**The Meeting**

"Annabelle,! Sweetie, we're here." Branwen said while gently shaking her arm.

Annabelle slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Standing in front of her was a mansion bigger than any she'd seen before. It looked more like a hotel or an apartment building. As she got out of the car and looked around, she saw houses scattered here and there surrounding the large mansion. 

Branwen came and stood beside her and said "Welcome home."

At that moment a young man walked out the front door along with Luke and Henry. Annabelle smiled at Luke and Henry. Then her eyes looked at the man standing between them.

"Oh, my, wow!" Annabelle thought as she continued to stare at him. As their eyes met, she could swear his eyes changed from an icy blue to a golden yellow and back again.

"Annabelle, this is my son, Jasper."

"Huh... Huh.. Hi", she managed to finally spit out. She wasn't sure what was happening to her. She'd never been so attracted to someone before.

Jasper continued to stare at her, his mother looking between him and Annabelle, and back again. A quick flash of surprise and then understanding crossed her face. 

Pulled from his trance like state by an elbow to the ribs from Luke, Jasper shook his head and said "Welcome home, ma.... Annabelle," before walking down to her and holding out his hand. Annabelle took it, sparks like electricity ran through her the moment their skin touched. Shocked, Annabelle pulled away quickly, only to crave the warmth and feel again. A small whimper escaped both she and Jasper, caught by Luke and Henry, whom like Branwen, had figured out what was going on with them. Things were making sense to them. 

"Come darling," Branwen said. "Let's get you all settled. I'm sure you are exhausted from the excitement of the last few days."

"Just a little," Annabelle stated shyly as Branwen led her up the steps and into the house. The three men following after.

Henry and Luke kept sending knowing looks to Jasper. Jasper pretended to ignore them until Luke looked at him and wiggled his eyebrows.

*Ugh!! Can you two freaking stop already? Now is absolutely NOT the time. And so help me, if she sees you guys acting like this, you'll be on warrior sparring duty for the next year.** Jasper said through the link.

Luke's eyes got huge and he swallowed loudly at the threat of warrior spar duty. He may be the Beta, but their pack being who and what they were meant the warriors trained as Beta's and Gamma's, not just as warriors. And "sparring duty" wasn't just watching over training. Nope, couldn't be something so easy. Instead, it meant that whomever was being punished would be have to spar through an entire training session with every single warrior in the pack, every day, until their punishment was up, or Jasper felt they'd been beaten up enough. Whichever came first.

**Yes, Alpha** they both answered. 

"Here we are," Branwen said as they came to door on the fourth floor. She had told Jasper to put her next to her room so she could keep an eye on her and hopefully make her feel safe and comfortable. What she hadn't known was that Annabelle would turn out to be her son's mate. No wonder she felt the need to protect and care for her. 

Annabelle opened the door and step inside. Her eyes wide and in awe. The room was massive. To the right of the door was a small sitting area with a black oversized chair, shelves full of books, a flat screen TV, a crystal coffee table, a black loveseat, and 2 crystal wolf shaped lamps on 2 small black end tables.

Directly in front of her was a black wrought iron queen sized bed, with deep purple sheets and a black and purple comforter. Pillows covered the top half of the bed, making Annabelle smile. She loved being surrounded by pillows and stuffed animals, it made her feel safe. On each side of the bed were black nightstands. A full moon shaped globe sat on each. Curious, Annabelle walked to the end table on the left of the bed. She touched the moon shaped orb and it began to glow, and slightly lifted off the platform it sat on. "Wow" she sighed.

"It's magnetic. When you turn it on, the magnets are switched so that the light will float. If you touch the platform, you can change the colors and brightness of the light. You can also place it on a timer so it automatically turns on anytime you want." Jasper explained.

Annabelle jumped, having forgotten that he had been following behind them. "It's really beautiful. Do you think you could show me how to set up the timer sometime?" She asked shyly, before quickly adding, "If not, I am sure I can figure it out myself. I'm sure you have better things to do than teach me how to use a lamp."

Jasper had a huge smile when she had asked him to teach her to set the timer. Unfortunately, it was short-lived. When she said she was sure he had better things to do, his heart dropped. Why would she think that? Even if she wasn't his mate, he would have gladly shown her how to use it. When he didn't respond right away he picked up the scent of fear coming from her. "Why is she afraid?" He asked himself before hurrying to respond.

"I would love to teach you how to set it up. And if you ever need help or want anything, please ask me. Once you have settled in, we can talk more and get to know each other. You're perfectly safe here, Anna, I promise." He walked over and gave her a small kiss on the forehead before walking out of the room with Henry and Luke.

"Come on sweetheart," Branwen said. "I'll show you the bathroom and then you can rest and relax while I go down and have the cooks start preparing dinner. Is there anything in particular that you would like to eat? Or anything that you can't or won't eat?"

"I would love a salad. And maybe some type of chicken?" Annabelle replied.

"I will let them know"

As they entered the bathroom and Branwen turned on the light, Annabelle's mouth hit the floor! The bathroom was huge!! She could easily have fit her mom's room and her old room into it with some room leftover. 

The floor was black and purple swirled marble. The walls were painted a shimmering gold. The his and her sinks were made of the same marble as the floor, and sat in the wall. A huge mirror surrounded by bright, round vanity lights hung above it. On shelves built into the wall beside the sinks were an assortment of makeup, brushes, hair accessories and styling tools. To the right of the sink was a small door that Branwen told her was the linen closet as well as where the other bathroom necessities were. Against the next wall was a double standing shower, with multiple different gold shower heads and settings. Then came a huge claw foot marble tub.  Annabelle was in awe of it all. "What do these people do for jobs to be able to afford all of this?" She wondered to herself.

"Well, Annabelle, I am going to let you settle in and go down to the kitchen. Would you like to eat in your room or with everyone else? I know you've been through a lot so I understand if you don't want to eat with everyone right now. I can have your food brought up for you."

"That would be amazing, Branwen! Thank you so much. For everything" Annabelle said turning to the older woman and hugging her. Exhaustion was starting to hit her. Feeling this, Branwen lead her to the bed before walking to the large dresser between the bathroom and closet doors. She opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of pajamas and then handed them to Annabelle. 

Annabelle changed quickly, not caring that Branwen was still in the room. And she would have thought nothing more of it if Branwen hadn't sucked in a deep breath. Annabelle quickly realized that Branwen had seen the scars and bruises that cover her chest, back, sides, and upper thighs. Remnant's of the abuse from her stepfather. 

Branwen was fighting her wolf to maintain control. She didn't want to scare Annabelle, but she wanted to kill whomever was responsible for the marks on her. She sensed Annabelle's fear, pulling her to her senses. 

"Don't worry, you're safe here. If you want to talk about it, know you can always come to me." Branwen said, before quickly hugging Annabelle and walking out of the bedroom.