AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I take a step back. More like stumble.
“Her hands were tied, Rye. Completely. Though it was her doing, she was practically a kid. What? Twenty-one years old? Barely a fucking adult. She fucked up. And she suffered. She was forced to hide, man. She didn’t want to.”
“Grey. I can’t.” I lift my hands.
“How many times over the years did you wish for a do-over? How often have you sworn you'd do anything to get her back?"
Grey knows he scores with that as I flinch harder.
"Well, you didn't lose her, Rye. Some shit just got in the way. And now the way is clear, brother.”
He stares, waiting for me to speak. I don't, so he keeps going. “She's yours, bro. The one meant to sire pups with. Meant to keep you warm at night and light up your mornings. Fuck, Savage. Get your goddamn head out of your ass and claim your mate.”
I turn, ready to walk away, but crash into Tyson, who’s looking down at me from the two or three inches of height he has on me, which feels right now like two or three feet.
“How many times in your life did you fuck up badly? Ever?” Tyson asks. "Saint Riley?"
I let out an impatient huff as I step back. I do not need this right now. I don't have the goddamn capacity for it.
“We all fuck up. You've never made a mistake you wish you could take back? Your mate doesn't deserve to be heard? Did I not deserve to be heard when I fucked up with my Ivy?"
"Ty –"
"I fucked up so bad with my mate I never should've gotten another chance. But I did."
"This is different," I grind out.
"How?" he demands. "Your mate is here to face what she did and fix it. Should I have not been heard? Do people not deserve a chance? Should Ivy have forgotten I existed because my instincts took over?”
I grind my teeth.
"You think a witch's instinct isn't to use magic?" He waits for a beat, then says, "You know what you need, cousin? You need to be locked in a room with her until this gets worked out.”
“Not a bad idea,” I hear Lincoln say from behind me.
“Agreed,” Grey chimes in.
I slowly turn away from Ty and face the rest of them, seeing hardness in each of their expressions.
I grind out, “The pack isn’t supposed to get in the middle of a mating, so how about you all mind your own business?”
“The mating hasn’t happened, though, has it?” Jase weighs in. “And because you're fighting fate, you’re not you. You know you're not. You need to sort this shit before you lose more of yourself. Before we lose you because it feels like we're losing you, man. You know how bad this can go and you know you'd step in to help if it was one of us.”
My eyes skate across them. They’re all looking at me like they don’t get me. Though fuck, I don’t get me.
“You need this,” Ty says from behind me. “How do we make this happen? Can we vote?”
“Bring forth the motion, Ty, and we’ll all vote,” Grey invites.
"No," I deny, laughing it off.
Ty steps into my periphery and crosses his arms over his chest. “I want Riley and his mate to go stay at my cabin. For a week. They should be able to work things out within that time if they’re left alone together.”
I scoff. “This is some horseshit.”
“I vote yes,” says Linc.
Joel states, “Same."
“Aye.” Grey nods and looks to Mase.
Wait a fuckin’ minute. I shake my head. “Guys. I am not doing this. I'll decide if and when I-”
“Yeah. I vote yes. It’s a good idea.” Mase cuts me off, looking me in the eyes. "It probably won't take a week. It'll probably take an hour."
“Nice of you to think this is no big deal, Mase. But it is a big fuckin' deal."
"It's the biggest deal, Riley," Mase states. "It's just that you've been refusing to deal with it. The Riley Savage I know doesn't run from anything."
"Fuck this.”
“I also vote yes,” Jase says. "Six yesses. It's gotta happen, Rye."
I'm thrown and feeling even more disconnected from them because all six of these assholes are unanimously voting to lock me up for a week with the one person I can't bear to be alone with. Because if I'm alone with her again, I don't know how the hell it'll go.
“Oh, it’s like this?” I scoff.
“Stacy’s brother’s gonna be a problem,” Grey states.
“Stacy?” I ask.
“Lily wasn’t her real name. You ripped apart her cousin Jimmy. She’s gonna be torn up about that because he’s blood, he’s pack to her. But you were within your rights to do that, Rye. He’s her brother’s henchman and he was gonna go down regardless. I feel it – we’re gonna have a battle on our hands with this clown, so go Rye, fix shit with your woman while we work on shit here. We’ll cover it all until you’re ready to pitch in. I’d love to have the luxury of a week locked up with my new mate, but as it’s her family problems cropping up here, that’s not an option I can take time to indulge in. So, you go fix shit with Erica.”
