I bit my lips, remembering what Linden had told me on the plane. But Mom misunderstood my hesitation for confusion.
“Allan thought you were his,” she explained gently. “He planned to take you. It was the only reason they didn’t terminate the pregnancy. But as soon as he saw you, he knew you weren’t. You look like your father too much.”
My eyes darted to Nikolai. He smiled back at me, his expression impossibly soft for a heartbeat as he studied me.
“But you have your mother’s eyes,” he whispered, his gaze sliding to her.
“Why not exile you?” I asked slowly. “Why did they do what they did?”
“That was all Linden,” Mom said darkly. “Linden and Allan. Linden said if I wanted to behave a whore, then I should live as one. My father was too busy handling the coming war with Stone Valley, and I think my mother, who had always been a little jealous of how my father doted on me, liked seeing me knocked down.”
“Like mother, like son,” I said bitterly, remembering how Linden had bitched about Mom being loved more by their father.
Mom nodded. “Those two were always thick as thieves.”
Nikolai’s gaze sharpened. “But why not come to me after you and Skye escaped? I would have taken you both in. Protected you.”
“I considered it,” Mom admitted, nibbling on her lower lip until it was red. “I even managed to find out where you were and who you are.”
My head jerked up. “You what?”
Mom looked at me, guilt straining her features. “It was right after you left for school in the fall, Skye. I couldn’t stop thinking about him one night.”
Nikolai went rigid. “Then why the hell didn’t you come to me then?”
Mom gave me a tight smile. “Zoe helped me find you. She and Michael knew a few people in Europe. I gave them a vague description of what you looked like, Nik, and they sent back a photo of you … with your wife and son.”
Nikolai’s eyes squeezed shut.
“And you assumed he had moved on,” I finished for her.
Mom nodded miserably. “Plus, finding out you were an Alpha … I was scared. I was scared you would come and take Skye away from me as punishment for breaking our bond and keeping her a secret. I had just gotten her out of hell. I couldn’t stomach the idea of anyone else hurting her.”
“You have so little faith in me?” Nikolai rasped, shaking his head slowly.
“I have so little faith in everyone,” Mom replied caustically, her tone laced with bitter resentment. “I was betrayed by my pack and my family. My own mother and brother broke me in ways you can never imagine. When I got free, Skye was my focus. She’s all I have left. I couldn’t risk anyone taking her from me.”
I sat back, swallowing down my sob. So much time had been wasted and lost for all of us.
“Your mother I can do nothing about, and the disgusting creature that violated you isn’t here,” Nikolai said evenly, calculating coldness seeping into his tone, “but your brother is, and I have been desperate for the reason I need to end his existence.”
“Linden’s here?” Mom’s eyes rounded.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. I hated what I was about to say. “But maybe we should hold off on killing my uncle for a day or two?”
Nikolai’s eyes cut to me. “I agree. I can drag his torture out indefinitely. And a day or two isn’t enough to pay for the lifetime of pain he’s caused the people I love.”
Mom jolted, stunned at his words, but I tried to stay calm and file them away. “Let’s also keep torture on the back burner.”
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I see no reason for that.”
“Linden will pay,” I said firmly. I held up a hand. “And I’m even down for him suffering, but we have a lot more going on, and he may have a little value. He knows Damien. He’s our best bet if we need an inside angle.”
“I want him dead,” Nikolai snarled, the short leash on his temper snapping.
“And I’m saying I agree, but not now.” I stood up, facing him fully with a glare.
Mom slowly eased to her feet. “Skye’s right.”
Nikolai huffed, turning his piercing gaze to her. “Addie.”
Mom hesitated, but then crossed the room to him. She laid her hand on his forearm, and they both jerked at the sudden contact.
“Linden is going to pay for all he’s done,” Mom said softly, her hand drifting down his arm and tangling their fingers together. “But not now. Not yet. Linden deserves to know everything he did was for nothing. That we’ll all be happy long after he and Long Mesa are dead and gone. That’s how we win, Nik.”
Their gazes locked, the air practically crackling with electricity. I started to walk to the door, feeling suddenly like I was in the way of whatever this was.
Maybe this was the closure they both needed. Or maybe this was the start of something totally new.
39
Skye
I left my parents alone together and went looking for Remy. When I reached the dining room, I found two other people I was more than happy to run into.
Katy and Larkin were bent over a map of the Blackwater territory, clearly debating something.
I leaned against the doorframe for a second, watching them and feeling completely overwhelmed with happiness at seeing them. I had missed my best friends more than I had realized. It felt like a lifetime had passed since I’d seen them.
Larkin spotted me first. Her dark eyes went wide for a second before she dropped the pencil in her hand and all but body-checked Katy in an attempt to get to me first.
I wrapped my arms around her for a second before Katy was hugging us both. I managed to pull an arm free to wrap around Katy’s waist.
“Remy’s downstairs,” Katy said quickly when we all took a step back. “Rhodes grabbed him. Apparently another pack wants to join us and is on their way now, but they wanted to talk to the Alpha first.”
“I can go grab him,” Larkin offered.
I shook my head. “No. He’ll be here when he’s done.”
As much as I wanted to rely on Remy, I also knew he also had the responsibility of an entire pack leaning on him. And, judging by the growing number of people coming tonight, that was an ever-increasing burden.
“How did things go with your Mom and … Dad? Do we call him that?” Katy frowned.
I shrugged, ignoring the little spark of warmth that lit up my heart whenever I thought of Nikolai and the word ‘Dad’ together.
“It’s about what I expected,” I replied vaguely.
Lie.
It was worse than I expected. So much worse.
But I didn’t have the time to sift through all the new emotions and feelings that conversation had dragged to the surface.
Larkin’s eyes narrowed. “Skye, you can tell us anything.”
I tried to smooth out the frown I felt tugging at my mouth. “No, really. It’s whatever.”
“Whatever?” Katy repeated, arching a brow.
I sighed and shook my head. “You guys don’t have to worry about it.”
“You know who you’re talking to, right?” Katy folded her arms across her chest. “You’re our best friend. By definition, your business is our business.”