by Dover, L. P.
“He wasn’t the type to submit,” I stated the obvious.
He shook his head. “No, he wasn’t and I bet on that. I didn’t want him to submit. When he refused, I took out one of his eyes, and then the other when he refused again. It only went downhill from there, as I dismembered him piece by piece. His people watched and some ended up pledging their loyalty to me. Those who didn’t were killed on the spot. I wasn’t about to show them mercy when none was given to me.”
“What about the women and children?” I hadn’t seen any while I was there, but I knew there had to be some in their community.
“We let them go, with the understanding they would find new packs and not cause any trouble.” We were almost back at the cabin when he stopped and turned me to face him. “I was so angry at my brother for taking you from me. It was as if I was someone else. I know we’re violent creatures, but after what I did to Kade, the thought of you seeing me like that scared even myself. I tore him apart and enjoyed every minute of it. When he roared in agony, I smiled. I took satisfaction in his pain.”
He was ashamed and I could see it in his eyes. “If I was there, I would’ve smiled too. There’s nothing wrong with punishing an evil man—brother or not. Kade was soulless. He was filled with greed and a lust for power. Don’t ever feel ashamed of doing what you did.”
His lips turned up in a small smile. “So you don’t hate me for shutting you out?”
Lifting up on my toes, I kissed him gently. “No. You did what you had to do,” I murmured against his lips.
“I’ve missed you too fucking much.”
“I can think of something we could do to remedy that, but I don’t think we’ll have much privacy in the house. There are a ton of wolves everywhere.”
He bit my lip and grinned. “Then they’ll just have to mind their own business or get out.”
Bailey
“I see you didn’t kill him,” Sebastian teased.
Ryker chuckled and loaded up Seraphina and Tyla’s bags into the back of Micah’s SUV. “No, but I think I made up for it last night.”
I winked at him. “That you did.”
Tyla shook her head. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure we all got quite the visual with the noises coming out of your room.” She laughed. “I’m just glad this clusterfuck is all over.” She gave me a hug. “I’ll see you when you get back home.”
I hugged her tight. “Thank you for everything. You and Micah helped my mother save me.”
“She did most of it,” she murmured, letting me go.
Micah stepped in front of her and hugged me. “She was a brave woman. Be safe on your way back. As soon as you arrive in Wyoming, I’ll leave to get your sister.”
“Thanks, Micah. I can’t wait to see her again. It’s nice to have my memories back.”
“I bet it is. Now you remember how annoying my brother can be.”
Sebastian smacked him on the head and I burst out laughing. “Nothing’s changed in that respect.”
Tyla and Micah got in the truck, leaving Sebastian with me and Ryker. “Do you remember the times you asked me to have tea with you?” Sebastian asked.
Visions of those days played through my mind. Ryker tried to hold back his laugh, but he failed miserably. “Nice hair bows, Lyall. I never knew pink was your color.”
Sebastian snarled. “Fuck you, Whitemore.”
I put my arm around him. “Hey, you’re the one who brought it up. I can’t help it you fell for my joke. I used to love messing with you.”
“And you wonder why I was annoying. It was payback.”
“Well played,” I laughed.
He winked and headed toward the truck. “It’s good to have you back, B.”
Seraphina came by next. She kissed Ryker on the cheek and then I hugged her. “I’m sorry for losing my temper. You were just doing what Ryker wanted you to do. I know you’re loyal to him.”
“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 w
e 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.”
One step at a time, we carefully climbed until we got to the top. Parts of the floor had collapsed, but I was still able to get to my room. Hands trembling, I pushed the door open. The sun shone down through the damaged roof, almost showcasing the total destruction. However, on the floor were the remnants of the board game Faith and I were playing the night of the attack. “It’s still here,” I said, picking up the dice.
The floor started to shift, so Ryker stayed by the door. “You’ll see your family again, angel. Once you have Faith back, we can start searching for Colin.”
“True. And at least now he has his memories back.” I took one last look around the room, until something out the window caught my eye.
“You about ready to go? I don’t think this floor is going to hold up much longer.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I just want to see one last thing.” We carefully stepped out of the room and down the stairs. I briefly thought about seeing my parents’ room, but decided I would rather remember it the way it was before. Once out of the house, I hurried to the back where a brick wall separated us from where I needed to be.
“What is this?” Ryker asked.
I rushed over to the stone angel statue and slid open the hidden drawer at the base. Inside was a large, golden key. “Have you ever seen the Secret Garden?” I asked.
He snorted. “Do I look like the type to watch that shit?”
Rolling my eyes, I picked up the key and slid it into the lock. “It’s a good movie. Anyway, it was my mother’s favorite. She always wanted a secret garden, so my father had this built.” The door opened and inside was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. The house might’ve been dead, but the garden wasn’t. There were no weeds, and the flowers were manicured as if my mother had just touched them. “How is this possible? There’s no way it should look like this after all this time.”
A blast of royal energy shot at me from behind as someone spoke. “Unless there was someone around to take care of it.”
Bailey
Gasping, I turned around and took in the sight before me. “Is it really you?”
He laughed. “It is. I’ve been waiting on you to come back.”
Ryker stood protectively at my side. “Who is he?”
Wide eyed, I stared in awe at the man coming toward us. Everything about him was just as I remembered. But now he was tall, just like our father, with platinum blond hair and strong muscles. His smile, however, was just like our mother’s. “It’s Colin. He found us.” I closed the distance and jumped in his arms. “Where the hell have you been?”
He squeezed me tight and let go. “Not too far from here.” Switching his attention to Ryker, he held out his hand. “I’m her brother, Colin Storm. It’s nice to meet you.”
Ryker shook his hand. “Ryker Whitemore.”
“So tell me everything. Where did you go after that attack?” I asked impatiently.
“Zayne and I went to every royal we could find and got them out before it was too late. We stayed hidden until it was all over. The Yukons wanted you and Faith.”
“What about your memories?”
He sighed. “They were gone, but after seeing the attack, I knew I had to do something. Zayne told me what was going on and I put my faith in him. We got our people out and left. We couldn’t fight the Yukons and live, there were just too many of them. When my memories came back, that was when I knew you had returned. I didn’t know about the battle until I arrived two days ago.”
“And you’ve been visiting here to take care of mother’s garden?”
He nodded. “It was the only way I knew to keep the memory of our parents alive. It made me feel close to them. This land is ours. I just didn’t want to come back here until I knew it was safe for our people.”
“How many did you save?”
“There are ten of us, mainly our childhood friends. Z is with them now, making sure they’re safe. We’ve been training them to fight ever since that night. The kids were sent with me and Zayne to escape, while the adults stayed back to fight. Do you remember your friend, Raelyn?”
I gasped. “She’s alive?” Raelyn’s parents were best friends with ours. She used to always come over and play with us.
“She is. She’ll be happy to know you’re safe. I knew you and Sebastian were with the Northern pack, but there was nothing I could do but wait. Do you know where Faith is?”
“She’s been with Micah all these years. He found us in Wyoming. Now that everything’s over, he’s going to bring her to me. Why don’t you join us? Bring your pack to Wyoming.”
He quickly glanced at Ryker and then back to me. “I don’t think two male alphas in one pack will work.”
Laughing, my thoughts drifted to Sebastian and Ryker. There was too much testosterone between those two. “Technically, there would be five alphas, but I’m not asking you to be a part of our pack. There are other alphas around with their own territories. We’re all united. If you bring in more royals, it’ll only make us all stronger.”
“She has a point,” Ryker agreed.
Colin sighed and then nodded. “All right, we’ll come. It might take a few weeks, but we’ll be there. I’m sure Zayne will be happy to see his brothers again.”
“And they’ll be happy to see him.” I hugged him for the third time and didn’t want to let go.
He tried to pull away and laughed when I held on. “Are you going to let me go?”
“I’m afraid if I do, I’ll never see you again.”
Chuckling, he squeezed me again. “Just wait until I start jumping out of trees to scare you. You’ll change your mind about wanting me around then.”
I pushed him away and smacked his arm. “I used to hate it when you’d do that. I’m surprised you didn’t do it today.”
Ryker snorted. “There would’ve been a fight on his hands if he did,” he stated.
Colin nodded. “Exactly. I’d hate to have to hurt your mate,” he said with a wink. Thankfully, Ryker chuckled along with the joke. If it was Sebastian, there would’ve been a brawl.
“Speaking of mates. Do you have one yet?” I asked.
“Nope.”
I winked up at Ryker and then turned back to my brother. “There are a ton of eligible women in our pack. I bet they would love to meet you. They swooned over Sebastian and Micah.”