“Bailey, don’t,” Ryker pleaded.
Tears fell down my cheeks. I couldn’t stay there any longer.
Ryker
“Bailey!” Sebastian shouted.
I wanted to chase after her, but she needed to be alone. It killed me to see her in pain. Sebastian started to take off after her, but I stepped in his way. “Let her go.”
He glared at me. “She needs to know the rest.”
“And she will. Right now, she wants to be alone. She just found out that her pack was most likely slaughtered.”
“Fuck them! They weren’t her pack. She was their goddamned prisoner; a pawn in their plot to be united with your psycho, piece of shit brother,” he thundered.
“But you allowed that to happen, didn’t you? You stood by for fifteen years, watching her—letting her—be used.”
Jaw tense, he huffed and his eyes tracked Bailey’s movement toward the water. “I never wanted her to get hurt. I did what I did to keep her safe. Joining the Northern pack was the only way to be with her. I made an oath to her father before he died. He told me to protect her.”
“What happened to them?”
He tore his gaze away from Bailey and looked at me. “Greed. I’m not sure of your knowledge about the royals, but we’ve always been more powerful than the rest.”
“Are all royals related?” He shook his head, but kept his focus on Bailey. The way he looked at her, I could tell there was something there. “Are you in love with her?”
He chuckled, but it didn’t sound humorous. “Even if I was, it wouldn’t matter. You’re her mate. That’s why you were banished from your pack. Rollin made sure of that.”
“My uncle? How do you know all of this?”
“Because I was there, watching from a distance. You had Bailey, but I couldn’t get to her with that damn witch of yours casting her voodoo shit everywhere. Your mother had seen the mating signs between you two and went to the council. Unfortunately, Rollin had staked his claim to Bailey first, promising her to Kade. Your parents fought it. Your father even challenged Rollin for his position as alpha.”
“But he never got the chance,” I said.
“No, he didn’t. From what I could tell, he would’ve won the fight. I don’t understand why your father wasn’t alpha to begin with.”
“He didn’t want to kill his brother.”
I remembered the morning of the duel, as if it was burned in my brain. My father sat at the kitchen table with his morning coffee, only to fall over dead. It was soon discovered there was wolfsbane in his drink, masked by magic. It was Maret who killed him for my uncle. If either were still alive, I was going to make sure my face was the last they ever saw.
“But given the chance, you would’ve killed Kade?” he questioned.
“In a heartbeat.” Visions of him forcing himself on Bailey flashed in my mind. I would’ve done more than kill him; I would’ve tortured him until he begged for death.
“Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if your father was alpha. The attack on my pack probably would’ve never happened. After your family was murdered, Rollin sent Bailey off to the Northern pack. Her memories were wiped clean so it didn’t matter where she was taken to. She didn’t even know me when I joined them.”
“How did she escape and end up lost in the woods?”
Releasing a heavy sigh, he lowered his head. “When your uncle led the attack, no one knew they were coming. Maret used a masking spell to catch us off guard. By the time we realized what was going on, it was too late. Marrock and Tala, Bailey’s parents, stayed and fought ‘til the end. Bailey disappeared into the woods, lost with no memories. I tried to catch up to her . . . but you found her first, taking her straight back to the people hunting her.”
Eyes wide, I stood there in shock. Her life was a clusterfuck because of me. “You have got to be shitting me,” I grumbled. Out in the distance, Bailey sat down on the sand and stared at the horizon. Her feelings weren’t all over the place, which was good, but I could still feel the pain of her loss. Even though the Whitehill’s weren’t her parents, she still mourned them. I felt like complete and utter dog shit. “Basically what you’re trying to say is, if I wouldn’t have found her, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Who knows at this point?” he answered honestly. “Maybe she might’ve been killed. I don’t know if I would’ve found her in time. Either way, we can’t change the past. What’s done is done.”
“And she’s paid the consequences.”
He nodded. “That she has.”
I could feel her in my mind, listening to my thoughts. She knew everything. I just hoped she wouldn’t blame me for fucking up her life.
Bailey
Ryker sat down beside me in the sand, trying his best to smile. “When you were in college, you always braided your hair and played with it while you studied, just like you’re doing now. I thought it was cute.”
I laid my head on his shoulder. “Nervous habit. What else did you discover while stalking me?”
He chuckled and put his arm around me. “Your favorite color is green and I’m only saying that because you wore a lot of it. You’re smart, kind, generous, and you love to laugh. It took all I had not to go after you, especially when you drew the attention of human men.”
I snorted. “They never stuck around long.” When I looked up at him, he bit his lip, looking sheepish. “And now I can see why.”
He shrugged. “What can I say? I didn’t want them touching you. You’re mine.”
Shaking my head, I kissed his chin. “I am, and just so you know, I don’t blame you for anything that happened. I know you feel guilty.” It broke my heart listening to his inner turmoil.
“How can I not?”
“You didn’t know what was going on when you found me in the woods.”
“It still doesn’t change the way I feel.”
Taking his hand, I held it to my cheek and breathed him in. “That’s only one side of the coin. We both lost the ones we loved. If you wouldn’t have found me, maybe your family would still be alive. We can either share the guilt, or let it go.”
He held me tight. “You are wise beyond your years.”
We sat there for a few minutes in silence until Sebastian approached, his energy stronger than before. At least he wasn’t trying to hide his presence.
“Bailey,” he called out.
Ryker sighed and whispered in my ear. “I don’t like the guy, but you might want to listen to what he has to say.”
I glanced back at Sebastian. “What if I don’t like what I hear?”
“Then kill him.” He shrugged and got to his feet. Slapping a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder, he spoke low. “Try anything stupid, and I’ll snap your neck.”
“I’m sure she’ll beat you to it,” he answered back. Ryker moved out of the way, but stayed close. Sebastian sat down and grabbed a handful of sand, letting it slide through his fingers. “You know you’re a royal, but do you really know what it means?”
“No.”
“History says that when the first wolves were born, some were touched by the Great Luna and some were not. Over the generations, their bloodlines spread. There are royals everywhere, but a few are more powerful than others. Your family and mine happen to be one of those few.”
I gave his words a moment to sink in. “Let me guess, the Northern pack weren’t royals.”
He scoffed. “Definitely not. That’s why they wanted you. They were jealous of your family and wanted the magic for themselves.”