Page 77 of Rogue Games

“GO,” he roars, his face twisted in pain as he turns and points toward the door. “Get. Out. Before I do something that I’ll regret.”

I scramble to the door and flick the lock open, afraid to look back. Thundering up the stairs, I race through his beautiful home and out into the fresh air.

When I step outside, immediately shifting into my wolf, she whines pitifully and stares back at the cabin. Mate.

34

DEAN

She thinks I’m keeping her mother locked up in some dark, dingy dungeon. That’s how little she thinks of me.

And to suggest that I’d hurt her, like my father did to my mother? Unforgivable.

Jamie has no idea what happened to her mother, and for that, I'm sorry, but what she said last night was a low blow. Unforgivable.

I wanted to give Maggie the chance to tell them what happened herself, and to tell them about Jax. This is a fucking mess. I need to find Maggie right now and let her know the cat is well and truly out of the bag.

Right now, the only thing I can think about is how the woman I was falling for, my own mate, thinks I'd be capable of such horrific deeds.

The only thing that kept me going during all those years of abuse was knowing that the pack had nobody else strong enough to protect them. It was always going to be up to me to stop him. If I gave up, I was sentencing them to a lifetime of hardship.

I've lived my entire life by a sense of duty and personal sacrifice. Even after I killed my father, I stuck around, as did Maggie, Maya, and Jax, and we've been working tirelessly to turn things around for the innocent wolves who spent decades living under my father's brutal regime.

And still Jamie thinks I’m just like him.

Anger wells up inside me. Her scent is everywhere, each breath of her delicious smell is like a fresh wound. The one place I have that’s my own is filled with her.

The violence and destruction, soothing something inside me as I continue to smash and break everything in my office that isn't nailed down. My computer crashes to the floor, and papers scatter everywhere as I turn over my desk, throw my leather office chair against the wall, taking a huge lump out of the plaster and spin, looking for more things to break.

I'm about to turn over the drinks cart resting against the wall when a bottle of amber liquid catches my attention.

It would be an awful shame to waste that.

Instead, I grab the bottle and, forgoing the crystal-cut glasses that sit elegantly on top of the cart, I slump down to the floor and pull the bottle to my lips.

The whiskey burns as I swallow it down. I tip my head back against the wall, banging it hard.

She’s lashing out, I get that, but to question her safety with me. That jab was too close to the bone for me to deal with right now.

I can feel Callum trying to contact me through the mind-link, but I block him.

I don't want to talk to anybody right now, because I don't know if I can explain what on earth is going on.

All I know is for tonight, I'm going to forget all about this mess.

Sliding my eyes closed, I know that’s not true, though. Maggie needs to know what’s going on before she runs into Jamie or Wyatt. Or they come across Jax. The only good thing about him living like a hermit is that unless they figure out how to get into the basement, he should be safe.

Cursing, I sigh in frustration. I can’t even have a mental breakdown in peace. Hauling myself back to my feet, I decide I’ll start the pity party later, after I’ve spoken to the woman who endured some of the worst times by my side. This has all been for her, after all.

DEAN: Maggie? Can you come to my house? There’s something important we need to discuss. You can’t dodge me forever.

35

JAMIE

In animal form, I run, stumbling and shaking, all the way back to the packhouse, checking over my shoulder every few steps, half expecting, half hoping, that Dean’s wolf will be hot on my tail.

If he had harmed my mother, he would have followed me and hunted me down.

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