Redemption
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Redemption is the final book in The Lacey Hannigan Series
Cole is missing and everyone is certain that he's dead. That is, everyone but Lacey. She refuses to give up hope even after two weeks of searching. As the days pass, she becomes more depressed. And her powers become more unstable. The trust she had with Jesse has been broken. She knows he's hiding something from her and has vowed to find out what. But will learning the truth about what he's done send her over the edge of sanity? Will the residents of the Black Hills Mountain pack survive her wrath when all the secrets and lies are revealed? Someone close to Lacey will die...who will it be?
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Redemption - Elaine Pierson
Redemption
By
Elaine Pierson
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2014 Elaine Pierson
License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, people or places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Lacey Hannigan Novels
Growl
Change
Redemption
Other books by Elaine Pierson
Summer’s Curse
Visit the author’s website: elainepiersonbooks.com for information about upcoming books
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Bonus Novella: United
CHAPTER ONE
Cole looked around the tiny, dilapidated room that had become his prison. The rotten walls of the cabin looked as if they were barely able to hold the roof up. The room was dark even though he was pretty sure it was daylight outside, but since his days and nights ran together, he wasn’t sure anymore. If it wasn’t for Jesse’s daily visits to torture him with unwanted information, he wouldn’t even know how long he’d been there. His last count had been nine days but it seemed like forever since the last time Jesse was there.
He looked at his hands chained to the metal-framed bed post above his head, and winced. There was no longer skin covering the flesh of his wrist. It had been rubbed raw from where he had pulled relentlessly against the chains. He was now so used to the pain that it didn’t even bother him much anymore. He let his gaze fall to his broken body laid out on the tiny, twin sized mattress.
All of the superficial wounds he had sustained in his fall had healed. The cuts and bruises were no longer visible. And the gash across his abdomen was now nothing more than a nasty scar. But his legs weren’t as lucky. Both of them had been broken when he fell over the cliff. Without being braced to ensure proper healing, the broken bone in his left leg didn’t heal correctly. It reconnected at an odd angle leaving him with a crooked leg. His right leg wasn’t as bad, but it too hadn’t healed properly. The thought of walking with a limp crossed Cole’s mind and caused a low growl to rise in his throat.
He heard the cabin door squeak open, alerting him to Jesse’s arrival. His jaw clenched tightly to hold in the string of profanities he wanted to hurl at him for waiting so long to come back. He desperately needed the small amount of water that Jesse had been bringing to him whenever he visited. His throat was dry and his lips were cracked from lack of moisture.
Jesse never brought food - he wanted to keep Cole weak so that he couldn’t shift into his wolf form - but he almost always brought water. Cole listened as footsteps echoed through the empty cabin, getting closer. The door to his room eased opened and Jesse stepped inside with a huge grin on his face.
What the hell took you so long?
Cole growled.
Jesse lifted his dark brows. Don’t tell me that you missed having me around?
he said, sarcastically.
Cole jerked against the chains around his wrists and growled, Hell no I didn’t miss you, asshole. I need water.
Jesse smiled as he crossed the room and opened the bottle of water he had in his hand. Bottoms up,
he said and poured it into Cole’s open mouth.
After choking on the first couple of swallows, Cole chugged the water down. When the bottle was empty, Jesse dropped it to the floor and sat down on the make-shift seat by the bed, which was nothing more than a five gallon bucket that he had turned upside down to sit on.
Bracing himself for what was about to come, Cole turned his head away with his eyes closed. He knew what was going to happen now. It was what he hated most about Jesse’s visits, when he had to listen to him talk about Lacey. He normally tried not to think about her because it hurt too much. But whenever Jesse was there, he didn’t have a choice but to think about her. And every time he did, his already broken heart shattered even more.
He hated hearing about how easily Lacey had accepted his so-called death. According to Jesse, she never even bothered to look for his body. In a way, he couldn’t blame her for not trying to find him. After all, she did see him fall over a hundred feet into the deadly water that raged through the mountain. But he had hoped that she would at least look for him.
The memory of the last time he saw her popped into his mind like it did a million times a day. The agony and devastation on her face as she looked down at him with tears streaming down her cheeks caused a massive ache in the center of his chest. He knew that he broke her heart when he let go of her arm, maybe that was why she didn’t look for him...because he had hurt her. At least that was what he told himself to get through each day.
Believing that she didn’t bother to look for him because she was angry was better than believing the alternative...that she had already forgotten about him and moved on with Jesse. Cole knew that she still loved him. She had already admitted that she still had feelings for Jesse the night she agreed to become his mate. And knowing that made hearing the things Jesse told him hurt even more.
So, are you ready for today’s report, brother? It’s a doozy and I don’t think you’re going to like it. But I’m sure as hell going to love telling it to you
Jesse said with a sadistic grin.
Cole remained silent. It never did any good to protest hearing how in love Jesse and Lacey were. The first couple of days after he woke up in his prison, he threw major fits whenever Jesse mentioned Lacey’s name. He cussed, yanked on his chains and even threatened to decapitate Jesse. But none of it did any good. Jesse just laughed and kept on talking.
Cole didn’t even bother to fight hearing what he had to say anymore. There was nothing he could do to stop Jesse from talking and he knew it. So instead of wasting what little strength and energy he had left in fighting a losing battle, he kept his face turned away and stared at the wall across the dark room and waited for his daily torture to begin.
"As you know Lacey and I have gotten really close lately" Jesse said. Cole’s body tensed. The muscles in his arms flexed as he balled his hands into fists above his head. The chains dug into his flesh. The sound of his teeth grinding against each other could be heard in the silence of the cabin.
Jesse smiled and continued, We’ve pretty much picked up right where we left off before you stole her from me and forced her to come here with you. Anyway, I want you to be the first to know that she has agreed to become my mate. In a week or so, we will be mated. And after that, I’ll put an end to your suffering just like I promised.
Cole tried to keep the despair from his voice as he spoke, why don’t you just kill me now and get it over with?
He’d rather be dead than have to smell Lacey’s scent mixed with Jesse’s and know that he truly had lost her forever. Just the thought of it hurt so bad that he felt as if his chest was caving in on him.
Jesse smirked. "Oh no, you’re not getting off the hook that easy. I’m enjoying myself way too much to kill you now. I had to go through weeks of hell knowing that the woman I loved was with you. Not knowing what you were doing with her drove me crazy day after day. Now it’s your turn to know what that feels like. The only difference is you will know what I’m doing with her because I’m going to share every dirty detail with you. I want you to suffer knowing that Lacey will be sharing my bed very soon."
Cole couldn’t take it anymore. An image of Lacey and Jesse in bed together flashed in his mind. He jerked against the chains that bound him to the bed. With his nostrils flared, he pierced Jesse with a hate-filled glare. The veins in his neck protruded as he yelled, You son-of-a-bitch! Lay one finger on her and you’re a dead man!
he threatened.
Jesse laughed, Too late for that. I haven’t been able to keep my hands off of her. I love the softness of her skin and the way she blushes when I brush my lips softly over hers.
Cole growled out loud, deep lines creased his forehead. Jesse laughed before standing up to leave. I can see that I’ve shared enough of my love life with you for one day.
He crossed the room and stopped by the bedroom door. I might not be back for a day or so, you know how it is when you have a woman at home who needs you. It’s hard to get away sometimes. But I’m sure you’ll be fine on your own, won’t you?
Just get the hell out!
Cole snarled.
Jesse walked out and slammed the door behind him. Once outside of the cabin, he made sure to lock the door before placing the veil of bushes and tree limbs back in front of the entrance. He stepped back from the cabin and surveyed his work.
The old hunters lodge was completely hidden from view with the decade’s worth of wild bushes and weeds that grew up the sides and over the top. The extra foliage and tree limbs that Jesse had placed around it added to its camouflage. The cabin was basically invisible. It looked like a large mass of bushes, much like other areas of the mountain. No one would know a cabin was there even if they passed right by it. Jesse took one last look to make sure the door of the cabin was completely covered before leaving.
The smile that he’d worn while talking with Cole instantly vanished. His lips set into a hard line. He wished that what he’d told his brother was true, that Lacey and he were going to be mated. That she still loved him. But it was nothing more than a lie to break Cole’s spirit and make him suffer. The truth was he was no closer to winning Lacey back now than he’d been when he first arrived on the mountain. And with each day that passed, he grew more frustrated...and desperate.
*****
Cole steamed with fury as he stared at the door where Jesse had been standing a few minutes earlier. His chest heaved with every labored breath he took. He had never hated his brother more than he did at that moment. The thought of Jesse kissing Lacey and holding her in his arms, ripped him apart inside. And it put him into a murderous state of mind. A feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time, not since Lacey came into his life.
Different images of how he wanted to kill Jesse played out in his mind, but none of them seemed to satisfy the rage building inside him. They were just thoughts in his head, not reality. The reality of the situation was that he was trapped and Jesse was free to do whatever he wanted. Cole let out a guttural growl and pulled as hard as he could against the chains on his wrists, but just like the hundreds of other times he’d done so, nothing happened.
He let his head fall back to the mattress, feeling defeated. The chains used to secure him were the same kind that he had used to keep his newbie werewolves in line. They were unbreakable, even for him. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, and as soon as he did, Lacey’s face popped into his mind. Her long blond hair shimmered in the sunlight as her blue eyes stared at him. She smiled and Cole’s chest grew tight. Oh, Lacey
he whispered to himself.
The sound of his own voice brought him out of his daydream. He opened his eyes, lifted his upper lip into a snarl and shook his head from side to side. I won’t let Jesse have you
he said, Lacey’s face still fresh in his mind. I’ll never let that happen.
Since the day he woke up chained to the bed and realized that he couldn’t get free, he had pretty much accepted the fact that he was going to die, and that Jesse had won. And up until now, there was nothing he could do about it. In the beginning, his wounds had prevented him from attempting any kind of escape. But that wasn’t the case anymore. Most of his wounds had healed and now that the threat of actually losing Lacey forever seemed like a real possibility, he was more determined than ever to find a way to escape and get back to her. To fight for her.
He glanced up at the chains around his wrists once more before dropping his eyes to his lower body. There was nothing he could do about the chains, but his legs were a different story. Knowing that both his legs had been broken, Jesse didn’t bother to secure them. But even though they were free, Cole hadn’t tried to move them at all. The fear of seeing his legs move in an unnatural way or worst, not moving at all, had prevented him from testing his ability to use them. But now he realized that his legs were his only hope of ever getting out of there.
Cole clenched his jaw tightly and ground his teeth together as he stared at his legs and forced all the strength he had into trying to move them. They felt heavy and weird, like they didn’t belong on his body. Inch by slow agonizing inch, he shakily lifted them from the mattress.
Sweat poured down the side of his face from the strain of holding his legs up. It killed him to know that something as simple as lifting his own legs was taking so much out of him. He was so weak from lack of food that it took all the strength he had to hold them in the air for just a few seconds.
Unable to hold them up any longer, he let his legs fall back to the mattress with an exhausted breath. After taking a few deep breaths, he lifted them again...and again. The pain that ripped through him as he bent his legs at the knees was excruciating, but he didn’t stop. He continued to work his legs out as he pushed past the pain with only one thought in mind...Lacey. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her, and no pain he wouldn’t endure.
He still didn’t know how he was going to escape, but he was going to be ready for when the opportunity presented itself. The muscles in his legs began to burn as he forced them to move faster in a cycling motion as if he were riding a bike. The bones in his knees protested the movement, making a popping sound every time he bent his legs. His heart raced as adrenaline pumped throughout his body, urging him on.
After nearly half an hour of vigorous exercise, he let his legs fall to the bed. A small grin spread across his face at his tiny accomplishment. I’m coming, Lacey
he said to himself with a tired, ragged breath. One way or another I’ll get free and find my way back to you.
CHAPTER TWO
Lacey sat on the bed in her cabin wondering how in the world she was going to make it through another day of searching for Cole when she knew the probability of actually finding him wasn’t good. It had been almost a week and a half since he fell off a cliff during a fight with his twin brother, Jesse. She had tried to save them both, but after fighting her own battle with Sasha - a female wolf hell bent on killing her - and then using her telekinetic powers to stop her friends from the mountain pack and the Carol Springs pack from killing each other, she didn’t have the strength to pull them up.
Lacey closed her eyes as Cole’s last words went through her mind for the hundred time. I love you. Always remember that. He’d spoken those words to her seconds before he pried her fingers from his wrist and fell to the roaring waters below. She forced her eyes open. She didn’t want the image of him falling to replay in her mind again. Every time it did, she lost another piece of her heart...and perhaps some of her sanity.
The last week had been hard on her, both physically and emotionally. And it was only because of her determination not to have any more deaths on her conscious that she had managed to keep a tight hold on her powers. From time to time she felt that hold slipping. When she did, she forced herself to see the faces of all the people who had died because of her - Sasha, Fiona, Carly, and Tia - and that renewed her will to resist her powers.
Everyone on the mountain was already cautious around her.
Trevor and the cousins; Devon and Tyron had returned to Carol Springs. They didn’t say anything but Lacey had the feeling they didn’t like her anymore. They made it clear that they didn’t agree with her decision to stay on the mountain. Trevor just used the fact that Tonya was pregnant and in need of his attention as an excuse to leave. Lacey was hurt over the loss of their friendships but she didn’t have time to dwell on it. They made the decision to leave and she had to accept it. Besides, all of her time was spent searching for Cole. That alone, kept her busy and prevented her from thinking too much about losing her friends.
She tried to settle into the position of alpha female of the Black Hills pack, but without Cole by her side she had no real interest in leading the pack. But at the same time, she didn’t want to give up the position. She still had hope that Cole was alive and that she would find him. But as the days passed by and everyone else got back to their normal lives, she was beginning to lose some of that hope. Almost everyone had given up on helping her search for Cole. Everyone except Maggie, Luke, and Jeremiah.
They were her support team. Even though neither one of them really believed they would find him, they helped her anyway. And she loved them for it. She just wished that Jeremiah and Luke would stop looking at her like they thought she was going to lose