Page 61 of Rogue Games

She shrugs, returning to our conversation like we’re both not dancing around the elephant in the room.

“It was just an excuse to get Wyatt out. Without Mum there, we had nobody to stick up for us. We didn’t do anything or steal anything.” She’s matter of fact, like this callous disregard for her and her brother was no big deal.

Guilt rolls over me. My father stole her mother away and left Wyatt and Jamie behind. And someone took advantage of that.

“I’m sure you’re right. Wyatt would be a threat to any alpha who doesn’t deserve his loyalty.”

My easy acceptance that it wasn’t something they did that resulted in them turning rogue, seems to surprise her, but one look at Jamie and you can tell she’s not a danger to anyone, except maybe herself.

“Do you miss pack life?” I ask, forcing myself to push through my own shame at how my family ruined her life.

“It’s been so long, I barely remember what pack life was like.”

Lie. I can smell her sadness at being excluded from what is an innate need for almost every wolf, to be part of the collective.

“Did you try to join another pack?” I ask, knowing full well it’ll be me offering her a spot, that is if I can get Maggie to see what she’s missing out on.

“Countless times. It just never worked out.” Jamie digs her teeth into her pillowy bottom lip as she blinks hard against the tears glistening in her eyes. “And how would my mother know where to find us? Joining another pack feels like admitting that she’s gone. Like, we’re giving up.”

Her words are like a knife to the gut. I have the power to take away her misery, but I have nothing if I don’t have my honour and integrity. As soon as we get back, I’m going to find Maggie and put an end to this charade.

Jamie and Wyatt have suffered enough.

When I don’t comment, she gives a sad shake of her head, and I’m floored by the power she has over me. That tiny display of disappointment is crushing. My wolf wants to do anything he can to bring back the smiling, sunny Jamie we’ve caught glimpses of before.

Anything but quiet and withdrawn.

I scramble for something to say to make her understand.

“I know nothing else but this pack. My father kept me trapped here until finally, I convinced him to let me go to Alpha training. Before that, I remember nothing but living like a prisoner.

I can see the cogs spinning in Jamie’s brain.

“Why did he send you to alpha training? It was only ever going to make you stronger and more of a threat.”

I shrug. It’s something I’ve gone over multiple times in my head.

“He knew his time was ending. I was standing up to him more and more. Maya was starting to realise just how much I’d shielded her from his rampages over the years. I think he knew if I was here, we’d eventually gang up on him. Getting me out from under his feet, even for a while, bought him more time.”

I was so relieved to go, hoping that without my wolf’s presence aggravating him that things would settle. I spent most of my time there petitioning other alphas to come to our assistance, but nobody would, too scared or too full of bitterness toward our pack to get past it.

“I should never have gone. It was selfish. I deluded myself into thinking it might make things better.” When I returned home and saw the carnage he’d wreaked in my absence, I regretted every second I’d spent away. It cost my family dearly. His reign could continue no more.

“You killed him,” Jamie whispers, not a question. There’s also no judgement. Lots of people, even though they know it was something that needed to be done, still can’t hide their distaste for what I was forced to do.

“I did.” There’s no hint of remorse in my tone. My only regret is not doing it sooner. “And that’s why I didn’t open the borders sooner. I needed time to fix some of the mess my father created. Much of the pack is scarred by what went on. I needed time to earn their trust.”

And to make sure no other alpha came charging in trying to take over.

To his credit, Blake watched from afar but never interfered, and I can’t thank him enough for that.

“And his mate?” Jamie stares off into the distance, blinking hard. She’s asking if her mother is dead. I know Maggie would want me to answer yes, or that’s what she thinks she wants now. But I can’t do that to Jamie.

“He attacked her while I was away. It was awful. That’s why I came home early from the academy. She…never really recovered from it.”

It’s true, but it’s an incomplete answer, and Jamie knows it.

“So, she died?” Jamie’s shrewd, and though she looks somewhat adorable swamped in my clothes, I underestimate her at my peril.

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