**Josie''s POV**


    We all freeze, waiting for some reaction from my mum, who looks at me in confusion before rushing to me and pulling me in for a hug.


    "I''m sorry, Josie Bean, I know you told us to stay home, but I couldn''t sit there any longer. Frank is there and will call if Harper turns up," my mum says.


    "And I have a camera set up with motion detection. If she turns up at my ce, I''l get a notification on my phone, and we can be back there in seconds," Freya exins


    I cast a quick nce behind me and see that my guys have formed a shield in front of Robert, blocking him from


    my mum''s sight.


    "Thank you foring, but I''m not sure if there is anything you can do. We know


    now Harper isn''t just missing, she has been taken by rogues," I exin.


    "Oh, Harper," my mum begins to sob, and I wrap an arm around her.


    "Those fuckers are back? I thought you got


    them allst time?" Freya asks, her fury clear on her fac


    "Let''s go to the kitchen and make some tea, and I''ll catch you both up," I say, leading my mum away from Robert.


    "Is she going to lose her mind again if she sees him?" I ask Deacon through the mind link.


    thepulsion holds, she shouldn''t react negatively to him. I removed what I thought was the trauma surrounding him from her memory. She may recognise him as your biological father, but I made him a man she had a one-night stand with and never saw again," Deacon responds, and I rx a little.


    I do wonder what it was that caused her to break all those years ago. I had always med Robert, but now I know the truth about his story with her, I can''t me him. There must have been something else that caused it. Something that I need to look into because she might be at risk of it happening again.


    My mum sits at the kitchen table and I hand her a box of tissues before moving to fill up the kettle.


    "What''s going on? Why did your men hide that guy back there?" Freya whispers,ing up behind me.


    I nce nervously over at my mum, who is wiping her face with the tissues and not paying us any attention.


    "That was my biological father," I whisper.


    Freya''s eyes fill with murderous rage as she looks back in the direction of where we just left Robert and her fists clench. I ce a hand on her arm and shake my head.


    It didn''t happen how we thought. He didn''t hurt her, he loved her," I try to calm her.


    "And you believe him?" She hisses.


    "Yes, D had him underpulsion. It''s quite a sad story, and I''m still trying to process it. I''ll tell you everythingter, but he''s not the man we thought he was,” I exin.


    "Oh so now you just let him walk into your life? Fair enough, he might not have forced himself on your mum, but he still abandoned you." Freya snaps, her voice rising a little and causing my mum to look over at us.


    "Give me a break, Freya, I literally just found all this out an hour ago. He is here to help find Harper. She is all that matters right now. If you can''t handle that and


    be civil towards him, then just leave because I have enough to deal


    with right now," I snap.


    "Shit, Jo, I''m sorry. I can be civil, it was just a shock is all," Freya says, and I can hear the remorse in her voice.


    "I know," I sigh, "This whole thing is taking its toll... I just reel to useless. My daughter is out there, and I have no idea what is happening to her, and I''m just here, making fucking tea," I shout, my voice rising with every word as the weight of everything finally gets to me. Iunch the empty cup in my hand across the room, the porcin shattering as it hits the wall.


    I say to the floor, screaming into my hands as I break down, hear my mum fussing and Freya trying to calm me, but I don''t register their words as I scream out all my pain and frustration. Strong arms scoop me up and hold me close. I know it''s Axel without looking. I sense my guys closing in around us, lending me their strength and reassuring me.


    "Josie, I know it''s hard, but you need to calm down," Deacon''s steady voice floats into my mind.


    "Breath, Baby," Theo says.


    "We''ve got you," Luke soothes.


    If y


    you want to destroy things, there are some obnoxiously happy statues outside that look much better without heads, just try not to bring this house down around us or Dwill have a fit," Mason says, his words grabbing my attention.


    I suck in calming breaths, trying to regte myself before anyone gets hurt. I lost control, not only of my emotions, but my power, and thest time that happened, I nearly destroyed half the academy. There are two humans in this house who I care about greatly. They would not survive the house copsing on them. "Mum," I


    I manage to gasp between breaths as I open my eyes and look around at the mess I''ve created.


    A section of the ceiling has copsed and chunks of ster litter the floor. "She''s okay, she and Freya got out," Axe reassures, and I wiggle out of his arms, needing to see for myself.


    I stumble towards the back door where Raff has Freya locked in his arms as she attempts to break free to get to me. Robert has my mum pressed against his chest, a hand covering her head protectively as she cries. There''s a small trickle of blood at his temple but otherwise, everyone looks unharmed


    "Shit, Girl, I''m sorry, that was all my fault. I shouldn''t have pushed you like that,” Freya says when she notices me, but I ignore her, too focused on my mum and Robert as I inch closer.


    "Mum?" I say softly. I''m scared to see her face, to see if my outburst has broken her, or if seeing Robert has triggered her mental health into a downward spiral.


    Robert releases his hold on her, now that he knows it''s safe and when my mum''s eyesnd on me, I see the rity there. She is scared and worried, but she is okay. I pull her into a hug


    "I''m so sorry. I lost control," I tell her.


    "It''s okay, you are going through a lot, and this kind man helped me get..." her words trail off as she turns to look at her savior.


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