“What are you afraid of?” he whispered to me, taking a step closer, and I held my arms tight around my waist.
“I’m not scared of anything,” I told him defiantly, not wanting him to see the scared little girl inside of me.
“Then tell Blake the truth.”
He wasn’t going to let up about this.
“You think that just telling him about my mom is going to solve everything,” I said, feeling my anger grow. “It won’t.”
“How will you know unless you take the chance?” he questioned.
We studied each other for a few minutes as a heavy silence settled between us.
“Fine,” I relented and stormed off. I was thankful that he didn’t follow me to my room where I took a few minutes to pull myself together. Inside my room I sat down on my bed and let my face fall into my hands.
He was convinced revealing that one little secret would fix everything but I wasn’t convinced it would. Everyone but Scarlett had just assumed the worst of me. I didn’t believe that just revealing the secret about my mom would be enough for everyone to change their perception of me and give me a chance.
Some would never be able to trust me because of who my father was. He’d been a monster who had inflicted so much pain on everyone, and it was difficult for everyone to separate me from that. His blood flowed in my veins and he’d raised me so all of them had just assumed that I was like him.
I let out a heavy sigh.
Kyle would keep hounding me to tell Blake about my mom and I knew it wouldn’t change much so I decided that when I met Blake for lunch in a couple of hours I would tell him the truth.
At least then I could prove to Kyle that it would change nothing.
Blake
Everything seemed to be going according to plan but I still felt nervous and guilty. I kept reminding myself of her betrayal so the guilt wouldn't stop me from doing what I needed.
Even if I wanted to I couldn't walk away. Too many people were depending on me. Keri would be vulnerable if I left before we mated. She needed to be able to shift into her wolf if she was going to hold her position as the alpha of her pack.
Time was running out. She'd already been attacked once and who knew how long before her ex-beta returned for revenge or someone else hungry for power preyed on her. I wouldn't admit this out loud but the thought of someone harming her had felt like someone had punched me in the gut. It was a relief that Kyle had been there to save her.
I was having mixed feeling about Kyle. On the one hand I was glad he'd been here to protect her but the more I watched them together the more I wanted to pummel him with my fists. I knew I had no right to feel jealous but I was. It was an emotion I couldn’t stop.
You can do this, I kept saying over and over in my mind, trying to pull myself back to the task at hand. I ran a hand through my hair as I contemplated what I was going to say to Keri to make her believe I was very serious about mating with her.
But it was easier said than done. I felt a hollowness in my chest when I pictured Keri in my mind. I wished that our circumstances had been different and that we didn't have all this added stuff to deal with. Why couldn't it have just been as simple as finding out she was mine?
If she hadn't been the deceitful and dishonest person she clearly was, I was pretty sure she would have made me very happy. Life sucked sometimes and no matter how much I wished, it wasn't going to change anything. It didn’t help that from the time I’d begun to feel something for her, no other girl had compared. Even now after everything she’d done I still couldn’t get myself to move on to another girl.
I surveyed the romantic picnic I'd organized. I'd been surprised she'd given in so easily to the idea of us getting to know each other. She wasn't stupid and I knew she was suspicious of my intentions, and yet she’d still agreed.
Ignoring my conscience, I checked my watch. It was nearly twelve and I needed to get myself together. If she suspected what I was up to then there would be ramifications for both of us. I didn’t want to be responsible for leaving my pack and friends vulnerable to a new alpha. It wasn’t just that, though. I didn’t want to leave Keri open to an attack. Even though we hadn’t connected as mates, I still cared for her despite my attempts to hate her. I took a deep breath and released it. I heard a knock on my door and knew it was Keri.
“Hi.” I opened the door and invited her in. She gave me a brief nod as she stepped inside my room.
Even after everything, I still couldn’t help my physical reaction to her. She was beautiful and I wanted to draw her closer. My eyes flickered to her lips and I had to suppress the desire to kiss her.
I was careful not to touch her by accident. Even if I didn’t intend to touch her, she may have taken it as my way of forcing the mating and I didn’t want that. It was hard trying to gain her trust and if I made the wrong move it could all be lost and I’d be back to square one.
Her eyes rested on the picnic basket on my bed and she looked back at me.
“I thought it would be better if we got away from here. We could find a nice spot in the forest to have a picnic,” I suggested, almost convinced that she was going to refuse.
“Fine,” she replied in a clipped tone. “As long as we don’t go too far away.”
She probably wanted to stay close. The whole alpha role was still new to her and she probably wanted to be near enough so if something came up she could get back quickly.
