Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Theo It was after midnight when I could finally head to my room. I soon as I opened the door, I smelled her. I immediately wished I could just close the door and leave without her noticing, but that wasn’t going to happen.

“What are you doing here, Kylee?” I asked. I didn’t even have the energy to sound angry, but I still was.

“You left me there,” Kylee cried angrily.

“Excuse me?” My energy returned, fueling my anger.

“You just left me at the hospital. I went all the way there to make sure you were okay after being worried sick, and you just left me there.”

“Had you been at the library in the first place, you wouldn’t have had to worry about me,” I bellowed. “You should have been there by my side. It was our pack that was suffering. They needed to see their Alpha and their Luna there. But you couldn’t be bothered.”

“Theo...”

“When you did decide to show up, I just had to console a friend who had just lost her mother because I hadn’t made it to her in time. We lost a pack member, a good woman, and you’re mad because you had to find your own way home?

How ignorant can you be?”

Kylee threw herself against me, wrapping her arms around my waist Dividing into pages now Chapter 26: Theo 288 Vouchers “You’re right, Theo. You’re right,” she cried. “I understand I should have been there as the pack’s Luna. It was a mistake. I‘ m sorry.”

I didn’t move to return the embrace. Her behavior was unacceptable.

“Please, baby,” she sniffled. “It was a mistake. I’m still learning to be a Luna. This is all a lot newer for me than it is for you. I promise I will do better. Just, please, don’t be mad at me anymore.”

That’s what she was worried about? That I was mad at her?

I gripped her arms, pulling them from around me and pushing her away slowly. I went to my armchair and fell into it, closing my eyes as I pinched the bridge of my nose. Exhaustion had started to make my head ache, matching the one in my chest.

I felt Kylee come and sit on my lap, and I had to fight the urge to push her off.

“I am really sorry, baby,” she said, running a hand along my chest.

I sighed. “Kylee, I think we should postpone our mating ceremony.”

“What?” she gasped, jumping off my lap. “You don’t mean that. Because I made one mistake?”

“Because you’re not ready for this, Kylee.”

She fell to the floor before me. “But I will be. I promise I’ll do better, Theo. Please, I love you. Don’t be mad at me, please. I’ll prove it to you. I promise.”

Dividing into pages now Chapter 26: Theo 288 Vouchers Her begging both hurt and disgusted me. Part of me hated that I was upsetting her, but I also knew it was necessary. Her actions needed to be addressed. But her reaction to the confrontation was a bit pathetic. It wasn’t the show of strength and conviction and humility that a Luna would experience after a mistake like this.

I looked down at her. Tears were streaming down her face, and the fear and pain were clearly etched across her face. Ayla flashed into my head. I remembered the steely resolve in her demeanor. The neutral expression on her face as she experienced the extreme pain of the broken mate bond, the severing of her pack, and the loss of her wolf all at once. The only evidence of her turmoil was the tears that ran silently.

It took a strength I couldn’t match at the time. And apparently, neither could Kylee.

I tore my eyes from hers.

“Please, Theo,” Kylee whined. “I can’t lose you. I love you.”

I had to remember that Kylee was young. She was five years younger than me, and she was right that this role was new for her.

There may not be much of it there now, but she had to have some of the same strength Ayla had. I just needed to give her more time to find it.

I could do that.

Irested a palm against her cheek.

“Okay,” I said. “We’ll keep the date for now. But we’re still going to talk about this later.”

A smile returned to her face. “Oh, Theo.” She climbed back Dividing into pages now |||

O <

Chapter 26: Theo 288 Vouchers onto my lap, her arms going around my neck as she kissed my face. “Of course. I promise you won’t regret this.”

I rested a hand on her back. It was all I could muster.

“You should go,” I said gently. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

“Theo, no, I’m not leaving you tonight. I thought I was going to lose you today. I’m not going...”

“Kylee,” I interrupted. “I’m not in the mood. Please, just go.”

She looked hurt again, huffing as she stood. “Fine.”

She stormed out of my room and slammed the door behind her. Again, her behavior left something to be desired. I had been adamantly telling myself that I wasn’t doubting my decision in choosing Kylee as my mate, that my thoughts were just being influenced by the mate bond with Ayla.

But tonight, I was doubting my decision. And I had to admit that to myself.

There was a soft knock on my door. Briggs mind–linked me to let me know it was him. He had arrived back a few hours after the fire died out and jumped straight into the mix. With him. taking over the supervision of the investigation at the library, we hadn’t crossed paths since he got back.

I told him to come in. When he entered, he looked about as tired as I did.

“Did you discover anything at the library today?” I asked.

“Nothing definitive yet. It appears the fire started in the basement around an electrical panel. But the fire marshal thinks, there may be something suspicious. He’s going to pick <

Chapter 26: Theo 288 iVouchers back up there first thing in the morning,” Briggs informed me as he sat in the chair next to me.

“So we’re thinking the fire was set deliberately?” I asked, leaning forward. That wasn’t what I had expected to hear.

“He wasn’t ready to say that. Just that it wasn’t a typical cause,” Briggs clarified.

I would have to meet the marshal at the library. I wanted to be there to see what he found when he found it. If there was any chance the fire was set on purpose, then it was an attack against our pack. I didn’t think I could handle that on top of everything else going on. I needed to clear some things out of my head.

“What about Ayla?” I asked quietly.