No Remorse (27 page)

“This is a stressful situation.” He put his fingers gently across her lips to stop her from responding with the anger he knew she still felt.

“The ceremony the pack is here to witness is that of our joining as mates, the blood ritual. We don’t have to get married if you don't want to, that is more for the human side of us. But eventually, I would like for us to be able to talk about it.”

Again, he had to put his finger to her lips to keep her from interrupting him. “I know marriage is a big step and you don't like to be controlled. I assure you, I would be the last person on this earth who would want to take away your freedom. I love you as you are.”

Amber didn't know how to respond to that. Her mind was racing with the thoughts of getting married, but the appearance of her mother was the issue. Although she had dreamed of the days when she would reunite with her mother, in reality, it was a lot less joyous with how it had come about.

Accepting his words, Amber looked almost cross-eyed, but pointedly at the finger that still covered her lips. She considered opening her mouth and biting it, but was afraid that her still protruding canines might bite through his finger, like she had Zach’s. Blake smiled in response to the memory and quickly removed his finger to allow her to speak.

“OK, in the way distant future, we can discuss
it.”
She refused to say the word right now. “Not that I will say yes, but we can discuss.” Pulling back slightly in Blake’s arms, Amber looked at Winona.
 
 

“Now, I realize is not the best time for us to have this conversation, but I intend on having one with you very soon,” she told her mother seriously. She knew her eyes still had the gold specks when her mother anxiously nodded at her, the out of place smile still on her lips. “And I expect some answers!” Amber insisted.

Amber was at a loss. Not knowing what to think of the emotions, one minute in complete control, the next a raving lunatic, and with just a touch of Blake's lips melting into his arms like a swooning teenager. She hated being out of control and would have to get her emotions in check. She thought of Blake and the ceremony that was to take place. If she went through with it, that meant she would be tied to Blake’s pack for the rest of her life. Looking at Blake, even though she was still in turmoil, she knew she wanted to be with him.

Shaking her head Amber turned back to Blake, “I need to take that walk you suggested and for
to
you explain a few things to me before this
ritual
is to take place.”

Relieved, Blake nodded his head in agreement and turned to Winona, “Excuse us, please,” he told her, lowering his head slightly in her mother’s direction.

In acknowledgement, Winona lowered her head in return and leaned forward with her shoulders, lightly bowing towards the floor.

Amber didn't understand the hierarchy of who was supposed to do what, and honestly she didn't care. She didn't bother excusing herself and turned to go without another word to her mother
.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

B
lake walked beside Amber as they descended the stairs in silence. The pack members who milled around the large living area came to a stop when they heard their muffled steps on the marble stairs. They had all heard what had taken place up stairs and they stared as Blake led Amber into the room.

Amber held her head high, walking through the sea of new strangers. No one said a word while Blake led her to the front door where Adam waited with his hand on the doorknob.

Adam pulled the door open and Amber met his eyes when he spoke to her mind.
Please don't be too rough on him, dear. He really does love you and is trying to protect you.

Amber gave him a reserved smile and walked on past without responding. Feeling Blake’s irritation, she glanced at him to see that he was staring at Adam with an irritated frown. Adam waved and smiled “Bye, kids, don't be too long now, we have a ceremony to prepare for.”

Blake rolled his eyes and led her out onto the porch. Before he could steer her off the porch she stopped dead in her tracks. Blake felt her tense and knew what, rather who, she had scented and allowed her to turn back around.

There on the porch, stood the man she had begged long ago not to send her away. Amber didn't know if she wanted to rush into his arms and hug him or punch him in the face.

Her grandfather didn't give her time to decide. Instead, he took the couple of steps it took to reach her and pulled her into his embrace. Amber immediately wrapped her arms around him and held him close. The conversations had started up once again inside the house, but her mind was focused on the man in front of her.

With tears in her eyes and a wobbly smile she looked up into the slightly wrinkled face. His dark chocolate eyes twinkled at her and he returned her watery smile. “Little one,” He said gruffly, hugging her to him again.

Amber buried her face in his barrel chest and allowed the tears to slip down her cheeks unchecked. Now this is how she had imagined reuniting with her grandfather.

His voice was as deep as she remembered it those many years ago. “I know Blake has some explaining to do, but do you mind if I tag along? I think I can probably fill in on a few blanks spots.”

Amber couldn't say a word. Her throat was still tight and she glanced over her shoulder to see Blake smiling. She couldn't help but return the smile with one of her own.

Blake held out his hand and her grandfather shook it. “We would be honored if you would join us, Mr. Hamilton.”

The two men were on either side of her when they walked down the steps of the front porch and towards the line of trees. All three of them instinctively scanned the woods for any possible threats.

Gabrial Hamilton slowed his pace and when they were deep into the woods. Amber and Blake turned to look at him.

“I believe we are out of earshot of everyone in the house and no one dared follow us.” He informed them, smiling.

Gabrial couldn't help himself and pulled Amber to him again for a tight hug.

“So I hear you were using the last name Scott instead of your family name.”

“Uh, yeah?” Amber was surprised by his statement and she stared at her grandfather at a loss for words.

This is how he starts explaining?
She sent Blake a questioning frown.

“It was to keep from being found,
” Blake explained on her behalf, as they began walking again.

“Blake, you keep your mouth shut for now. I think my granddaughter has some explaining to do.” Gabrial looked at her sternly with his hands dropping to his sides.

“I have some explaining to do?” Amber exclaimed, stepping away from her grandfather in stunned amazement. “You dump me in a car and send me away and I have some explaining to do?”

Her grandfather stared at her for a moment, but couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. “I knew you would have spunk,” he said, shaking his head and began walking again. “First of all, I didn't dump you in a car. I put you in the car for your safety. I sent Blake to the shelter to keep an eye on you.”

Amber stopped in her tracks. “Hold up.” She cocked her head to the side and looked from Blake to her Grandfather. “You knew my grandfather before you met me and you never told me? You knew my mother?”

Blake had the good sense to look embarrassed and shrugged. Amber stared at him hard, her eyes narrowed suspiciously while her grandfather continued.

Blake could no longer hide behind the reason he had been drawn into her life. He knew it was cheating, but having her grandfather there might help explain a few things and keep her from losing complete control and disappearing on him. He had already screwed up with her and hopefully this could help fix it.

“I put Blake there to watch over you. Instead, he helped you run away and hide from us all,” Gabriel continued in a disproving voice as he cut his eyes towards Blake with an irritated frown.

“This doesn’t explain anything to me.” She didn't quite know what to call him.

“You can call me, grandpa.” He said when she paused slightly before addressing him.

“OK.” She said hesitantly “Grandpa.” The word rolled off her tongue, it felt right and she smiled slightly, but quickly wiped it from her face. She was not going to let this go just because she was with the one family member she had longed to meet for more than just a few minutes.

“Let's start from the beginning,” Gabriel suggested and they continued walking through the woods. “I don't know everything your mother told you to keep you on the run this many years, but I can probably tell you that most of what she said was not true,” he informed her.

Blake and Amber stayed quiet to let him continue. Surprising Blake, Amber slipped her hand into his and his body instantly became warm at her touch. She squeezed his hand in response and smiled weakly at him. She needed his strong support at the moment and touching him helped to sooth her.

“Winona told you these stories to keep you from wanting to contact the pack. She did this for good reason, Amber. The council
has
been looking for you ever since they found out you were born on the full moon.”

Amber had tons of questions ready to burst forward, but respectfully kept them bottled up inside to allow him to continue.

“I know she told you that she was raped, that wasn’t true. She slipped out of the house one night when her mother and I were, uh, kind of busy,” he told her with a slight cough to cover up his embarrassment. “She had heard of a party, so she snuck out. To make a long story short, she ended up in the back seat of that bastard’s car.” Gabrial sneered in disgust at the thought.

Realizing Amber was staring at him, Gabrial stopped curling his lip up in a silent snarl and continued. “You remember Tommy from the diner. If I recall correctly, you pointed a gun at him.” His face broke into a large approving smile at that thought.

“That man is my father?” Amber asked with revulsion.

“Honestly, I guess he's not a bad man. He is a respected member of the pack, and follows the council’s orders. Winona and Tommy were wild when they were younger, and your mother thought the lust she was feeling was love.” Gabrial shook his head in disgust at the thought. “The only time you saw Tommy, you were influenced by Winona’s fears. You felt that your mother was scared of him and he was there to take her back home. He was acting on council’s orders to bring you both back. No one, including me, has ever told him that you are his daughter. They lied to him, he didn’t know the reason they wanted you back,” Gabrial told her honestly.

Amber shook her head in denial. She didn't want that man to be her father.

Blake pulled her closer and sent warmth spreading through her body at his touch. She stared up at him in amazement, still not understanding that just his touch alone was beginning to sooth her troubled mind.

“Tommy is an Enforcer for the Council and returns members back to the pack who has committed crimes. Tommy was convinced that Winona had committed a crime by running away from the pack when she was pregnant and had lost the child. He was determined to impress the Council by returning Winona to the pack and he didn't stop to
really
look at you or he would have known the truth. It was the full moon phase and his wolf was pounding at him to follow orders to take his wayward pack member back, so that is what he did. The Council knew that you had survived, but didn’t tell Tommy because they were using him. Even though you don’t see it right now, Winona was trying to protect you and had been strong enough to let you go because she knew what they were really after.” Gabrial paused for a moment.

Amber stared intently at her grandfather, willing him to continue. She wondered what had happened to her mother when she was returned to the pack, what had happened to Byron. She didn’t understand why the council would want her so badly.

“I had convinced Tommy to call me as soon as he found your mother. He still didn't realize who you were.” He smiled sadly at the long ago memory. “I hated sending my only granddaughter away to that safe house. But it was the only way I had to protect you.” Again he paused.

“You see, Amber, the moment you were conceived, you were different. You are the only female werewolf that has
ever
been born on a full moon and the Council could feel that that you were special. When you were born, you were given special abilities along with the ones you already possessed, and the Council wants those as their own.”

The three of them had reached the small lake in the middle of Blake's thousands of acres. Gabrial stood looking out over the calm water and continued telling her the story she had longed to hear.

“Since I am a member of the Council, I knew what their intentions were. They wanted your blood to run tests on it. And honestly, they didn’t care if you were a tiny baby, or later a young woman; they only wanted to see how they could experiment with you to grow their own abilities. You see, Amber, the older members of Council has the mindset that our pack is better than all other packs around the world. They feel that with your special blood they would be able to rule the world.”

Blake stared at Amber while she stared at her grandfather. Her lips were drawn into a tight line; she listened intently. Blake heard all the questions she had rambling around in her head, but was proud that she held her tongue to let the Gabrial continue.