Page 82 of Ruined Wolfsbane

I move to yank out the IV, but Uncle Vale’s massive hand covers mine. “Take a breath, Bee. We picked up Ava after we found you. She’s safe.”

Collapsing back on the bed in relief, I cover my face with my free hand. It’s shaking with all the adrenaline pumping through me at the thought of Ava getting hurt. “Oh, thank the good lord above and beyond. How’d you know where to find her?”

“Ronan told us,” Aunt Abbie informs me.

“You know him?” What a small world that they know one of my only friends from WHU. What are the chances?

“We do. I take it you’re friends with him and Rory?” Aunt Abbie asks with a grin. I nod and smile, thinking about Rory declaring us besties. I’m lucky she chose me. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had. “Meet anyone else interesting at school?”

My cheeks burn as I think about who else I met at WHU. There’s zero chance Aunt Abbie, who’s like my second mom, will approve of me hanging out with professors outside of school. She’d definitely disapprove of my infatuation with them.

I duck my head to avoid her prying gaze.

Speak of the devil, though, because the Wyldharts choose that moment to burst through the door to the room. It’s also white, like everything else in this room that’s an excellent mimicry of hell.

“Briar.” Malachi breathes my name like a prayer as he rushes to my side. Bastian and Xander are hot on his heels. So focused on me, Malachi almost crashes into Uncle Vale. Malachi’s chest rumbles with a growl as he sees Uncle Vale still holding my hand. “Get away from her, Dad! She’s scared of you!”

Malachi inserts himself between Uncle Vale and me, with Bastian and Xander flanking him on either side. I hold Uncle Vale’s bewildered gaze as I process what Malachi said.

“Dad? Uncle Vale is your dad?”

Malachi turns back to me as I speak. He gives me a small nod, his brows furrowed in confusion.

Sucking in a shocked breath, I finally put the pieces together. “You’re Valentine Wyldhart?” I ask Uncle Vale.

CHAPTER 34

BRIAR

“That fucker!” I growl as I realize exactly why Patrick told me all of those messed-up stories about Valentine Wyldhart. If Patrick hadn’t scared me away from Valentine Wyldhart, I might have stumbled across Uncle Vale and Aunt Abbie earlier. Then Patrick would have lost his favorite punching bag.

Everyone in the room is staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“Patrick told me lots of, um, disturbing stories about Valentine Wyldhart,” I clue Uncle Vale and Aunt Abbie in. “To keep me in line, Patrick told me Valentine Wyldhart would do horrible things to Ava. His threats worked great to keep me away.”

“I’m going to kill that sick fuck when I get my hands on him.” Uncle Vale runs an agitated hand through his dark hair.

Bastian turns around to look at me, his nose scrunched in confusion. “So, you’re not afraid of my dad?”

“Nope, I’m not. I’ve known Uncle Vale my whole life.”

“Uncle?” Malachi questions, looking a little green. “We’re related?”

I chuckle as his face contorts in horror. Aunt Abbie joins in, her melodic laugh floating around the room. “No, Kai, you’re not related. We’re not Briar’s biological aunt and uncle. We were just close with her mom.”

Now that they know that I’m not scared of Uncle Vale, the Wyldharts stop blocking him from me. They crowd around my bed instead, each one finding somewhere to touch me. Almost like they need to reassure themselves I’m really here.

“Oh, thank God.” Malachi exhales, visibly relieved we’re not cousins. “How did you know Briar’s mom?”

Neither Uncle Vale nor Aunt Abbie answer him immediately. Uncle Vale scrubs his hands across his face before blowing out a heavy breath. “Briar’s mom was my mate.”

The room explodes into chaos at his statement. Malachi, Xander, and Bastian are all shouting questions over each other. “Quiet!” Uncle Vale barks, his voice having that same odd resonance that Malachi’s has sometimes.

I don’t usually feel anything when Malachi uses that voice, but my skin crawls and something jumps inside my chest this time. Rubbing my breastbone, I hope the weird feeling will settle down.

“Evie was my fated mate,” Uncle Vale tries again now that the brothers are silent. “I spent nearly forty years looking for her, but I eventually gave up hope that I’d ever find her. My brothers had already died, so I figured fate had forsaken me. I never meant to fall in love with Abbie, but I did.”

Forty years? Uncle Vale looks in his late thirties, maybe early forties. There’s no way he spent so long looking for my mom. He’d be way older if he had.

---