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“She was furious at me for making everything so impossible for her,” Jaxon said, clenching his fists at his sides. “She didn’t know what to believe anymore, but she knew I wasn’t a monster. She was just so mad at me for making her fall for me when she was supposed to hate me.”
I could imagine the anguish they must have felt at the time, torn between their love for each other and their loyalty to their respective worlds.
“Despite our individual circumstances, we ended up having a secret affair,” he said, his eyes wet with tears that threatened to fall. “During those dark times, Heather was the only light in my life.”
A bittersweet ache settled in my belly as I thought of their stolen moments together, hidden away from the prying eyes of hunters and shifters alike.
“Things continued like that for weeks, until one night, Heather showed up unexpectedly,” Jaxon said, his voice cracking slightly. “She’d secretly disabled the security in thecompound, causing chaos among the hunters as they tried to recapture the escaped supernaturals.”
“Run.” I recalled Jaxon’s earlier words. “She told you to run and never come back looking for her.”
Jaxon nodded. “When I resisted, she revealed she was married to William Summers, the leader of the faction. It was a devastating blow, but I was still desperate to escape with her. After all, she’d told me her marriage was loveless, and I promised I could get her away from him.” He took a stuttering breath. “I still remember the tears streaming down her cheeks when she reminded me that she had a two-year-old son at home, who she refused to leave behind. She wanted to stay to make sure her son didn’t get pulled into the brutal world of shifter-hunting that her husband had brought her into.”
“Nothing you could say would make her leave her son,” I said. That sounded like my mother. She’d sacrifice her happiness to keep her children safe.
“Nothing,” Jaxon said. “She chose to stay, even though it meant leaving me behind.”
I admired my mother’s bravery. She’d had the chance to escape a loveless marriage, escape the hunters. She’d been caught in an impossible situation, yet she’d made the hardest choice of all to stay and protect her child, no matter the cost.
“Once she’d gotten me and Dean out, she made it clear she never wanted to see me again.” Jaxon rubbed his hands over his tired face. “Heartbroken, I went into hiding, hoping that Heather was fierce, passionate, and strong enough to fend for herself, even if I wished she didn’t have to.”
Tears threatened to spill from my eyes, and my heart broke for him. I could imagine it all happening exactly like Jaxon had described.
“Her love story with you was doomed from the start,” I whispered, thinking about the impossible circumstances they had faced.
Jaxon nodded sadly. “I just wish I’d learned about you sooner, Tori. I didn’t even know Heather was dead until very recently. I don’t know who killed her.”
I swallowed and glanced at Kyle, who had been quiet so far. He was doing his best to hide his tears, but I could see he was very shaken by what he’d learned.
“Mom gave up running away with you to stay behind and raise me,” Kyle finally said, his voice shaking. “She wanted to make sure I didn’t become a hunter like Dad. And if she hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have.” He looked directly at Jaxon, eyes blazing. “The person who killed her was another wolf from the Everwood Pack. William tracked him down and killed him on his next hunt.”
Jaxon’s face paled, and he swallowed hard. “Who was he? What did he look like?”
“Dark fur, scars on his face,” Kyle said, shrugging. “That’s what the reports said.”
“Sounds like my old beta. My second-in-command,” Jaxon choked out. “He went feral from losing his mate shortly after our pack was killed when someone sold out our location to the hunters.”
The love, the loss, the betrayal…it was all a bit too much to bear, but it connected us.
“Love and pain seem to follow us wherever we go,” I said softly, feeling the sting of tears once more. “At least now we know the truth.”
Ridge put his arm around my waist and pulled me close to his side. I was glad he was here, glad I could lean on him and that I had his support as we navigated our way through the tangled web of our pasts.
“Come on,” he said softly, pressing a tender kiss to my temple. “Let’s get you home.”
I nodded, and we said our goodbyes. As we walked away hand in hand, I glanced back at Jaxon and Kyle. They stood like statues, lost in their own thoughts.
“You okay?” Ridge asked, his thumb caressing the back of my hand.
“Mom must not have known she was pregnant with me when Jaxon left,” I said, then sighed softly. “I’ll always wonder if she suspected I was a shifter, but I’m glad to finally know the truth about how I came to be.”
Ridge squeezed my hand. “Sometimes, the truth is hard to accept, but it’s better than being in the dark.”
The sky was tinged orange with the setting sun, and I basked in the beauty of the moment.
“Was it always this complicated, Ridge?” I asked. “Or did we just never see the full picture?”
“Life is messy, Tori,” he said, his eyes focused on the path ahead. “It’s also beautiful. We’ve faced challenges, and we’ll face more in the future. No matter what, we’ll face it together.”
