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Teresa stepped between Rose and I, leaning with her elbows on the table so she could try to meet Rose's eyes despite Rose’s current fixation with the tabletop.
Teresa said softly, “You must have felt a lot of guilt all these years.”
No one ever saw Teresa coming. Even I didn't know where the hell she was going with this line of conversation.
I rose from my chair, ready to leave it to Teresa. Obviously, I wasn't going to hurt the girl. Frustration rushed through me. Nothing that I had tried to let Brennan's ghost rest had succeeded. I felt more haunted by him with every day that went by, every step that I tried to take to bring peace to both our souls.
“Every time he hurt her, it was my fault. She could have been away with Brennan and happy...”
“No. Every time he hurt her, it was his fault.” Teresa’s tone was firm. I’d never let her know it, but whenever I heard her scolding the teenagers she trained, I stiffened… just a little…even though she’d never use that tone with me.
Rose raised uncertain, damp eyes to meet Teresa’s.
“And we're going to kill him.” Teresa added, still matter-of-fact. “You can’t fix the past, but you can help protect Amelia and Dylan now. Do you want to help?”
Rose’s lips fell open in shock. I might not show it, but I felt the same.
Teresa was a wild card.
Rose and Teresa studied each other.
Then Rose asked quietly, “Why?”
“Because it was brave of you to come in here and face the pack alpha to tell him that and your childish, self-centered behavior led to his brother's death.” Teresa didn't blunt her words, and Rose’s gaze shot to mine as if she were afraid of me all over again. “You knew that he might punish you for it. But you didn't want to see Aiden punished. Right?”
She nodded.
Teresa shrugged. “So. Self-centered brat though you might have been-- or might be--there's some kind of warrior hiding under that skin too. You have a lot to make up for. But you can start tomorrow morning when you join the other teenage cubs for training. You can learn how to fight.”
Rose looked stunned as she stood. “Thank you.”
“Oh, I wouldn't thank me yet. It's not the most fun you're ever going to have. We meet at 6:30 on the school lawn.” Teresa raised her hand to shoo her away. “Now, you’re going to go away. You're wasting the alpha’s time. If you ever walk through that door again without being summoned, I'll make sure you regret it, do you understand me?”
Rose nodded and then slipped from the room. She stopped at the door to look back at me. Our gazes met again, for one tense second where I couldn’t read her expression, and then she ducked out.
“I didn't take punishment entirely off the table.” Teresa slid back into her seat and drummed her finger tips against the table. “I know that's your call. But I think she was just a child. If you care about my opinion.”
“You know that I do.” Restless tension overtook me, and I paced across the floor. “This is so fucking unsatisfying.”
Teresa shrugged. “Maybe revenge always is. But I still think I'd like to see Nathan bleeding from many, many stab wounds and watched the light fade from his eyes.”
“I intend to make those dreams come true.” I studied her, still surprised by her kind handling of Rose. She took the lead on managing our cubs training until she passed them off to Cole when they finished high school. “You were kind with Rose.”
She didn't meet my gaze, clearly uncomfortable with any kind of compliment.
“Far kinder than you were with Amelia,” I added. “I'd say you owe her an apology, but I don't think she wants it.”
“I don't think I owe her anything,” Teresa shot back.
I kept staring at her, and under the weight of my gaze, she finally said, “I'll think about ways to make it up to her.”
“I believe there’s just one way, and that would befriendship, Teresa. Get to know her. Offer her friendship. You could use more friends.”
Teresa scoffed. But she repeated, “I'll think about it.”
CHAPTER28
Amelia
