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He pressed a hand to his chest right when I felt the tug pressing against my own.
Shane said that a few days later, a half-demon, half-wolf shifter named Conri invaded the pack with his demons and the witches, and massacred our pack. Or most of it. He was taken away, believing we were all dead, while we thought he had balked at the challenge and fled, leaving us to die.
Conri treated me well and allowed me perks the other wolves didn’t have because Conri wasn’t working alone. He was working with Paimon, my father, and Paimon had ordered Conri to not hurt me.
Conri was there to find the crystals that powered the barrier around the pack lands and kept enemies out. However, we had recently learned the crystals were powered by something else too: the dragon we were now hunting.
Shane found out we were alive and came back for us. He killed Conri and claimed his title—the pack’s alpha. However, two of the crystals had been stolen, the barrier was gone, the Whitecrest pack had been threatening us, and so many other little things that didn’t matter now.
Shane tugged at my shirt and I nodded. I helped him fold the lower half of my shirt up over my breasts and I held it in place with my arms. “Paimon had Nortrix challenge me away from the pack lands, but Nortrix never showed up. Meanwhile, he was in our town to open a portal and allow Paimon to come over and take the other crystals.” He applied some antiseptic to the cut, and I tensed and gritted my teeth as it burned. “Sorry.”
“Just … go on.” I didn’t want to listen to him. So far, everything he had told me made no sense whatsoever, but it was something to keep my mind off the wound on my back.
“The town was supposed to be deserted, but some wolves refused to leave, so you went there to convince them to come with you … and Nortrix and Paimon caught you. It seemed Paimon had planned on going after you anyway.” His tone was hard, angry. He smeared some cream on the cut, and I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t scream. “Without meaning to, Paimon released the dragon and he burned our town. In the confusion, Roman took you aside … and right into Paimon’s arms. It was then I arrived, and I was looking for you. And then I saw it.” He placed a full hand on the center of my shoulder blades. My breath caught. “Paimon killed you with a sword right in front of me.” His voice broke. “Then he was gone. You fell in my arms and … died.” He leaned forward and rested his forehead on my shoulder.
My head told me to push him away, to not let him do this. He couldn’t touch me like this while telling me all these lies, but my heart and that insane pull coming from it told me something else, something so crazy, I didn’t dare to listen.
But I also couldn’t pull away.
“I took your body, Raika,” he whispered. “I cremated you.” His lips touched my shoulder and I shivered. “I don’t know how it’s possible. I thought you were gone. Do you know how it feels to see you again? To have you here with me?” I closed my eyes and leaned into him. “I have you back now and—”
Clarity filled my head and I scooted away from him. “You have nothing, no one.” I pulled my shirt down. “But a story full of lies.”
“Look me in the eye and tell me you feel nothing for me.” His voice was hard, hurt.
I looked at him, and my emotions rose from my chest, fast and hot, and oh, by the moon, this man … I averted my eyes. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
He crossed his arms. “Then tell me your version of the story. Who am I? Who’s that blonde woman, that other guy? And how did you lose your memories?”
Not wanting to talk to this brute, I reached for the bandages, lifted my shirt again, and applied it to my cut myself. Though, when I pulled my shirt down, the bandage stuck to it, and crumpled at the hem. “Shit.”
“Give it to me.” He extended his hand. I eyed his hand as if it could bite me. “I’ll behave … for now.”
I didn’t like that. Lies—my body liked that very much. I could feel my heart thumping faster just thinking of him coming closer.
This was crazy.
Without another option, I handed him the bandage and turned my side to him again. Then I told him the truth: a little over a year ago, his pack attacked me when they found out I was a half-demon. They killed my mother, but Roman, who was my mate, helped me escape the pack. We ran into my father, who took me to live with him and Ivy, my half sister—I didn’t tell him about Paimon’s plan for the future, because he didn’t need to know that.
“About two weeks ago, I was out with Ivy on a mission when your pack found us again and they attacked,” I said. Shane pressed the bandage against my skin and pulled my shirt back down. “I almost died in that battle, and ended up losing my memories.”
I turned again, making sure I kept at least a good foot between us. The look on his face caught me by surprise. His brows were curled, his jaw worked hard, I thought he would break a tooth, and his hands were clenched by his side.
This was the alpha of my former pack. A pack who wanted me dead for what I was. And here I was, trapped with him without any chance of a quick escape.
I moved another foot back.
“What can I do to prove to you what I’m telling you is the truth?”
“Nothing. Though I would appreciate it if you don’t kill me.”
He let out a hollow chuckle. “Raika, you’re my mate, the woman I’ve been in love with since you were five years old. I’ve lost you twice already, and I thought I would die in agony and pain both times. My body, my heart, and my soul are yours. Do you really think I could ever hurt you?”
The intensity of his gaze made me uncomfortable. Bothered. Hot.
Shit, I needed to get away from here.
I put a hand on the wall and stood slowly. Shane jumped to my side and held my elbow, keeping me steady. His warm hand on my skin, I—a wave of dizziness hit me and everything went dark for two seconds.
