Chapter Fourteen.

I couldn't feel my body. I felt weightless as I sank to the floor successfully landing onto my knees and holding myself upright in a seating position as I sat back. I could see Logan crouching down in front of me, his expression showing nothing but worry as his lips moved quickly. I knew he was speaking to me but I couldn't hear anything apart from a faint ringing sound, my eyes were no longer focusing.

I felt myself become numb as I processed the letter and the meaning behind it. It was clear that my dad had found us and he knew where we were and who we were with. He no doubt knew who Logan was and what I was to him judging by the threat and why he had addressed the letter to Logan.

My mum and I were no longer safe; we would never be safe and we were both stupid to think that we would ever be able to escape him. When we had been living with my dad he had made it clear that if we ever tried to escape that bad things would happen to the both of us. He had promised us that if by some miracle we did escape him that he would find us and he would have us begging for mercy. At the time I had never taken his threats seriously as I had never expected to escape from him, but now that we had escaped I knew his threats were real as he had done what he had promised, he had found us and now all he had to do was get us.

There was no point in running away again as much as the idea appealed to me. I knew that he would find us as he was watching our every move. The pack offered us some sort of protection even if my dad was not someone who should be taken lightly as he was a threat, he was violent, he showed no mercy, he was cruel and he was evil. My dad didn't have a heart and he probably never had, making him lethal.

If we stayed with Logan and the rest of his pack then we would be putting everyone in danger. I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that someone had gotten hurt or worse, killed by my dad and his pack because of me and my mum. I couldn't have people risking their lives to save me. It didn't seem right as we weren't members of the pack.

The realisation that my dad had finally found us after such a short time of freedom shook me to the very core. I was terrified of my dad and knowing that he had found us and that he was no doubt furious that we had left him seemed all too real. It was real and that was the worst part about it.

My dad was probably coming up with a plan in which he could get my mum and I back to him without even being noticed. He was probably thinking of a suitable punishment for the both of us that would no doubt have us begging for him to end our lives. I shivered despite my frozen state at the thought of the beatings I would no doubt get when he had gotten us back.

"Esme!" Logan's worried voice called me from far away.

I tore my eyes away from where they had been glued to the carpet to look at Logan. His hair was all over the place as if he had been running his fingers through it in both frustration and anger. The chocolate brown colour of his eyes had darkened to where I was staring into his almost black eyes. His lips were pulled into a tight line and he frowned in worry.

Although Logan was attractive whatever face he pulled I realised that I didn't like the look of worry on his expression now. I knew that it was the mate bond within me but I wanted to reach out and smooth the frown lines on his forehead that didn't suit him well. I wanted to see him smile and deep down I wanted him to comfort me and tell that everything was going to be alright even if it wasn't.

The knowledge that my dad had finally found me seemed to rush over my like a bucket of ice cold water as I gasped quickly. My hands clasped together to make a fist as I placed it over my thundering heart that beat faster with fear. I was frozen where I sat as my eyes seemed to finally focus on Logan completely.

"He's coming," I whispered my voice so faint that I struggled to hear it with my own ears but I knew that Logan had heard me with his advanced hearing.

Logan's frowned deepened. I began to mumble incoherent things under my breath. Every thought that I was having seemed to come out of my mouth as if I had no control over the connection between my brain and mouth. I wasn't making any sense to myself and no doubt Logan and Samuel. I continued to mumble about my dad and the threat of him attacking us.

Logan gently reached out and touched my shoulder. I didn't flinch away from his touch and I saw the surprise he felt flicker in his eyes. He seemed to hesitate for a moment as he thought hard about something before he gently reached out and lifted me with ease from where I had been sitting on the floor.

I was cradled to his chest as if his entire body could shield me from the threat of the world and everything and everyone in it. Logan carried me to the large sofa that sat in front of the window that I had seen when I first arrived. I was gently placed down while Logan moved himself so that he was seated at my side with his arm wrapped tightly around me.

I was surprised that I wasn't crying or that I wasn't freaking out more than I already was but a part of me had always known that my dad would find us eventually. I had unknowingly prepared myself for the news that one day he would find us and it didn't matter that I hadn't expected him to find us so soon after we had escaped as I had been preparing myself ever since the day we left.

The only way I knew how to deal with the situation seemed to be to turn all of my emotions off. I felt numb on both the inside and out and although I was terrified and scared it didn't consume me like it normal would have and turn me into a crying mess. I didn't allow anything that I was feeling to show on my face or reflect in my eyes as I stared at Logan's empty office chair.

I could feel Logan's bare skin against my own as his large hand rubbed up and down the top of my arms in an attempt to comfort me but I didn't feel the usual tingles that would erupt at the lightest touch between us. The butterflies that I normal felt flutter up a storm within my stomach didn't appear and my heart beat normally.

"Sam, get Esme's mum!" Logan ordered Samuel who stood in the doorway not knowing what to do. Logan's tone had changed; it seemed to hold so much power, so much authority that I found myself wanting to follow his order despite my emotionless state.

Samuel quickly hurried out of the room without a look back as he shut the door behind him on his way out no doubt to give us privacy.

It was as if every time I blinked all I could see was the paper gently gliding to floor as the black ink letter seemed to come alive taunting me from the page. There was no mistake that my dad had been the one to send the letter and the one to write it as I would recognise his handwriting anywhere as it was almost identical to my own.

"Esme," Logan spoke my name so softly as his breath caressed the side of my face forcing me to look up at him.

"He's coming," I repeated this time more clearly than the previous sentences that I had been mumbling under my breath.

"He won't get anywhere near you, I promise." Logan told me with a slight growl at the end. His body was shaking beside mine and I knew that he was suppressing the urge to shift as the roughness in his voice and his pitch black eyes told me that he wolf was close to the surface.

I didn't reply as I knew it would be pointless. My dad would no doubt be able to take me and my mum with ease as he was smart, he was cunning and he would spend ages thinking of a plan that would no doubt be successful. It didn't matter where my mum and I were, who we were with or how safe we were, my dad would no doubt be able to get us as his determination and anger would drive him towards his goal.

My mum burst through the closed door. Her blues eyes wide as she scanned Logan's office until they landed on me where I had unknowingly cuddled myself up to Logan's side. I hadn't seen the tears that had welled up in her eyes until they were already rolling down her flushed cheeks as she strode across the office quickly.

Logan let go of me as my mum stood in front of us. I didn't know what Samuel had told her on their way to the office but I guessed that it was the truth. He had told my mum about the letter and my dad's threat.

I stood from the sofa in one swift movement allowing my mum to take me in her arms as she began to cry silently into my shoulder. I found my own tears gathering in my eyes as I rapidly blinked them away. I was slowly getting my feelings back as my emotions flooded through me like a mass of tidal waves one after another.

I didn't know how long I stood in my mum's arms in the middle of Logan's office with him and Samuel talking in hushed whispers somewhere behind my mum. I held onto her as if I was drowning and she was the only thing keeping me a float. I feared that if I were to let go of her I would be pulled under by a wave of emotions and break down.

I was scared that I wouldn't be able to cope with living my life in constant fear of my dad who could be lurking around every corner. He was somewhere out there watching my every move, my mum's every move just waiting for us to be left unprotected so that he could take us away from whatever hope that me and my mum had of ever having a normal life.

"It's going to be alright," She whispered as she kissed the side of my head and tightened her slender arms around me.

I knew that no matter how many times I was told that everything was going to be okay, that everything was going to work out for me and my mum and that we were going to be safe and free, that it was all really just a lie. My mum was only saying it for both her benefit and my own but we both knew that he had won. He would always win.

"I know," I whispered back as I didn't trust my own voice not to crack and give away my lie.

My mum didn't respond. She only pulled me closer to her body as she moved us so that we sat on the sofa behind me with her arms still wrapped around me.

I looked to see that Logan and Samuel were slowly making their way towards us. I could feel the anger rolling off of them both in waves. They came to a stop a foot or two away from us. Logan had his arms by his sides, his hands clenched into tight fists, his knuckles turning white as he tried to stop his wolf from taking over. Samuel had his arms folded across his chest with his body tense as he too struggled to keep his wolf at bay.

"I promise you as the mate of your daughter and the soon-to-be Alpha of this pack that I will do everything within my power to keep the both of you safe." Although Logan was talking to my mum his eyes had locked with mine when he first began to speak.

"We would never ask you to fight for us, to put your pack in danger," My mum shook her head from side to side.

I knew what she was getting at. My mum and I were very much alike in the aspect that neither of us wanted people to put their lives on the line for either of us. I heard that pack members often looked after each other but my mum and I weren't pack members and neither of us was a full blooded werewolf. We didn't belong here under the protection of a pack we didn't know.

"You don't have to ask us," Logan said with a small shake of his head. "Esme being my mate automatically makes her the future Luna of the pack. A Luna is very important to each and every member within a pack and all of the members would do everything and anything to keep her safe."

"It's true," Samuel finally spoke up from Logan's side. I could tell that both of the men in front of me were no longer best friends having a laugh but the Alpha and Beta of a very large pack, "the pack will fight for you, for the both of you without you having to ask."

"I don't want people getting hurt because of us," My mum was shaking in my arms as she tried to calm herself down. I knew that she was trying to be strong for the both us. She didn't want to show me how scared she was, how upset she was knowing that the man that had hurt us for so many years was hiding close by.

"A fight between the two packs is inevitable and people are going to get hurt but I can only promise you that I will prepare my pack as best as we can so that when the time comes we can fight off the attacking pack as well as protect ourselves. My pack is bigger as well as stronger and so we already have the advantage of numbers alone," Logan stated trying to reassure my mum who seemed to be breaking right before my eyes.

My heart seemed to give a painful squeeze as I looked up at my mum whose bottom lip was trembling as she sank her teeth into it trying to stop the sob I could see making its way through her body. It hurt to see that my mum had finally broken and it was all because of him.

I loathed the man that I had the unfortunate pleasure of calling my dad. The cruel bastard that had hurt my mum for so many years and after so long of fighting and putting on a brave face she had finally broken in my arms. I wanted my dad to pay for everything that he had done to my mum and to me. I wanted him to feel weak, helpless and nothing but a piece of dirt on the ground.

"I'm sorry," my mum apologised as she tore herself away from me and stood quickly almost knocking over an unsuspecting Logan and Samuel who took a startled step back, "if you'll excuse me."

I watched helplessly as my mum rushed out of the room with her face cradled in her shaking hands. I stood quickly as I made a move to go after her. I wanted; needed to comfort my mum after everything that she had done and to see her finally breaking had literally broken my heart.

I felt arms wrap themselves around my waist as I was pulled back and into a muscular chest. The tingles that I now felt dancing across my skin told me that it was Logan that held me against him and the recognition stopped the oncoming panic attack that I had felt bubble within my stomach. I stopped myself from thrashing against his hold as I stared at the still open door that my mum had run through crying just moments ago. I suddenly felt exhausted and my eyelids, feeling heavy, threatened to close.

"Esme, I don't think that's a good idea," Logan whispered in my ear as he held me against his chest, "your mum needs space, she needs to be alone to gather her thoughts and calm down."

"But," I sobbed. I hadn't realised I was crying until I had opened my mouth to speak only to find myself sobbing. My entire body was shaking violently in Logan's hold as I sagged completely against him and allowed him to hold my entire weight in his arms.

"It's okay Esme," Logan whispered into the side of my head.

I was lifted into the air as Logan knocked my knees out from under me and caught my back before I could hit the floor with relative ease. He carried me bridal style out of the room without a word as I continued to sob in his arms. Logan continued to whisper comforting words in my ear.

I had finally been broken just like my mum had. I had cracked and I was now flooded with all the emotions that I had suppressed since I had found out about the letter that my dad had sent. The hatred, the fear and the feeling of loss all washed over me barely giving me enough time to gasp for breath.

I didn't know where Logan was taking us as he travelled through the many corridors of the pack house, climbing a set of stairs that I hadn't noticed before. I was having difficulty seeing through the blurry haze that my endless tears had created. Logan seemed unaffected by my weight as he opened a door with ease and turned on a light using the switch attached to the wall.

I was gently placed on a comfortable surface which I soon realized was a large bed. As I sat on the bed, my shoulders shook as I continued to sob. Logan gently unwound the scarf that I was still wearing around my neck and unzipped my coat before easing it gently off of my arms. He pushed my shoulder gently back until I was lying down with my head propped up on a plump pillow and the covers were wrapped around me. Logan's scent engulfed me and I guessed that this was where he stayed when he was sleeping in the pack house.

Logan seemed torn as he stood to his full height. He had stopped struggling with his wolf long ago and was now looking exhausted.

"Get some rest," Logan told me as he made a move to turn around and walk out of the room.

I was overcome with panic as I began to struggle to sit up in the bed. I didn't want to be left alone especially knowing that my dad was somewhere out there. My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest and my hands fisted the material of the duvet that covered my body.

"Logan," I choked out as I lifted my head to see that he had paused by the door, his hand clutching the handle.

"I'll be here when you wake up, I promise," He told me as he looked at my over his shoulder.

"Please stay with me," My voice was quiet as I silently pleaded with Logan to say yes. I could hear the need in my voice; I could hear how vulnerable I sounded and how weak I must have looked.

I watched as Logan's eyes softened before he shut the door and turned off the lights. I stayed still where I lay, listening as I heard him shuffle around the room before I felt the bed dip on my other side. A startled gasped escaped my lips as I quickly turned to face the intruder.

"It's just me Mae," Logan whispered. My eyes began to adjust and soon I was finally able to make the outline of Logan's head as he lay next to me.

Logan reached out slowly towards me as if not to scare me. He gently wrapped his arm around the curve of my waist and slowly pulled me against his side while giving me the opportunity to move away. I found myself moving closer to Logan. I curled up into his side, my head resting on his chest as his other arm wrapped around my shoulders and held me close to his body.

"I'm scared," I whispered as the tears seemed to flow endlessly.

"I won't let him get anywhere near you. I will protect you with my life my little mate," Logan told me, his tone so serious and level that I found myself believing him as I closed my eyes, "get some rest."

I sighed deeply as I began to calm down. I could hear Logan's heart beating evenly beneath my head as he ran his fingers though my hair and up and down my back in a comforting manner. I felt warm within Logan's arms as the tingles erupted all over my body. I finally felt a sense of belonging where I lay as I was overcome with the foreign feeling of being safe.

I snuggled myself closer to Logan's side as I fell asleep in the arms of my mate.