LOST HOPE (COMPLETED)

CH 6- HOME

The males held my arms and when they got close to the pack house they slid on shorts and one of them threw a long t- shirt at me which I was thankful for and I slid it over my head quickly.

I was taken to a set of steps that went to a door built into the ground. Fear struck my heart. I started pulling hard against them. "No! Don't lock me up! Please!" I was strong but the two males quickly got me under control and forced me into the hallway that lead down to the cells. Tears rolled down my face. "You said I was going to talk to the alpha. Don't lock me up! I'm claustrophobic! Please, I'm begging you!"

Jerod looked at Jaxon and nodded. I was tossed into the cell and it was closed on me. The lock clicked in place and I looked at the bed in the cell and started shaking in anger as I tried to calm my wolf down.

"You're an asshole! Let me the fuck out of here! I'll kick your ass!" I paced back and forth for a few minutes angrily. My wolf was growling and barking in my ears while I paced the small cell fuming. My eyes were glowing with my wolf's rage. My alpha blood was humming loud and clear.

Wiping my tears I decided that I needed to calm down and toughen up or I was toast. No fear! I couldn't afford to show fear or I would break, again. I know if I break again there would be no coming back from it. I saw the male's eyes cloud over as he spoke to someone again. Not recognizing the mind link for what it was I asked him.

"Why do your eyes cloud over like that for just a minute or two?"

He stared at me for a moment in surprise. "Seriously? How can you not know about mindlinking?" I didn't answer him. Annoyed, I sat down.

The alpha entered the cells. He was a tall, well built male. I was intimidated slightly by the power rolling off of him. This was the alpha. When he got to the cell he looked up, unlocked the cell, came inside and stood in front of me. After a moment he looked at me more closely. "Stand up." I stood up and stared at him stubbornly. He reached out and took my chin in his hand and turned my head from side to side. "Lauren." He muttered under his breath.

"What is your name girl?" I was a bit bewildered at the question. Unsure why it mattered to him I spoke up clearly.

"Hope Annalise W. but everyone calls me Cherry."

"The W stands for Woodson." He replied, smiling a little sadly.

The alpha's eyes softened. "By the Goddess, thank you for bringing her home." I was suddenly hugged so tightly that I shrieked in surprise. Loosening his hold on me, he said, "You look exactly like your mother, Hope."

"You know my mother?" I asked taken aback from the sudden turn of events.

He nodded sadly. "Yes, I did."

I caught the sadness in his eyes and looked at the younger alpha who entered the cell. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. My wolf rumbled in my chest. "Cousin Hope! I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you. You have no idea how long we have been looking for you." The younger male said. I smile. They had been looking for me. Someone cared about me, about where I had been, and what I had gone through.

"Your father was my older brother, the former alpha of this pack. Your mother was his mate." My uncle said and put his arm around my shoulders. The three of us walked out of the cells and into the pack house. Noticing the past tense but too scared to know the answers to my questions, I didn't ask about my parents yet.

After dinner I was shown to my room. Clothes were brought in from some of the other girls who are of similar size. My Aunt Sherry, the Luna, offered to take me shopping the next day after school. When Jaxon opened the door for me I stepped in and looked around in amazement. It is a standard bedroom 12x10 with a decent size closet and an attached bathroom. I took in the long dresser, the desk and the king size bed. The room was done in a deep mauve with accents in white. It was the most beautiful room I had ever seen.

I couldn't help it, I wiped the tears from my face. I hadn't slept in a real bed in over two years. I was almost afraid that it was a cruel joke. My voice was almost a whisper as I asked Jaxon. "Is this really all for me?"

Realizing that I had had a difficult life with nothing of my own till now he smiled and put his hand on my shoulder for reassurance. "It's all yours lil cuz. Anything you need we'll make sure you get and hopefully some of the things you want too." When I turned in his arms I hugged him tightly and nodded.

"Thank you. I'm going to go take a shower." Jaxon nodded at me.

"Sounds good. I'll have one of the girls bring you something to sleep in and some clothes for you to pick through for school tomorrow." I nodded and the door shut quietly behind me. I walked over to the bed and touched the material of the comforter and realized it was a satiny material. I felt the softness under my fingertips and smiled with tears in my eyes.

I spent most of the next hour in the shower. I had been bathing in lakes and streams or in the rain for a very long time. It had been at least two months since the last time I shifted to my skin. The shampoo and conditioner were a blessing, I washed my hair three times scrubbing my scalp almost raw. I got out and found a brush in the bathroom drawer and many other necessities, toothbrushes and toothpaste, razors and tweezers. By the time I had shaved, plucked, detangled, and brushed my body, my hair and my teeth I was exhausted. I wrapped a towel around myself and went back into my room to find a stack of clothes with a nightgown on top. Five minutes later I was sound asleep in the most comfortable bed that I had ever been in.