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“Thank you for not leaving, dear child. For hearing my pleas.” In my moment of celebration, I’d forgotten my female is here. What she’s done for us, but Mum cranes her neck back a bit to find her near the wall. “Did Leonora send you?”
Utter sadness comes from Isabella. It strikes me fast and hard. Her emotions settle in my chest, and my head snaps in her direction just in time to catch a few stray tears roll down her cheeks. The smile on her face cracks the longer our eyes meet, but then she looks away and addresses the question.
“No. Mom didn’t send me.”
“She let you come here by yourself? Without protection?” Mum tries to stand, nearly pushing Dad away in her haste, and I’m pinging back and forth between the two. Something about Little Moon’s response distresses her, and I don’t understand why. Not until I meet my father’s sorrow-filled gaze.
The same one he wore the day he thought he’d lost his mate. Loss. Grief.
Goddess, no. Please, no.
“We can discuss my parents at another time, Mrs. Evergreen. Let’s get you out of—”
“Tell me the truth, Isa.” Mum insists, shakily walking closer to Isabella with the help of her mate, each step slow and careful. “Where’s my good friend?”
That’s why I never found them. They’re gone.
“I’m sorry,” I choke out; the shaking from before returns to her and is magnified. I try to touch my mate, to calm her, but she pushes my hand away through blurry eyes. My female’s head shakes from side to side, gasping breaths catching in her chest, and she fully leans against the wall for support. Concern comes from my parents—we’re watching her, but then her eyes roll back and I’m catching Isabella. Hear the words that rip me in two for a different reason while my mother releases a wail. “They’re dead.”
17
ISABELLA
The scent of pine and mint surrounds me, lulling me into a peaceful state between slumber and awareness that I don’t want to let go of. My bones hurt. Every part of my body is sore, and moving means this serenity will be gone.
I know where I am. Who sits beside me and whose bed this is.
Xadiel Evergreen surrounds me on a molecular level; he’s a part of me, and I’d find him in a room full of a thousand people within seconds. How that happened, I have no idea, more so because our mating isn’t complete. The bite mark on my neck is proof of that, although it hurts less today than the last time I was awake.
“What happened? How long was I out?” I ask, refusing to open my eyes. It’s better this way. His handsome face is a weakness. My body craves his. I can’t control this pull—how strong it is within this close proximity—but distance will lessen the spiteful need. It has to.
“You passed out two days ago due to exhaustion and I healed your neck. I couldn’t let you suffer anymore.” A large, warm hand pushes the strands of hair on my forehead back, lingering over my temple, then moving from one side to the other. Skimming low on my cheek. “Scared the hell out of me, Isabella.”
The sincerity in his voice shakes me, but I focus on my breathing, keeping the shaky butterflies currently residing in my stomach from showing, from seeping into my tone at the knowledge he tended to the bite. “My apologies, Alpha King. That wasn’t my intention.”
“Don’t.” Both his hands cup my face now, his mouth so close to mine, his breath caressing my lips. “I know I deserve this. What I’ve put you through is something I’ll never forgive myself for—I expect you to give me hell—but don’t treat me like a stranger. Hit me, bite me, curse me…but do it while looking at me.”
“I never meant to worry you.” Unwillingly, my lids open and I meet his golden eyes with the beautiful, black swirl. His wolf is here. Present in the low purring I don’t think he’s aware of making. The low vibrations run through me, settling my rising nerves and the small shaking of my limbs. His effect on me is unfair.
“The fact you’re apologizing...” he trails off for a second, pained expression marring his sharp features while he swallows hard “…I failed you, my mate.”
“It’s been a rough few weeks, and I neglected the warning signs. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be on my way.”
“No.” Loud, the growl reverberates throughout the room. The command is felt, but I’m not moved to submit like werewolves do. Perk of being his equal.
“What do you mean, no?”
“You’re not leaving me, Isabella.” I’m quick to push his hands away at that, scrambling to the edge of the bed but I never make it. Not with this beast of a man moving me to his liking and situating me in the middle of the bed this time; his hulking form cages me. His nostrils flare and eyes turn darker than I’ve seen to date, while the arms on either side of my head keep most of his weight off me. Most, because the heat is still there as is the gentlest touch each time he exhales. “I’m man enough to admit I’ve made plenty of mistakes when it comes to you, Isabella, but this won’t be one of them. It’s selfish of me, I know that, but I can’t let you go.”
“Just a couple days ago you would have.” Every word is drenched in bitterness. My truth. I’m angry at him, how exposed this makes me feel. Not once did he give me the benefit of the doubt—let me prove my family’s innocence, and now it’s supposed to be okay? “Finding your mother changes nothing, Xadiel. You should’ve trusted me.”
“You’re right,” he says, voice gravelly, before lowering his face to lay a tiny kiss on the tip of my nose and each cheek. Xadiel is scenting me, and I hate to admit, I find it cute. How he nuzzles into me, mixing his pine and mint essence with mine, making sure others who come near me can smell it. Him. At the crook of my neck, he inhales deep and a rumble of approval greets my ears. This is how we lie for a while, just being, but then he speaks again so low I almost miss it. “I sinned against you, my female, and I’ll spend the rest of my life paying that penance. All I ask is that you do it by my side. That you allow me to make amends.”
“I need to go,” I blurt out instead, and at once heat flushes my skin. It’s not what I want, but what must be done. I’m not trying to hurt him, rather allow us time to cool down and think. Our lives are forever intertwined and eternity is too long to be angry, but that doesn’t negate he and the werewolves here owe me the time to recover. Moreover, putting my needs before their own is how they—he—starts doing that. “At least for a while.”
“Why?”
“Because my mother and father were never laid to rest. Not as they deserve.” Goddess above. The sheer guilt and hurt coming off him feels like a tsunami slammed into my ribcage. This isn’t what I expected. Regret, yes, but to actually grieve them lessens a little of my rage. Not all, but I do wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me. The hug is just as much for him as it is for me, the comfort settling my fatigued soul. “My siblings and I are coming home to pay our respects, Xadiel,” I whisper, and he nods. “Our traditions require this so the deceased can rest and become one with the earth again. We’ve been running and hiding for so long, unable to do so, but now it’s time. Can you understand that?”
