Forget Me Not (Book 3 of Acceptance Series)

Prologue- Sam's POV- 13 years ago

"Mama!" my five-year-old son exclaimed, running towards me with his best friend and mate, Serenity, following him. Laughter filled his eyes, and I couldn't help but smile at them tiredly. "Help! Please! She is going to get me!"

I smiled at them and caught Serenity as she ran by me. "Got ya," I said, and she laughed and squirmed in my hold. "Oh no, you don't," I warned, and she stopped moving. "Why are you chasing my son?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because he called me ugly," Serenity replied, pouting.

"Did not," my son, TJ, said, walking over to us. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at the brown haired blue eyed female in my arms. Wisdom filled his eyes, making him look much older than the five-year-old boy I knew. "You are far from ugly. You can't be ugly if you want to hang out with me."

"Thomas Junior!" I exclaimed, shocked, and amused. "Ex-cuse me? What do you mean by that?"

TJ looked at me with wide eyes. His face turned red, with his ears turning red first. "I-I mean," he began. He shifted on his feet and glanced at his best friend for help. He knew better than to call people ugly because looks were not as important as someone's heart.

"Was it love at first sight with you and Alpha Thomas?" Serenity asked, changing the subject from where my son had taken it. She squirmed more in my arms, and I could tell that she wanted me to put her down.

"Something like that," I replied, setting her on her feet. "It was more of our parents being best friends, and we ended up being best friends before finding out that we were mates."

"Can you tell us about being the White Wolf?" Serenity asked, cocking her head. "You found out when you were sixteen. Right?"

I nodded and glanced around to see Serenity's parents looking for her. Anger and annoyance filled my body, and I knew it was because they would take her away from my son. "Yes," I said, looking down at the two of them. I kept my emotions in check because I didn't want them to get upset. "I was considered ugly before then, Thomas Junior, which is why I did not like that comment." I nudged him when he came closer to me. "Besides, beauty isn't always about the way you look on the outside," I added.

"Are you beautiful, Mama?" TJ asked with such innocence that it made my heart hurt.

"Well..." I said, moving a strand of blonde hair behind my ear. I wanted to say that I wasn't; I really did. After all that I had been through, the scars that covered my body and my soul told me that I wasn't. I knew that it was all on me, but for some reason, I couldn't help but think that I wasn't. "We-"

"Serenity," a male said, going over to her and was followed by his mate. He narrowed his eyes at my son and me. "What did I tell you not to do?"

Serenity clamped up and looked down. Her whole body was tense, and I could tell that she did not like him at all. "Not to go over to him," she replied, tucking her hands behind her back. "But, Papa h-"

"No," he interrupted. "Go back to the house. We are leaving today. Remember?"

TJ tried to growl like a wolf and stood in front of Serenity. "She is not going," he said, folding his arms across his chest. His whole body was tense, and I could tell that he wanted to punch him. He did not like it that this man was taking away his mate, and to be honest, I didn't like it either.

The male, Damon, narrowed his eyes at my son. Disgust resonated off of him in waves, and I couldn't help but bite my lip to keep in a growl. "Oh, I outta..." he growled out, and I growled a small warning. He glanced at me when I did, fear flickering through his eyes.

"TJ, let her go," I said. I narrowed my eyes at my son when he didn't move. "Now," I warned, and he instantly backed away from her. "Go back to the house. I'll meet you there."

"Bu-" He shut his mouth when I gave him a look and nodded. "Yes, Ma'am," he said before he started to walk away.

I turned to look at the couple, studying them. I knew that they were working for him, for the man that had "bested" me all those years ago, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to save them, to let their daughter have the life she deserved or let them go in hopes of finding the main man or have them killed. "Don't leave," I warned, knowing full well that my hands were tied. "I won't be able to save you if you do."

Damon snorted and rolled his eyes. "Like we need saving from the likes of you," he spat, and I blinked slowly. "You should've died with your parents."

I bristled but didn't say anything about that. I knew that if I did, then I was going to go in full "Alpha" mode, which I did not need right now. "Kathleen," I said, talking to the female. I could tell that she had been debating on whether or not to listen to her mate, but I knew that the bond between a female and male was strong. "Please, for your and your daughter's sake, don't follow him."

Kathleen looked at me and then at her mate. Debate filled in her eyes, and I could tell that she really wanted to go with me. She knew that I could save them from whatever trap her mate had placed them in. "I-I-" she began only to stop talking when Damon placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Do not talk to my mate," he warned, baring his teeth at me.

I bit back a growl and narrowed my eyes at them. "You have had your last warning. Next time, I will not be forgiving." I looked at Serenity, who was staring at me with her big blue eyes. My heart ached when I saw tears in them, but I knew that I couldn't take her away from them. I only had a hunch and no physical evidence of what I had been trying to say. The hunch was enough for Cason, but it was not enough for the Council. "I will see you soon," I said, offering her a small smile.

"Please, don't let them take me," she whimpered. She tried to come towards me, but her father wouldn't allow her. "No," she cried out, reaching towards me. "Sam!" she whimpered as he started to lead her away. "TJ!"

I looked down and clenched my fists together. Tears pricked my eyes, but I made sure that they wouldn't see me cry. My Wolf wanted me to get her, but both of us knew that we couldn't, not yet at least.

"Sam!" Serenity screamed one last time before she was silent.

I lifted my head when she was gone and looked at the trees to see Addama's wolf watching me. My bottom lip quivered, but I kept a tight rein on my emotions. I didn't need to burst into tears, which would happen when I was safe in the arms of the man that I loved. "I hope you are right," I muttered, and the wolf nodded. "If not, then I will find a way to kill you."

Addama smirked tiredly. She knew that I made a pointless threat because the only way she could die was when she needed to "transform." It was the "Ambagie Curse," as she used to tell me.

I took a deep breath and looked the way that the little girl was taken. "Goddess," I whispered, the breeze moving through my blonde hair and in the direction of where the family had gone. "Protect her until I can protect her again. Make sure she never forgets my son."