Chapter: ten

~“You okay, sweetheart?”~ Ezekiel asked through their link.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

~“Don’t fib. I can sense your stress.”~

Unsure of how to respond without revealing too much, she fabricated a small lie to appease him. “It’s just tough being back here.”

His hand tightened slightly around her waist, a silent promise that everything would be okay. She rested her head against him, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Let’s move this to my office,” Daemon suggested.

Ezekiel nodded, then glanced down at Aylin. “Stay here. Quill, keep her company.”

“But—”

Ezekiel’s growl cut Quill off mid-sentence.

“Yes, Alpha.”

“Zeke, it’s fine. Quill should join the meeting with you,” Aylin suggested.

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow, giving her a stern look.

“Nevermind.”

“I’ll be back as soon as possible.” After planting a kiss on her forehead, the king disappeared into the office with the Dark Moon Pack members, leaving only Ophelia, who was glaring at her.

Almost instantly, Aylin could hear whispers from all around her. The pack house was half-full of familiar faces.

Not one of them approached her. It was clear that no one cared that she’d left.

Despite her improved life, a hollow feeling settled in her stomach. Nothing had changed.

Noticing her discomfort, Quill moved closer. “You okay?”

Silence.

“Aylin?”

“Hmm? Oh, what?”

“You seem uneasy. Are you okay?”

She found a seat and buried her face in her hands. “I’m fine,” she lied.

He shook his head, not buying it. “Don’t feed me that crap,” he retorted.

She lifted her head to see a murderous look in his eyes.

He knelt in front of her, resting on his haunches. “I know this is tough, but you need to stay strong. You’re a luna. You can’t let these people get to you.

“They’re your old pack, and if I remember correctly, they never cared about you anyway.”

She nodded, acknowledging his words. “Did you ever tell Zeke about…you know?”

A wave of shame washed over her. It was going to be even worse now that they were back at the old pack and no truths had been revealed. “I didn’t know how to tell him.”

A sudden roar made them both jump. An enraged king stormed through the house, and everyone in his path hastily moved aside.

Daemon stood in the doorway of his office, his face mirroring Ezekiel’s anger. Without a word, Ezekiel flung the front door open and stormed out, leaving everyone behind.

Quill studied him. Every muscle in his body was tense. Aylin started to approach, but Quill held her back, shaking his head.

She wriggled out of his grip and ran to her mate.

“Zeke,” she whispered, reaching for him.

“Where’s your house?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Three miles down the road.”

He tensed again, and Aylin stepped back, giving him space. Before her eyes, the king transformed into his charcoal gray wolf. His eyes were a golden yellow, and his size was massive.

~“Come,”~ he growled through the link.

She approached cautiously, and he snorted at her, quickening her steps. She climbed onto his back, gripping his fur tightly.

He ran so fast that the others wouldn’t be able to keep up.

“Aylin! Tell us where to go!” Quill yelled as they ran to the truck.

“Exit the driveway, turn left, and drive three miles down the road. You’ll see a gravel driveway; the house is half a mile back.”

She turned her attention back to her already furious mate. Holding onto his body was difficult, and the tension through their link was making her feel sick.

From the moment Ezekiel stormed out of the office, the tension was palpable. It was directed at Aylin, but she couldn’t tell if he was angry at her or for her.

After he took a sharp left turn away from the house, she sat up, looking around, watching it disappear in the distance.

“Where are you going? The house is over there.”

~“We’re not going there yet. We need to talk.”~

A pit formed in Aylin’s stomach. What could he possibly want to discuss? He wasn’t in the office long enough with Daemon for any secrets to be revealed.

Or was it her worst fear? Had Daemon told Ezekiel that she was his first mate and that she was passed over for some blonde bimbo?

He skidded to a halt, sending Aylin flying over his shoulders and into a pond. “Shit,” she groaned. She stood up and tried to shake off some of the water, already feeling chilled.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ezekiel growled.

Frozen in place, Aylin wasn’t sure where to start. If this was about what she thought, then there was no excuse. “Tell you what?”

“That Daemon Morris is the wolf, the alpha, who rejected you!”

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she turned to face her mate. “I couldn’t—”

“Why?! Why not?!”

“Because I was scared you would reject me too!”

He stared at her, speechless.

“Then I saw you with Ana that night, and all the memories came rushing back. I couldn’t bear the thought of being rejected by two mates. Hate me if you want. It doesn’t matter now.”

Rage flashed in his eyes. He punched a nearby tree, leaving a deep dent. “Goddamnit, why doesn’t it matter?!”

A nervous giggle slipped from her lips. “You’ve made up your mind already. Why would a king, an alpha, want a wolf who’s been rejected? Once you’re done here, just leave me be.”

She turned away from him, her gaze falling on the pond’s dark water.

“No!” he declared firmly. “I don’t care about your past. I care about the present.”

Surprised, she spun back to face her mate, who was now closer to her.

“I’m not mad because that jerk rejected you. I’m mad because you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth about yourself.

“I don’t want secrets between us. You might not believe it yet, but I need you like I need air to breathe.”

Relief washed over Aylin like a cool breeze. The sincerity in his eyes was overwhelming.

Without a word, she pressed herself into Ezekiel’s warm embrace. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed into his firm chest. “I love you, Zeke.”

Kissing her hair, the king held her tighter. “I love you too, Aylin.”

***

As they walked back toward the house, Aylin breathed a sigh of relief, knowing Ezekiel was understanding about her past. It was a secret that was hard to keep.

Every day she held it in, the guiltier she felt. Amazingly, Ezekiel still wanted her, despite everything. That gave her comfort.

Reaching the back door to the house, she saw the glass was still cracked from that day. The memory made her shudder.

“What happened here?” Ezekiel asked, looking at the door.

“I did that,” she replied.

Before he could say anything else, Quill opened the door. “Looks like someone trashed the house.”

“What?!” Aylin shrieked.

Rushing past him, she saw it was true. The entire living room was destroyed. Feathers from the couch were everywhere, pictures were shattered, and lamps broken.

The oven looked like it had been kicked in, the microwave was thrown across the room, and the dining room table was split down the middle. Everything was ruined.

Pure rage filled the room.

Panic set in, and she darted up the stairs to her room. She flung the door open and saw nothing was disturbed. Looking at the bed, she noticed a stain on the pillow.

It wasn’t there when she left. Her bed looked slightly slept in.

“Who the hell would do this?” Ezekiel asked.

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Whoever it was didn’t come up here. Maybe it was someone from the pack,” the king suggested.

“But why trash the downstairs and not up here?” Quill wondered.

“Oh, God.” More panic set in for Aylin, wondering if her parents’ room had been touched.

Throwing the door open, she discovered nothing was disturbed there either. The layer of dust from before was thicker, more suffocating, with the drab shades drawn to block out the light.

That was the one room in the house that wasn’t touched. After the attack, Aylin couldn’t bring herself to go in there, for fear of being overwhelmed by memories. Slamming the door shut, she breathed out in relief.

Pausing, the two men stood staring at her in disbelief. “What room is that?” Quill asked.

“My parents’ room. I haven’t been in there since the attack. Please don’t go in there.” Squeezing between the large men, she made her way back downstairs.

Angus and the other warriors were looking around for evidence of who could have trashed her home. “So far, nothing, Majesty.”

Sniffing the air, Aylin caught a scent. Making her way toward the broken dining room table, she noticed a tuft of black hair with traces of blood on it.

Shaking her head, Aylin knew exactly whose hair it was. “Shit,” she muttered.

“What is it?” the king asked curiously.

“I recognize this hair.” Taking a deep breath, she knew the next words out of her mouth would be dangerous. “It belongs to Daemon.”

Ezekiel immediately reacted, his eyes shifting to black, his chest heaving with fury. “He fucking rejected you and then trashed your house. I’m going to kill him!”

Quill stood in the king’s way, blocking his exit from the dining room. “This is not the answer.”

“Get out of my way,” he growled.

Aylin did the only thing she could think of. Darting in front of Quill, she put her hands on the king’s chest. “He’s right, Zeke. It’s in the past.”

His brows furrowed, and he spun around, smashing the table further. Roaring, he continued to demolish the already demolished table.

Quill pushed Aylin behind him to protect her from getting hurt. Seeing Ezekiel react the way he did tore her apart.

Pushing past Quill, she wrapped her arms around Zeke as much as she could, pressing her forehead to his back.

He relaxed a little, but the muscles in his back were still tense. His bloody fists were resting on the broken object in front of him. “Fine. I won’t do anything. Let’s take care of business and be done here.”

“I’ll get in touch with Morris and let him know—”

“I’ll go,” Aylin offered. Removing herself from her mate, she turned to face the beta and delta. “I’ll tell Daemon that Ezekiel will resume the meeting tomorrow.”

“No!” Ezekiel roared, facing his mate. “I don’t want you anywhere near him.”

“In your state, you’ll kill him. We just need information, and then we can leave and never come back.”

Seeing his angry eyes and heaving chest, Aylin knew she had to propose something he would agree with. “I’ll take Quill with me. No one will dare touch me. I’m the future queen to the Rogue King.”

Looking at his brother, Zeke took a deep breath, facing his little mate again. “Fine. Quill, do not leave her side under any circumstances. If Morris even looks at her funny, I want to know about it.”

“Got it.”

She traced her fingers over his chest, grinning up at him. “I’ll be quick, I promise.”

He leaned in, capturing her lips in a fervent kiss, not ready to let her go. Their tongues battled for control; Ezekiel emerged victorious, lifting her up and tugging lightly at her hair.

They broke apart, panting for breath. “Be back in thirty minutes. Not a second more, or I’ll tear that pack house apart.”

She gave him one last quick kiss on the lips before sliding off him. “Thirty minutes,” she confirmed.

They drove the SUV back to the pack house, the air thick with tension between them.

Quill was so focused on the road, his knuckles turned white. Aylin tried to ignore the growing tension, but it gnawed at her.

“Do you want to talk about something, Quill?”

“I’m… I don’t know. I’m just as pissed as Ezekiel right now.”

“But why?”

He let his shoulders relax a bit, easing his grip on the steering wheel.

“You don’t have any reason to be mad.”

“You’re my future queen and luna and my brother’s mate. Yes, I do. Any disrespect toward you hits me just as hard as it hits Zeke.”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Zeke; it’s all in the past now. You, Zeke, even that jerk Angus, you’re my pack now.” She shot him a smile.

Quill met her gaze, returning the smile.

Once they pulled up to the pack house, Quill hopped out, quickly moving around to the other side to open the door for Aylin. She held her head high as they walked back toward the house.

This time was different from the others in her life. She was ready to confront her former mate. She didn’t need him anymore because she had something far better.

Now, she had to carry herself with the confidence of a luna and queen, and speak with unwavering determination.