Page 36 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

Xyla’s heart hurt for the woman when she saw tears welling up in the back of Ginny’s eyes. “What did you do?”

“I listened to my father and stopped seeing him. He begged me to run away and be his mate, but I refused. Eventually, he married someone else and they had three children. Those children could have been mine. I would see them in town once in a while and my soul would shatter into pieces.”

Franny put her hand on Ginny’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

Ginny patted Franny’s hand. “My father died and I was left completely alone in the world. I could never love another man. I saw the advertisement for a housekeeper here, and I applied for the job. I’ve been here ever since. Now, Franny, Howard, William, and Sara are my family.”

Wiping a tear from her face, Ginny sighed. “I think about him every once in a while, and my heart hurts for what might have been.” She looked at Xyla intently. “If there is something between you and Sean, you shouldn’t let anything or anyone get in your way – not your daddy, not your job, nothing.”

“Thank you for sharing your story. If things keep going with Sean, I hope I am brave enough to follow my heart.”

The oven beeped and Franny put the cake in, setting the timer. “I’m planning on Salisbury steak tonight. I’ve got the hamburger set out, thawing. Xyla almost has the potatoes done. I think I’ll do glazed carrots to go with it.”

Xyla pretended to rub her tummy. “That sounds terrific.”

After dinner, Xyla wasn’t in the mood to socialize. She went into the library and sat at one of the desks, writing in her diary.

I’ve always had a thing for Sean until Dad told me that he was a shifter. It had been beaten into my head that shifters are evil and killers. I was so stupid to believe Sean could have a malicious bone in his body. I know that there are some shifters who are bad, but there are bad and good people in every group.

I think I’m falling in love with him, although I’m not a hundred percent sure. After all, we’re all cooped up here together. Is it really love or is it an infatuation like a summer fling?

Regardless, I’ll never be sorry for making love to him. He made me feel so incredible. It was magical, like in all the books.

Sean likes me, too, I think, even after the way I treated him. That’s a testament to how good a man he is. Could he ever love me if my feelings are real?

She tapped her pen against her teeth and realized she was thirsty. Knowing that she would be right back, she left her journal on the desk and slipped into the pantry for a bottle of water.

Her heart sank when she saw her father reading her diary when she got back. His face was bright red and he was shaking.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” he bellowed.

Xyla snatched the book out of his hands. “You had no right to read that.”

“You left it lying out. What are you doing with Sean? You fucked him? How could you?” The anger and disgust vibrated in his voice as he glared at her.

“It felt right. I’m a grown woman and I’m quite capable of making my own decisions.”

Elliot gnashed his teeth together and clenched his fists, showing white knuckles. “He’s a dirty shifter. He’s not even human.”

She looked her father in the eye and said in a calm voice, “Sometimes, I think he’s more human than you.”

“How dare you?” he hissed at her.

“Sean has been nothing but kind and respectful. I don’t know what happened to Mom. Heaven knows I miss her so much. But even if she was killed by shifters, that doesn’t mean that all shifters are bad. There are human serial killers, but not all humans are bad.”

Elliot bared his teeth and growled. “You listen to me. You’d better end this relationship with Sean or I will. I’ll make sure that he never makes it off this mountain.”

Xyla’s heart flipped and her stomach knotted at something bad happening to Sean. “Don’t do anything stupid. You wouldn’t win in a fair fight, and if you murder him, then you are no better than what you claim the shifters are.”

Her father glared at her for a second and left, leaving Xyla standing alone in the room trying to catch her breath.

15

Sean

Sean and Sawyer went for another run after breakfast. This time they headed down toward the road. The sun was shining and the snow glistened like diamonds.

Sean growled at the road that was still impassible.

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