“There’s nothing you can do, Jackson. This is my fault.”
A growl left his throat. “It most certainly is not. Finding your mate is not a reason to be thrown from your house, Regan.”
Dragging in a few deep breathes to gather herself, Regan stopped crying. “I know.” She sighed. “I just don’t think you going over there and telling them that is going to help.”
“I’m their alpha, Regan. They’ll damn well listen to me.”
“All you’ll do is fuel their hate further.”
“Well, I can’t just sit here doing nothing when one of my pack is hurting.”
“Well, you could go ask for my things for me.” She smiled, hopeful.
He brushed the tears that clung to her skin away and nodded. “I can do that.”
“Thanks, Jackson.”
Climbing to his feet, he pulled Regan with him. “Come on. I think you need another shower, though you’ve already used up all my hot water.”
Regan laughed. “Sorry.”
“How’s Tyler today?”
“Well enough that sitting in bed all day is killing him.”
“I think Karen is coming over later to check on him. Maybe she’ll grant him permission to venture to the sofa.”
“With any luck. I’ve been meaning to thank you for allowing him to stay here.”
“He’s your mate, Regan,” Jackson answered, briefly touching her arm. “I know yours isn’t going to be the simplest mating, but I’ll treat him as my own because to not do so would hurt you.”
Regan didn’t reply for fear she’d cry again; instead, she wrapped her arms around Jackson’s waist and hugged tightly.
“I’ll go get your things now. So, there’s running shoes and…?”
“Mom will know what they are, but the most important are the shoes and a blue T-shirt.”
“Okay. Now I want you to go fix yourself and Ty a coffee, and stop fretting over this training, and that’s an order, Regan.” A calmness settled over her, his support giving her the strength to think past the pain her parents’ rejection brought.
With a smile and a salute, Regan left Jackson and followed out his request. She’d obey it for that day but come morning, she’d be up with the sun and training, because while she understood everyone’s advice to not worry and take it slowly. Regan couldn’t ignore the urgency in her veins, nor the feeling that she’d been sleeping her life away. She felt as though she had to make up for lost time before another three years passed and she was still in the same spot. Still taking it easy and still waiting for life to be simpler. When the reality was, life was never simple. Not in their world, or any other.
Chapter 55
Two weeks had gone by and Tyler had healed enough to make it down the stairs and out onto the porch where he was currently watching Regan spar with Mia. She’d been relentless with her training—running every morning, sparring in the afternoon, weight training with Cage. Fitting it all in between work and him. In some ways Tyler was in awe of her determination and proud she wasn’t giving up, yet he also knew the almost obsessive approach she was taking wasn’t all about wanting to catch up. Inside, Regan was hurting. Tyler could feel her pain inside of himself and see it in her eyes, see it in each punch and clench of her jaw. In the rigid, controlled anger that hummed below the surface waiting to escape.
She was hurtling toward a point of no return, a point where she’d snap and all the pent-up emotions would burst free. Tyler wasn’t worried she’d hurt anyone innocent. When the time came, she’d snap, and her parents would be on the receiving end. He was inclined to let it unfold, for Regan’s parents to get what was coming to them. But the more rational part of his brain said doing that would ultimately hurt Regan.
He knew all of this yet had no clue how to prevent it. He’d like to march over to her parents himself, but despite all the wishing he’d done, his healing hadn’t sped up, and making it to Jackson’s porch felt like a marathon.
“Babe, you’re letting your guard down.” Tyler forced himself to his feet and ambled over to the two women who’d paused on his words. They were both a little breathless, Regan more so. “Like this,” he said, coming up behind her and using his good arm to guide hers. “You’re collapsing in on the right,” he whispered in her ear. His hand slid up the curve of her hip, caressing her waist. “Stay strong here when you swing, and keep your elbow up and in.”
“Thanks,” she breathed, breathless for totally different reasons.
Tyler gave into his need and closed his mouth over hers as she tilted her head toward him. Within seconds, the world had dropped away, and his pain dulled to a distant memory. His hand skimmed down her body as she moaned into his mouth.
Mia coughed loudly. “This a make-out session or sparring session?” she grumbled. “I mean, jeez, guys, get a room.”
Regan smiled against his lips. “Thanks for the pointer. I’ll give it a try.”
Reluctantly, Tyler released Regan from his grasp and made his way slowly back to the porch. When they started back up, Regan did just as he’d instructed. Her body was strong, her swing correct, and as the hit connected, Mia stumbled back.
With a huge smile, Regan turned to him. “I did it!” she cheered.
“That hurt,” Mia grumbled, smiling. “Training’s over.”
Running toward him, Tyler braced himself as she collided into his arms. He stumbled back a step, grimacing but kept the sound of his pain inside.
“Oh my gosh!” Regan stepped back, covering her mouth with her hands. “I’m so sorry, Ty. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I’m okay.”
“I was just so excited. God, I wish you could train me.”
“Believe me, I do too. It’s killing me sitting here useless when I could be helping you.”
“You did just help her,” Mia pointed out, joining them on the step, “and besides, you’d spend the whole time making out and teach her nothing.”
“Mia,” Regan groaned. “We’re not that bad.”
“You totally are. It’s kinda gross.”
Regan stuck out her tongue. “Whatever.” A car pulled up to the house. “Karen’s here. Time for your training, Ty.”
“I’d much rather be sparring,” Tyler complained.
“How are you expecting to spar if you can’t lift your arm?” Karen called as she climbed out of her car.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, doesn’t mean I have to like it though.”
“You’ll be grateful when I have you out of here in a couple of days,” Karen counted.
“Really?” Tyler asked.
“Yeah, I reckon so. Let’s do some exercises, and then I’ll look at taking your stitches out,” she explained.
Regan squeezed his arm. “See, you’ll be sparring in no time.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’m gonna go change. See you in a bit.”
“I’ll see you later, Regan?” Mia asked.
Tyler caught Regan’s eyes, speaking to her silently.
“Sorry, I forgot to tell you,” she replied. “Mia and I are going to Tom’s later for a BBQ. He lives in town.”
Tyler’s stomach sank, but he refused to allow Regan to see. “That’s nice, babe.”
She faltered for a moment but didn’t question him, instead smiling and heading off inside to shower and change.
Karen touched his hand briefly. “It’s good for her to get out, keep her mind off her parents.”
Tyler sat down on the porch swing, glancing at Karen. “I know. I’ve never minded her going out. It’s that I wish I was going with her. I guess it was a reminder that our relationship isn’t simple, and I won’t always be able to go where she goes because I’m Dark Shadow, and not everyone is going to like that.”
“That won’t be the reason you weren’t invited, Tyler. She’ll be worried you’re not up to it. None of Regan’s friends care where you’re from. They only care that you’re the man who brought the friend they lost back to them. When Megan was murdered, River Run lost far more
than one person. It lost an entire family. But you’ve come along and healed some of that wound. Regan has returned to us, and for that, we can never repay you.”
“I don’t need repaying. I didn’t do anything.”
“Ah, but you did. You gave her a reason to live again.”
Karen’s words stayed with Tyler long after she’d left. Waiting for Regan to return from her friends, the words circled around him like a crown that felt a little too heavy to wear. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate Karen’s words; she’d said them as a reassurance, as a reminder of how strong the love between him and Regan was. Yet it also served as a reminder that Regan was missing two very important people in her life. The bond between Regan and her parents needed healing, but he wasn’t sure how. So far, everyone’s plan had been to ignore the problem and hope with time they’d come around, but Megan died three years ago, and in those three years, a family hadn’t healed or moved on. Hoping the problem would go away hadn’t worked then and it wouldn’t work now.
Gritting his teeth as he slipped down from the bed, Tyler stood, decision made. No more ignoring the problem. He was facing it head-on.
Chapter 56
She’d had the best of times out with Mia, reconnecting with pack members, reconnecting with herself, but she’d missed Tyler and decided next time she’d be taking him along with her. When she opened the door to the room they were staying in, it was empty.
Confused, Regan headed back down the stairs, a crease on her forehead the only outward sign of anxiety forming in her gut. Checking the front room, she found it empty, and the same for the kitchen. Switching the lights back off, Regan headed upstairs again and checked the bathroom, even though she knew it would be empty.
He’s gone….
Crossing the landing to Jackson’s door, she knocked softly, hoping he wasn’t asleep. If he had been, he’d jumped out of bed quickly.
“Regan, what’s wrong?”
“Tyler’s gone,” she said numbly.
“Gone?” he repeated, the same crease appearing on his forehead. “Where would he have gone? He’s not exactly in shape for taking a stroll.”
“You didn’t hear him leave, or anyone come by? Bass maybe? His parents?”
“No, Regan. There’s been no one here. Wherever he is, Tyler didn’t want me to know. Damn well snuck past an alpha, injured no less. No wonder Bass doesn’t want to let him go.”
“But where’s he gone? I need to find him. He’s supposed to be resting.” Regan squeezed her trembling hands into fists, and dragged in a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to let her fear control her.
“Don’t panic, Regan. He can’t have gotten far. I’ll track him. Come on.”
Regan followed Jackson from the house, and as her alpha picked up Tyler’s scent and followed, her panic increased. They didn’t need Jackson’s nose to tell them where Tyler had headed; she’d walked this route many times. The pathway home.
Chapter 57
Tyler was very aware he had limited time to complete what he planned. The fact he’s snuck out past Jackson was a miracle in itself considering he wasn’t nearly at full health. Tyler took it as a sign that the universe was on his side tonight. That what he had to say would sink in, would make a difference.
Once at the front door, Tyler took a minute to catch his breath, to push down the pain coursing through his body so he may concentrate on the task. Taking a final breath and throwing a quick prayer to the sky, Tyler knocked.
It was late, but there was the soft glow of a light further into the house and seconds later, light filled the darkened hall as a door opened. It was Regan’s mother; they shared the same dark, straight hair, same tone of skin, but when Regan’s mother opened the door and stared at him with questioning eyes, Tyler saw none of Regan’s light. None of the spirit he’d fallen in love with. It was as if her mother was an empty shell.
“How can I— It’s you….” Her eyes widened, then she glanced behind her anxiously. “What are you doing here?” she hissed. “Go away, before—” But her words died in her throat as the entranceway light flicked on, highlighting Tyler in stark clarity.
“Who’s—” Rage filled Regan’s fathers gaze. The same dark blue eyes Regan had, only hers would never be so bitter, so full of hatred.
Tyler hadn’t known how they’d react to seeing him. He’d only known he’d needed to speak to them and try to make them understand what they were doing to their daughter. Her father hurtling toward him like a deranged wolf wasn’t at all what he’d imagined. The man wasn’t a dominant wolf, but it seemed even submissive wolves could turn aggressive from grief.
Shock froze his body for a second too long, Tyler twisted out of the way but not before Regan’s father collided into him, bringing them both to the ground. Regan’s mother’s screams filled the air, but Tyler’s ears were full of the ringing of his pain. The impact rocked through him, feeling like it shattered his very bones. Injured or not, Tyler was an enforcer, highly trained in several forms of martial arts. Even in agony, he wasn’t about to take a beating lying down.
A cool calm spread through his mind, shutting off all pain receptors as he shoved the man off him and twisted and flipped to his feet. Tyler wobbled briefly, a bolt of fire flaring from his wound, but he’d pushed it away by the time Regan’s father scrambled up, a wolf’s snarl leaving his human lips.
“I came here to talk,” Tyler pleaded, holding his hands up, palms out. “Please.”
“I’m not interested in anything you or any of your kind has to say,” he growled, his voice tight and rough.
“My kind? Dark Shadow you mean?” Tyler answered as they circled each other.
“Savages, the lot of you. Wasn’t it enough that you killed one of my daughters, had to claim the other for your own? Had to steal her from me,” he yelled, visibly shaking.
“I didn’t steal your daughter. I love her.”
“Lies! You’ve turned her head, turned her into the same people who murdered her sister,” he screamed, launching forward, his face twisted in rage, fists clenched and ready to hit.
Tyler dodged to the side, avoiding him, but the move cost him. His knees shuddered, his breath catching in his throat as Tyler’s wounds protested loudly.
“Noah, stop this madness,” Regan’s mother pleaded.
He came at Tyler again, throwing a punch. Tyler deflected the hit, retaliating with a defensive move that would only knock Noah back. He refused to fight the man. A fight was not his intention, and he’d be damned if he turned into the monster Regan’s father made him out to be.
“Dark shadow isn’t the same. The man who killed your daughter isn’t among us, and if he had been, I’d have killed him myself. Don’t you understand what you’re doing to Regan, how much you are hurting her?”
“She chose her path when she chose you as her mate, when she became Dark Shadow,” Noah ground out. Noah yelled as he leapt forward. Tyler dodged his first hit, deflected the second but his body was injured, and his energy was failing him. When the man surprised Tyler with a roundhouse kick, there was nothing he could do to avoid it. His breath left him on a pained cry as Tyler fell backward, meeting the hard ground. Noah towered above him, crazed with his hate and grief.
“It’s only a name,” Tyler replied, breathless. “I’ll give it up for her if that’s what you want. I’ll leave Dark Shadow behind if it means you’ll stop hurting your daughter.”
“My daughter died the day you tainted her with your blood,” Noah spat.
And in that moment, Tyler knew nothing he could say would convince Noah otherwise. The man was lost beyond reach. Twisted and changed by the grief he’d kept inside and allowed to fester. All Tyler could do was pray that the loss of her father wouldn’t do the same to Regan.
Noah landed on top of him, slamming a fist into his face, then another and another. Tyler didn’t try to fight him. He wasn’t sure he could if he’d wanted to anyway. Regan’s mother screamed, attempting to drag Noah off him only to be knocked
back herself.
“Is this what you want?” Tyler gasped between painful breaths. “Dark Shadow blood?” Tyler met Noah’s half crazed eyes. “Go on then, have mine. Take it all.”
Chapter 56
At some point, they’d begun to increase their steps, but when Regan felt a burst of pain through the mating bond, she ran. Her heart was in her throat, adrenaline and worry coursing through her veins like a dizzying cocktail.
Her childhood home came into view, the front door open and spilling light onto the lawn. The last of her father’s words met her on the wind before he threw himself on top of Tyler, unleashing his fists.
“My daughter died the day you tainted her with your blood.”
Her mother was screaming as she tried and failed to pull her father off Tyler. Regan’s emotions died away, worry becoming nothing but a dull beat in the back of her mind. Her mate was in danger, his pain flowing through her urging her on.
She didn’t slow her pace or call out as she approached. Instead, Regan shot at her father like a bullet, releasing fists of her own. His face was bloody by the time Jackson dragged her off him, but hitting him had done nothing to ease her rage.
“Died!” she screamed. “I’m not dead, Father. I’m right here. If anyone’s dead, it’s the two of you.”
“Regan,” her mother cried.
Regan zeroed in on her mother. “Save it. I’m not interested in anything the two of you have to say. The truth is I haven’t had parents since the day Megan died.”
Her father tried to interrupt but Regan talked over him, glaring him into silence. “If I had, they’d have noticed how lost I was. They’d have said something when I shut out all my friends and shunned the very nature of my wolf. They’d have encouraged me to take risks and live life to the fullest, not hide and live the half life I was doing. They’d have noticed the pain I lived with daily and done something, even if they were in pain themselves.”
Lost Wolf (A New Dawn Novel Book 4) Page 23