Her Daughter

HD ~ Chapter Eighteen

So I've kind of realized that being MIA for two or so years has caused me to lose a good portion of my fan base. But I'm not giving up on this because I have big plans for this book and then finishing The False Mate and working on re-writing and editing TLSW books 1 & 2 (any maybe What the She-Wolf Wants) before working on some new things.

Basically I'll be busy for my last free summer before I graduate and start working full time.

Wish me luck!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Felicity

Zach found me a few minutes after Cole left. I was sitting against the tree Christopher had pinned me against less than an hour ago. After my conversation with Cole, it felt like a lifetime ago.

He crouched down next to me and gathered me into his arms. I cried against him chest for a long time, mourning my mate as if he died. Based on how I felt, he might as well have. The one person I was destined to be with abandoned me for a fight he would never win. What did that say about me?

When I finally had the energy to move out of Zach's embrace, I apologized and thanked him. He told me it was "no big deal." But it was. It said a lot about the kind of friend he was and the type of mate he would become if he ever got out of this mess. If anything, he deserved to have the happy ending I couldn't.

"I just feel defeated," I said to him a moment later. "All my life I've been fighting this battle and it's finally over. And I lost." I sat against the tree and Zach sat cross-legged beside me. I rested my head against his shoulder. "I don't know what to do now."

Zach wrapped his arm around me shoulders. "Come back to the house for tonight," he said. "We can figure out where to go from there in the morning."

I bit the inside of my cheek, knowing it would kill me to see Cole now. I also might physically get killed based on the events that led up to that conversation. I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him. "No one wants me there, Zach. I thought the accepted me being there, but apparently that was just on the surface. They were only afraid of Cole. If given the chance, they'd kill me in a heartbeat."

He gave me a sad smile. "Not all of them. I mean, Oliver wouldn't hurt a fly. Jack and Dustin think you're hilarious. Declan adores you," he paused. "And you're probably the closest friend I have in there."

Despite the crappy situation, I couldn't help but smile at his words. Zach would never know how grateful I was for his friendship. Since I was younger, I only had a handful of friends and most of them only stuck around me because Alex was hot or a pack member wanted to gain favor with my mother and used their kid to do it. Genuine friendship had always been a foreign concept to me.

"Then you'll protect me?" I asked playfully.

Zach shrugged. "From what I heard, you don't really need my protection. You took care of yourself pretty well back there."

"Barely," I snorted, remembering when that unknown assailant held me back for Christopher. "I might be able to fend off one guy for a few moments, but a whole house of them for an entire night is a different story."

"Either way, you'll make it."

I sighed. What else did I have to lose at this point? "Okay. Let's go then."

Zach stood up and helped me to my feet. Together we walked through the trees, trying to force out light conversation. When that didn't work, we just talked about my plans for tomorrow.

My plans were pretty basic. I had some cash saved from when I'd left home weeks ago. I'd use it to take a train to a city or town somewhere south from here. I'd find a place to stay for a while and get a job that would employ a seventeen-year-old girl and build a life from there. Hopefully one without any wolves. One where I could forget about my past.