KNIGHT
Chapter 6
Alexia swiped a wet line across the steamed bathroom mirror, examining her pale, drawn features. Her hair was still damp and wavy from the hot shower, the white bath towel tucked above her chest.
Her silver locket clung to her wet skin against her throat, the familiar security calming her a little bit. It was tarnishing badly again though, leaving black marks. She needed to take it off before sleeping and showering until it could be polished.
The six hours of coma sleep helped immensely, but she still couldn’t shake the disturbing image of the man below her window earlier. He just looked so much like…
But that had to be wrong. The photo she remembered was two and half decades old now. The man she saw this morning had to be the exact same age as the one in the picture.
And he spoke into my head.
Impossible.
It had to be exhaustion coupled with the trauma of this entire ordeal that was playing tricks on her eyes and mind. A sort of twisted PTSD.
Exhaling heavily, she padded out of the bathroom and back into the main bedroom. As promised, Deena had sent up a few changes of clothes that had been waiting outside her door, and Alexia chose a pair of faded jeans and a pink, long-sleeved thermal shirt. The jeans were a little tight and she had to roll up the legs a few turns, but the shirt fit nicely. She slipped into her own Reeboks since the flats sent up were too big.
She was as ready as she was ever going to be, but was still reluctant to leave the sanctuary of this room. Walking over to the window, she pulled back the filmy curtains, and the bright sun beamed into the room, blinding her for a moment. It was now Saturday afternoon. Half the weekend was already gone.
Had it really been just last night that she was flown up here after being chased by three monstrous werewolves trying to kidnap her for experimentation and breeding?
Her heart raced at the thought, her breath rushing from her as if she’d been punched in the stomach.
She had to get back home. Her uncle didn’t even know she was here in Washington State. She needed to get back to work, get back to her life. That was the only way to keep her sanity in check after…
This head guy, this Alpha or whatever, Rob Bryant, had to let her go. That meant facing the charismatic man again and keeping it together in order to convince him. She had to.
“Be brave. You can do this,” she told herself.
Slightly better, Alexia headed out to the main lobby and looked towards the hallway that would lead to the executive conference room. Her stomach gripped, not so sure now that she was up to facing down the powerfully attractive High Alpha.
Besides, he was a businessman, right? He was probably tied up in some meetings. Or not even there.
Maybe if she had something to eat first, she would have the strength to face him again.
As if on cue, her stomach gripped and growled, telling her how really hungry she was.
Relief washed over her when Alexia spotted Deena vacuuming a large rug by the stone fireplace. When the girl caught sight of her too, she smiled and snapped off the vacuum and waved her to come over.
“I see you’re finally up,” she said, gripping her lower back with a mild groan as she straightened. “The clothes are alright then?”
“Perfect. Thanks again,” Alexia said. “It’s nice to get out of my own work clothes and into something more comfortable.”
And not shredded. Or bloodstained.
Or a borrowed tee-shirt that smelled like an infuriating man she’d rather forget about the rest of her life.
“I hear that,” Deena agreed. “So where are you off to?”
“Actually, trying to find where I can grab some grub. I’m really starving. Do you know of any place?”
“Oh, sure. There’s a really nice dining room at the end of the south wing to the right. Mr. Bryant might even be there. I know he’s anxious to meet with you again. A lot of people are, I hear.”
Alexia cringed. “So where do you guys typically eat around here?”
“Well, I’ll be clocking out and going home in a few minutes myself,” she said.
Then Deena motioned to the young man with unruly dark hair leaning against the nearby window. He looked like a country farm boy, down to the work boots, washed out jeans and red plaid flannel over-shirt.
He lumbered over and gave Alexia a polite nod. “Ma’am.”
“This is Steven Webber,” she said, then mouthed the words ‘my boyfriend.’ “He’s here to take me home.”
He shrugged. “Her car’s on the fritz again.”
Deena made a face. “A couple of weeks now. Hopefully I’ll have enough next paycheck to get it fixed. Steven, this is Alexia Raine, our new local celebrity.”
Alexia waved him off. “No, not in the least. I’m just here to meet with a couple of people before heading back home.”
“Really? I heard you were going be around here awhile,” Deena said. “Too bad. I was hoping we could get together when you came into town next.”
Steven nodded eagerly. “You need to drop by the diner. I can make you a killer prime rib dip with provolone, extra rare. I know you guys like that kind of thing.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how long I’m going to be,” Alexia said, then saw both of their faces drop. “Maybe I’ll have time to stop in though.”
She looked from the young man to Deena. They seemed to fit nicely together with a sweet, rural simplicity.
“Back to food, is there any place I can grab a bite around here that’s not the Lodge café?”
“Oh sure,” she said, pointing towards the entrance. “There’s lots of places, but the main cafeteria at the West River building is the closest and biggest. Just take a left when you leave here and head straight down the walkway. It’ll wind around two other buildings and then over a creek bridge. It’s labeled really good, so you shouldn’t miss it. A bunch of people will probably be heading in and out from it around this time of day too. Just ask anyone if you get lost.”
Alexia thanked them both, then headed out, carefully following Deena’s directions until she located the correct building.
As she said, there was a huge sign and people came and left in groups. It was a mishmash of working people, some in casual wear, others in suits or uniforms.
Several people sliced Alexia curious stares as she passed. A few winced and one even covered his nose. It made her self-consciously wonder if she hadn’t used enough soap when showering.
The very loud and crowded cafeteria was in full swing, reminding Alexia of the one at the hospital where she interned. Of course, she supposed it was similar to any other large company employee cafeteria. Were all these people on the Pack payroll then?
She headed up to the closest food counter, then halted before joining the growing line. A slight panic raced through her realizing after last night’s chase she didn’t have anything with her—purse, wallet, cellphone, ID. Forget worrying about how she was going to pay for lunch. How was she supposed to board a plane to go home after all this was done without her driver’s license?
“Trying to decide?”
Alexia looked around to Neil Duran standing behind her. He wore a navy blue tee-shirt, jeans and black combat boots again. This must be his standard go-to. “I seemed to have lost my wallet.”
He bit down a smile. “Unfortunate.”
“Tell me about it.”
He jutted his chin. “On me. Order what you want.”
“Thanks.”
He followed her up to the first counter, but Alexia made a face at the various dishes and headed straight for the salad bar. After loading up a decent sized plate, she noticed his odd expression.
“What?”
“Is that all you’re having?” he asked.
Alexia inspected her choices. “Yeah, so?”
“There’s no protein.”
“Sure there is, the black beans and walnuts.” She smiled wide at his confusion. “I’m a vegetarian.”
The wide shock registering on his face almost made her throw her head back and laugh. Guess there had never been a vegan werewolf before. Yet another bullet point that indicated her true human-only genetics.
Neil piled his own plate, making sure to toss plenty of chicken chunks and hardboiled eggs onto the greenery. “You shouldn’t deprive yourself of your natural food source, Alexia. It’s not healthy.”
“Sure it is, because my natural food source and yours are two different things, for obvious reasons. Which I keep trying to tell everyone.”
He sliced her a disapproving look and paid the cashier, then found an empty table in the far corner. Or actually, the table emptied very fast when the three men using it spotted him stalking their way.
“You know you intimidate people,” Alexia said, digging into her salad. It was beyond delicious, the veggies so fresh and cold they snapped.
“I know.”
“You should stop it.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s not nice,” she said, munching on a carrot stick.
“Who said I wanted to be nice?”
She rolled her eyes while he quirked a smile. They ate in relative silence for another few minutes. Then curiosity got the better of her, and she took his right forearm and examined his interesting tattoo better.
“So what is this anyhow?” she asked, tracing her finger across the Greek letter, then the dagger slicing through it, two sets of yellow stars on each side. And another interesting symbol she didn’t see before, but didn’t recognize.
“It stands for Level One Alpha-Four Enforcer,” he said, his bicep tightening at her light touch on his skin. “It’s my position here in the Bryant Pack. This,” he said pointing to the strange symbol next to it, “is the Pack identification.”
“Oh.” Alexia then recalled Ian Townsend claiming to be a gamma-something and Deena saying she was a zeta. “Does everyone here have some kind of classification?”
He gently pulled out of her hold and began eating again. “Yes, for the most part.”
She waited a few seconds. Frowned. “That’s it? No explanation?”
“Did you want one?”
“That would be nice. Oh, that’s right. You don’t do nice.”
Neil swallowed his bite and sat back. “You’re very interested in our setup here for someone who keeps telling us she wants to go back to the human world.”
She shrugged, glanced around, noticing several others with tattoos on their exposed arms or the backs of their hands. Not everyone had them though. Maybe it was an optional thing. Or hidden on other parts of their body.
“Curious, more than anything. I swear any minute I’m going to wake up to find that this entire thing was one very elaborate and vivid dream.”
“Then it doesn’t matter what any of this is,” he said.
“I could say the same thing to you then,” she countered.
Another tiny grin. “Everyone born into a Pack initially inherits their parents’ classification, no matter the Pack or species. In the Bryant Pack, every Wolf has the right to apply for full working membership when they come of age at twenty-five. After basic training and passing all the required tests, they’re ranked again depending on how well they did, but they can later move up, or even down. Sort of like earning promotions or getting demotions. Although only up to a certain degree, depending on their parentage.”
“Wait, so not every Wolf in your territory is a Pack member?”
“Not officially, no,” he said. “If they’ve been born into our Pack, then we have a moral obligation to help them in certain, limited ways, as long as they remain within our territory. If they choose to go outside, we have no contact at all. And none will work within our organization.”
“That sounds…fair, I guess.”
“We’re not a dictatorship, Alexia. It’s an individual’s right to choose to fully belong to us. It’s also our right to decline their application. They must earn a place with us, prove themselves, succeed in several mental and physical tests and challenges. It’s a privilege and honor to belong here.”
“In what ways are non-Pack members limited then?”
“Jobs, protection, housing, advanced education, other things. We still help them, but only to a small degree. Especially if they move outside our territory as I said.”
Alexia considered everything as she ate her salad. “Jake said yesterday that your Pack holds most of the northwest. Even though there are a lot of people around here, you don’t really have very many Wolves comparatively.”
“The community here at Timber Ridge is just the Den, the main facility that houses our High Alpha and his family, along with other senior members of our organization. There are many other minor Packs under us scattered throughout our territory. Think of them as the regional and field offices of a company, and this here as the corporate office. They’re all managed by lessor classified Alphas who report to Rob Bryant here quarterly.”
She looked at Neil’s mark again. “Since you’re an Alpha, does that mean you manage another Pack?”
He shook his head. “I’m a different kind of Alpha. I’m an Alpha-Four Enforcer, what you would consider head of a military Special Forces unit. Because I’m a Level One, I live here at the main facility to be at Bryant’s disposal whenever and wherever he needs me. I’m one of the first people he calls whenever there’s major trouble.”
“Is Jake like you then, since you were both together last night?”
“Yes, same classification, but lower level.” At her tilted head, Neil added, “He’s only a Level-Three, so I’m his superior. Technically. Someday he’ll take over as High Alpha at his father’s passing or choosing. Then I’ll report to him.”
“Oh, so it’s an inherited thing.”
“In his case, yes.”
Alexia leaned forward on her forearms. “So who are the hunters?”
Neil stopped chewing. “You were listening.”
He really meant that she had paid attention to the conversation last night.
“When Jake was talking about the dragon slaughter, he didn’t say they were killed off by hunters. He said they were killed off by the hunters. Are they some kind of organization that hunts down lycanthrope?”
He nodded. “Yes, the Arcan Hunters are a very old and organized group of human individuals whose entire goal is to seek out and destroy any and all were-species. Too many times they’re successful. And that’s all I’m going to say on the subject.”
“Were they the ones who murdered your three friends?”
His dark stare told Alexia that she had crossed a dangerous line. She didn’t press the issue, but that made her even more curious about them.
She gazed around the room of people talking, eating, reading. They all looked so…human. It made her wonder how many were-beings she had unknowingly come across throughout the years, how many of them had been fellow students, friends, coworkers.
“No more Wolf questions?” he asked.
Alexia was glad that he was still up to discussing the topic. “Silver can really kill you then. That’s not just another myth?”
“No, not a myth. The composition of silver to us is like snake venom to humans. We heal quickly, but silver poisoning can be lethal if it hits our heart, brain or spinal cord.”
Her mind replayed the gory scene with the Talanov leader yesterday. Neil had stabbed the silver dagger into his heart. That’s what made it stop forever.
And she had almost stabbed Neil in the face.
“Sorry for last night then,” she said, wincing.
“No harm, no foul,” he returned, quirking a smile. Her own words.
Alexia tried to process everything about his were-culture while she finished off her salad. Funny how something so mythical and terrifying just twelve hours ago could evolve into something almost normal.
“Anything else?” he prodded.
“Tons. Do you have were-rules and regulation you have to follow?”
He stopped chewing and fixed his stare with hers, and Alexia wondered if she had again wandered into taboo territory.
“Yes, actually,” Neil said finally. “Although our normal were-laws can be negotiated through the High Council and are constantly changing, most species have their own natural laws that have been in existence for millennia. Those never change for any reason, and we all grow up learning them.”
“What are the ones for you Wolves?”
He swallowed down his bite, his Adam’s apple bobbing before answering. “The first and most important one is to keep the secret. A Wolf never reveals his were-heritage to any human being. They would never understand or tolerate our kind, and we would always be their prime target for elimination.”
“Sounds logical. What else?”
“Let’s see…The High Alpha Heir can never marry and mate-bond with another female below his rank. Jake is the only one who’s required to abide by that law for obvious reasons.”
Alexia shrugged. “Guess he would have to have another Alpha to rule next to him. What about all the other Wolves? About marrying, I mean.”
“Well, one states that a Wolf can never mate-bond with any other were-species.”
“You mean like a cougar or coyote or bear?”
“Exactly, although that’s unlikely. Cross-species attraction just never happens.”
“Really? Why?”
His brows drew together, considering. “Think of it like a wild bird being attracted to and trying to mate with a frog. Nature knows what it’s doing to keep each species intact.”
Again logical, but only in a way. Were-kind were also supernatural human beings, and Alexia wondered what would happen if two people of different species ever fell in love.
Suppose that would make for some explosive were-drama.
“How about a were-being and human being getting together.”
“Definitely frowned upon. Not that Wolves are even attracted to normal humans. We just…aren’t.”
“Sort of intolerant, don’t you think?”
He shook his head. “You don’t know the ramifications of such a pairing. Particularly if the Wolf loses control during a squabble that all couples have.”
“But what if—?”
Neil’s cellphone buzzed, and he answered it. “Duran. Yeah, she’s with me right now.” He gave a nod. “We’re on our way.” He stood up and grabbed both their empty plates. “You’re wanted in Rob’s office.”
Alexia dreaded this next meeting with the High Alpha as she followed Neil outside. They headed over the wooden creek bridge when this new disturbing reality settled over her again.
“All those people in the cafeteria,” she said. “They’re all real were-beings. So they all turn into wolf-monsters like those Talanov thugs when the moon is full?”
He shook his head, stopping on the other side of the bridge. “Not every were-kind can shift fully. Some can only change partially—their teeth, their eyes, their face and ears. Some can’t shift at all. Some Wolves don’t have control over their shifting and change involuntarily, usually during traumatic, cosmic or atmospheric events. Others can change at will no matter the time or circumstances. It’s whatever you’re born to be able to do. That’s another part of their Pack classification and hierarchy.”
“That’s…interesting. So when can a Wolf first shift? When they’re a baby?”
“Never as an infant for our kind—Wolves. The first shift usually happens between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. It varies. Everyone is different.”
“What age were you when you first shifted?”
“I was sixteen,” he said. “An early bloomer, you might say.”
Since Alexia was already twenty-five, it was another strong point on her list of being only human.
“Does it hurt? Shifting?”
He shrugged. “The first few times it can. But a were-being’s body is made for this and learns to adjust. There comes a point when it actually feels good and even needed, like stretching out tight muscles or cracking your knuckles or scratching an itch. I’m not sure how else to explain it.”
“No, that’s a great way to explain it. I sort of get it better now. You must be able to change fully then if you’re an Alpha, right?” She raised her brows. “Can I see?”
“Yes, I can change fully and instinctively. And no, I’m not going to show you. Right now, we need to get to Rob’s office.”
“So how are you born a full, on-demand shifter? Is it a random thing?”
His jaw muscles worked, his face flushing at her question. “Not random, not really. It’s sort of planned and…”
“What?”
Neil checked over his shoulder, then leaned forward and lowered his voice. “First you have to be born of two full-shifters. The conception has to take place on a special lunar event, and a specific ritual has to take place for the male’s urge to make him...change.” He cleared his throat. “The two also have to use certain…positions…”
His forehead wrinkled deeply, making Alexia grin wide.
“Are you nervous about explaining the were-birds and bees to me?” She bit down a belly laugh at his dark expression. “Neil, I’m a doctor. Was a doctor. I promise not to get the vapors if you go into anatomical details.”
He narrowed a stare at her, straightening. “Let’s go. Rob’s waiting for us.”
“Oh, come on. Now I really want to know.” When he wouldn’t answer, she grumbled and stalked after him. “Fine, keep your gory secrets.”
“It’s not at all gory. It’s very instinctive and natural, but it’s also not appropriate conversation right now.”
“Jeez, I didn’t think you were such a squeamish prude.” She poked his side, teasing, “I’ll bet Jake Bryant would be glad to explain to me.”
He leveled a warning stare at her. “Jake Bryant would be more than happy to show you firsthand, but you’d be wise to stay far away from him. His intended, Eva LeBlanc, is a very possessive and very jealous Alpha who would happily tear your throat out with one clawing swipe.”
Yikes, that didn’t sound good.
“Okay, forget about the were-sex talk. I still want to see what you look like fully wolfed out.”
He quirked another grin. “Later.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
“I’ll bet you will.”
The closer they came to the main lodge, the more Alexia’s nerves tightened at the thought of meeting the magnetic High Alpha again. “So is Robert Bryant always so…inviting?”
Neil walked a few steps before answering, “Most High Alphas have a natural ability to draw everyone, very much like pheromones concentrated five hundred percent. It’s why High Alphas develop so many loyal followers. You obey willingly, gratefully. Rob is very gifted in this area. Even more than most.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Alexia said. “It was like he was Prince Charming on steroids at our last meeting. I almost couldn’t help from throwing myself at him like a groupie. It was so embarrassing. I hope he didn’t think that I was coming onto him.”
Neil cracked a slight smile. “It’s so intrinsic to who he is, most times he doesn’t even realize how much he…invites people. Don’t take it personally. He doesn’t.”
Alexia eased. “That makes me feel a little better at least. Has he ever used his love-potion personality to, I don’t know, take advantage of anyone?”
Neil faced forward, frowning. “Just once that I know of. A long time ago.”
“Really? Who?”
“Let’s hurry. We’re late.”
They walked into the main Lodge and down the hallway leading back into the large corner office where Rob Bryant now sat behind an executive desk next to a fireplace. He smiled and stood when they walked in.
“Alexia, so nice to see you again. You look much more refreshed. Thank you for bringing her, Neil. You can go now.”
Alexia’s stomach dropped at the command, and she looked up to Neil who frowned back. Was Rob Bryant’s wife just as jealous and lethal as her future daughter-in-law?
“Can’t you stay?” she whispered, clasping his hand.
He shook his head, giving her fingers a light squeeze before releasing them. “I’ll check on you later. I promise.”
She understood what he couldn’t say out loud. No Pack member could disobey their High Alpha, no matter the request, but he would find a way to interrupt their solitary meeting if it went too long.
That made Alexia feel only slightly better. A lot could happen in a very short amount of time. She certainly didn’t need to get on the bad side of the wicked were-queen.
After one last look between them, Neil left, closing the door behind him. Alexia turned back to Bryant, swallowing hard at his warm, seductive smile. He reminded her of the big bad wolf hungrily stalking little red riding-hood.
“Would you like to have a seat, Alexia?”
It was an order, not a request. Then she caught a whiff of something so enticing her mind went into a blissful haze, and she automatically sat in the side chair he gestured to.
Now she understood what Neil said about happily obeying him. Holy guacamole! At least this time they weren’t together on the corner couch.
“It will be just a minute,” he said. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m sorry, what will be just a minute?”
There was a quick knock on the door before it opened, and another young man entered. The same young man with the silvery blond hair. The same one Alexia saw from her window this morning.
The man in her mother’s old photo.
Alexia shot to my feet. “You!”
He smiled warmly. “Hello, Alexia. It is very nice to finally meet you after all these years.”
She blinked hard, looking him up and down. He couldn’t have been much older than her. “But you’re…Who are you?”
Bryant gestured for them to come together. “Alexia, I would like to officially introduce you to Erik Leonid, your birthfather.”
As Leonid walked closer, his height grew to tower above her just like everyone else in this giant Wolf clan. When he smiled, his gray eyes crinkled at the corners, and her stomach dropped. It was like looking into a gender-reversed mirror. Alexia always thought she looked like her mother, at least in her features, but now she saw that she looked exactly like this man, this stranger.
You do look like her, Alexia. So much so, that it makes me want to weep.
She gasped and jumped back. “Did you just..? They said you can read minds, but I didn’t believe…”
“And project my thoughts to others, yes,” he said with a soft, light Russian accent. “I take it that you cannot?”
“No, of course not,” she ground out. “I don’t know what they told you, but I’m just a normal human person with very average abilities. Can you please tell everyone to send me back home now?”
Both men exchanged looks, but it was Leonid who answered, “That is not possible just yet, Alexia. I am truly sorry. But I will do my best to speed this along.”
“Speed what along? And why do you look exactly, I mean exactly like the picture my mom had of you taken almost thirty years ago?”
“Alexi, perhaps I should let you both talk in private for a few minutes,” Bryant said. “I’ll return shortly.”
He left then, closing the door behind him.
“My name is Alexia, not Alexi,” she groused.
“He called me Alexi,” Leonid said. “My birth name is Erik Alexei Leonid. I was very surprised, very honored that your mother… remembered me when naming you.”
Alexia plopped down in the side chair again.
She bore his name, too? What else didn’t she know?
“My mother…I read the letter, but I didn’t, couldn’t really believe that all these years…” She looked up into his glittery silver eyes. “It’s true, isn’t it? You’re really my birthfather.”
“I am, Alexia,” he said sitting across from me.
“But that’s impossible. You’re my age,” she said.
He shook his head. “I am much older than I appear. They have told me you are now aware of your were-heritage?”
She frowned, nodded. “Yeah, I know some. Is this another weird factoid about were-kind then? You never age?”
“We age at a very slower rate once we’ve hit full maturity. Actually, your mother is very much younger than I.”
“Was. She and my father are gone now,” she whispered.
He lowered his eyes. “Yes, I have been made aware of that. It breaks my heart. I loved Rebecca Hartford with my whole being. I love her still. Wolves mate for life, you see. I could never love another after her.”
The man looked to be telling the truth, looked like he wanted to crumble at his loss.
“If you loved her so much, then why did you abandon her when she was pregnant?”
He raised his stare to meet hers then. “Because I belonged to a Pack, and it is forbidden for us to mate bond—marry—a human.”
“Forbidden? Oh right, the natural Wolf law thing.”
“It is the same with many were-species. It is never a wise union. As you can see, even our lifespans would be very different. For this and other reasons it was a bigger kindness to allow her to marry her former fiancé and live a normal human life.”
He shook his head, adding, “Rebecca did not know this, but I was the one who contacted Jonathan Raine, asking him to return for her. I explained to him that I would step aside so that he could claim her, and you. And I promised never to interfere.”
“You called him?” Alexia swallowed a painful rock in her throat. “No, she never knew. At least I’m pretty sure she didn’t. And dad never said anything.”
“He was a good father to you?”
She swiped welling tears away and nodded. “Yeah, the best. I loved him very much.”
He exhaled heavily. “That is very good then. It was the right decision.”
“So that’s it then? You threw away the love of your life and your child, just to stay true to your stupid Pack membership?”
“No, that is not all,” he said. “I would have gladly renounced my new Pack if it meant keeping Rebecca and you. But there was too big of a complication. No matter where I would go with her, the Talanov Pack would track me down and bring me back to them.”
“Okay, so?”
“And they would have killed her in the process, killing you as well. I could not let that happen.”
Because human and werewolf intermarriage was taboo, forbidden. And Alexia witnessed firsthand how the old-school Talanov Pack worked.
“My mother said you died in a car accident.”
Ironic, as that was how she died.
Leonid nodded slowly. “The Bryant Pack has many resources to do things such as falsify situations and alter records. With our natural longevity, it is necessary for us to do so on a regular basis in order to remain anonymous from the human world.”
“You faked your death?”
“I did. That way, your mother would no longer seek me out and would then turn to your father for comfort and protection. I hope she lived a nice life with him.”
“She did. She loved my father very much, and they had a good marriage.”
At least Alexia thought she did.
Because if she had really been in love with this man…
Maybe true love for her parents had been a total lie. Not that she really believed in true love now, not after Ryan.
God, she didn’t know what to believe anymore.
“Alexia, a heart can be large enough to love more than one person in this world. Rebecca had the biggest heart of all. Never fault her for the choices she made on your behalf. They were always made out of the purest form of love.”
She frowned at him, realizing he had picked her thoughts straight from her head.
“That was rude of me,” he said, hearing her thoughts again. “I am very sorry. I sometimes forget not to answer other’s questions before verbally asked of me.”
Alexia thought about everything he explained, and she did understand his decision a little better. In essence, Erik Leonid tried to do the unselfish and noble thing by making her mother believe he died, pushing her to Jon Raine who did provide her with a normal life.
“There is one other thing you should know about your mother’s and my relationship,” Erik added. “She knew I was a Wolf.”