Chapter 128

Chapter 128: Ayla A huge rumble echoed through the room, bouncing off the high ceilings, making the walls shake. Harry stopped what he was doing and looked toward the sound. His shoulders instantly became tense and his face contorted into a curious scowl.

“Bare with me, my love,” he said absently to me. “We may have a visitor.”

My heart skipped.

Theo “Don’t get your hopes up,” Harry snapped. “There’s no way he could have found you. It’s probably some rogue poking around where they shouldn’t be.”

He disappeared into the darkness, the sound of the door closing the only indication he was gone. I waited a moment before pulling at the ring again, trying to work it out of the wood.

“Ayla,” Kylee said to me. “I’m sorry.”

I sighed. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her apologies. It’s not like they meant anything anyway.

I closed my eyes, pushing passed the headache that had formed.

That was harsh.

And even though she deserved it, I didn’t. I couldn’t carry that pain with me from here.

If we got out of here.

So, I might as well have faced it then.

“For what?” I asked snarkily. “For telling everyone you know I’m a horrible, selfish person or for trying to steal my fated mate for yourself?”

“I didn’t know he was your fated mate,” she rushed.

“Okay,” I shot. “For trying to steal someone’s fated mate. Because you sure as hell knew he wasn’t yours. Are you sorry about that too? For lying to me?”

“I’m... I’m sorry for everything,” she said. “I really did love him, Ayla. I still do.”

“Really?” I snapped. “You’re really going to go down that road? Tell me how much you love the one person who was supposed to be mine? Like I’m supposed just let you have him. News flash, Kylee, I already did that, and look what that got me. When you found out who Theo was to me, you didn’t regret what happened. No, you slapped me in the face.

“I gave up everything for you, Kylee. I gave up my high school years with my friends so I could keep you fed and a roof over your head. I kept you from seeing Ma passed out drunk in a pile of her own sick. I made sure you never knew how many times we were almost taken by some thug Ma owed money to.

“Well, not so much that one. Seeing as Ma never would have let them touch you. Oh, but me? Me, she wouldn’t have put up much of a fight for.”

“That’s not true,” I heard my mother say weakly. She sat herself up slowly. “How could you believe that, Ayla?”

I laughed bitterly. “Because, Ma, you kept doing it,” I said, looking her in the eye. “You kept letting it get that close. You kept leading those assholes right to our doorstep. And you kept making ME talk them out of it. Face it, Ma, I was your meal ticket and get–out–of–jail–free card.”

“Ma...” Kylee whispered in shame.

I leaned back against the post, giving my fingers a rest.

“I knew it would never get that far,” Ma said. “I knew you would never let them take you.”

“How the fuck could you have known that, Ma?” I yelled. “Do you hear yourself?”

“You’re special, Ayla,” Ma explained. “You know that. Kylee needed me more. Your father always made sure you knew...”

“So my father feeds you some bullshit story about me being different and you thought that meant I could take on fully grown werewolves with no morals?” my voice was dripping with disdain.

“But you did...”

“I SHOULDN’T HAVE HAD TO,” I bellowed, yanking at my bonds in anger. “But I did. Because you were still my mother. And because I needed to make sure Kylee was taken care of. You both took everything from me. And it was okay because one day, I’d find my mate, and he’d see me for who I was and... Oh, wait... you tried to take that too.”

I ignored my mother’s and sister’s sobs. Instead, focusing on the cold floor against my skin, the rough wood splintering along my back, the coarse rope digging into my flesh. Anything but the two people who betrayed me the most.

Then my dad flashed through my head. I nearly sobbed. I missed him so much.

The image came back.

It was a memory.

It was me and him on a hill near our home. I could see Ma running after Kylee as a toddler across the lawn. Dad had his arm slung casually around my shoulders. I remembered that was the day he told me it was my job to protect the family. That I had to help them grow, too.

“We all play a role in a family like we do in a pack.” Dad said. “We all have to find our strengths. Sometimes we need each other to help us with that.”

I didn’t really do a good job at that. Did I, Dad?

“Ayla,” Kylee said, pulling me from my memory, “I want to make it right.”

“You loved Theo,” I responded. “Ma loved you. I loved you both, but that meant nothing to either of you.”

“I love you, Ayla,” my mother cried. “You’re my baby girl. Of course I love you.”

“Stop.” I said. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Ayla,” Kylee said with more conviction. “I want to make it right. If he‘ s going to kill me, then I want to go with you knowing how sorry I am. You’re right. I was despicable. Saying those things behind your back. Doing what I did. I see now just how much you did for me. And it means the world to me. I can’t die with you hating me, Ayla, please.”

“You’re not going to die, Kylee,” I said. I laughed at the irony that she still didn’t understand the lengths I would go to protect her.

“After the conversation we just had, do you really think I would ever let him kill you?”

“I just want you to forgive me,” Kylee replied.

“Well, then you better start making yourself useful and look for something that can help because you’re going to have to live a lot longer for that to happen,” I replied.