Page 78 of Rogue Games

Maybe that’s why I'm disappointed every time I look back, and he's not there. Because it proves that all the awful things I accused him of aren’t true. Which, if I’m honest with myself, I knew deep down anyway.

It’s eating away at me with every step I get further away from his home… the home he built as a sanctuary, as a place to get away from his dark memories. And now, I’ve sullied it with my unwanted presence and my baseless insults.

I knew he'd be furious to find me there. I’d hoped he’d get mad enough to admit what he’d done with my mother, because that would prove I was right all along. My words hurt him, but though he was angry, he showed more restraint than any alpha I’ve ever come across. His disappointment was the hardest to take. Because it tells me he really isn't the awful person I convinced myself he is.

Breaking into an alpha’s office is a serious offence. Nobody would question him for tossing a rogue wolf he caught stealing from him into the dungeon and throwing away the key.

Fuck.

Those aren't the actions of a manipulative dictator. I might not understand his behaviour but he’s a good alpha. His pack is lucky to have him. My footsteps slow as my wolf fights me, wanting to run back and beg for forgiveness for my cutting words. Her gut-wrenching sorrow when he looked at me like I’d stabbed him in the back floored me.

He’s my mate. I still can’t believe it. Maybe not for long though.

I shift back and climb the steps to the packhouse. I hear my name, but I don’t stop walking, blindly pushing past a sea of wolves coming in the opposite direction in search of Wyatt.

Maybe he'll have a clearer take on what I should do next. I'm reluctant to go to him, because he won't approve of what I've done, but he’s still the only person I can talk to.

“You look like shit. What's going on? I thought you were recuperating in the alpha's house.” Wyatt glances up at me as he sits down on the bed and pulls off his shoes. “Must be nice being the teacher’s pet. Even if you had to throw yourself off a bridge to gain favour.”

The lightness in his voice, the happiness I can feel radiating from him, makes this even harder. I can’t remember the last time he joked around as easily as this.

I’m about to burst his bubble.

Grabbing a blanket from the bed, I wrap it around myself, and stand silently in front of him, so choked up with emotion that I can’t bring myself to speak.

“Callum gave me the good news that I’m through to the second round, so I went for a jog to loosen up my muscles,” he continues, distracted by the thrill of getting through to the next round. “I'm still sore after yesterday and didn’t get any sleep. Thanks for that, by the way,” he says sarcastically, as he kicks off his runners and walks toward his en-suite, ready to go and get cleaned up. “I can't believe Dean's letting me stay. I thought he'd take the opportunity to get rid of us. The more I think about it, Jamie, I think he seems like a pretty solid guy.”

I swallow back a groan. For fuck’s sake. Is he making this harder on purpose?

“Maybe we just need to talk to him, face to face, ask him what happened. I think he'd appreciate that.”

Now Wyatt has all the answers. Where was he twenty-four hours ago when I really needed him to shake some sense into me?

“Maybe he helped mum to escape, and he can tell us where she went. I mean, I am about to win us a pack and become his colleague.”

Wyatt laughs at his own joke while I slump in the armchair in the corner.

He stops, finally realising I’ve been far too quiet, and stares down at me, his cheerful mood fading when he sees the tear tracks down my cheeks. “What have you done?”

Throwing my arms out, I look up at him, feeling prickly and more than a little defensive. “Fucked everything up.”

Wyatt groans, throwing his head back to stare at the ceiling, before stumbling back and sinking down on the bed behind him. “No. Please, no.”

“I didn't know what to do. I needed to find out what happened to Mum, and I thought he was about to send us away. Then he left me all alone in his house, and I just, my mind just started spinning. I wasn't thinking straight. I found his office. His real office.”

Shaking his head, Wyatt’s mouth falls open, horrified. “You didn’t. Tell me you didn’t.”

I wish I could. “It wasn't locked.”

“So?” Wyatt backs away, as if to distance himself from my actions. “Don't tell me you broke into his private office. Jamie, we talked about this. What if he caught you? Do you think you left your scent behind?”

Wyatt’s eyes are wide as he paces, problem solving mode activated. “Maybe you can find him and apologise, say you went in there by accident.”

He’s gone from pissed off to crisis management. He really would make a great alpha. He was like this when Mum left us, and then again when we got booted from the pack. I know he’d do anything to protect me, but I’m on my own with this one.

“It’s too late for that.”

The look on his face when I said I didn’t want to be his because his father killed his fated mate haunts me. If I could take those words back, I would.

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