“I am, but it was also for your benefit as well. You needed the rest and the stress would’ve worn you down. But I have to say, you snapped out of it a lot earlier than I expected. I’m curious to see what happens when the next full moon rises.”
I glanced up at Ryker. “Me too. We’ve been interrupted the last two times. Hopefully, we’ll find out in a couple of weeks.” Seraphina got in Micah’s car and they headed out. The only people left were Tate’s pack. Tate came over and shook Ryker’s hand while Kami gave me a hug. “Keep in touch with me, okay? Maybe we can get together with Tyla and have a girl’s weekend sometime.”
“I’d like that. I’ll call you soon.” She winked at me and stood by Tate’s side.
“I’m in your debt,” Ryker told him.
Tate shook his head. “No, there are no debts between us. You helped with Kami, and I helped with Bailey. It’s what friends do.”
Ryker slapped him on the shoulder. “If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll always come to your aid.” Tate and his pack left and now we were truly alone. Ryker had been busy all morning talking to all the pack alphas. It felt good to finally have him all to myself.
“What are we going to do now?” I asked.
He winked. “Go somewhere special. I want to see if you remember it.”
We got in his truck and drove to the city. The moment I saw the giant snowman on top of the building, I gasped. “Oh my God, it’s Frosty’s Creamery.”
Chuckling, he pulled us into the parking lot. “That’s right. What else do you remember?”
We walked up to the counter and I pointed at the rocky road ice cream. “You always got that. And every time I saw one of the almonds, I’d steal it,” I said with a smile.
“Eventually, I just let you have them all.”
“You were a smart boy. I had the biggest crush on you.”
He brushed a finger down my cheek. “I know. That’s why I wanted you to remember. The world didn’t decide our fate, we did.”
He ordered his rocky road and I got mint chocolate chip, my favorite. It’d been so many years ago and the place still looked the same. We sat down outside at one of the picnic tables and I remembered sitting in that exact same spot. “Your mother used to bring us here. There was one week she did it every day. Kade never wanted to come, he thought getting ice cream was childish.”
Ryker growled. “As much as I hate him for what he became, if it wasn’t for my uncle, I don’t think he’d have turned out the way he did. He had part of my mother in him. It’s just the evil side outweighed the good.”
“What did your father say when Kade started spending most of his time with Rollin?”
He shrugged. “Nothing really. As much as I hate to say this, my father put all his energy into me. He taught me how to fight, how to be a leader. It makes me sick to know my uncle raped my mother without her knowing it. To know it’s possible for witches to do that kind of magic terrifies me.”
I grabbed his hand. “Maret tried it on me, but I was able to see through it.”
“Were you scared?”
“A little, but not of Kade or Maret. The whole plan from the beginning was for me to have his children and continue the royal blood line. Rollin wanted Kade to be leader of the next royal pack. The thought of being used for my blood scared me, but most of all, I was terrified of not being with you.”
Jaw clenching, he closed his eyes and blew out an angry breath before opening them back up. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I was too late.”
“But you weren’t,” I murmured.
“What if I was?”
Stomach in knots, I swallowed down the last bite of ice cream. “All I can say is, I would rather be dead than be his whore.” He nodded, but I could see the turmoil in his eyes. “There’s no reason to think about the what ifs. We’re here together, that’s all that matters.”
We finished our ice cream and walked back to the truck. He was about to open my door, but stopped, his expression guarded. “There’s something else I think you need to see. Do you mind making one last stop before we head home?”
“Sure.” I didn’t ask to where, but stayed silent while he drove us to our destination. It took a while to get there and when we did, he drove us down a desolate gravel road. I recognized it almost instantly. “What are we doing here?” We were back in the Yukon’s territory, or what used to be their territory.
He stopped the truck and grabbed my hand. “Don’t worry, it’s safe. I promise.”
Black ash still lingered in the air, smelling of burnt bodies. “Did you burn everyone?”
“No. Seraphina helped conceal the fires so it didn’t alert the authorities. We buried the people in our packs.” We walked past their village and I couldn’t sense any shred of life. It was like a ghost town.
“Where did you bury them?” I followed him to the open field where the battle had taken place. There were mounds of rocks at each gravesite. There were nine of them. “I thought you said eight of our people were killed?”
He led me over to the ninth spot, where the grave was surrounded by flowers. “I thought Annika deserved to be buried with our people. Tyla told me about how she attacked Maret. She saved us all.”
Falling to my knees, I bowed my head with tears dripping down my cheeks. “Yes, she did. When I found out what she and Darius did, I thought I would hate her. When she came to see me, I just couldn’t. I still loved her and saw her as my mother. Even though I wasn’t her real daughter, she’d always been kind and gentle. She had only been doing her duty to the pack. Darius, on the other hand, only loved me because he knew I could bring him power.”
Ryker put his arm around me. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to say goodbye to her.”
“Would you have let her join our pack if she was still alive?”
He tilted my chin up and I looked up at him. “Is that what you would’ve wanted?” he asked. I nodded. “Then yes. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Good, because now that we’re going down memory lane, there’s somewhere I want to go before going home.”
His brows furrowed. “Where?”
“To the very beginning.”
“Do you remember how to get there?” Ryker asked.
I pointed to the next street on the left. “Just like it was yesterday. We’re not far.”
“What if there’s nothing left? By the looks of everything, it doesn’t appear anyone’s been out this way in a long time.” He was right. The trees and bushes were all overgrown, the branches scraping against the sides of the truck.
“You’re going to need a new paint job,” I said, cringing every time I heard a scrape.
“I’m not worried about it, angel.”
The driveway opened up and I was able to see the house up ahead. Closing my eyes, I could picture the way it used to be, all cozy and bright with the aqua shutters. It was my real mother’s favorite color. The brick was still standing, but the roof had caved in and the windows blown out from an obvious fire.
“I guess the Yukons set it all ablaze before they left. I wonder if my parents were burned along with it.”
Ryker parked the truck. “Most likely, so they could cover their tracks. Want to go in and take a look around?” I nodded and got out.
The door was cracked so we pushed it open and walked inside. Holding in my gasp, I threw a hand over my mouth as I went from room to room, reliving the night that destroyed my family. “I wish I could’ve saved them,” I cried, whispering the words.
Grasping my hand, Ryker soothingly ran his thumb over my knuckles. “I know, angel.”
Our bedrooms were upstairs and that was what I really wanted to see. Glancing up the staircase, I wasn’t too sure the stairs would be stable. Remnants of the roof were scattered all over them. “What do you think?”
“It’s up to you.”