Page 48 of Golden Desires

“And you just let him take my mother?!” I scream at my father, moving around Kylan, so I can see the Alpha I spent most of my life hiding from.

“No! No, Goldie,” my father’s eyes fall closed, and when he opens them, he speaks to Aldair. “You’re her mates,” he says, but it’s not a question. “If I tell her the truth, Donald must die.”

“He’s already dead,” Cillian snarls, and Aldair simply nods. And even though Donald fights against Aldair’s hold, it’s a useless fight.

“He took your mother when I wasn’t home. I didn’t know until after she was dead. I flew into a rage, hunted Donald down, intending to kill him. I found Talia instead.” My father glances at the Beta, trembling on the forest floor. “She knew where my sister was. Threatened to tell Donald how to find Paisley if I didn’t marry her. I had already lost my mate… I would have killed them both, but she had already told someone, told me if I killed her, that person would reveal Paisley’s location to Donald.”

“That doesn’t explain why you didn’t simply kill Donald,” Kylan says calmly, but his shoulders shake with tension.

“I’m not powerful, influential, or important in our village. Murder is a crime. I’d have been hung, leaving Goldie to a worse fate. At least I was able to keep her out of the hands of the vile men of the village,” my father snaps, and I scoff.

“You beat me. You were one of those vile men!” I cry, tears stinging my eyes.

“I needed you to hate me. You needed to believe there was nothing for you in that village. You couldn’t leave behind a horse. Would you have left me behind if you believed I was anything more than this,” he lifts his arms, but I shake my head.

“You’re not the victim. You had a choice, and you chose to hurt me. To let her hurt me,” I whisper, and my father nods.

“I never claimed to be the victim. I did what I thought was best. The only thing I knew I could do. I bought you that horse. Taught you to take care of yourself. I had hoped you would have run sooner. I was going to kill him during the ceremony, hoping that you’d finally fucking run. Donald wanted to take you when you were four. Then again, at sixteen when you bled for the first time. I convinced him to wait until you were old enough for your first heat. That I could break you enough to make you submissive to him. I only hit you when Talia got suspicious of my intentions. I sacrificed you to save my sister. I’m sorry. I accepted my fate long ago. This only ends one way.” My father’s head falls back against the tree Ky has him pinned to, and I swipe at the tears on my cheeks as fury burns through me.

He helped his sister escape her fate, but he couldn’t do the same for me. Not really. All because of Talia and Donald.

“Rip her fucking throat out,” I whisper. My men know who I’m talking about. There’s only one woman here besides Alma and me.

They can feel my pain and fury through the bond.

Cillian doesn’t hesitate. She doesn’t even have time to scream, before the scent of her blood, and the sounds of her choking on it fill the air.

My father doesn’t even blink at her dead body. He just stares up at the trees.

Donald killed my mother. He tried to rape her, and when she resisted, he killed her for it. I turn to him. He’s gone pale.

He must know he’s next. He’s finally realized he’s not in control, and there’s no one left to stop us.

“Alma?” I say, staring Donald in the eyes, as the older woman steps up beside me. “He killed your sister. You knew her longer than I did.” I turn to look at her, seeing the pain I feel mirrored in her eyes. “Do you want to…” I trail off as the sob gets stuck in my throat, the pain in my chest rising.

“I can’t,” Alma whispers, and I nod, understanding. I walk over to the small man I used to be so terrified of.

“I’m going to break your spine, and then I’m going to tie you to the back of my horse, ride into the forest, and leave you there to die. Your rotted corpse will be all that's left of you, once you die slowly and in pain,” I spit in his face, and Aldair turns Donald’s back to me. With my newfound strength, I punch his spin, his body going limp after the sickening crack that rings out. As if he was waiting for me, Bear trots into view. Donald’s screams ring out, filling the forest. Aldair tosses him to the forest floor, beside Talia’s dead body.

“You're a ruthless little Omega.” Cillian grins, but pulls me into his arms, holding me in a comforting embrace.

“You can drop him,” I say to Kylan through our bond, who nods, releases my father, and steps away. The older Alpha frowns as he stumbles back against the tree.

“If I ever see you again, I’ll let my mates end you.” I meet his eyes, so he knows I mean every word. “Don’t mistake my mercy for weakness. Never come back.”

“You sure, golden girl?” Cillian asks through the bond.

“Why?” Patrick asks, and I sigh.

“You did everything wrong. You should have protected me. You never should have hurt me. But you were trying to protect me, and your sister, even if you fucked it all up.” I shake my head, more tears falling. “I don’t know what I would have done in your shoes. Maybe you did the only thing you could to keep me alive. Maybe you’re not the evil bastard I thought you were.” I shrug. “But your actions cost me, and if I was face to face with the man who abused my mate, I’d kill him, regardless of his excuses. So run, or I’ll let them kill you right here and now.”

For the first time in the last sixteen years, I see real emotion on my father's face, as he cracks, and breaks before my eyes.

“Goodbye, Goldie,” he whispers, before turning, and jogging out of sight.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Goldie

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