Page 37 of These Deadly Dreams

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Cole mutters.

“Cole!” mom admonishes.

“No, I won’t be quiet. This is bullshit. The golden child returns, after having done absolutely nothing for 150 years, despite that fact he has a mate who could help him take his spot as alpha, and everyone overlooks that! What a fucking joke. Some alpha you’d be. We’re probably better off with Noah.”

Ellis and I both jerk as if we’d been slapped. Shame burns through me, because a lot of what he said is absolutely true. I say nothing in response, I’m too stunned to even formulate a coherent thought.

“Cole, please,” my mom begs. “Don’t ruin this moment.”

“We should probably be going, anyway,” I say woodenly.

I stand and Ellis follows. She walks over to me and places her hand on my arm, concern shining in her eyes.

“Wait,” my mom says.

She pulls a necklace out of the collar of her shirt. I recognize it immediately. I’ve never seen her not wear it. The delicate silver links shine in the light, and the opal dangling from the chain sparkles. She unclasps it, and hands it to me.

“I want you to have this. For Ellis.” She gives us both a sad smile.

“But, dad?—”

“Your father gave it to me when we first mated. I want you to have it.” Her eyes fill with tears as she looks at Ellis. “I only wish I could get to know you better. But you’ll never know how happy I am to know he’s found his mate.”

I see the devastation on Ellis’s face. The guilt and uncertainty causing her cheeks to flush. I tuck the necklace into my pocket and grab Ellis’s hand, leading her through the kitchen to the back door.

“Don’t come back,” Cole says from the living room. “You’re not needed or wanted here.”

My steps falter and Ellis’s hand tightens around mine.

“Sterling,” my mom whispers.

I turn around, tears blurring my vision of the woman who raised me.

She wraps me in a hug. “I love you, Sterling. Please be careful.”

“I love you, too, mom.”

I kiss the top of her head before pushing through the back door and out into the warm night.

13. Ellis

I make to follow Sterling out the door, but pause. Turning back to his mom, I give her a small smile. “It was nice meeting you.”

Her smile is sad as she looks at me. “Please, take care of him for me.”

I swallow thickly. “Always,” I force the words from my throat. I turn to the door, but stop again. I’m not sure what possesses me, but I turn back around to level a look at Cole. “One day, you might regret this. One day, you might wake up and realize you lost your only sibling. I know how that feels, and I don’t wish that on anyone. Put yourself in his shoes next time you feel the need to attack him. You don’t know the whole story, and you sure as hell don’t know how much this tears him apart.”

I don’t give him a chance to respond. Pushing through the door, I hurry after Sterling, who is already across the clearing and entering the tree line. I have to run to catch up with his long, angry strides. Cade and Kai open their mouths to speak, but I shake my head and continue into the forest, following Sterling’s silver hair, the only beacon in the darkened woods.

He stops and presses his hands to the trunk of a tree, his head hanging down in defeat. Without thinking, I wrap my arms around him and rest my head on his broad back. He turns around and pulls me to him, sinking to the ground and dragging me with him. I realize he’s crying. His shoulders shake with silent sobs, and my heart breaks.

“I am so sorry, Sterling,” I whisper. Guilt spears through me. All of this time, I could have accepted the bond and we could have saved his family. Instead, I’ve been selfish. I’ve pushed him away for something that wasn’t his fault.

“He’s right.” His voice is rough and filled with pain. “Everything he said is true. They’ve been living in captivity, basically, while I’ve been off riding the fame and fortune being Kai’s friend gives me.”

“That’s not true, Sterling.” I shift so I’m more comfortable in his lap. My hand moves on its own, and before I know it, I’m cupping his cheek, forcing him to look at me. “You can’t blame him for being mad. He’s bound to be hurt, especially since he was so young when you left. He wouldn’t have understood, and he probably thought you had abandoned them.” I brush a tear away with my thumb. “He will never fully understand what you did for him. Your hands were tied, and the choices you made were the best ones at the time.”

As I talk, I realize I’m not just speaking of Cole. Our situation, mine and Sterling’s, isn’t so different. That night my mom and sister were murdered, he was doing what he had to in order to keep his family safe. I can’t blame him for that. I can’t blame him for not grabbing me that night and taking me away. I wouldn’t have gone willingly, and I probably would have hated him for it. Him not telling me he was there that night, that was a mistake. He made a choice, and it turned out to be a bad one. I can’t blame him for being scared of losing me again. We all make mistakes. Don’t we all deserve forgiveness, too?

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