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“What?” I whisper.
“You didn’t do this to me, Ryan did. You can’t be held responsible for other people’s actions. You didn’t know you were a hunter when we met and you didn’t introduce me to Ryan. I dated him all on my own.”
Her words lessen some of my guilt. Is she right? Does she really feel this way? It’s her next words that seal the deal for me.
“I imagine your mates are feeling something similar. Would you ever blame them for this? For coming into your life? Because I wouldn’t give you up as my best friend, just like you wouldn’t give them up. If you don’t blame them, then you can understand how I don’t blame you.” She sounds strong and sure in her convictions. How did she get so wise?
I burst into tears, basically tackling her into a hug. We hold each other tight and let the forgiveness settle in.
“What’s wrong?” Kiran asks, running into the room. He must have heard the thump from me landing on Anna.
When I turn to look at him he’s smiling as the other guys gather around him, watching us.
“You made up,” Kiran says, and he sounds relieved.
“We were never fighting, just holding on to stupid guilt,” Anna says giving me a pointed look.
If my mates are feeling guilty then I need to fix that right away.
I squeeze her hand and turn to face my guys.
“Are you guys holding on to stupid guilt about what happened?”
As soon as I ask, I can feel through the bond that it’s true. Kiran feels worst of all and I’m not sure how I missed it this whole time. I think I was too caught up in my own guilt to notice theirs.
I sigh. “I was too, but it’s not on any of us. This is Ryan’s fault, and he should have all our anger directed at him. I understand but,” I decide to use Anna’s move against them, “would you blame me if the situation was reversed?”
I can feel a switch flip in them, instead of guilty, they feel angry at the idea of me holding onto that guilt.
I walk up to Kiran and hold his hand while asking, “are you going to let it go and move past this?”
He gives me a soft smile, leaning down to press his nose to mine. “If you will, I will.”
There’s a round of agreement from all of them and a weight I didn’t know was there, is lifted off my shoulders. We need to be a unit and on top of our game going forward, no room for useless guilt.
“Great! Now, when are we going back?” Anna asks.
Eleven
Jeremy
“I have arranged a house for us to stay in, Anna you’ll stay with us. We can leave whenever we are ready,” Nicoli says. hello
Anna and Aly seem relieved but I’m a mess inside. I don’t want my mate back out in the open, at risk. We are safer here and everyone knows it, so why are we going back?
Because it’ll make Aly happy and even though her safety is our number one priority, so is her happiness. Aly hasn’t complained once but I know she’s been wanting to go back. She was ripped out of college with no chance to say goodbye. She thrived there, even if she doesn’t realize it.
We also don’t want to raise any red flags when it comes to Anna. There are people who will notice if she goes missing, and she can’t explain this to her parents. Plus, it’s easier for a new vampire to adjust if she tries to act normal. I know all this, I just wish it didn’t include my mate being exposed.
I’ve already tried talking to Nic about it, and while he agrees, he thinks this is best. And I have to trust him, even when I don’t want to.
But if Aly thinks I won’t be stuck to her like glue when we go back, she has a surprise in store.
“Let’s go now, we are all packed up,” Aly says and my gut clenches.
I can do this. I trust Aly to take care of herself and I trust my best friends to keep her safe. We can’t live in hiding forever, it’s just not healthy.
“How will we get there?” Anna asks.
