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Would Ridge still have wanted me if our connection wasn’t written in the stars, or was I just a pawn in some supernaturalgame? No matter how hard I tried, I kept returning to the belief that we had no control over our feelings. I hated it. It was like my life was already set in stone, right down to the person I would share it with. I was merely a passenger, unable to exert any control over the course of my own life. All I wanted was to be the one at the wheel, but all the talk of fated mates—of soul mates—made it feel like control was slipping away like sand through my fingers.
I shook my head, trying to dislodge the doubts. Now wasn’t the time for second-guessing. There was too much at stake, too many lives on the line—including Kyle’s. I needed to change my mindset and focus on managing the things that were within my control, not some cosmic twist of fate.
After rinsing off and wrapping a towel around myself, I exited the bathroom. I had already laid out my clothes on the bed, so I dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a snug-fitting shirt that clung to my curves. It wasn’t flashy, but I hoped it would remind Ridge what he had waiting for him once the day’s madness was over. I might as well enjoy Ridge while I had him. If, as I suspected, the fated mate thing blew up in my face and he realized whatever he felt for me was only temporary, I’d have these memories to look back on.
With one last glance in the mirror, I headed out the door to go check on Kyle at the hospital. As soon as I arrived, I went straight to his room, but it was empty.
My heart thumped wildly. What had happened? When I’d left the night before, he’d seemed perfectly healthy. My throat tightened with fear as I rushed to find someone, anyone, to tell me where the hell my brother was.
I saw the nurse Ridge had spoken to when we’d been here what now felt like an eternity ago. What was her name again? Cara?Clara!
“Excuse me, Clara.” I rushed to the station. “Where’s my brother? Kyle Summers? What happened? He was fine when I left. He was in room 10. There’s no one there now, so where is he?”
Clara stood up. “Tori, isn’t it? You’re Alpha Blackwood’s fiancée?”
For once, I wasn’t about to argue. She came around the desk and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Kyle’s fine,” she said. “His injuries were healing well, so we discharged him.”
Relief flooded me as I looked around. “Where is he? He should have phoned me. I’d have come down and picked him up.”
Clara looked embarrassed. “Sheriff Clawson came and spoke with him about an hour after you and the alpha left.” My relief dissipated as fear crept back in, tightening my chest. Her voice sounded like it was coming from far away. “He was placed into the custody of Sheriff Clawson, who said he’d keep him under observation at the station for now.”
My stomach twisted. Clawson being so wary of Kyle frustrated the hell out of me. Kyle had turned his back on his own people, killing men who had been sent to rescue him—men he’d known for most of his adult life. He’d saved Audrey’s life. I couldn’t shake the knowledge that he was being treated like a criminal rather than the hero he was.
“Thanks,” I muttered to Clara before turning to leave. As I walked down the hallway, raised voices caught my attention. They were coming from Audrey’s room, and as I drew closer, I recognized her parents’ voices. Martin and Christie Greenthorne were chewing her out, demanding to know what had happened.
“Dammit, Audrey!” Martin’s voice boomed through the door. “We want answers! What the hell happened last night? We’ve been made aware something happened yesterday during the festival. The shifter meeting got rescheduled, and, as you’re well-aware, that hardly ever happens. Then we find out you’re in the hospital, so don’t think you can get away with playing the innocent act! You undoubtedly possess more knowledge than you’re letting on, so out with it.”
Despite my reluctance to intrude, I couldn’t help but be drawn toward the door. Audrey didn’t deserve to be treated this way, especially after everything she’d been through. Especially by her own parents.
“Martin, let her speak,” I heard Christie snap, her tone ice-cold. “If you keep interrupting her, we’ll get nowhere.”
“Fine!” Martin huffed. “What do you have to say for yourself, Audrey?”
There was a pause, and Audrey’s voice drifted through the door. She sounded weary yet defiant. “And this is why I stayed in the hospital—because I couldn’t be bothered to go home and listen to the two of you argue. I’m perfectly healthy, in case you were wondering.”
“Healthy?” Martin sputtered. “This is what you call healthy? You’re lying in a hospital bed, and we have absolutely no idea why!”
“If you’d listen to me instead of shouting at me, you might find out,” Audrey said wryly.
Christie scoffed. “This is no time for your rebellious attitude, Audrey. We know something happened yesterday, and that both the sheriff and the mayor were involved. We want you to tell us what it was, so stop being a brat and tell us!”
I couldn’t listen to any more of their haranguing. Pushing the door open, I stepped into the room. The Greenthornes whirled around, then narrowed their shifty eyes on me.
“You realize you’re in a hospital?” I said to them icily. “People are here because they are sick. Perhaps you should try keeping your voices down. No one can possibly heal while listening to you.”
Martin’s face turned an ugly shade of puce as he made an attempt at a growl. If that was meant to intimidate me, he hadn’t done a good job. “Who do you think you are?”
“Someone who actually cares about Audrey’s well-being,” I shot back.
“Get out,” Christie snapped. “This is a private conversation, and you’re certainly not welcome here.”
“Actually,” Audrey interjected, her eyes twinkling with mischief, “I’d like to formally invite Tori to join us for this delightful family gathering. Tori, would you care to join us?”
“Why, thank you ever so much, dear Audrey,” I said, matching her theatrical tone as I moved to stand beside her bed. “It’s truly an honor to be included in such a momentous occasion.” I curtsied toward Audrey, making her giggle.
“Enough,” Christie seethed, glaring at both of us. “I’m sure you were part of what happened during the festival yesterday, Tori. Ridge’s choice of you as a mate only confirms my belief that his leadership is failing. Which is fine. He will soon be challenged and ousted from being alpha, anyway.”
Mrs. Greenthorne’s haughty attitude, condescending tone, and turned-up nose had me clenching my fists, only steeling my resolve to put them in their place. Why this couple thought themselves so superior, I had no idea, but they wouldn’t last one day in the real world. Not with the hunters out for blood. They didn’t realize how good they had it here in Blackwood Creek with an alpha as amazing and caring as Ridge.
