He turned away from me and ran a hand through his hair. It was a lot to take in and he was trying to process it all in one go. It would be difficult to understand why someone who knew they were your mate would keep it from you.
I held my breath as I waited for him to say something. There was a small part of me that wanted him to be able to forgive me for keeping it from him. He stopped and turned to face me.
“When did you find out?” he asked softly. He sounded calm but I could see the anger that was boiling up inside of him and he was about to blow.
“When you saw her for the first time here,” I revealed.
“You knew she was my mate and you kept it from me?” he yelled, but I held my ground. I didn’t need to answer his question because he already knew the answer.
Blake stopped what he was doing and was watching us with interest. Kyle was making no attempt to mask his anger.
It’s okay, I reassured Blake through the mind-link when I saw him take a step in our direction.
“Who gave you the right to decide that it was something that I didn’t need to know?” he yelled at me. His anger was coming off him in waves, but I refused to let him intimidate me.
“I locked you up to keep you from doing something stupid. I was scared that if I told you that she was your mate, it would make things worse.”
His angry eyes held mine for a few moments.
“Goddammit!” he yelled as he ran a hand through his hair again and then his hand held the back of his neck. He was trying to restrain the anger coursing through him.
“If I told you that she was your mate, you would have done everything you could have to get out of the cell. And what if you’d succeeded and followed her right into a pack of rogues, putting both of your lives in danger?” I tried to explain to him. Even though he knew I was right, it didn’t dissipate his anger. “I did it to keep both of you alive.”
“You knew she was my mate and you wanted to send her on a dangerous mission to infiltrate a pack full of rogues,” he yelled and stood there. I took the anger directed at me.
“When I discovered she was your mate, I refused to send her out. That’s why she left without telling anyone. She did it to protect you.”
Hatred was what I saw in his eyes. He hated me for what I did. It didn’t matter that I’d done it to keep him safe.
“I’m sorry,” I said, even though I wouldn’t have done anything differently.
“Where is she?” he asked, barely containing his temper.
I could see Scarlett approaching with Cade.
“She is gone,” I said softly.
He dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his hands over his face.
“What’s wrong?” Scarlett asked, taking in her brother’s agitated anger.
I felt familiar fingers touch my hand and felt my connection to Blake calm me, but it couldn’t take away the guilt I was experiencing.
“Did she know?” he asked me.
I shook my head. His hate was solely for me.
“Know what?” Scarlett asked, looking from her brother to me.
“She knew Crystal was my mate and she kept it from me,” he spat, turning away from me. He couldn’t stand to look at me.
“That’s enough,” Blake said to Kyle. I was his to protect and he wouldn’t allow Kyle to speak to me the way he was.
“It’s okay,” I assured Blake. Kyle had every right to feel the way he was feeling and, in his shoes, Blake would have reacted the same way.
Scarlett looked shocked as she absorbed the news.
A look from her to me told me she understood my actions. The only person who couldn’t seem to understand was the person blinded by their feelings. Logic wasn’t behind his thoughts; they were clouded with emotions.
