G H O S T R U N N E R

< E L E V E N >

© Amber Kalkes 2014

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< E L E V E N >

“I was thirteen when I first shifted.” Arden begins aware that all eyes are on her. She squirms a bit in her seat but tries her best to keep eye contact like the Alpha asked. “Up to that point I wasn’t really considered anything special. My parents weren’t of high rank in the pack but my grandfather was a good enforcer for the previous Alpha so we had some respect in that way.

Um…my daddy was a rogue and my mom was considered really beautiful. When they met while mom was doing her patrol route they did what any newly mated couples does when they find each other.” Arden blushes and clears her throat before continuing trying to ignore Sam’s gaze on her, “Soon after my mom became pregnant with me and my twin sister.”

“And where is this sister?” Alpha Hank asks.

Arden dips her head, “She’s dead, Alpha. I was given the gene while she was not. She was born prematurely at three months while I came out full term.”

“Oh,” Alpha Neema sniffles, “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Arden gives the tearful woman a small sad smile, “It’s okay. I didn’t know her and my parents never blamed me for her death. I was raised with loving parents and as time passed I learned the ways of the pack. The Alpha was always separated from us and we never really saw his family much but we knew he had a mate and a son. We just never saw them.

When I was nine my mother brought home Farah. She was fourteen and was a runaway from her strictly religious parents who thought she was unnatural since they were both human. Anyway, she was the first friend I had since the Alpha discouraged children playing or making too much noise. Farah had left the pack for a bit to go on her mate search when she turned eighteen, like most do, so she wasn’t there when I shifted.”

Sam squeezes her hand when she begins to shake and she takes a deep breath before continuing on with her story. This part she always hated the most. This was when everything changed and Arden was tossed into hell.

“The Alpha took note of my coat color since it was tradition for the Alpha to be present at every first shift. The next day, he came to my house and demanded my parents give me to him. My father and mother refused despite it being an Alpha order.

When the Alpha tried to take me by force my mother attacked and her throat was…ripped out. My father fell into shock and grief from the loss of my mother and his soul mate. He couldn’t function, couldn’t even blink without agony and with his wolf as broken as it was, he was easier for the Alpha to banish. I was taken away from everything I knew immediately and brought into the underground cells.”

Arden feels a tear fall down her face but she refuses to acknowledge it knowing that what she shares next could affect her relationship with Sam. He doesn’t know how damaged she really is from her treatment in Blue Bay and she fears he will be disgusted with her as much as she is with herself. She didn’t fight them as hard as she should have and despite her wolfs assurances that she is not to blame, Arden can’t let the shame she feels go.

“Do you need a break, Honey?” Alpha Neema asks kindly.

Arden shakes her head and takes a few cleansing breaths. She’s about to speak again when she hears Sam move his chair closer to her and feels his warm arm as it goes around her shoulders. His lips lay a sweet kiss on her temple and she looks up at him to see him gazing down at her with concern.