are we baking cookies now? Ella is back, where is Brendon?” Maggie asked as she looked around.

“Brendon is angry with me.” Ella stated. “I don’t know why.”

“He’ll come around.” Dawn replied comfortingly, though she didn’t know whether or not she was telling the truth.

“Farrah, don’t you have something to say to Ella?” Trig urged as he pushed his mate forward. Farrah glared at him and then turned to look at Ella.

“I should not have used my words to hurt you.” Farrah stated, as if reciting lines in a play. “I apologize.”

“It’s the pregnancy.” Trig offered when Ella remained silent. “It’s making her a little crazy.”

“Okay, my damn cabin is too crowded. Farrah, Trig, go home. Anika, Blain, you too. Nickolai and Brie can stay until the girls done baking her cookies and then you’re out too.” Grange grumbled as he stood up and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Dawn questioned. Grange placed a gentle kiss to her brow and rested his hand on her hip. “For a walk. Creed and I will be back.”

“Okay.” Dawn replied, kissing his jaw. “Grange, if you see Brendon…”

“I’m going to avoid Brendon.” Grange assured her and then he disappeared out the door.

***

“You’re an idiot.” Grange stated as he sat down next to Brendon beside the pond, adjusting Creed in his lap so the boy could slap the long blades of grass.

Brendon sighed and threw a twig into the water, watching the ripples dance across the surface.

“Yep.”

“Sorry I punched you in the face.”

“Sorry I hit your wife with a couch.”

The men shared a comfortable silence for a few moments and then Grange spoke.

“Dawn wants me to talk to you.”

“Well we talked.” Brendon replied with a sigh and Grange shook his head.
“Won’t be good enough. She’ll want to know that I did what I could to help.”

“You can’t help me, Grange. Things are what they are.”

“And what are they?”

“A clusterfuck.”

Grange chuckled. “I’ve never heard that saying before.”

“It’s a Brendon original.” Brendon replied with a sigh.

“You’re not usually quite as… unstable as you seemed at the cabin.”

“I want out, Grange.”

“Out?” Grange replied with a frown.

“There are things about my life you don’t really know.” Brendon stated, deciding that he could trust the one friend he had with his feelings. Discussing feelings wasn’t something that either man was exactly comfortable with so Brendon trusted Grange not to blab about it.

“Well tell me. I gotta convince the wife I’m out here changing your outlook on life. Won’t look good if I make it back too quick.”

Brendon laughed lightly and reached out and stuck his big finger against Creed’s hand. The boy instantly wrapped his chubby fingers around it and smiled toothlessly up at him.

“I didn’t choose to be a Hunter. I was born one and forced to join the ‘Hunter family’, that’s what they call it. A ‘family’.” Brendon shook his head. “Over three hundred years I’ve done their bidding and I’ve always hated it in a way. I’m too independent minded to be ordered around by a bunch of old, gray haired mortals that seem to get more ignorant and small-minded with each new bunch they bring in. But I’ve always done my job and served them well because life was what it was.”

“And now it isn’t?” Grange asked.

“No.” Brendon replied simply.

“Then quit.” Brendon laughed harshly and pulled his finger away from Creed as the boy tried to turn it into a chew toy.

“It’s not that easy. Hunters don’t just ‘quit’. You only get out if you die.”

“Have you ever asked. I mean after three hundred years of service, it’s worth a try.”

Brendon just sat there and stared into the water. Grange simply didn’t understand. It wasn’t as easy as just asking to be released from his duty. Was it?

Anyway, at least now I can tell Dawn I tried.” Grange said as he pushed himself to his feet. “And you, old friend, need to be a real man.”

Brendon’s eyes narrowed and he glared up at Grange. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Tell the woman you love her. There ain’t no point fighting it or trying to hide it. Trust me, I know, I tried. From what you’ve told me about her and from what I’ve seen myself, the woman needs you.”

Brendon didn’t reply and Grange turned his back and began to walk away.

“Almost as much as you need her.” he added over his shoulder and Brendon grumbled under his breath and heard Grange chuckling as he disappeared from sight.

Damn that werewolf! Being an alpha had made him far too insightful and just plain nosy.