I was easily tricked. But not again.
Myles is right. I’m no quitter.
“Ren said my family came from vampires, and he called me his queen. I am going back to the academy, and he will not hurt me again. I will kill him if he tries,” I say, placing my hands on my hips. “My family is in that academy, and I will not leave them there to die. I’m going back.”
“Can we talk outside for a moment?” Myles asks me, searching my eyes. “Alone.” I nod, climbing up off the seat and following Myles to another room, which judging from all the crates of food, is a storage room. Myles steps around me and shuts the door before stepping closer. We don’t know each other all that well, and usually I would feel uncomfortable around a stranger, but Myles feels different. I remember my mum telling me about how she met my dad, and from the second they met, he felt like someone she had always known. Always trusted.
Myles feels just like that.
“I’m worried they are using you,” he starts. “And I sense deception coming off them. I know you don’t really know me—”
“Tell me about you then. How did you become alpha?” I ask, resting on a bag of rice.
Myles moves and sits down on a wooden crate near me. “My dad was alpha before me, but he was a shit alpha. He abused most the pack, including me. I was a punching bag until I turned eleven and ran away. It was the most cowardly thing I have ever done.”
“I don’t think that is a cowardly thing to do at all. You were a scared kid,” I softly tell him, but he stares at the floor, his hands shaking slightly.
“I lived on the streets of London for a long time. It was easy to get food and find a hostel once a week to shower and all that,” he explains to me. “I didn’t care; I was free…until I was sixteen and my father found me. The once strong alpha I remembered and feared was a drunken fool and wasted away into a skinny man with pale skin. I fought him when he attacked me, and I won, killing him and instantly becoming the alpha. The pack was a state when I came back, but I spent the last six years fixing what I could. But the humans were becoming a big issue we couldn’t escape. When I heard there was a safe place for the pack to live under a new alpha, I knew I had to do the right thing and take them to him. I plan to leave them there and walk away.”
“Why?” I question, leaning forward.
“There can’t be two alphas in a pack, and my wolf has only known how to fight and defend itself. There is no way my wolf will submit to anyone,” he explains. “But I can’t keep my people safe in the world, so this is the only way. I guess I saw a bit of myself in you when you fell into the sea. Just someone who ran away because the world is fucking scary.”
“Do you think I should go back?”
“To a vampire who hurt you? To angels you can’t trust?” he says and shakes his head. “No, you shouldn’t go back, but you will because you have friends who need you. I fought my father, even when it broke my heart to do so, because my friends and family needed me. I always loved my dad…but I did the right thing. Sometimes the right thing is devastating.”
“I like you, Myles,” I say, standing up straight and offering him my hand. He slides his hand into mine and grins at me.
“Good thing you do. I like you too, Kaitlyn,” he replies, watching my eyes closely. “And anything you decide, you have my support.”
Holding his hand, I feel a connection between us that was never there before. Almost like my soul is happy, my body itches to move closer and my hand never wants to leave his hand. Before I utter any of the embarrassing things in my mind out loud, I let go of his hand. I walk around him to the door and pause with my hand on the handle. “You didn’t just save me from the sea, Myles, you saved me from myself. I don’t know if I could have been brave and gone back, but if you were brave enough to face your father, I know I can do this. Thank you.”
Myles doesn’t say anything, and I’m thankful as I pull the door open and walk back with him to the table. We sit down, and I watch Gabriel and Madi. I sense the same deception Myles picked up on, but it all comes from Gabriel and not Madi. I’m not sure if it’s deception, but something feels off.
Crossing my arms, I keep my head high as I give them the answer they need. “I am going back to the academy.”
“And I’m coming with you,” Myles adds, and I stare at him like he has truly lost his mind. “Secretly, of course. You should go through the main gates or doors, and I will sneak in. Be your secret guard in the shadows. Trust me. I can be invisible if I want.” He winks at me.
“Myles you’ve saved my life, and I can’t let you risk yours. I already owe you,” I say. “Plus, won’t your pack need you here?”
“We are nearly at the island, and as I see it, there is an alpha ready for them there. It would have been a fight between us on that island. My wolf doesn’t love competition,” Myles explains, standing up. “Be right back, I need to let everyone know and put my beta in charge until they get to the wolves. I wouldn’t leave unless I was sure they were safe, but it’s time. I could never have left this boat anyway, and now I have an option that fell from the sky.”
“Myles…” I say his name, but he is already out the door, not looking back.
“Don’t bother. Wolf shifters can be real stubborn about their females,” Madi says with a wave of her hand.
Gabriel only shakes his head. “Young love, how I do remember it fondly.”
As they talk between each other, my teeth ache, and I close my eyes as I hear their loud heartbeats like a song I want to dance to. I turn away and cover my face with my hands for a minute until the moment passes and I feel safe. Sooner or later, I will need to face the truth.
I’m not just an angel anymore.
Chapter 32
His fingers softly flicker down my bare back, caressing me with every brush of his fingertips against my skin, my body reacting with shakes of desire. I roll onto my back as Ren leans over me, locks of his dark smoky hair falling over his forehead as his playful, desire-filled dark eyes latch onto mine. Only for a moment do I forget everything that happened between us, but then it suddenly comes back, making me tense and freeze all over.
Lust cannot make you forget betrayal. No matter how sweet it might be.
Ren sees the resolve, the spite and hate burning in my eyes as his expression changes. Guilt burns so brightly in his eyes, and I can only watch, the urge to understand him so strong it hurts.
“I never meant to hurt you. I lost control, the mating bond for vampires is so strong,” Ren softly explains himself. “I was weak and lost myself in you when you kissed me. Come back to me, and I promise to protect you always.”
“You hurt me; you turned me into a vampire without my permission!” I shout at him, smacking my fists against his chest. “I. Hate. You. I hate you!” I scream over and over until blood pours from his chest where I hit him, and darkness smothers us both.
I wake up with a gasp, breathing heavily and covered in sweat as I look around Myles’s cabin, and the rocking of the ship slowly reminds me I’m safe and Ren isn’t here with me. Not yet anyway. The dream felt so real, so vivid, like Ren was really with me, and I could feel his fingers on my skin, sense his guilt like a real thing in the world, so strong I can almost taste it in my mouth. Closing my eyes, I tell myself once again it wasn’t real and Ren doesn’t feel guilt for what he did, he just took what he wanted, and I will forever hate him for that. I thought he was my friend, my saviour in the light, but it turns out he was the demon in the darkness that I needed to avoid. Not fall in love with. I lean back on the pillow, knowing I should get more sleep before the morning comes and with it, my return to the academy. After our meeting, we realised it was the middle of the night, and returning at night isn’t the best of ideas.