I could see the torment in his eyes. They had been so close. It had been hard, initially, watching from the background when he had first arrived in Keri's pack to keep an eye on her to make sure she stayed within the release criteria set by the surrounding pack's alpha. He had been her only friend when everyone else had turned their backs on her.
"Yes, but I'm not ready yet," he admitted, running a hand through his hair. It was weighing on him.
"Let it go," I told him. "Forgive her."
He held my gaze.
"I want to but every time I'm about to I think of how close I came to losing you. She knew how special you were to me and she kept it from me." He paused. "What if I lost you? What if another scenario had played out? What if it ended with you lost to me for this lifetime?"
"But none of that happened. I'm here and I'm safe. It's time to let it go. She needs you and you need her."
He frowned at me, his eyes heavy.
"You're tired," I said. "Why don't you get some sleep?"
He resisted.
"You need a clear and rested mind to make the best decisions," I lectured him. He was my mate and all I wanted to do was look after him the way he did with me.
"I have a few things I need to do and then I'll come up to rest."
He gave me a kiss that raised me onto tiptoes, lingering.
"I'll be back soon," he said.
As he got to the door, his hand reached for the door handle.
"What are you going to do about Flynn?" I asked. I needed to know if he still felt that going through with his initial plan of killing Flynn was the only option to keep me safe.
He stopped and looked at me over his shoulder.
"Sometimes we have to make the hardest decision to keep the ones we love safe," he said, looking somber, which left me with no doubt that he was going to kill Flynn to keep my secret from getting back to the other Keepers. "I'll carry the burden of my actions to keep you from harm."
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kyle
I was still running on empty as I reentered the room a couple of hours later. The sky was darkening into night when I got a frantic message from the guards patrolling the area around the compound.
The Keepers are on their way,one of the guards notified me.
How many?I asked, raking a hand through my hair. Our time had run out. They were here.
Five.
That didn't seem to be a group big enough to attack us.
Should we engage?
No, I commanded.
"You stay here," I instructed Crystal. She was about to argue with me but I put my hand up.
"You can't be seen."
She understood the risk. With a determined look from me, she clamped her mouth closed.
"Promise me you won't step a foot outside this room," I told her.
