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I took the stairs two at a time and made my way over to the room. I knocked first, not expecting for Rosie to respond, but then I heard her say, "Come on." Opening the door, I stepped inside. "Rosie?"
"In here," I heard her say from the direction of the bathroom. The door was open, and light was shining through. I walked over to it, seeing Rosie in front of the mirror. She had on a navy blue glittered shirt with dark jeans and brown heeled boots that went up to the knee. She was in the middle of doing her hair in a single long braid. I found myself eyeing her from head to toe, appreciating how beautiful she was. Something I hadn't allowed myself to think about before.
"Is everyone here?" Rosie asked me while struggling with her hair.
Instinctively, I entered the bathroom, standing behind her and moving her hand away so I could finish the braid for her. "Everyone's here and waiting for you."
Rosie sighed. "Sorry, I'm a little on edge right now so my hands are a bit shaky."
"Who wouldn't be nervous in your situation?" I asked while I worked on her braid with a familiar pattern.
Rosie's hands on the bathroom counter shook as she gripped the edges harder. She bit her lower lip as her whole body tensed.
"Rosie, talk to me. What's on your mind?"
"I don't know if I can do this."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I've never had to be a leader before, and after watching my adopted father's brutal methods of preparing Javier to take over as alpha of the Blue Moon Pack, I knew I never wanted to be one. Now here I am, an alpha with no idea how to run a pack."
"Your adopted father?"
"Yeah." Rosie paused for a moment before speaking again. "After my parents died, they left custody of me and my brother to our alpha. Let’s just say he wasn't the best guardian to raise pups. He ignored me, but he latched on to my brother immediately since he didn't have an heir. The training he made Javier go through was intense, and it was turning him into someone I couldn't recognize. He was becoming distant and angry."
"What snapped him out of it?"
"When he yelled at me, and I ran away to hide. Javier never so much as glared at me, let alone yell. So, I knew he was changing, and I didn't like it. Neither did he since he came to find me and begged me to forgive him."
Her story about her brother reminded me of Joaquin and Pierce; siblings who grew farther apart with every passing day because of a parent. Rosie was able to bring her brother out of the darkness, but Joaquin failed to do that for Pierce. Maybe the damage was already done, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking how different our lives would've been had Pierce and Joaquin found solace in each other. To have been brothers, the way they should've been from the very beginning. In some ways, I almost felt sorry for Pierce. He only knew of power, greed, and hatred. He never had anyone to care about him, except Joaquin's mother, maybe.
I finished the braid and took the black hairband that was sitting on the counter. Tying the end, I let it drip over Rosie's shoulder and backed away. "How's that?" I asked.
Rosie smiled in the mirror as her fingers trailed down the braid. "It's perfect. I didn't know you could braid hair."
"I used to do my wife's hair when she was still alive," the words fell out before I could stop myself from saying anything.
Rosie's hand fell to her side as she gaped at my reflection. "Your wife? Alive? You mean, she's dead now?"
"Yes." My eyes fell to the floor, not wanting to see the pity in her eyes. "She passed away two years ago. She was my fated mate."
I heard a gasp coming from Rosie at my admission. "Byron, I-I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry. Um, do you want to talk about it?"
"Not really. At least not right now, seeing as how you have people waiting downstairs."
Rosie's posture straightened as she cursed under her breath. "Damn, for a second I forgot I had a crowd of shifters I needed to convince to join the renegades."
"You'll do great, Rosie. Just tell them the truth, and where you stand on the situation. If these people value their lives and the lives of Kingsrose, they'll join you."
"I hope you're right." Rosie took a moment to take deep breaths, letting them out slowly before she let me know she was ready. Joaquin was still out of it, and Rosie didn't want to risk waking him before he fully recovered. My concern for Joaquin grew with each passing day he was unconscious. I feared he would never wake, but I had to believe he'd come back to Rosie. If not, then I was prepared to step in and take his place in protecting Rosie. I owed him that much.
4
ROSIE
It was amazing how I danced in front of a crowd of hundreds over a dozen times back in New York, yet I was nervous to speak in front of a hundred or so shifters. I guess the urgency of the situation played a huge factor in it, but still. For a moment, I completely forgot about everything else and wanted to learn more about Byron. I never knew he was married, much less that his wife was no longer with us. And the fact she was his fated mate made it hurt so much more. Was that why he was pushing for me to mate with Pierce in the first place? Because he knew what it meant to have a fated mate but not have them around anymore? I couldn't imagine the pain he felt when she died, and I wanted nothing more than to comfort him. To do something to assure him that he wasn't alone.
Joaquin and my twins weren't fated to me, but they were my mates, period. If I lost any of them, it'd be like cutting off a limb. I'd move forward, but the scars and the absence would still be there. Hell, when I thought I lost Joaquin forever, it left a gaping hole in my chest that would've swallowed me whole, had it not been for the twins and my brother. Did Byron have anyone he could turn to? Rowan didn't, and he lost his entire pack.
