This was one of those times.
“Talon,” Gage said in a low, calm voice. “Not now.”
“Alpha.” Talon inclined his head respectfully at me, exposing his neck. He didn’t know the self-control it took me to keep from ending him even though he’d just submitted.
I needed to get out of here. I couldn’t be here. I was going to break something, and that something may be a someone. Hurting my own people would solve nothing, but the rage inside me wouldn’t care. Not in the slightest.
I tossed off my shirt and headed to the door. Seconds later, I was on all fours and rushing into the wilderness. I needed to be far, far away from all this.
I ran and ran, but I couldn’t outrun my rage. Finally, I came to the river where Daphne and I were the night before, almost hoping to find more trespassers.
The bodies had been removed by my pack members, but I could still smell the faint, dark tang of blood and death. I watched the water pass, hoping for it to calm me. I guessed that it had some effect, but I don’t think time could heal the weight on my heart.
It didn’t matter. I would not give up Daphne, and I would not put her at risk by tying her to my fate. I could keep her safe, make sure she was guarded at all times—but as for me, I had to fight with my pack. And if I was killed, she’d die too.
A gray, scarred wolf wandered up to my side. I hadn’t seen my grandfather in wolf form in a while. He was emaciated, a mirror to his human form that made me wince further at how far he’d faded.
He shifted, sitting on a nearby rock, and broke into a coughing fit. “Everyone tells me the air of the great outdoors is supposed to make me feel better, but here I just smell the stench of Valley Prowler.”
I joined him in human form. “Don’t you want to rest up in your cabin? I know the healer’s been seeing some improvement, but still, you should conserve your strength.”
He shrugged and scowled. “If I’m going to just sit in a cabin and wait for death, I’m already dead. I rather do what little I can for my pack with the time I have left.”
“Fair enough, Grandfather.”
There was silence for a time, the tension between us strong. Our last argument hung heavy between us. It wasn’t how I wanted to remember my grandfather. He had been a role model and a father figure, and so much more to me.
“I never told you the story of Lirah,” he said finally.
I glanced his way. “I don’t know who Lirah is, so no, you haven’t.”
“She was my fated mate, Killian.”
I looked at him suspiciously. “You told me you never found yours.”
“I lied to you. I’m sorry, but I did.” He scowled into the distance, avoiding my gaze. “After what happened to my sons, I thought the best way to protect you from this curse was to keep you from ever trying to find yours.”
“Fate thought otherwise.”
“Funny how this fated mate thing works, huh?” He shook his head. “Bunch of nonsense, but it’s a part of who we are. We can’t escape it.”
“Who’s Lirah? Tell me, Grandfather. What happened to her?”
“She was the daughter of a pack up in Calgary. I would have never run into her if my own father didn’t go up there to meet with some distant cousins he used to run with and decided to take all of us with him. I was barely twenty, and Lirah was a little younger than I was. When I saw her, it was... well, you’ve experienced it, Killian. I don’t need to describe it.”
All the lust I’ve felt for Daphne ever since I first laid eyes on her.
“It was clear, and we couldn’t escape our fate. We didn’t want to. But given she lived hundreds of miles away, and the alpha line always had to negotiate treaties and the like before marrying, it took some time before we could arrange a proper ceremony for the bonding and moon bite to happen. So many times did I want to travel up there, grab her, and elope, damn the traditions and the packs, but I knew as the alpha heir, I needed to control myself. So I did. I obeyed.”
I breathed heavily. I could see the tragedy coming from a mile away, as I knew this Lirah was not my grandmother, and I knew my grandfather would never be able to accept another as long as his fated mate lived. “What happened?”
The old man closed his eyes. “Her pack frequently skirmished for territory. She was a fighter. Wouldn’t stay home when her pack was under attack.”
I swallowed. “She died.”
Grandfather nodded. “Yes. She had rescued some of her pack from an ambush. She got them away. But she paid for it with her life. Her pack retaliated. I didn’t know for months after. I was apoplectic when I found out, and I was in a deep depression. I didn’t think I could move on. I considered things no being should ever consider.”
“What happens when you lose a fated mate without bonding, Grandfather?”
