SWAT Team One and the Social Worker (29 page)

laughing except for Dustin.

Sam left the kitchen, giving the men time to plan their strategy in

case this meeting was a setup. Sam couldn’t imagine that it was. After all, Frederick had no idea that she wasn’t his daughter.

* * * *

Sam stood near the open sliding doors that looked over the deck

and gardens. The house was lovely and the surrounding wooded

landscape appealing to both her human and wolf side. As she inhaled

she sensed the movement behind her and knew that it was Al. He

hadn’t even entered the room completely, yet she knew it was him

and sensed it.

“Are they just about done?” she asked without turning around.

She heard his chuckle then felt him near her.

“Just about, Sam. They want to be sure they have most of their

bases, if not all of them, covered.”

She tried to remain relaxed, but she sensed her father’s

uneasiness. Sam was certain this was difficult for him. Now that she

had time to think about his emotions and how hard it must have been

for him all these years, she wanted to ease some of that concern.

“I’m not angry with you anymore.”

He was silent as he stood beside her and looked out toward the

woods.

“You aren’t?”

She turned toward him as he turned toward her.

“No. I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been all these

years, knowing that you had a child that you couldn’t love.”

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He reached out and touched her cheek with the palm of his hand.

Sam closed her eyes and absorbed the fatherly caress.

“That’s where you are wrong, Sam. I loved you since the moment

I found out you were mine.” He pulled away and glanced toward the

woods again. Sam’s heart ached for him. He had truly been hurt.

Sam took his hand, startling him a moment, but she didn’t release

him.

“I, for one, believe that you and I have a lot of time to make up.

That will start as soon as this meeting with Frederick is over.”

He squeezed her hand and held her gaze.

“I know you believe him to be a decent man. I knew him years

ago when he took your mother away from me. He is not who he

seems, Sam. Do not trust him for a minute. He was the reason your

mother and I couldn’t be together, why I had to stay in the shadows

during your upbringing, and why your mother is nowhere to be

found.”

Sam swallowed hard. The question immediately sprang into her

mind.

“What did happen to my mother?”

She felt Al’s instant emotion of turmoil and emptiness.

“She disappeared, and Frederick told the family that she had

died.”

“Do you believe this is true?”

He was silent a moment as if contemplating his words, and Sam

wished she could hear his thoughts.

“If she is dead, then I believe that Frederick is responsible.”

Sam felt her eyes widen at his accusation. Was it his emotions, his

loss of a lover to another man, that made him say such a thing, or

could the possibility be true?

They were silent.

“I can only tell you what I recall as a child. My earliest

recollection of my mother was her holding me and the way she

smelled. Then she was gone and Frederick had different child care

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providers as I was growing up. I had trainers, teachers, and private

instructors of all kinds. By the time I was twelve, I was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and other forms of martial arts. I could speak five

languages which I am still able to speak today. I believe he was

training me for something.”

“Sabe o idioma dos seus antepasados e da palabra falada do

círculo de anciáns?”

She looked toward him as he asked if she knew the language of

the circle of elders, which was Gaelic, and instantly responded back in Gaelic.

“É unha das miñas linguas favoritas. Peguei nel rapidamente e

meu pai estaba satisfeito.”

She told him it was a language she had picked up on very quickly

and that her father was very pleased.

“He may have thought that you could become a ruler if you were

to mate with the right wolf. However, when you couldn’t shift by

your twenty-first birthday, he had given up hope. It shows his self-

centeredness and his true reasons for forcing your mother to mate

with him.”

Sam felt sick to her stomach as she held herself, wrapping an arm

around her waist. Suddenly she recalled little comments and

conversations her father had with others over the years.

He was insistent that she work out, study, and train for hours.

When she met Alex and Ted, she strayed from her studies without

him knowing, but her skills were rusty when he tested her. He always

tested her at dinner or when she first woke up in the morning. It kept her on edge and ready to respond on an instant’s notice. She had

forgotten about all of that. Her focus had grown over the wellness of

her two best friends Ted and Alex.

“I’m so sorry that I didn’t try to take you away from Frederick. I

had no idea he was doing these things to you. I thought I was

protecting you, Sam.”

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“You were protecting me the best way you knew how. I had Alex

and Ted beside me for many years. They helped me to get through all

that intensity.”

“Yes, but Frederick feared your involvement with them.”

“He feared that I would end up with Ted or Alex or both. He

expressed his anger and disappointment in me for falling in love with

them.”

Just then she sensed Ted entering the room. She was embarrassed

that he heard her words of love for him and his brother although

something told her he already knew how she felt.

“We should have taken you away from Frederick when we had the

chance. We thought we were doing the right thing,” Ted stated,

moving further into the room and closer to Sam and Al.

She smiled at him.

“The decisions we have all made have brought us here now,

together.”

He moved closer and held her gaze. Sam felt her wolves and their

cousins begin to enter the room as well.

“Alex and I could have saved you then. If we had mated, then you

wouldn’t be going through such sadness and pain right now.”

“You don’t know that, Ted. Besides, you and Alex were not

meant to be my mates. You were meant to be my protectors. I will

always love you for that. I fear that if you both weren’t present in my life at the time I may have done something foolish to end it all.”

Ted’s eyes widened at her proclamation. She knew they all heard

her, but it was true. At one time or another in her life, she wondered why she even existed.

“I love you, too, Sam, and I will always be around to protect you.

Please be careful today. I know your wolves will explain how the

order works and what your responsibilities are as an Alpha female and

ruler, but always know that I am here for you. I will serve you as my

princess and my friend.” He bowed his head, took her hand into his

own, and kissed the top of it.

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Sam felt the tears fill her eyes then the realization that everyone

was staring at her.

“Well, are we ready?’ she asked as she glanced around the room

at all the men. They had the appearance of a small army. Most were

dressed in military fatigues or all in black. Her men the most

appealing to her eyes as she looked over each of them. The others left the room, including Al and Ted.

“There is still time to change your mind,” Trey whispered as he

placed a strong hand under her hair against her neck, as he pulled her to him.

“It has to be done. There are unanswered questions and things our

packs need to know.”

Trey smiled then kissed her.

He took her hand and led her out of the house and to the awaiting

SUVs.

* * * *

Dustin, Kyle, and Adam took position around the perimeter of

Frederick’s ranch. Ted and Al were with Team Two in the

surrounding woods as Sam, Trey, and Donny pulled up in front of the

ranch house.

They watched from a distance as Frederick greeted them. He was

alone, but Trey and Donny both sensed Samara. They equally felt on

guard as they entered the house.

* * * *

“I am pleased that you returned to me, Sammy. I apologize to

your mates for my blatant disrespect. I am human not wolf and don’t

fully understand how easily my comments insulted you.” Frederick

eyed them from head to toe, and Sam sensed her father’s anxiousness.

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“Our concern is our mate. You are her father and she loves you, so

we forgive the disrespectfulness this time,” Donny replied.

Frederick held Donny’s gaze then looked at his daughter. He took

her hand and smiled.

“Let’s go sit in the living room. Perhaps your men could remain

here so we can talk?” he suggested.

Sam looked at Donny and Trey.

“Would you mind? I haven’t seen my dad in too long.” She

pleaded with her eyes.

Donny and Trey held her gaze then looked at Frederick.

“We’ll be right here,” Donny replied, and Frederick took Sam into

the living room.

* * * *

“They are very protective of you.”

“I’ve come to realize that wolves, especially Alpha males, are

quite protective of what belongs to them.”

He looked her over, and she half felt as if he were disappointed

and half as if he were proud that she understood the men’s position.

“Are you happy with them? I mean, I had high hopes for you,

Sammy, and ending up with a small wolf pack was not one of them.”

“I am very happy with them, Father. They are not as small of a

pack as you may think. Not that I truly understand the hierarchy of

such things, but they tell me that their pack is very large and well

respected.”

“Yes, the Valdamar are respected, but how does their family feel

about their Alphas mating a human?”

She pretended embarrassment a moment, playing her role as

human, but she sensed her father’s disrespect.

She looked up at him with pretend tears in her eyes.

“They love me, Father. As I am certain you can relate to

considering that you are human and my mother was of the wolf.”

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His eyes widened at the mention of her mother. She had been

forbidden to ever mention Alexa.

“Your mother didn’t love you. She betrayed us both and left.

Wolves are to protect their young and nurture them. She didn’t bother

with that.”

“What really happened to my mother?”

He stared at her as if her question completely caught him off

guard. In her mind her wolves warned her to tread carefully.

“She is of no importance to you.”

“What do you mean ‘of no importance,’ Father? I have met her

parents. I have seen a portrait of her, which looked nothing like the woman in the picture I held all the years growing up. What happened

to her? Where did she go?”

“She’s gone, and it doesn’t matter. What matters now is your

destiny.”

She felt on guard and suddenly as if there was trouble outside. She

stood and looked toward the doorway.

“What’s going on?” she asked just as she felt her mates shift then

roars echo through the house. It was Donny who warned her to not

shift but remain in her human form.

“Enough of this nonsense talk!” Sam swung around at the sound

of a deep, strange voice.

She gasped as she saw a very large man with thick, black hair that

hugged his shoulders and bright blue eyes. The scar above his eye

made him look lethal and barbaric. She sensed his evilness and knew

he was bad.

“She is more beautiful in the flesh than in the pictures,” he stated,

walking toward her.

“Father?” she whispered, wondering who the hell this guy was.

She attempted to contact her mates and make them aware of the

man in the room, but they did not respond back. Fear made her belly

clench and tighten.

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The man towered over her. As he inhaled her scent, his eyes

began to glow, and she attempted to take a step away from him.

In a flash he held her wrist then pulled her to him.

“Precious little thing you are.” He eyed her breasts, as if he could

see through the material of the red tank dress she wore.

He inhaled again and squinted his eyes.

“Valdamar, huh?”

“She has begun the mating process, Fidelis,” Frederick stated, and

Samantha felt her insides quiver with trepidation. Fidelis was the

name of the elder the men had been concerned over. That name was

the same name that the creature stated when he attacked her in her

home. He had said that Fidelis won’t be happy. Her mind traveled in

numerous directions as she attempted to pull away from the man

holding her.

“Do not fight it, my mate. Embrace your destiny as we leave this

place and begin our journey.”

“What? I’m not going anywhere with you. Father?” she stated

then looked toward Frederick in hope that he was not in cahoots with