Remy.
I was a minute later than the hour he had given me.
“Tell Remy I said hi,” she called out as she headed into the bathroom and closed the door.
Sighing, I answered the video call, already mentally preparing for him to be rightfully annoyed.
“One hour, babe,” he ground out, eyes flashing. “I said to call me in one hour.”
“It’s only been a minute!” I protested weakly.
“Do you know how many what-if scenarios you can conjure up in sixty seconds?” His brows rose dramatically. “Twenty-three.”
“I’m sorry,” I apologized, hating that I made him worry. I could only imagine how powerless he felt being so far away. Hell, I felt it, too. I hated that he was dealing with Norwood and everything in Blackwater without me.
He sighed deeply. “You’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” I promised, meaning it this time. “I was talking to Tate. She seems … okay.”
He seemed slightly more relaxed by that. “Good.” He paused. “You scared the shit out of me earlier. What was that about?”
I sank deeper into the couch. “It was what you said. Well, what my mom said. It literally made me sick.”
A pained look flashed across his face. “Baby.”
“I went to see Linden.”
Shock morphed his features before fury took over. “You did what?”
“I needed answers, and he was the only person who might have known what happened back then,” I replied evenly. I stood by my decision.
“Your uncle is a fucking lunatic,” he snapped. “I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
I blinked slowly. “I get that you may not want me near him, but have we hit the point of our relationship where you’re ordering me what I can and can’t do?”
His eyes closed briefly. When they opened, he seemed slightly calmer. “Skye, I’m not trying to tell you what to do. But I can’t be there to protect you right now.”
Eyes narrowed, I held up the back of my hand to the screen, my bruised knuckles on display. “Actually? It was Linden who needed the protection.”
“You hit him?”
“Multiple times,” I confirmed, dropping my hand. “But to be fair, Nikolai had already worked him over before I got there.”
“Jesus Christ,” he swore, leaning back. “Why?”
“He said it was because he held Linden accountable for what happened in Long Mesa,” I answered.
“He knows?”
“Not everything. Dimitri has kept quiet about the details. He said it was my story to tell, or not. But Nikolai pieced together enough to know Linden was a shit Alpha.”
“That’s the fucking truth,” he growled, dark eyes flashing. “I wouldn’t mind a few minutes alone with him.”
I nibbled on my lower lip thoughtfully. “I don’t know that Nikolai is going to leave anything left for you.”
Remy watched me, quiet and patient as I organized my thoughts.
I sighed quietly. “It was Allan who broke their bond. Preston’s dad. I don’t know the details, but if mom said the bond was broken for her … Linden mentioned that at one point Allan thought he might have been my father.”
“Shit.” He grimaced as he shook his head. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“When we were at the Summit, Preston mentioned something about how his dad had more control in the pack than we knew. The night he took me outside the club? He was going off about Linden needing to be put in check or something.”
“Okay. We have some people we trust near Long Mesa. They’ve been watching for movement, mostly to see if anyone from Norwood has come in, but I’ll see what we can dig up on Allan.”
“I hate him,” I hissed, rubbing my temples. “I hate their whole freaking family. At least Dane is dead. One less Loomis in the world.”
“Preston’s dead, too,” he told me quietly.
My eyes snapped to his. “What?”
He nodded slowly. “I found him after the explosion. He was pinned by a piece of rebar, in bad shape.”
“And you left him?”
“And I killed him.” He said it so simply, so easily that I froze.
Remy licked his lips. “I don’t regret it, Skye. If Linden dies, I won’t regret that either. Not after what they did to you, to your mom …”
I sniffed, pushing back the tidal wave of emotion that seemed to constantly threaten to crest. “Do you think we’ll ever just have, like, a normal day?” I met his gaze. “No psychopaths or kidnappers or people dying?”
“Skye.” The soft tone of his voice nearly broke me.
“I’m so tired of all of this, Remy,” I whispered, rubbing my temple. “I just want to spend a day without being worried the world is going to fucking implode around us. One day where we’re just normal people.”
He smiled. “I know, babe. I’m tired, too. I promise it will all be over, and we’ll have that normal. Or whatever normal is for us because I have a feeling life with you, Skye Markham, will be anything except normal.”
I choked on a laugh. “So, you’re saying I’m weird?”
“Definitely the weirdest girl I’ve ever met,” he confirmed with a grin.
I shook off the blanket of sadness that wrapped itself around my shoulders. “Any word on your dad?”
His smile melted as fast as snow in New Mexico. “Nothing new.”
“Dammit,” I muttered as I heard the shower turn off. I glanced at the clock and realized I only had a few minutes before Nikolai would be coming to get me.
“What’s up?” Remy asked, noticing my attention drifting.
“Nikolai will be here soon. We’re going to talk to Elias. Maybe get some answers.”
“Okay. Call me later. Actually, call Katy or Larkin. They miss you, and they’re driving me crazy.” He rolled his eyes with a warm laugh.
“I will,” I said softly, loving the sound of his laugh and the way it brightened the spark in his chocolate gaze. “I’ll talk to you guys soon, okay?”
“Yeah. I love you.”
“Love you,” I said, hanging up as the bathroom door opened and Tate emerged.
She rubbed her damp hair with a towel as she walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open. “Holy shit. Did you look at this?”
I got up and crossed the room, joining her at the window. My jaw dropped at the sight before me.
Snow blanketed everything, still falling in thick flakes, but it was the town sprawled beneath us that caught my breath. Seeing it in the daylight was breathtaking.
I never grew up believing in Santa Claus, but I imagined this was what the village the elves lived in had looked like. It was all twinkling lights, gently sloped roofs, and people bustling around.
“Are we in the North Pole?” Tate whispered, pressing her nose against the cool glass as she hopped on my train of thought.
“Maybe?” I had no idea, but this wasn’t anything like I expected.
I turned as someone knocked on the door.
“It’s open,” I called.
Dimitri stuck his head in. “You ready to go?” His gaze landed on Tate and widened. “Hey. You’re up.”