Janella's Patrician

Chapter 26

Not edited.

"What..." Cam looked from Ethan to his father. The surprise he felt as he saw his father kneeling showed on his face "Dad?"

"Kneel Cameron."

Paul was in awe of who Sander really was. A warrior patrician of noble birth. An ancient in the werewolf community. A force like no other.

"But Dad..."

"Just kneel Cameron. You have no choice." Paul looked up and around him. To see people standing had him drawing in a sharp breath. "ALL OF YOU KNEEL.. NOW!"

A collective sound of rustling clothes marked those who had been standing to now be kneeling... except Cam. He fought the Alpha command for as long as he could but his wolf soon forced his hand.

He knelt.

"Sander?" Nellie looked up at her mate in surprise and his eyes shone back at her with love and admiration.

"Beautiful Janella. You are the mate to a warrior patrician. You are now and always will be a foreboding entity in the werewolf world."

"What does that mean?"

"It means little one, you are a Goddess with many powers at your command. You, my darling mate, are destined to rule over the Gods and all who lay beneath it."

"Nellie? What's he talking about?" Cameron's voice peaked as he spoke.

Nellie shook her head. "I have no idea. Sander?"

"Little one... many years ago, long before you were born, the moon goddess and the god of thunder joined in their own mateship. As they were unable to unite physically there was a time when psychic forces joined the pair in another realm. It was during that time when their strengths and abilities were heightened. Some, not so nice ones, were also heightened and with time they became evil. The god of thunder took those on himself so that when the time came for him and the goddess to join in human form they would only pass on the very best and purest of hearts."

She looked at him and found his eyes drawing her in further. The shade of violet they were as they looked at her was less intense now but still extremely powerful in the message they were displaying.

"You... you are the purest heart little one."

"What? My mum..."

Sander shook his head with a now solemn face.

"I'm sorry..."

"Wait!" Marjorie moved quickly forward "Let me."

She wrapped her arms around Janella and held her close. Tears formed as she sought the words she always feared.

"Sweetheart" she spoke softly in her ear "what I'm about to tell you is confusing and..."

Nellie pulled back suddenly. Her hand jerked on Hannah's hand and with quick action she lent down and picked up the child and whispered her sorries for what ever pain Hannah felt.

She shook her head as her mother went to speak again. She knew what she was going to say. She knew! She didn't understand why the secrecy or the lies. A lie by omission is still a lie and Nellie felt like a large part of her had died inside. Her heart felt gripped and almost tortured as she gasped for breath and buried her head into Hannah's hair.

"Nellie..." Cam stood up and stopped as Sander growled a forceful growl that vibrated through his very bones. He ignored Sander and took a step closer "Nellie... I don't understand what's going on here but if you need a friend I'm here."

"She doesn't need you little boy! How dare you deem yourself worthy of speaking to such a beautiful queen after what you've done?" Sander handed Alex to West and prepared to take on Cameron in any way he needed to protect and guard his beautiful Nellie.

"I don't. Well, I would like to think that we could be friends like we were once." Cam stood tall and looked with an aching heart at Janella. Her life had been a mass of suffering because of him and now, when the realisation of who Sander actually was sunk in he accepted that Nellie wasn't his. For whatever reason they were second chance mates and he even blew that. Sander was Nellie's true mate.

"I don't think so little boy" Sander snarled as claws started to appear from his fingers and hair bristled across his neck.

"I know she's yours."

Nellie lifted her head and stared at Cam in just as much surprise as the others surrounding him.

"Cameron? What are you talking about?" his father stood and waited for an answer.

"When... when I was looking for a way to bring Nellie home I spent a lot of time searching the library. Sander is a warrior patrician.. no... he is the warrior patrician. He has one mate and one mate only. I don't know why he got Holly or why Nellie got me but..." he paused as he remembered the text he'd read "A warrior patrician is a leader, a lover and a protector to the Goddess with the purest heart... well, that's Janella. Sander and Nellie are mates, true mates and no matter what happens in between, whether together or apart, on the day that either takes their last breath the other will as well. Their destined to greatness and..."

"Well done Cameron" Sander's body quickly shifted back to its full human form. "Yes. Janella is my true mate."

"... and Lily's mine." Cameron said as if closing the matter before turning and walking towards his mate and his children..He turned back suddenly and looked at Nellie.

"I'm sorry. Truly sorry for everything."

Nellie simply nodded. Her voice lost to fhe large and growing lump in her throat.

Her mother... Marjorie... reached out to her and she stepped back with a frown and shook her head as she did so.

"No. I know what you're going to say and I don't want ro hear it. Not now. Not ever!"

She looked at Sander who chose that moment to return Ethan to the control.

Ethan took a large step forward and with his arms around both his mate and his daughter he promised they would get through this together.