Page 39 of Dark Sold Mate

They went to the outskirts of the training yard, where they could have some privacy. August leaned against the fence, while Elle stood next to him, looking at the forest that was outside Starville territory.

“I should have fought,” August sighed. “When the banishment was announced, I should have fought against the Alpha.”

Elle's throat tightened. “You tried.”

“Not hard enough. I let him send you away. I left you on your own in the human world when you did not even know how to live in it.” He shook his head, kicking a random stone on the ground. “I was a coward.”

“August, you were young,” Elle said softly. “What were you supposed to do? Defy the Alpha? Get yourself exiled, too?”

“Maybe. Then at least you would not have been alone.”

They stood in silence. Elle could feel all the things they had never said, all the years they had spent apart coming down on her.

“I missed you,” she whispered.

“I missed you too. Every single day.” August turned to face her. “I'm sorry I didn't reach out. I do regret just watching you and not existing in your life. I believed I was protecting you, but I was only saving myself the trouble of facing the consequences of our own actions against you.”

“We?” Elle shook her head in confusion. “August, you didn't banish me.”

“I didn't stop it either. Neither did Silas.” August's voice hardened. “We all failed you.”

Elle was not sure how to react to that. Part of her agreed. They had all failed her. Yet, some other part understood that they were young, torn between loyalty to their Alpha and loyalty to her.

“I do not blame you. I never did.”

August pulled her in for a hug, and Elle allowed herself to melt in his arms. He smelled like home. Like her brother, who had shown her how to ride a bike, scared away the monsters under her bed, and promised to watch over her.

When they broke apart, they both had tears in their eyes.

“I want to be in your life again,” August said. “If you'll let me.”

“I want that too,” Elle admitted. “But it's going to take time. It is all... complicated.”

“I know. I will wait as long as you want.”

Elle nodded tightly. She had yet to forgive August fully, and the relationship between them was still on shaky ground. But they were trying. That must have some weight.

Movement caught her eye. Silas came out of the house and was striding into the yard towards the training grounds. He talked in a low voice to Rael and Javi, and his posture exuded power and self-confidence.

Rael showed him something on a tablet, which was most likely associated with the investigation. Javi was making a lot of hand signals, evidently in a dispute. And Silas heard them out, nodding.

He did things differently compared to his father. Elle thought of the former Alpha—mean, domineering, and obsessed with strict observance of tradition. People cowered at his words, and no one dared challenge his orders.

Silas instilled respect, not through fear, but through authority. He was firm but not cruel. He also wanted to hear the views of his brothers, even when he did not agree. He justified his actions instead of expecting people to blindly follow and accept whatever he said.

Elle detested the fact that these things caught her eye. She despised the fact that she was beginning to see Silas as something more than the school bully who had harassed her.

He was still her enemy. He was still the one who had forced her into this relationship, bringing her to this nightmare.

She couldn't forget the past or allow herself to grow soft; he was only treating her with the bare minimum of decency.

“You ready for today?” August broke through her thoughts.

“As ready as I'll ever be.”

It was the day she had agreed to visit the auction site to help them look for clues. This idea made her stomach churn, but she promised to help, and she was not going to withdraw at this point.

Silas went across the yard toward them. “We should head out soon. Rael wished to arrive there when there was still good light.”