Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Briggs Theo wasn’t answering his phone and I was freaking out. He was going to do something stup*d. If he showed up in Sablemane territory and tried to get to Ayla, Kingston would kill him on the spot. My only hope was that Ayla wouldn’t risk war breaking out because of her.

“Briggs, what’s wrong?” Mina asked as she met me in the hall. She could tell I was upset.

“Your cousin is about to start a f**king war, that’s what,’ said, making sure not to direct any anger toward her.

“Whoa,” Mina said, her eyes going wide. “Hold on. What are you talking about?”

I was tired of being in the dark about this. I would find out who Ayla really was once and for all.

“Would Ayla take money from her mother?” I asked.

Mina scoffed. “Yeah, sure, like Aunt Marie would ever have any money for her to take.”

“What?”

“Marie has a gambling addiction,” Mina said as if I should have known that. “Ayla has been paying for everything for all three of them since she was fourteen. Including Kylee’s high school and college tuition.”

I felt my face go pale and I thought I would vomit. Realization washed over Mina’s face.

1/6 O Chapter 38. Briggs 1200 Wouchers “Wait. Are you saying Kylee said Ayla stole money from Aunt Marie?”

I looked her in the eye. “Theo’s on the warpath. He’s going after Ayla, and he’s going to get himself killed.”

“Ayla would never hurt him. She’ll be able to clear this all up.”

“No, Mina,” I said, dreading what I had to do. “Ayla isn’t a Greytooth anymore. She’s not here in our territory.”

“Excuse me?” she said, stepping back from me.

I looked around, not wanting to have this conversation overheard, and pulled her into a nearby room. I made sure it was empty before shutting the door.

“What the f**k is going on, Briggs?”

“Mina, I’m going to tell you everything, but I need you to promise me you won’t say anything to Kylee or Marie. Not yet, at least,” I said. “Please.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “And if I don’t?”

I sighed. “Then I’ll still tell you. But it could cause a lot of problems for everyone if you say anything. So, I hope you won’t.”

Her face softened slightly. “Fine.”

I nodded. I was terrified of what this would do to our relationship. I didn’t want to lose her over this, but I wouldn’t keep it from her either.

“Ayla cut her ties with the pack about a month ago,” I said.

2/6 Chapter 38: Briggs 1288 Nouchers “Why the hell would she do that?” Concern and confusion were all over her face.

“Because she’s Theo’s fated mate, and he rejected her.”

I watched as shock was quickly replaced with rage. “Are you f**king kidding me right now? Why the hell would he reject her?”

I grimaced.

“If you tell me he rejected her for Kylee, I’m the one who just might start a war.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said.

Ttold her the rest of the details, the reasons why they both rejected each other. At least, the parts of Ayla’s side that I knew, although admittedly, that wasn’t much. When I told her about Ayla losing her wolf and her car accident, her eyes were rimmed with tears of sadness and anger. It was breaking my heart.

“Ayla was in Sablemane territory when she crashed,” I continued. “Alpha Kingston saved her and took her in. He likes her. A lot, from what I can tell. She was still a rogue the last time I saw her, but she won’t be for long. If he hasn’t already brought her into the pack.”

“So you think if Theo goes near her, Kingston will kill him,” Mina said.

“Probably,” I said, “I don’t know for sure.”

“Ayla won’t let that happen,” Mina rushed. “Although, right now, I wouldn’t consider it much of a loss. I’m tempted to kill 3/6 Chapter 38: Boggs him myself.”

“Mina...”

288 Vouchers “I get that he’s your Alpha and your best friend, Briggs, but Ayla’s my cousin,” Mina said before turning away. “Why would she do that?”

“She wanted to be free of the bond...”

“Not Ayla,” she shot back at me. “Kylee. I knew she could be selfish, but this is borderline vindictive. Although, I shouldn’t be surprised after our conversation last night.”

“What conversation?” I asked, my hackles raised.

“I asked her why she was going through with this mating when she knew they weren’t fated mates. She said she knew they were meant to be together even if the goddess didn’t,” Mina said bitterly. “I asked what if he meets his mate? What would she do then?”

“What did she say?”

Mina made a face. “Kylee said she would just have to understand that Theo was hers.”

“What the f**k?” I said, sickened at Kylee’s callousness and blatant sacrilege.

“Hey, I’m sure your Alpha had a hand in this,” she snapped. “He’s been stringing her along for over two years now. You can’t blame her for getting so attached.”

Did she just say two years? Had Kylee been telling people they had been together for over two years?

4/6 O Chapter 38: Briggs “Mina, they’ve barely been together a year,” I corrected.

288 Vouchers Mina’s face went slack. “No, they’ve been together for nearly two and a half years. They met when she visited the college her senior year.”

I shook my head. “No, Theo didn’t even meet her until a few months before we graduated. They only started dating a couple months before his dad’s diagnosis.”

Anger flared through my mate again. I’d be terrified if she ever directed that look at me. Her hands clenched into fists and she was shaking with rage.

“That manipulative little b*tch,” she hissed, heading toward the door. “I’m going to tear her apart...”

I grabbed her around the waist before she could leave.

“You can’t tell her,” I insisted. “She doesn’t know about Ayla and Theo. Neither of them do. And they don’t know she went rogue either.”

“Well, they’re sure as hell about to find out,” she seethed.

“Not yet, please.”

“Why?” she yelled, pushing me away forcefully.

“Because I don’t want to give them the opportunity to talk their way out of this,” I burst out. “Besides, Ayla doesn’t want Kylee to know they’re mates. Even now. She insisted on it.”

“Of course she did,” Mina said bitterly, tears forming again. “D*mn her martyr syndrome.”

I wasn’t going to confront Kylee yet. But I would make sure I 5/6 |||

Chapter 36. Briggs got as much information on Ayla as I could to encourage Theo to make the right decision after all this.

288 (Vouchers “You said Ayla paid for everything for years?” I said. “How did she manage that when she didn’t even graduate high school?”

Mina made a face. “You’re joking, right? She told you that, too? Ayla graduated with honors at fifteen. She’s practically a f**king genius.”

“Wait, then why was she just an assistant at the publishing house?”

Mina rolled her eyes. “Theo really didn’t bother to learn a d*mn thing about her, did he?”

I didn’t want to answer.

“She wasn’t a da*n assistant. She’s one of their authors,” she clarified. “One of their most successful authors, actually.”

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