Page 16 of Cursed Wolfsbane

As soon as I think that, I stumble as I try to walk to Uncle Vale. My cheeks burn in embarrassment. At least the fur should hide my blush. Shaking my head at myself, I focus on puttingone foot, er, paw in front of the other until I’m standing in front of him.

Uncle Vale’s eyes swim with bittersweet emotion as he stares down at me. “Evie would be so proud of you, Bee.” My eyes burn as I try to keep the tears from falling. All I’ve ever wanted to do is make her proud. I’m not sure he’s right about her being proud of me, but I’ll take what I can get. “Now shift back. Make the shift as quick as you can.”

For the next hour, I go through shifting drills with Uncle Vale. Aunt Abbie and the Wyldhart brothers cheer me on from the sidelines, even when I fall on my ass more than once. By the end of the hour, I have a stupid grin plastered on my face. I’ve gotten so much better at shifting.

“That’s all for today. Everyone can head back inside,” Uncle Vale informs us. I turn to go, but I pause as he continues. “Can I talk to you alone for a minute, Bee?”

CHAPTER 7

BRIAR

Uncle Vale comes to stand next to me as we watch Abbie and the brothers file out. Each of the Wyldhart brothers give me a questioning look before heading inside. I give them a short nod to let them know I’m fine. With one last searching look, Malachi leads Xander and Bastian into their mansion.

“Yeah. What’s up?” I ask once we’re alone.

He motions me over to the gray stone wall I sat on with Bastian. He lowers his large frame onto the rough stone. Even though I’m fairly tall for a girl, I still have to do a little hop to get up next to Uncle Vale. Once we’re settled, he turns to me. “I am so very sorry about Evie, Bee. I failed to protect her and you. You’ll never know how much I regret it.”

“Uncle Vale….” I trail off, unsure how to respond. His voice is drowning in guilt, and I just want to reassure him. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know, right? There wasn’t any way you could have stopped it when you didn’t know.”

“No, the stubborn woman didn’t tell me. But I should’ve fucking known! She was my fated mate, goddammit!” I’m stunned into silence at him swearing in front of me. He neverdid when I was a kid. His voice also breaks at the end, and the anguish in his words tears at my heart.

“How should you have known if Mama didn’t tell you? Is mind reading a fated mates thing?” I ask, hoping for the love of everything that’s holy that it’s not. I so don’t need the Wyldharts hearing my every thought. What I say out loud is embarrassing enough. No need to add my unfiltered inner thoughts to the equation.

He lets out a rough chuckle. “No. When the mate bond’s complete, some mate groups can sense each other’s emotions. Evie and I never completed the bond, though.”

“Was that hard? Not completing the bond?” I’m unsure if that’s an appropriate question, but I’m not sure who else I’d ask about mate stuff. I have no clue how any of it works.

“It was agony having her in the same town but not mating with her,” he tells me frankly while staring off into the forest, his gaze unfocused. “The pain from the bond wanting to be completed eased some when she moved to Hawthorne Grove. In its place was a new heartache from being too far from her. Loving Evie, even if it wasn’t as a mate should’ve loved her, was pure pain. But I wouldn’t trade the too brief time I had with her for the world.”

“Why didn’t you mate with Mama?” Even just learning about mates, I can’t imagine ending up without the Wyldharts. Each of them fits a part of me that no one else ever has. Or probably ever will.

He sighs deeply. “There was no winning. I was going to hurt someone, Bee. Either I left the woman I was so in love with and my boys, or I rejected the woman who was my perfect match. Your mom took the decision out of my hands when she flat-out refused to mate with me. Abbie and I both tried to change her mind. Rejecting your mate isn’t something wolves do. But, asyou know, Evie could be damned stubborn when she wanted to be.”

My lips tilt up in a small smile at the thought of my mom’s iron will. Once she set her mind to something, there was no changing it. “Do you ever wish things had turned out differently?”

“That’s a complicated question. I wish I had met your mother earlier in my life. She was strong, funny, witty, kindhearted, empathetic, and everything I could’ve ever wished for in a mate. A part of my soul will always be fractured without Evie. But I love Abbie with everything I am. I can’t imagine not having her in my life. Plus, the boys, you, and Ava are my world. Without everything happening as it did, all of you wouldn’t be here. Sometimes I wonder if fate ever wanted us to be together or if we’re just star-crossed.”

“What do you mean?” I question.

“I wasn’t your mom’s only mate. Connor, your father, was also her mate.” I gasp as Vale drops that bomb. “I’ll never know for sure, but I think my brothers were her mates too. If the universe wanted us to be together, why were Wes and Leo killed? Why was Evie forty years younger than me? Why was Connor thousands of miles away? Maybe the five of us needed to have so much heartbreak to pave the way for you and my sons. I’ll never regret all the pain if it means you four can be happy.”

“Uncle Vale…,” I whisper past the lump in my throat, at a loss for what words will ease his pain. I’m not sure there are any. “Were you upset when Mama found another mate?”

He laughs softly. “Not at all. I was so relieved when she told me she met Connor. I couldn’t take care of Evie the way she deserved. Her finding happiness with another mate was the best outcome I could’ve hoped for the situation. Seeing your mom so happy with Connor and you eased some of my guilt, I suppose.”

“Guilt over what?”

“Not fighting harder for Evie. Not waiting for her. Not living the life we should’ve had together.” Uncle Vale hangs his head as he speaks, shame sitting heavy on his shoulders.

While I could reassure him that it’s not his fault, I don’t know that it’ll help. That’s the funny thing about guilt. Even if you know you couldn’t have done anything differently, you still feel guilty. Logic doesn’t seem to make much of a difference when it comes to guilt and regret and wishing life had taken a different course.

Instead of responding, I change the subject. “What happened to your brothers?”

He gives me a sad smile. “Leo was the baby of the family. He was only fourteen when he was killed. The Knights of Aeneas got to him when he was at a bonfire on the edge of our land. Their ambush killed seven of our pups and wounded dozens more. We now start training our pups to defend themselves before they can shift, so they have more of a chance than Leo and his friends did.

“Wesley was twenty-two when he was killed. He was a born peacekeeper. Two drunk wolves were fighting, and Wesley tried to break it up. It was a freak accident that one of the wolves shifted and shoved his claw straight through Wes’s heart. We weren’t able to get him help in time. He died in my arms.”

He blows out a heavy breath as he looks over at me and takes one of my hands between both of his gigantic, tattooed ones. “Don’t cry, Bee. It happened a long time ago. Who knows, maybe my little brothers finally got the chance to meet Evie up there, wherever they all are.” His lips curl into a small smile at the thought of his brothers and my mom.

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