Page 11 of Bound By My Alpha Mate

“Call her and tell her to come over here,” Everett said to Aislin.

“I don’t want any more people involved than there have to be,” I said.

“Trust us,” said Aislin, “you’ll want to meet Billie. She and Muriel were very close.”

I felt a pang in my heart, and I swore inwardly; it was out of jealousy. I missed my mother so badly. It had been months since I’d seen her, and these people had been blessed with her company for weeks before they’d lost her. I was inclined to believe they had taken her presence for granted. They didn’t need her as much as I did. The jealousy aroused some anger, but I pushed it down, listening as Aislin made the phone call to Billie.

We waited for twenty minutes. In that time, some of the Mythguard humans left, and others arrived to take their place, including two wolves, Carla and Brad. They all stayed outside, but Everett periodically went to speak with them. I stayed indoors with Aislin, staring emptily out the windows, hating being stuck in here. Wishing there were something I could be doing.

A knock on the door finally brought an end to my waiting. Aislin leaped up to greet the newcomer and led her into the living room. The new woman was petite, around my age, with brown hair and soft green eyes. Her pleasant smile immediately explained why my mother had taken a liking to her. Kindness was evident on her face and in the way she carried herself. “Hello,” she greeted me. “I’m Billie. You must be Kiara?”

I prickled, not wanting to like her. “Yes.”

She and Aislin sat together on the other end of the couch, their female camaraderie displayed in their proximity to one another.

“So, Colt is your fated mate?” Billie’s smile withered a little, morphing into worry.

I nodded.

The other two women exchanged a look. “I haven’t told her anything other than that he’s your adoptive brother,” Aislin said to Billie.

“Okay, well…There’s a lot to unpack about Colt,” said Billie, furrowing her brow.

“Considering he attacks me every time he sees me, I suspect he isn’t easy to get along with,” I said.

“He used to be nice,” said Billie. “We grew up together, and throughout our entire childhood, he treated me better than anyone else in my family. He cared for me. Spent time with me. Protected me. He wanted to take me away from the cruelty of my family since my sister and father only cared about locking me up in the Manor and forcing me to work. Colt and I were very close. When he had a crush on Aislin, I supported him. I thought they’d make a cute couple.”

Aislin rolled her eyes. “You never saw the way he acted around me. When you weren’t around, he was an insufferable prick.”

“I knew him better than you did,” said Billie. “He really did care about you.”

Aislin frowned, disbelieving.

I wasn’t sure how I felt knowing that my fated mate had had such strong feelings for the redhead. Clearly, those feelings weren’t reciprocated, and if I were interested in Colt, I didn’t think I’d be in danger of Aislin encroaching on my territory. But I wasn’t interested in Colt.

“Anyway,” continued Billie, “everything changed when Gavin turned out to be my fated mate. His pack, Grandbay, was supposed to merge with Dalesbloom. He was dating Colt’s and my sister, Catrina, and they were supposed to become the Alphas of our merged pack. But when Gavin and I had our Moondream, he broke up with Catrina. She wasn’t good for him, and he realized that. The relationship between Grandbay and Dalesbloom fell apart after they broke up. David ended up allying with the Inkscale dragons, and then he revealed that he had arranged with the Inkscales to kill Gavin’s parents three years ago. You already know that both David and the Inkscales’ leader, Lothair, are trying to perform a Lycan ritual, right? Originally, Catrina was supposed to undergo the ritual, but during a battle about a month ago, Gavin accidentally killed her. And that drove a wedge between Colt and me for good.”

So, not only were Eastpeak and Grandbay struggling with the kidnapping of my mother by Dalesbloom and the Inkscales, but there was also a whole drama unfolding that involved them all. I hadn’t realized how closely entwined these wolves were with one another.

“He changed,” Billie continued. “It was like he became somebody I didn’t even know. Catrina’s death, me leaving, Aislin becoming fated mates with Everett…Colt must feel like everything has been taken away from him. All he has left is his father. But David is an evil man. And I’m sure he’s just using Colt, twisting him to follow in his footsteps. I think if the circumstances were different, Colt could have fought alongside us, but instead, he has tried to kill us, too.”

“Pretty sure he’ll kill me if given the chance,” I suggested.

While Aislin nodded, Billie seemed unconvinced. “I don’t want to believe he would do that. But at this point, I really don’t know. He might be too far gone. But maybe if someone, anyone, were to give him a chance…get him away from David…”

Aislin scoffed. “What are you saying? You actually want Kiara to consider this Moondream bullshit?”

“I’m not trying to defend Colt or anything. I’m just saying, he’s my brother, and I love him. I don’t want him to die.”

“You told Mythguard they could exterminate him.”

“I know.” Billie sighed, rubbing her face. “But that was before somebody became his fated mate.”

“I’m rejecting him,” I said firmly.

Sorrow flashed across Billie’s face. “You aren’t obligated to give him a chance. I know that. But I can’t help wanting the best for my brother.”

I had no sympathy for Billie, at least on the outside. I didn’t want anybody to think that I’d actually consider romancing this Colt asshole. Especially not if he had anything to do with capturing and tormenting my mother.

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