Remy nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you as soon as we’re done.”
“Perfect.”
He kissed me again and let me go.
Gabe handed me the key. “We’re in the Pine Crest cabin. Elias knows where it is. We’ll bring the bags when we come.”
“Pine Crest. Got it.” My hand closed around the metal key. I gave Remy a supportive smile. “Go be awesome.”
He flashed me a quick grin before turning to go. I watched him head off through the lobby with his dad, Luke, and Dante before turning to Elias and Daniel.
“Thank you.”
“Our pleasure, Skye,” Elias said with a charming smile. “Shall we?”
Tate and I followed Daniel and Elias out the main doors. The sun was warm and bright in the sky as we headed down the staircase.
“It’s down that path,” Elias said, pointing to the right.
I followed his direction behind where our car and a few others were parked to the stone-laid path winding behind the main building towards a glittering blue lake.
We crossed the drive and headed for the path, making sure to keep our eyes down as other Alphas headed towards the main building.
As I stepped around our parked car, I heard a car door shut and a scent drifted to me on the breeze. My wolf figured out what was happening before I did, immediately going alert and readying for a fight.
My head snapped up and I met a furious emerald gaze that mirrored my own.
“If it isn’t my long lost niece,” Linden said with a cold smile, blocking my path.
Fucking hell.
25
Years ago I had stumbled across a book that mentioned something called Murphy’s Law. I had kind of always thought that was really Skye’s Law because anything that could go wrong for me usually did in spectacular fashion.
But now? Looking at my uncle with Tate, Elias, and a guy I had just met at my back, I knew it was true beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“Alpha Linden,” Elias replied politely, bowing his head even as my uncle paid him zero attention.
“Dr. Samuels,” Linden finally replied, still staring at me.
I was so fixated on glaring at my uncle that I almost missed Preston getting out of the car.
Fucking fuck.
Remy was going to freak. I would be lucky if he didn’t handcuff me to him for the rest of the Summit.
Hell, the rest of our lives.
“Skye,” Preston drew out my name slowly, his gaze dragging over me in a disgustingly familiar way.
“Preston,” I ground out, even as Tate touched my hand.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Elias said, his tone just as pleasant as always, “we were escorting the ladies back to their cabin.”
“Considering that’s my niece, I would question who gave you authority to take her anywhere,” Linden snapped, his eyes finally cutting away from me to glower at Elias.
I moved to step in front of Elias, to shield him, but Daniel grabbed my wrist and pulled me back.
“Maybe we don’t start a pissing match with your uncle right now, yeah?” he murmured in a low voice that I barely caught.
He stepped in front of me. “Skye’s mate and Alpha asked us to escort her to her cabin, which is where we’re going.” His tone was firm and final.
“Her mate? I don’t think so,” Preston said with a wicked grin, rubbing his jaw and licking his lips. “We haven’t seen Skye in months, and we have a lot of catching up to do.”
“Shut up,” Linden barked, surprising me.
Fuming, Preston took a step backwards, clearly pissed that he had been called off.
“We were just checking in,” Linden said, his voice suddenly cordial. “Skye, you look well, dear.”
I think I had whiplash from how fast his mood shifted,
“If you’ll excuse us,” Linden went on, “we need to be going. We have meetings later this evening.”
Linden and Preston stepped around us. Preston stomped towards the stairs, ever the annoyed child who didn’t get to play with his favorite toy. My uncle turned and gave me a cruel smile full of dark promises.
Instead of looking away, I again met his gaze head on, refusing to give him an ounce of respect. Short of shifting and taking him on right now, which my wolf was all for, there wasn’t much else I could do.
His smile grew, his even white teeth showing against his tanned skin. “I look forward to reconnecting with you, Skye. If you speak to your mother, give her my best.”
The mention of my mother was almost my undoing, and I couldn’t stop myself from replying.
“No message for your wife or daughter?” I cocked my head to the side curiously, feigning ignorance. It was an unnecessary dig, and I knew I would pay for it later, but damn it felt good to see him flinch.
Tate sucked in a sharp breath behind me.
Linden’s smile slipped, his gaze hardening. “No need. I’ll be able to give it to them myself soon enough.”
My hands balled into fists as he turned away, the bite of my nails digging into my skin the edge of pain I needed to keep from going after him.
“I don’t know if that was the most prudent course of action, Skye,” Elias chided behind me. “Aggravating your uncle is not wise.”
Daniel snorted derisively. “Maybe not, but it was fun as hell to watch. Looked like his head was going to pop off his shoulders like in a cartoon.”
I turned and looked at him. His eyes were glittering with amusement and … respect.
“You’ve got some fight in you, huh?” he asked with a smirk. His eyes swept me, the move more appraising than interested. “That’s good. I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”
“We should get to the cabin,” Tate said softly, heading for the path.
“I believe that is for the best,” Elias agreed, still frowning, as he followed her.
I stayed put until I could see Linden and Preston step into the main building. As soon as the door closed behind them, all the adrenaline, anger, and bravado that had been amping me up, crashed.
Exhaling hard, I closed my eyes and tried to steady myself even as my body started to shake.
My wolf was howling for me to chase them down; the human in me was trying not to have a panic attack.
“You okay?”
I had forgotten Daniel was still standing beside me, and when I opened my eyes, he was looking at me with concern.
His green eyes flicked to the doors. “Want me to get your … Should I get Remy?”
“No,” I mumbled, concrete in my blood as I turned and started to follow Tate and Elias.
Daniel fell into step beside me. “I never actually met your uncle,” he started slowly, “but I heard stories. We all heard stories about the Long Mesa pack.”
I bit my lower lip hard enough to draw blood.
“I guess I always thought they were just that,” he continued. “Stories. But they aren't, are they?”
Everything in me wanted to lie. I had trained myself to lie; to downplay the horror and the evil that I had lived through. Even now, there were things about life in Long Mesa that Mom and I hadn’t fully confronted or confirmed.
Hell, I was still working on telling Remy everything that had happened.
But the whole reason I was here was to tell the truth. Finally, I could rip the monsters out of the shadows and shove them into the light.
More importantly, I wanted to.
It wasn’t my job to feel guilty for their actions. It wasn’t my responsibility to carry their dirty secrets.
I couldn’t change the fact that I was a victim, but I was also a survivor. And maybe I could stop them from ever hurting someone else.
“No, they aren’t,” I confirmed finally. “All the stories you heard are true, and probably worse than you think.”
A muscle worked in his jaw as he considered my words. “Elias said you’re here to confront your uncle about what happened?”
I gave a short nod.
“Good. Let me know if I can h
elp.”
The slam of the front door hitting the wall was the only warning I got that Hurricane Remy had made landfall and was headed straight for me.
After Elias and Daniel had left us, I had done a quick exploration of the cabin. I had left the master bedroom and bathroom downstairs for Gabe. The upstairs had two bedrooms each with a king-sized bed, a separate small living space in the loft area, and a shared bathroom.
Tate and I had checked the locks and curled up on one of the beds and turned on the TV. I wasn’t even sure what movie was playing since I had been on my phone the entire time.
I had shot Remy a text saying we were in the cabin and safe, but opted to leave out the part of seeing my uncle and Preston. It was over and done, and I knew it would stress him out. We could talk about it later when he got back.
I had called Mom and Mallory, texted Larkin, Rhodes, and Katy to let them know we had arrived.
And then I waited, trying not to drive myself crazy with the realization that Linden was here. Preston was here.
It occurred to me that I hadn’t really given that much thought. Sure, I knew they would be at the Summit with us, but for them to actually be here and the fact that I had seen them, was a whole different sort of chilling realization that left me a lot more anxious than I thought.
My anxiety fed my wolf’s, and by the time Remy made it to the cabin, I was ready to climb the walls. I needed to shift and run off the excess energy. Maybe I could convince Gabe and Remy to go for a quick run.
But, judging by the way Remy barked my name when the door flew open, I didn’t see me ever leaving the cabin.
“Skye!” he shouted again when I didn’t answer.
“Shit,” Tate murmured, her wide eyes catching my gaze as I slid off the bed.
“I’m up here,” I called, walking out of the bedroom and going to the edge of the railing of the loft that overlooked the main living area.
Remy was glaring up at me, and Gabe, Dante, and Luke didn’t look so happy either.
They knew about Linden and Preston running into us.
This wasn’t good at all.
“Double shit,” Tate muttered, coming up behind me and seeing the same pissed off faces. She patted my shoulder in a small show of solidarity before she headed down the stairs, following Luke and Dante out the still-open door.
Gabe’s electric blue gaze moved from me to Remy and back to me. “Are you okay?” He finally asked.
I nodded, the words sticking in my dry throat. I couldn’t stop looking at Remy.
His hair was a mess. Either there was a giant windstorm between the main lodge and the cabin I had missed, or he had been raking his fingers through it nonstop. His eyes were twin flames of smoldering rage as he looked at me, his broad chest heaving and hands curled into fists that could do some serious damage.
Yeah, he was pissed.
Gabe nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in a bit.” He pivoted on his heel and walked back out the door, closing it behind him.
Remy and I stared at each other for several beats before he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He unlocked it with his thumb print, finally tearing his gaze from me to see the screen.
“‘Hey, made it to the cabin. Tate and I are good.’” He slowly read the message I had sent him before tossing the phone onto the table by the door and looking at me.
“Funny, I don’t see any part in that text where it says, ‘Hey, Remy, I ran into my asshole uncle.’ Any reason you decided to forget that little fact?” His brows rose. He wasn’t yelling, but I could see he was barely holding in his anger. His quiet fury was almost worse than shouting.
Triple shit.
I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat, my fingers curling around the smooth wood of the railing as I looked down at him. “I figured there was nothing you could do, and we were safe, so I was going to tell you when you got here.”
“So, tell me,” he ground out, eyes flashing.
My insides shook with unease. “Do you really want to have this conversation Romeo and Juliet balcony-style?” I asked, stalling while I tried to get my galloping heart rate under control.
It took him seconds to get up the stairs, taking them three at a time. His long legs easily ate up the distance between us until it no longer existed. He stood in front of me, towering over me so I had to look up at him. Now that he was inches away, I could see he wasn’t just angry.
Fear lingered in his dark gaze as he studied me, his eyes sweeping up and down my body to check for signs of damage.
He was scared I was hurt.
“I’m really okay,” I said in a small voice.
“I’m really not,” he countered, folding his arms over his chest, not giving an inch.
Sighing, I rubbed my forehead. “He was getting out of his car when we walked past. I didn’t plan this, Rem. It was a stupid, freaking coincidence of the worst kind.”
He stayed quiet, waiting for me to elaborate.
“He said … hi,” I mumbled, my eyes dropping.
“Hi?” Remy echoed, derision dripping from his tone.
“He asked me to say hi to my mom,” I added with a grimace.
“Fuck,” he swore quietly, shaking his head. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“I wasn’t alone,” I said quickly, hating that he was blaming himself. “I was with Tate, Elias, and Daniel.”
He gave me an incredulous look. “Yeah, and none of these people are your mate.”
I closed the distance between us, grabbing his wrist. “Yeah, my mate. Not my keeper. Remy, you can’t be with me every second of every day.”
He glared at a spot over my head, his throat working as he tried to control his emotions. “I’m supposed to keep you safe.”
“Do I look like I’m not safe?” I stepped back and spread my arms. “I’m right here. Linden didn’t touch me.”
“But he could have.”
“But he didn’t,” I insisted. “And even if he did? That’s on him, Rem, not you. The whole point of me being here is to make him accountable for his own actions.”
With a low growl, he turned away from me, reaching out to brace his hands on the railing. His fingers curved around the wood until it groaned. He bowed his head, back arching as he nearly snapped the railing in half.
I stepped into him, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my cheek against the warm expanse of his back. A few seconds crawled by before he released the railing and twisted, wrapping those powerful arms around me and crushing me to his chest.
I sighed into him, my cheek rubbing the soft cotton of his t-shirt, as the rest of the tension leaked from my body.
Tucked in Remy’s embrace, as he sheltered me from the world, was my favorite place to be.
But who shielded him from the world?
I do, I vowed silently, squeezing him as hard as I could.
26
Remy and I were both on the couch downstairs when the front door opened. After he calmed down, we went to wait for Gabe to return. I had moved to sit next to Remy, but he pulled me onto his lap, cuddling me against his body.
I wasn’t going to protest whatever need was driving him to keep me close. It was no hardship to have my body curled around his. His fingers sifted through my hair as we sat in silence, my eyes growing heavy as I relaxed and started to doze off. The adrenaline crash from earlier was taking its toll.
Gabe and Luke showed up, opening the door gingerly.
I lifted my head, watching in amusement as they quietly entered.
“Safe to enter?” Gabe asked with a small smile, angling his body through the door with his and Remy’s suitcases. Luke entered a second later, wheeling the baby pink suitcase I had borrowed from Zoe for the trip. It looked absolutely absurd for this mountain of an Alpha to be carrying around something so feminine and dainty.
Luke deposited the suitcase by the door and walked in, his eyes sweeping across the room slowly.
Gabe closed the door, a vague smile
toying on his lips as he watched Luke.
“Fuck,” Luke grumbled, turning to glare at Remy. “Where is it?”
Remy had his fingers tangled in my hair as he gave Luke a confused look. “Where’s what?”
“He’s Mallory’s son,” Gabe said with a chuckle, like that was an explanation.
Luke only growled again. “I saw you tear into this place like a man possessed. Half expected your ass to shift and run here after us hearin’ her uncle was seen with her. You can’t tell me you didn’t at least punch a hole in a wall or some shit.”
“You expected him to punch a hole in the wall?” I asked slowly.
Luke turned his glare to Gabe. “You sure he’s your kid?”
“Pretty sure,” Gabe replied with a shrug before holding his hand out.
Still grumbling under his breath, Luke yanked his wallet out of his back pocket, flipping through it before tearing out several bills and slapping them in Gabe’s hand.
Gabe pocketed the money. “Thanks.”
“You bet on Remy?” I was still confused even as Remy started to laugh.
Luke stabbed a finger in Remy’s direction. “It ain’t normal for an alpha to have so much control. Your dad sure as shit didn’t when he was your age.”
“Told you,” Gabe said, “he’s Mal’s son.”
“Just be glad that ain’t the only thing your kid got from her,” Luke snapped, stomping over to the armchair and throwing himself in it, legs splayed widely in front of him. “Last thing the world needs is a replication of your ugly mug.”
With a snort, Gabe lowered himself into the other chair across from us. His eyes landed on me. “Everything okay here?”
“Yeah,” Remy answered for us, “we’re good.”
“Tate said you gave that shithead uncle of yours a nice parting shot,” Luke commented with a grin.
Remy tensed beside me, and I looked up from where my head was on his shoulder. His hand tightened around my hair subtly to keep me from moving away.
“What parting shot?” he asked. His tone sounded curious enough, but I could feel the lingering traces of anger and fear from earlier.
Prey (Blackwater Pack Book 2) Page 23