AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was a long time ago,” I answered. There was no point telling him about my recent run-in with Colin. “During Dad’s fight with Colin, I thought Colin would kill him, so I intervened. That was a long time ago, so please let it go because I think Colin’s prepared to hurt my Dad if you and I do. He knows we slept together, and he’s pissed about it.”
“Join my pack,” Kaleem said as if he hadn’t heard what I just said. “Both you and your father will receive a direct invitation from me and will be welcomed to join. I don’t say this in hopes of us rekindling our mate bond. You said your father wants to remain in the Bluemoon Pack, but how can he stomach staying and watching while you suffer?”
“There are no conditions to my offer Diana. This is for your safety and nothing else. If you think your lives are at risk, why won’t you take the chance to leave? You said Colin is prepared to hurt your father, but he might hurt you too. You’re the only female, but Jackson’s yet to find his mate and birth pups. Colin will only keep you guys around until then, I guarantee it.”
“I do want to leave but it’s not so simple,” I told him, and Kaleem shook his head.
“Yes, it is,” he countered. “It’s much simpler than becoming rogues.”
I turned away, a hand covering my eyes because my head was spinning.
“I respect Mathieu’s loyalty to the wellbeing of his pack and for stepping up to challenge Colin,” Kaleem said softly. “But how many wolves stood by him when he did so? How many wolves turned their backs on him after he risked his life to givethembetter lives?”
Kaleem stepped forward and laid a hand on my waist. “You don’t have to answer now, Diana. Think about it and speak to your father. But my offer will stand until you say no.”
I nodded, and my hand fell from my face to my side. I stepped back, pulled back by Kaleem’s warmth to lean against him.
“I didn’t fight for you hard enough before,” Kaleem whispered, and I didn’t protest when he wrapped his arms around me. “I didn’t fight for you at all, and I’ll never stop apologizing for that, but let me help you. Let me fight for you now.”
“Even if I can’t have you as my mate, I want you to have freedom, Diana. I want you to live without thinking that your alpha might hurt you or your father one day. I played a part in robbing you of a good future, of a good life, and while I can’t change the past, I can do something now to make sure your future is better.”
When he laid his forehead on my shoulder, I closed my eyes. “As you said to that satyr in the store, I don’t wish to hover. I don’t. I only want to help. If being a part of my pack will be too much, I’ll support you as a rogue.”
I turned around and hugged him.
The pain I’d been carrying for years that I felt no one understood, I could hear it in his words. We both knew the truth of our past now, and I knew he’d done what he thought was best for me. On the other hand, I’d kept secrets and doubted our relationship from the start.
Colin was the villain here, not Kaleem, and in some sense, I was the villain as well.
Kaleem was never the one that stole my happiness because I’d been holding back to start, and over the years, I held onto my hatred because I couldn’t blame Colin, and I didn’t want to blame myself.
Kaleem was a good man, a great man, and an even greater alpha. I didn’t deserve his kindness, but I was grateful for it.
My Dad had almost given his life for others and was treated like shit for it. Despite how painful it was, I came here trying to help my pack, and I was still being treated like an old doll, being slapped around as if I valued nothing.
To Kaleem, I was everything.
“I’ll speak to Dad,” I said softly while clinging to Kaleem. “I’ll speak to him tonight.”
I pulled away, and Kaleem nodded. “Good.”
“I’ve been so unkind to you,” I mumbled with shame, and he smiled and held my cheek. “Why are you doing this?”
“Even though I can’t feel our mate bond, it’s still there, like a phantom limb. You’re the only woman I crave, and that will never change. All I’ve ever wanted is what’s best for you, Diana, even if there was a time I believed what was best was you being without me.”
“I’ll handle Colin,” he added. “I’ll do anything to make you happy, but I need you to believe in me.”
“I do,” I replied. “I should have believed in us from the start. I was scared, I was so scared, and now Colin’s threatening Dad. I can’t take this anymore.”
He held my face with both hands and kissed my forehead. “I know, Princess. I know.”
For a second, I forgot where we were. I tipped on my toes and kissed him. There was so much bad in my life for years, and since returning to Wolfcreek, I’d wasted time pushing away one of my greatest joys, the love of my mate.
The pain had a way of turning us into people we couldn’t recognize. It twisted our thoughts, beliefs, wants, and needs. Pain could corrupt a person’s perspective so much that they lose sight of everything.
And I lost sight of myself and Kaleem.
When a tear slipped from my eye, Kaleem pulled away. He looked so worried while wiping my tear away that I pulled him forward to taste him once more.
