Theo’s eyes connect with mine, a frown creasing his brow. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? I fucking married her.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I married my brother’s mate.” The pain in his eyes infuriates me. This shouldn’t be hurting him. I’m the one who’s been separated from my mate for the last eight years.
“Fuck, Theo. Do you not think I wanted to?” Grabbing the bottle at Theo’s feet, I fill both our glasses with the amber liquid. “I wanted to tell everyone. To scream it from the fucking rooftops.” I take a sip as I pull my anger back. It’s not Theo I’m mad at. “That day, when I got back, I’d barely stepped foot in the door when Dad decided I needed to go out of town on pack business. I tried to tell him, but you know Dad, he wouldn’t listen to a nineteen-year-old. I was a kid.”
“What about when you got back?” Theo runs his finger around the rim of his glass. “I would have listened.”
I place my empty glass on the floor at my feet and settle back on the sofa. “By the time I got back into town, you’d been dating her for two months. You were happier than I’d ever seen you. I couldn’t take that away from you. Neither of us had been happy since Dad took us away from Mum and Ruby. You’d been away from them longer than I had. You deserved that happiness.”
“She is your fucking true mate, Cain. My happiness should never have come into it.” The growl in his voice isn’t backed up by anger in his wolf’s energy.
I shrug. “What can I say? I’m a dick.” My words elicit a short laugh from Theo. “It killed me to watch you two together. My wolf wanted to tear you apart. That’s why I could never hunt with the pack. I couldn’t trust him around you.” I rub a hand over my chest, trying to ease the ache that’s been there for the last eight years. “I’ve been torn in two ever since that fucking day.”
Theo leans forward on the sofa, placing his head in his hands. “And I just thought you were a moody bastard. I guess that’s why you left the pack?” I nod, even though I know he won’t see me. “It kind of all makes sense now.” He turns to me and places a hand on my knee. “You should have told me. When I found Bel, I knew she was my true mate, but I wasn’t able to claim her for a few weeks. So I can only just begin to imagine how hard it must have been for you all those years.”
“I fought the attraction as much as I could. Fuck, I dated Chloe on and off over the years, but she knew I would never commit and she started to resent me for it. My wolf just got more and more restless,” I say with a sigh, remembering how he felt at the time. Not that he feels any different now. He’s constantly pacing inside me, waiting for my defences to drop just enough for him to escape.
“But you slept with her in the end? How the hell did you walk away after that?” Theo asks, clearly curious… and sadly mistaken if he thinks that’s the first time I’d slept with her.
“The time you caught us wasn’t the only time I slept with her,” I admit. The wounded look on his face makes guilt surge through me. “Believe me, I hate myself for that. More than you could imagine.”
He nods. “Well then, I guess you should tell me the rest of your story.”
Getting to my feet, I pace to the window and look at the forest before taking a deep breath and telling him the rest.
Four
SORROW AND PAIN
Cain - Seven years ago
A year has passed since I first met Selena. I’ve been successful in avoiding being alone with her, even for a minute, because I know that the first time I do, I won’t be able to keep my mouth off hers. I’ve spent the last twelve months obsessing over how she’ll taste and how her soft curves will feel under my hands.
The phone rings in its cradle on the counter, and I pick it up as I flick the switch on the kettle. I was meant to be making coffee. “Wilson residence.”
“Mr Wilson?” a grandmotherly voice asks.
“Yes,” I answer, even though I know she could easily be after Theo or our dad.
“I’m a nurse at Mount Roxby hospital. I have a Selena Graham here. She has you down as an emergency contact.” She pauses, and my breath hitches in my chest. Selena’s in the hospital? But before I can say anything aloud, the nurse speaks again. “Now, don’t worry. She only has a few superficial cuts and bruises. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for her father and brother. They didn’t make it. As you can imagine, she’s not handling it very well. We had to sedate her, and I thought it might be good for a familiar face to be here when she wakes up.”
I glance at the clock on the wall, my heart racing in my chest. “I can be there in fifteen minutes. Will she be awake before then?”
“Don’t rush. She’ll be out for at least another hour. We don’t need another accident on the road.” She hangs up and I blindly place the phone back in its cradle. My mind races. Selena’s lost her brother and father. Theo is all she has left. Shit! Theo. He’s out of town.
Pulling my mobile out of my pocket, I quickly dial his number.
“Cain. The house is still standing, right?” I can hear the smile in his voice. Every time I call when he’s out of town, he answers asking the same thing. He’ll never let me forget the time I set fire to the kitchen when Dad left us both in charge.
“Theo, I just had the hospital on the phone. Selena’s been in an accident.” I rub my sweaty palms on my jeans, swapping the phone from one hand to the other. “She’s uninjured,” I go on, hoping to ease any panic he may be feeling. “But her father and brother didn’t make it. They’ve sedated her and want a familiar face to be there when she wakes up. They said she’ll be out for another hour.” I hop from one foot to the other, eager to end this call and make my way to the hospital. I need to see Selena. I need to see she’s safe.
“Fuck!” I hear something crunch in the background, leaving me thinking he’s punched something, most probably a wall. “There’s no way I can get home in time. Even if I manage to get on the next flight, it’s a four-hour trip, and that’s providing I don’t have a stopover in Adelaide or Melbourne. She doesn’t really have any friends I can call to go, and none of the pack girls like her.”
“I’ll go,” I offer, planning on going anyway. Nothing’s going to stop me.
“Thanks, bro. Take care of her until I get there. I’ll text you my flight details as soon as I know them.” He hangs up and I stare at the phone for a minute before slipping it back in my pocket and making my way to my car, not bothering to lock the door behind me. It’s the pack house, and there’s always someone coming and going. It’s pointless locking a door when werewolves with supernatural strength are involved. Handles break too easily.
* * *
The nurse leads me through the ward and stops in front of a blue door. “Selena’s in here.” She glances down at her watch. “I’ll be back before she wakes up. You’ve got time to go grab a coffee if you like?”
I shake my head. “No. I’d like to sit with her if that’s okay?”
“Of course, dear. She’s a lucky girl to have a partner like you.” She gives me a smile and dashes off towards the nurses’ station before I can correct her.
I stare at the door and can’t help but think all my avoidance techniques will have been for nothing the second I set foot into the room beyond. Reaching out, I open the door. I pause in the doorway as I’m overwhelmed by Selena’s honeysuckle scent.
The sight of her laid out on the bed has me moving, and I’m standing beside her in a second. I stroke her long locks with my hand. “My beauty…,” I whisper as I allow my eyes to roam over her, checking for injuries. She has a cut on her forehead and another on her right cheekbone.
She lets out a small moan and my hand freezes on her head, not wanting to be the cause of any pain. “Shh… you’re okay, Selena.” I try to comfort her, not knowing if she can hear me.
Her eyes flicker open and shut again. “C…” She clears her throat. “Cain?”
“Yes. It’s me, beautiful.” The term of endearment leaves my mouth without even thinking about it. “Theo’s trying to get a flight back fro
m Perth. I’ll stay with you until he gets back, if that’s okay?”
“Dad? Maxie?” Her question hangs in the air, leaving me to wonder how the hell to break the news. Her eyes pop open and lock onto mine before she lets out a scream, no doubt seeing the answer in my eyes.
“I’m sorry…. We’re going to look after you,” I state, referring to my wolf and I, before quickly correcting myself. “Theo will look after you, okay? You won’t be alone.”
She falls into silent sobs, and sitting on the edge of the bed, I gently pull her into my arms, making sure not to hurt any injuries I can’t see.
The door opens and the same nurse from earlier walks in. She lets out a surprised noise. “Oh, Miss Graham, you’re awake. How are we feeling?”
Selena’s sobs become louder as she cries into my chest.
“She’s a little upset.” I state the obvious.
“Understandably so,” the nurse says, before walking over and holding a piece of paper out towards me. I reach for it with the hand that had been stroking large circles on Selena’s back. “Selena’s discharge papers,” she explains.
“She doesn’t need to stay… be observed?” I ask, disliking the idea of her not being near medical help if she may need it. The pack has our own doctors and nurses, but they specialise in weres, not humans. And Selena knows nothing about the pack or werewolves.
“She’s been thoroughly checked over and has no injuries that require observation.”
My wolf growls at the thought of her being checked over. Nobody but us should be checking her over. I quickly remind him that she’s Theo’s, not ours. In my mind’s eye, he bares his teeth at me in a snarl, not happy with that prospect either.
Selena lifts her head and looks up at me with her red-rimmed eyes. “I can’t go home. I don’t want to be there without them…. I… I….”
I squeeze her gently. “It’s okay, beautiful. I’ll take you to my home.”
The gratitude in her teary eyes cuts into me. “Thank you.”
The drive home is quiet, but I hold her hand in mine the whole way, indicators be damned.
Once in the house, I lead her into the lounge as I call out. “Anyone home?” Receiving no reply and knowing any werewolf who may be here would have heard me regardless of what room they may be in, I come to the conclusion that we’re home alone.
I focus my attention to Selena. “Here, beautiful. Sit down.” I guide her down onto the sofa. Her dazed expression has me worried the doctors may have missed a concussion or something.
Leaving her on the sofa, I head into the kitchen to make her a hot chocolate. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I quickly pull it out. The caller ID telling me who it is. “Theo. When will you be in?”
“I won’t be landing until four in the morning. By the time I make it through the traffic, it will be close to six when I get in. How's she doing?”
Opening the door, I peek out and see Selena staring into space, exactly where I’d left her. “She’s... honestly, I have no idea. She seems overwhelmed and spaced out. I’m just making her a hot chocolate. I figure the sugar might help with the shock.” I go back to mixing the hot chocolate.
“Thanks for looking out for her, Cain. What would I do without you?”
Guilt surges through me at his words. He’d be so much better off with me away from them both, because sooner or later, if I don’t tear him to shreds, I’ll be ravaging her. Damn the consequences.
“I’m sure you’d manage just fine. Hell, you’d be safer without me ar—” I pause midsentence, realising I’ve spoken aloud and said too much.
“What the fuck do you mean by that?” The anger in Theo’s voice is clear as a bell down the line.
“I’m going to have to go. Selena’s crying,” I lie, knowing he won’t sense it over the phone.
He huffs. “I’m not going to forget about this. We’ll pick this up later.” He hangs up, and I know Theo well enough to believe what he says. I’ll have to have the conversation with him eventually. Hopefully he’ll be distracted with Selena long enough for me to come up with something that he won’t sniff out as bullshit.
Grabbing the two mugs off the side, I head back into the lounge. I place a mug on the coffee table and crouch before Selena with the other. “Selena?” Placing a hand on her knee, I squeeze it gently, hoping to catch her attention more since my words got nothing. “Selena, I’ve got a hot chocolate for you here.”
Her eyes drop down to the cup I’m holding and then up to my eyes, slowly seeming to focus. She smiles and my heart skips a beat. “Thanks.” She reaches out with both hands and takes the mug from my one-handed hold.
I begrudgingly remove my hand from her knee and grab my mug off the coffee table as I take a seat beside her. “Do you want me to turn the TV on?” I reach for the remote in anticipation of her answer, not at all liking the silence between us. It makes me want to tell her things. Things I should never tell her.
I catch sight of her head shaking. “No, I can’t bear to watch happy families at the minute.” I pull my hand back without picking up the remote and sip my hot chocolate. I watch out the corner of my eye as Selena blows gently over hers.
“Tell me something… anything. Anything that will distract me from thinking about….” She doesn’t need to say the words. I know she means her family.
My wolf jumps forward wanting to comfort her. “I fell in love with you the first time I laid eyes on you.” The words fall out of my mouth, catching me by surprise and her too, if her sharp turn of the head, wide eyes, and slack jaw are anything to go by.
I never meant to tell her that. Ever. She’s fucking grieving. I can’t say shit like that. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”
“Did you mean it?” She drops her eyes to the floor as her face flushes before flicking them back to me. “Did you mean what you just said, or is it some lame attempt at making me feel better?”
My mind races as I berate my wolf for coming to the surface and pushing me into breaking like that. Seeing the vulnerability in her eyes, I can’t lie. Taking a deep breath to ground myself, I open my mouth and tell her the truth. “Every word.”
I smile nervously, hoping she can see the truth in my eyes, the same truth I feel bone deep. “That day outside the shop, I saw the most beautiful woman on earth. You stole my heart and made me drop a carton of eggs.” She giggles and the sound caresses my skin, causing goosebumps to rise on my arms. “I swear. I knew you were the one. Unfortunately, Theo stole your heart before I got the chance to.” I shrug and take a long sip out of the mug in my hand in an effort to shut myself up.
She places her hand on top of mine. “I didn’t know, Cain. Is… is that why you’re always avoiding me?” She swallows and glances at her feet. “I thought you hated me.”
Before I realise what I’m doing, my hand is running up her neck and her hair is falling through my fingers. “Never. I could never hate you.”
My eyes lock onto her mouth, and I find myself inches away from her. Selena’s tongue flicks out leaving a slight wetness behind, and I’m a goner. My lips crash onto hers, my tongue teasing at their seam. She parts her lips and I take that as an invitation. The sweet taste of hot chocolate and her honeysuckle scent explodes on my tongue.
I blindly place my mug on the table, wanting to run both my hands in her hair. My hands move to frame her face, her soft skin beneath my fingertips perfect.
She shifts, not breaking the kiss, and I hear a clunk as her mug connects with the table a second before her hands roam up my chest and lock around my neck. My wolf has practically melted, content to finally have our mate in our hands. Only she isn’t our mate.
She’s Theo’s.
I break the kiss, jumping off the sofa and across the room, aiming to get some distance between us. “Shit! I’m sorry. You’re my brother’s girlfriend.” I tug at my hair with my hands. “I shouldn’t have done that.” I pace in front of the French windows as I look out to the forest surrounding the house. I need to run.
I should get as far away from her as possible.
Her hand on my back causes me to jump. I’d been so lost in my own head I hadn’t even heard her move. “Cain. Please don’t run.”
Her choice of words has me turning. “Run?” I ask. Surely, she couldn’t have meant—
She takes my hand in hers. “You look like you want to bolt. Please sit down again.” Her pleading eyes have me moving towards the sofa and sitting down. “You’re right. I’m with Theo and it’s not fair to do this behind his back. I love him.” Her words break my heart, but hearing the truth in them shatters it into a million pieces. A million pieces that will never be made into a whole again.
I nod, struggling to get words past the lump in my throat. “Let’s put the TV on. Maybe we can find a good action movie or something.”
Selena reaches for the remote and clicks through the TV channels, stopping on the first one that shows a screen full of explosions. A car crashes on screen and she flinches beside me before clearing her throat. “I think I’m going to go to bed. Will Theo mind if I sleep in his room?” She shuffles forward on the couch, readying herself to stand.
“Of course not.” I grab the remote and turn off the TV. “I could do with an early night too. I’ll show you up to his room.” I run a hand through my hair as I stand, mentally berating myself at my idiotic offer—she’s been dating him for over a year; she knows where his room is.
I hear the sofa crinkle as she stands. “Thanks.”
I pause in front of Theo’s room and open his door for her. “I’m just over there,” I say, pointing to my door on the opposite wall up the hall. “If you need anything just give me a knock, okay?”
She smiles brightly and reaches out, taking the hand hanging at my side in hers. “Thank you for being there for me today, Cain. I appreciate it more than you’ll know.” She reaches up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. “When you meet ‘the one’ you’re going to make her one happy girl.” She drops my hand and walks into Theo’s room, closing the door on me as I stare after her. I really hope she is a happy girl, or this last year of hell will have been for nothing.
Mount Roxby Box Set Page 41
