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The news was the most shocking thing I’d ever heard. So much had happened in only a few days. Garth Sheen was dead? Holy fuck. Looking over my shoulder, I spotted Mika sitting with Zoe and J.D. The three of them were talking quietly, smiling. What would Mika think when he heard?
It seemed we both had some daddy issues to deal with.
Chapter 15
Kira
I’d started the war? That made no sense. I was…well, I was only me. A nobody. How could I have started a war just by telling the truth?
I’d only done it because people needed to know the reality of the problem. My plan had been to get a conversation started, to get people to question Heline’s temples and the work they were doing. I’d never have believed—not in a million years—that a war would break out because I’d said a few words on camera.
In reality, what I’dreallywanted was to endThe Reject Project. To show the world how fucked-up it was to toss a bunch of people onto a nightmarish island to compete for the hope of getting a mate. I’d never meant for things to get this out of control. People were being murdered in the streets. Heline’s acolytes were going to be executed. Packs were falling on each other like vultures.
All because of me.
As Kolton spoke and gave us more details about how the world was literally falling apart, thanks to me, a nervous ball of nausea coiled in my stomach. I wanted to throw up, and my skin beaded with cold sweat. If what Kolton was saying was true, howcould I fix this? And Ihadto fix it before more innocent people died.
“Stop that,” Wyatt warned.
“Stop what?” I asked.
“You know. I can see it on your face. This isn’t your fault.”
“I didn’t say it was,” I said, doing my best to act calm.
“You didn’t have to. I can see your face.”
“He’s right, Kiki,” Kolton said. “All you did was say what everyone’s been thinking. We all had it in the back of our minds; you just voiced it and brought it to the forefront. If it hadn’t been you, it would have eventually been someone else.”
“But itwasme,” I insisted.
“You went on the show precisely to stop this,” Wyatt said. “You went on that show, knowing damn well you were gonna game the system and take Heline’s gift rather than a mate. You did that so you could stop a war and protect your pack. I know you carry some kind of guilt for that, but your reasoning was honorable. Stop trying to make yourself the villain when you aren’t.”
His words rang hollow. The devastation and destruction going on all over the world were my fault. No amount of sugar-coating would make it not be true. I should have kept my mouth shut, played the game, and done things the right way. If I had, I might be in Fangmore right now, asking Heline for her favor and stopping this whole war before it could’ve started.
But then, of course, I wouldn’t be with Wyatt. Could I really give that up?
Gods, why was this so awful?
Wyatt, seeing I still didn’t believe him, grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. “You have inspired change, Kira. Lasting change. You said the things that needed to be said. No one ever brought about change like this without there being some growing pains. Do you really think people should havecontinued mating with people they weren’t meant to? Think about yourself. How miserable would you be if you were sitting at home with Jayson as your mate right now?”
Picturing that was like a slap in the face. It sank in better than anything else Wyatt had said.
“Kiki,” Kolton said, “Wyatt’s right. What you said that night? It was like a kick in the gut. The mating connections and the corruption of the packs? They were all things I’d noticed, but I pushed them to the back of my mind. I didn’t press the issue because I wanted to be a good pack member. I didn’t want to rock the boat. But you weren’t afraid to do that. Are shitty things happening? Yes. But is it any worse than what was going on before? It’s just different and more open.” He leaned forward and wrapped me in a bear hug only a brother could give. “You did nothing wrong. Now, we need to get home and make it through this war.”
“More than that,” I said as he released me. “We need to protect our home and survive, but we also need to find Simon and Heline.”
“Seriously?” Kolton asked.
“How the hell are we going to find the moon goddess?” Wyatt asked. “I doubt her address can be found on the internet.”
“I’ll figure it out,” I said. “We find Simon and stop him from making more experiments and hurting people. Those weapons of hiscan’tbe allowed to be part of the war. And once we deal with him, we find Heline. Part of this war is because of her fucking meddling with the mating connections. People are pissed, as they should be. The Shadowkeeper told us this was all part of her sister’s game. That tells me Heline may be guiltier than we think. Shifters are too scared to call her out, and now they’re gonna murder her acolytes when she’s behind this.”
Having a goal, a plan, helped focus my mind. It got me out of the self-loathing spiral I’d been about to drift into. If I could keepmy eyes on the mission ahead, I could stop thinking I’d ruined everything.
Wyatt looked thoughtful for a moment. “Maybe we could figure out how to find Heline.”
“You’ve got an idea?” I asked.
