Sherry’s POV:
“So, I’m assuming Chase or Samantha called you,” Lee said as I sighed heavily and looked at the girl sitting next to him.
“Chase did call me, but I told him no. I still can’t believe how he could ignore my words and still send his daughter here. I acknowledge that you are Ian’s family, but that has nothing to do with me. Ian is my past, not my present,” I answered loudly, then composed myself when Damon pressed his hands on my shoulders, slowly massaging them.
“You seem to misunderstand something, Sherry. He wasn’t asking you to take her in because you had ties with Ian or Neo. He was asking you to take her in because this place is more of a sanctuary to rogues and other supernatural beings without a home. I know years back Alpha Damon only took in werewolves, but things changed when he widened his range and began taking in other loyal supernatural beings. Mika is a very good example, and she is no different from this kid beside me,” he said seriously. His words were more of a demand than a request.
I sighed softly, then looked at the girl who had her gaze fixed to the ground. Although I could tell that she was a vampire, her aura was weak. I could see it through my wolf’s eyes.
“You said it yourself, Lee, loyal supernatural beings. Vampires are different. They are dangerous, selfish, greedy, full of themselves, and their egoistic behavior gives them a strong thirst for power. Mika and a few others are the only exceptions,” Damon answered.
“Come on, guys, look at her. Don’t tell me you think she poses a threat! The girl is weak, and she has zero survival skills because of how spoiled she is raised. If you take her in, you can teach her how to live a decent life and how to survive,” he said at the top of his voice.
“Honey,” Damon called through our mind link.
“He has a point. The child’s aura is weak, which means she hasn’t fully awakened as most would after their first hunt and feed on human blood. She also looks so sad, as if she’s ready to cry or break down any minute. Should we ask if something is wrong with her?” I whispered through our mind link.
“Lee, what exactly happened to this poor kid? I know we usually don’t ask someone we have decided to take in because our seer sees it all and informs us of the person’s past and present life. But in this case, we want to know everything from you,” Damon said seriously.
He looked at her sadly, then at us.
“I thought Chase explained everything to you guys,” he answered.
“Well, he didn’t, so?” I asked.
“She was rejected by her mate, who is Ian’s nephew,” he answered as my heart ached at his words.
For a second, I couldn’t hear a thing because of the past memories that came flooding back into my mind.
I was one of the she-wolves who understood better than anyone how hard it was to be rejected. It became worse when you knew how close the person was, yet you couldn’t be with them.
A kiss on my head pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Dear, what is your name?” I asked softly.
She raised her head and looked at me seriously.
“Tamara,” she answered.
“Tamara, do you know and realize that a werewolf’s life is very different from a vampire’s life? Packs have their own hardships, and the fact that you are a vampire will only make others laugh and bully you. You will have to bow to the high-ups and train as a warrior should. Are you willing to go through all that?” I asked seriously.
She stood up and sniffed as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I don’t care how hard it gets for me because I don’t want to be a stupid, weak, spoiled kid with no sex appeal or charm,” she answered in a cracked voice.
I found myself standing up and going to her side to embrace her.
Although her facial expression was cold, her voice was that of a very hurt child. Her tears and words showed how hard it was for her.
“Tamara, did Larson say all those harsh words to you?” Lee asked, concerned.
“No, he didn’t,” she answered in a small voice.
“She’s lying. The bastard might have said those exact words to her,” Damon said through our mind-link.
“I know, I could tell, honey. But what should we do about her?” I asked.
“Take her in, of course. We both know how hard it is to be rejected and how long it takes for one to pull through and accept everything. Her being on that side would only bring her sorrow and pain. I’ll mind-link the twins to come and take her out of this office. Since they are around her age, I think they will be of great help,” he answered.
I looked at Lee, who had an angry expression on his face. He obviously came to understand that her mate was the one who had said such harsh words.
“We have decided to take her in,” I said as Lee quickly got to his feet with a big smile.
“Thank you very much,” he answered.
“As I talked on the phone with Chase, I came to understand a few things. Tamara’s whereabouts should be private, right? And no one should be allowed to visit her, right?” I asked.
“Yes, although she should be allowed to call any of us at home whenever she misses us or wants to request something. Felix and the rest of us will try our best to never tell anyone where she is, and we will also hold back on visiting her until she feels that she is ready to meet us,” he answered.
That was a very good decision they had made because I wanted nothing to do with Ian’s family. If it was Felix and the members of her household, then it was very much okay.
“Alright, how old is she?” I asked.
“She’s sixteen,” he answered.
She wasn’t that far apart from my twins.
“My mate and I will do our very best to protect and teach her everything we know until she feels like she is ready to leave. We just hope she will hold out with each and every hardship she might encounter,” I said, then looked at the door when a loud knock came through.
“Come in,” Damon answered, knowing who it was by their scent.
The door opened, and the twins walked in.
“Mother, father, you called,” they said together.
“Yes, we wanted you to meet someone,” I answered, then slowly pulled back from Tamara who quickly wiped away her tears and faced the twins with a fake smile.
“This is Tamara, Samantha’s child. She’s a born vampire, and she will be living with us for a few years,” I said as the twins looked at me with a stunned expression.
“Tamara, these are my twin babies. Yuki is the girl, and Lui is the boy. Yuki is an omega, while Lui is an Alpha. They will be your friends from now on, so always feel free around them,” I said.
She waved her hand, and they slowly waved back.
I could tell how much they hated the idea of being her friend.
My twins were different from most of our pack members. They hated hanging out with kids their own age. For some reason, they chose to spend their time chatting with the elders of our pack. And whenever they were not doing that, they were usually training and helping out with pack matters. Although they were at the age of finding their mate, they didn’t seem to care much, and that really did concern us.
We were hoping that the Moon Goddess would shine her love on them and grant them each a worthy mate.
“Now, kids, how about giving Tamara a tour of our pack?” I asked.
“Oka… y. Tamara, you can come with us,” Lui said as he extended his hand to her, surprising us with his gesture.
Tamara went to him and took his hand.
“Let’s go. I’m sure you will love this place,” he said, then walked out of the room.
Yuki looked at me, then shrugged and followed them behind.
“Wow, amazing,” I muttered to myself.
“Sherry, please, if any problem arises or something happens during Tamara’s stay here, never hesitate to call any of us,” Lee said, then moved to the wall.
“I also want to thank you both on behalf of Felix and from the bottom of my heart for your kindness,” he said when he pressed his hand against the wall.
“It’s all good, Lee, because we really do understand what she’s going through,” Damon answered, then moved to where I was, linking his hand to mine, as we patiently watched a portal appear right into the wall.
Lee gave a slight bow, then stepped into the portal. In a few seconds, the portal was closed and the wall was back to how it was.
I turned and looked at Damon sadly.
“What’s wrong?” he asked after he had pulled off his mask from his face.
“I feel so sad for that girl,” I answered honestly, then curved my arms around his shoulders.
“I feel the same way, honey, but there is nothing we can do about it. The war she’s facing is a war that no one can interfere with. It’s all up to her to either live a pitiful, sad life or to move on and upgrade herself. I’m sure with time, the bastard who has rejected her will regret his decision,” he said as I tiptoed and kissed him deeply, and he kissed me back.
No one could have thought that a second chance mate would have it all, but we were living proof. Both of us had a chance to love, and through that love, we had two beautiful pups.