CHAPTER SEVEN
Blake
I dropped my duffel bag beside the small single bed. I let out a sigh and rubbed my hands over my face.
Being deceitful wasn't something I was used to and it was exhausting trying to pretend. I didn’t know how lying came easily to some people. Hiding one's true feelings and saying things that weren't true was hard. Being honest was so much easier. With the lying, I had to remember the lies that I'd told to be convincing. But somehow I'd managed to pull it off.
At one point I thought I'd failed and I thought Keri was going to send me packing, but she'd surprised me by offering me a room to stay in. It wasn't going to be easy to try and convince her that I'd changed my mind but I hadn't expected it to be this tough. She was still suspicious of my intentions, but the fact that she was still prepared to talk to me was a good sign.
I had my work cut out for me. Just words weren’t going to do it; it was going to take more than that. If she knew my true intentions she would be hurt and she'd probably never speak to me again—mate or not.
Seeing her again was hard. I sat down on the bed and tried to reorganize my thoughts. I was tired. I'd gotten the call early that morning from Cade telling me I had to get here as quickly as I could. My time was up, he'd told me. There was no more time to contemplate or get my act together. He'd told me there had already been an attempt on her life and Kyle had saved her. We couldn't risk something happening to her, so I had to try and convince her to mate. The quicker, the better—for all of us. I'd felt a protectiveness and concern at the thought that someone had tried to hurt her.
Mixed emotions. It was like loving and disliking the person at the same time. It was difficult to make sense of those feelings. I let out another sigh as I looked around the small room she'd shown me to. There was nothing other than a single bed and a door to a small bathroom. The room was a dull gray, and a little depressing.
Their living quarters were drastically different from the setup I was used to. It also reflected the different way the pack was run compared to my pack. The rooms were just basic like what you would get in an army, whereas our pack members had small apartments with a living room and a kitchen. Our pack members weren't just soldiers, they were family. It was hard to imagine being brought up in this type of environment and I couldn't imagine Victor being a loving father, either.
Each time I thought about her, I felt the pain of her deceit. We'd all trusted her and look what happened—she'd betrayed us all. Even though she'd cared about me—and I'd felt the same—she'd been working for her father, trying to squirm her way into our lives. As soon as she'd gained our trust, she'd helped Curtis kidnap Scarlett and handed her over to her father.
She knew what Victor was capable of and what he wanted from Scarlett but she'd done nothing to help her. The truth of the matter was that she'd gone along with her father's plans. She didn't have to, she could have run away from him and the pack, but she hadn't. That told me she was no better than her father.
I felt a pang of guilt when I thought of how I was betraying her now. It didn't make me any better than her. Did my betrayal mean any less because of the reasons behind it? I wasn't betraying her to gain power; I was betraying her to keep all of our packs safe—hers included.
A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts. I knew who it would be before I saw who it was. Kyle filled the doorway when I opened it.
"I thought we should talk," he said as I invited him in.
I knew Kyle well. Cade, Kyle and I had all been alphas of our own packs so we knew each other. It didn't mean we got on well and we had plenty of run-ins over the years. It was my fondness for Scarlett that made me try and keep our interaction friendly. He was Scarlett's brother and Scarlett was family to me so that meant he was as good as family too.
He sat down on the bed and I stood across from him.
"Who attacked her?" I asked. I wanted to know exactly what had happened.
"She'd relieved the existing beta, Richard, of his duties and he retaliated by leaving her pack and trying to kill her."
It took a massive amount of control not to show my anger at the thought that some asshole had put his hands on her and tried to hurt her. There was a fight inside of me of what to feel. My heart and what I felt for her were fighting in my mind.
"Why did she meet up with him alone? Aren't you supposed to be with her when she is having meetings with pack members?" I asked, sounding a little accusatory. That had been a condition of her release.
"She didn't tell me about it," he answered with a shrug.
Why, after everything, was she still being deceitful? He didn't seem to be so concerned about the fact that she'd been deceitful or less than honest.
"I got there just in time," he added, watching me carefully for a reaction.
Was he hoping I'd act like a protective mate? I had to pretend in front of Keri but I wasn't going to pretend for anyone else.
"Good," I replied with a shrug. He studied me for a few more moments before he stood up.
"Look, I know that she did some things that hurt you," he began, "but don't judge before you know all the facts."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, feeling annoyed that he seemed to be taking Keri's side.
"It's not mine to tell," he replied cryptically and I didn’t like it. Although I wasn't sure there was any reasonable explanation that could explain away her betrayal and deceit. But that was my opinion.
"You don't think that I want to believe that there is an explanation to explain why she did what she did?" I said, my voice rising with anger. "If there was, I'd be the happiest guy on earth because it would mean I wouldn't have to hate her."
My anger had risen and I was breathing hard, trying to hang on to my temper.
"You have no idea how much this is tearing me apart," I stated to him.
He held my gaze.
"All I'm saying is talk to her, get to know her," he said. "I didn't think much of her when I first met her, but Scarlett told me to keep an open mind and I did. I've gotten to know her. She isn't who we all think she is."
I ran an agitated hand through my hair. I didn't want to build up the hope that there was goodness in her that had been made to do the evil things she had.
"I've got it from here. You can go back," I dismissed him. There didn't need to be two of us with her. I could keep an eye on her and convince her to mate. Kyle didn't need to be here.
"I'm not going anywhere," he informed me. And I gave him a surprised look. "I know what you and Cade are up to and I'm against it. My loyalty to my sister is the only reason I haven't told Keri."
We sized each other up for a moment.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here to make sure you don't break her."
He squared his shoulders as he held my gaze.
"If you are set on deceiving her, you leave me no alternative but to tell her the truth, and don't doubt that I will." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "All I'm asking is that you mate with her for the right reasons.”
Keri
Why had he come here? I'd been hiding in my room for the last hour while trying to come up with a reason why he was here. I didn't trust his intentions at all. The change from when he'd first found out about my betrayal to now had been too dramatic to be believed. As much as I racked my brain, I couldn't see the benefit of trying to deceive me into mating with him, but just because I couldn't see the reasoning didn't mean it wasn't there.
My hands went to my throat when I thought of which pack member I was going to appoint as my second-in-charge. I was still undecided but I had time to think about it.
My neck still felt tender and in my reflection in my bathroom mirror I could see faint bruises. With faster healing than humans, I knew the bruises would be gone by the end of the day.
Today was going to be tough and I wasn't sure having Blake around was going to make it any easier. I was also feeling nervous. I couldn't let Blake find out about my mother until I was sure I could trust him. I hoped Kyle wouldn't say anything. Feeling a little panicky, I went to the room next to mine and knocked. Moments later, Kyle opened the door.
"Hey," he greeted with a friendly smile. I didn't smile back.
"Can I talk to you?" I asked, getting straight to the point.
"Sure," he said as he stepped back and allowed me into his room. It was exactly the same as mine.
"What do you want to talk to me about?" he asked as he closed the door and turned to face me.
"I want to ask you not to tell Blake about my mom," I informed him as I held his gaze. I didn’t know what I would do if Blake found out.
"I won't," he assured me softly. "It isn't my story to tell. But I hope that you know Blake wouldn't use her like your father did. He might be acting like an ass at the moment, but he isn't like your father."
"All I want is your word that you won't say anything," I stated, not wanting to discuss Blake.
"You have it," he assured me.
"Thank you," I mumbled as I walked past him and opened the door.
"You're welcome, Cinderella."
At the mention of the nickname, I turned to glare at him but he just smiled at me. I left feeling flustered. It was hard keeping the walls up around him when he was so bloody nice all the time. If I weren't careful he'd worm his way into a real friendship without me realizing it.
I wanted to go and see my mom. According to the guard I'd instructed to keep an eye on Blake, so I’d know where he was at all times, he was still in the room I'd escorted him to. Under no circumstances could he find out about my mother.
Curtis was with her when I entered the room.
"Hi, Mom," I said as cheerfully as I could muster, ignoring the nervousness inside me.
"Hi, baby," she said and then she coughed.
My eyes went to Curtis who held my gaze. It was happening already and there was nothing I could do to stop or delay it yet. I wanted to cry and scream at how unfair all of this was but there was no point. Crying and getting upset was an irrational response that wouldn't change anything.
My mom needed me to be calm for her. I hid my feelings and plastered a smile on my face. In front of her I would keep it together, and when I was alone I would fall apart.
Another cough racked her body and Curtis helped her sit up. After a few minutes the coughing eased and she smiled up at me. I felt my heart crack at the beautiful smile she gave me. She knew she didn't have long and instead of feeling angry she was smiling at me like there was nothing wrong. I loved her even more in that moment.
"How are you?" Curtis asked, his eyes taking in the slight bruises on my neck.
"I'm good," I responded, shaking off his concern. Discussing my attack wasn’t something I wanted to do in front of my mom. I wanted her last days to be calm and I wanted to keep her as happy as I could. I didn’t want to fill her last days with worry over my welfare.
Any thoughts of what her death was going to do to me I pushed to the back of my mind. I couldn't worry how I was going to deal with it; the point was I had to.
I heard Blake arrived this morning, Curtis said to me through the mind-link. He shot me a side-glance, looking for a reaction to that news.
I'll talk to you later about him, I replied, keeping our conversation just between the two of us.
Curtis gave me one last look before he gave my mom a brief nod and left us alone.
I stayed with my mom for an hour. The need to spend every moment I could with her was cut short when the guard informed me through the mind-link that Blake had left his room and he was looking for me.
"I have to go," I said to my mom abruptly, standing up and pressing a brief kiss to her forehead.
"Bye, baby," she said meekly. I gave her one last smile before I left.
I'd managed to get out of the medical center before I saw Blake striding purposefully toward me.
"I've been looking for you," he said with a frown.
"I had things to do," I informed him coldly as I walked past him.
I didn't trust him and I hoped it was only a matter of time before his true reason for being here came to light. The sound of his footsteps following behind me didn’t surprise me. Then Kyle walked up to us. Now I had two of them to deal with and I couldn't help feeling frustrated.
"Hi, Cinderella," Kyle greeted me with a charming smile. My eyes narrowed at his slightly friendly greeting. What was he playing at?
I glanced to my side to see Blake stiffen beside me and he shot a glare at Kyle.
"Hi," I said automatically, still trying to figure out what was going on.
"So what are we doing today?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.
"My father's funeral," I stated, not feeling as chipper as Kyle seemed to be.
That wiped the smile off Kyle's face and a somber mood settled over us. It seemed that no one wanted to see my father again, even if this time he was cold and lifeless. What also didn't help was the tension rolling off Blake. There seemed to be something going down between him and Kyle.
I turned to face Blake and he pulled his glare from Kyle and settled it on me.
"Stop it," I instructed him. "I have enough to deal with today without having to worry about the two of you beating the crap out of each other. If you can't put your differences aside today, then I suggest the both of you make yourselves scarce."
Blake pressed his lips together and frowned before throwing Kyle a side-glance. Kyle gave a shrug of his shoulders. I gave them both one last look that told them I was being very serious, before I walked away.
After today I would never have to look at the face of the monster that had tormented me my whole life. Even though he was dead, it wasn't going to be easy facing him again.
The morning sped by as my pack made preparations to bury their previous dead alpha. I was surprised that, for the rest of the day, Blake and Kyle stopped whatever had been going on between them long enough for me to bury my father.
They both stood beside me as I looked at my father for one last time before his body was lowered into the ground. We didn't use coffins. The bodies of our dead were buried simply, just wrapped in a plain white sheet.
I watched with mixed emotions as the grave was filled with sand. Even after my other pack members left I remained, still staring at the last resting place of the man I'd called Father all my life. It wasn't sadness that kept me from walking away. It was anger mixed with relief that kept me standing there. I'd hated him my whole life. I should have found justice in the fact that he wasn't alive anymore, but there was none. The only way I would have felt justice is if he'd died by my hands. After everything he'd done to my mom and me, I should have been the one to end his life. But that wasn’t how things had worked out.
The sun was about to set when I turned to walk back to my room. I ignored the two silent shadows that followed me.