Protecting the Wolf's Mate (Blood Moon Brotherhood 3)

Finn grinned, nodding. “Not the most assuring answer, considering you’re the one who knows her the best.”

“Only because I don’t treat her like she’s the enemy.” Hollis brows rose. “Not that I blame her for being guarded.”

“Agreed,” Finn said. “Do you think she’ll want to know about Florida? We have a lead, someone who used to work with Cyrus. Looks like he’s trying to bring something in from Cuba—maybe more girls. Hopefully not. Either way, there will be a raid.”

Hollis digested this news. Every time he thought about some young girl getting kidnapped and sold off to the highest bidder—girls who were pure and innocent—he wanted to hurt something or someone. Badly. Preferably Cyrus.

Ellen had given them the information that started dismantling the trafficking ring. It was important to her. He nodded. “She’ll want to know.”

“She seems restless. More than usual. Has she mentioned leaving again?” Finn asked, sighing. “I’m trying to understand why she wants to go back to the Others.”

“Her reasons are her own. Meaning, I only know what she tells me.” One of the things he’d come to accept about Ellen was once her mind was made up, there wasn’t much anyone could do to change it. Still, he agreed with Finn, her drive to return to their rival pack made no sense.

Finn sighed. “No matter how badly they treated her, if we’re wrong and she is part of their pack—”

“She’s not,” Hollis said. “Her eyes say as much.” All of the Others had near-colorless eyes. Making their kind immediately recognizable. Ellen’s eyes were vibrant and mismatched. She wasn’t an Other.

Finn was watching him. “Then why was she with them?”

“Like I said, I know what she wants me to know.” He shook his head. “It’s possible her situation there was no different than the girls we’ve saved.” But knowing she’d been born a wolf made that less likely. Even young, trying to enslave a wolf would be dangerous.

Finn frowned, his gaze sweeping the trees and the mountains beyond. “Those scars. They did that to her?” Finn’s question was one he’d often wondered about.

He thought about her dreams, the words that slipped from her lips. “I think so.”

Finn’s hands tightened on the porch railing. “Will she be safe if she goes back?”

“Is anyone saf

e with the Others?” He paused. He kept nothing from his Alpha. “There’s something you should know.” He glanced behind them, making sure they were alone. “She has no bite scar.”

Finn frowned. “She’s covered in scars.”

“But not an origination bite. Nothing like what we have.”

Finn’s stared at him, stunned. “You’re saying she was born into this, like Diana and Oscar? To a pack that wasn’t the Others. There are more?” He blew out a long slow breath. “Are you fucking kidding me? How is that possible?”

“I stopped asking that question ten years ago.” He shook his head. “Her pack is a mystery to her, too. She says she doesn’t know.”

“How can she not?” Finn’s eyes narrowed. “She’s keeping a lot of secrets, Hollis. I don’t want one of them to come back and bite us on the ass.”

Which was a fair point. “If her plan was to annihilate us, why wait? She’s had plenty of time and opportunities. I agree she has secrets. But do you blame her? Her scars say a hell of a lot about her past. And when you found her, she was beaten to a bloody pulp protecting Jessa from the Others.” He glanced at his Alpha. “Preserving the species is more important than anything to her. Which means she’d never endanger our pack. I believe that.” His eyes locked with his Alpha’s, hoping to drive his point home.

Was Ellen difficult? Hell yes. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t on their side. Mal was difficult as fuck and he was Finn’s right hand. Finn’s nod was enough for him to go on. “Besides, why tell us something that might put her in a vulnerable position. Or, possibly, give us an edge she doesn’t want us to have? She’s evasive, but she’s not a liar.”

“You think we should convince her to stay?”

“I’m not the Alpha,” he argued.

“No, you’re not. But I respect your opinion. And I want it.”

Hollis drew in a deep breath. She distracted him far too much, stirred something inside he wasn’t comfortable with—something primal and beyond his control. But she’d become a member of this pack, one he considered essential, if infuriating. He couldn’t picture the future without her in it. He didn’t want to. And he sure as hell didn’t want to think about what might happen to her once she was alone and unprotected. “She’s safe here. Not that she sees it that way. I’m not sure there’s a way to get her to agree to stay.”

“Dammit,” he ground out. “Agreement or not, she leaves and goes back to them—she dies. I can’t willingly send her to her death. For one thing, Jessa would never forgive me. She believes Ellen is the reason she’s stayed alive—surrounded by wolves.”

“She’s probably right,” he agreed. “Ellen knows more than any of us about what we are.”

Finn nodded. “But she doesn’t trust us enough to share.”