Present DayMakayla’s POVI’m numb as Christobel weeps, recounting the details of my father’s final moments and my mother’s swift departure from Io. Should I be crying with her? Is it right for me to cry when I don’t know these people and was the cause of so much heartache? Realistically, I know it isn’t my fault, but guilt still weighs heavy on my heart.If my mother hadn’t been pregnant with me, would she have been able to fight the Elders and take back control of Io with my father?“You’re just like her, you know?” Christobel sniffles, smiling wearily as she squeezes my hands gently. “I can tell you’re already blaming yourself for what happened. But it wasn’t your fault. It will never be your fault.”Clearing her throat, she wipes her eyes on the sleeve of her blouse, never releasing my hands. “Your mother had to kill your father because he was going on a rampage. Everyone who was there that day acknowledges that she saved the pack from total destruction. We all know Nemora as a he
It’s a few minutes before I calm down enough to ask more questions. Did they know from the beginning who I am? Why did it take so long for them to save me from River Crest? Does all of Io know that I am the daughter of Alpha Reeve and Beta Nemora? Are they angry at me?“Calm down, wildling,” Rafe hums, kissing my temple. “Breathe. One question at a time.”“At the time, the witch only told me that Nemora’s bond was switched to a Beta of a nearby pack. No name, information, or defining characteristics,” Christobel says, shaking her head. “It took a lot of searching before we narrowed it down to River Crest. We had no idea Nemora was already gone. And there was no way for us to know if her child was a boy or a girl.”“Not to mention, it took years for me to step up as Alpha of Io and resume the search in earnest,” Rafe adds. “Up until five years ago, Thane was acting Alpha.”
Christobel excuses herself, leaving Rafe and me alone. The door isn’t closed for three seconds before he wraps himself around me in a crushing hug. At the same time, his guards come down, and I feel all of his emotions intensely. They mingle with mine, clouding my already confusing feelings. I can pick out a single, strong undercurrent of sadness. The deep, heartbroken kind that permeates everything and makes it heavy like a dead leg.You’d think he was the one who just discovered he had wrongly accused his mother of a crime for his entire life.“Are you okay?” I ask, rubbing his back and kissing his shoulder.“I should be asking you that,” he grumbles into my shirt, squeezing me tighter. “How do you feel knowing the truth?”“About my mother? Numb. I can’t process all of this in a single afternoon.” I release my mate, slipping from his grasp and wrapping my arms around myself. It’s not the same as it once was. Giving myself a hug used to be the only comfort I could get. It used to feel
My stomach growls in the pause between my question and their answer. I try to muffle it with my hands, but the cat’s out of the bag, and I don’t get another word in edge-wise before Rafe hoists me into the air and carries me out of the room and down the stairs to the main level of the packhouse.It’s my first time seeing this area clearly without sneaking through in the middle of the night or clouded with confusion of a rogue attack. I want Rafe to slow down so I can catch my bearings, but I know better than to ask him to do that. The second my stomach growled, I felt his anxiety spike. He’s not going to stop until I’m stuffed with food, barely able to breathe or stand.All I can do is hold on tight and take in as much of the blurred scenery as possible. And maybe try to memorize the route to the cafeteria. Damn, I really need someone to show me around.We burst through heavy doors into a large café, and the smell of food hits me like a warm pillow to the face. My stomach protests lou
I smelled him coming a mile away.My father only ever comes to see me when he reeks of cheap whiskey and rage. He needs a target to attack and someone to blame for all the various misfortunes of his life. I'm guilty of only having been born to the bitter tyrant.I press my face against the dingy wallpaper inside my run-down trailer tucked away in a corner. My heart pounds with an all too familiar dread, despite having endured this scene many times in my life. It's all burned into my body, like muscle memory.The sound of his heavy footsteps echoes outside with the uneven crunch of gravel under Deadrick Pride's stumbling gait. He's here for me, fueled by the liquor that consumes his inhibitions and ignites his rage.The trailer, my paper-thin sanctuary, closes in around me. Its walls, worn and rusted, bear the scars of countless altercations. The only physical evidence remaining of the many wounds inflicted by my father, my family, my pack. The half-broken windows allow slivers of moon
"Get up, bitch." Wesley sneers down at me, his voice dripping with venom. "Or do you need more time to finish crying to mommy dearest?" His words sting, but I'm used to them, along with his slaps, his kicks, his punches. His words are probably his weakest weapon, but that doesn't stop them from stirring something wounded within me. I pick myself up and get on my feet despite my aching, tense abdomen. I know the drill and keep my eyes lowered. Grit and bear it. That's all I have to do. Just grit my teeth and bear it. "Not much of a mother, though," he sniffs, circling me and her grave. "Took the first chance she could to leave you behind. I guess that's where you get that coward streak from." Wesley Wrest knows just what to say to cut me deep. He's had years of practice. Of course every insult and barb is carefully calculated to prick at my raw nerves. He also knows that I can't do anything against him. As the future Alpha of River Crest, he's already got more power than he knows w
If I were anyone else, I might have believed him. Might have believed he'd be gentle and let me go after and never bother me again. If I were someone else, I'd be stupid enough to see this as a chance to change my fortunes in River Crest. Maybe get into the future Alpha's good graces. But I'm not someone else. I'm Makayla Pride. I know there's nothing I could ever do to be free from this nightmarish hell. I know Wesley, Quinn, Russel, and the other three hiding out in the woods waiting for orders will never let me go unscathed. Even if I beg like he wants and give him my body. And because I am me, I know what's coming next. All I can do is relax and wait for it to pass. "You'll never get another chance like this, Pride." His thumb traces my bottom lip, and that flicker of insanity sparks in his eyes. His composure is cracking. "Beg me, and I'll make you feel like heaven." "Stop wasting your time on her, Wes. She's not worth it," Quinn snaps, crossing her arms over her chest like
Stepping out into the warm sunshine, I feel nothing but cold. A shiver runs through me when I see Deadrick Pride’s imposing figure looming at the end of the gravel path. A hint of anger still boils in his grey eyes as he approaches me at the bottom of my stoop. He barely surveys the damage he caused last night, grimacing as though the state of my home was the result of my shortcomings. Like the wreckage is proof I’m always at fault. How dare I not repair everything he ruined in mere minutes? Useless, stupid Makayla. Before he reaches me, I step forward and bow deeply, as is required for underlings when in the presence of pack leadership. Can’t say I hate it. It gives me an excuse to look away from his perpetually disappointed face. To meet his eyes would be like stepping into a minefield, so I keep my gaze lowered even after finishing the bow. Volatile doesn’t even begin to cover my father’s temperament, and there’s no way of knowing what will set him off. “You took your time,” he