Page 79 of Rogue Games

“He caught you. He fucking caught you? Oh god, he’s going to send me packing.” Hands on top of his head, Wyatt sucks in a couple of deep breaths as his mind races. “How are you here? And not locked up or dead.”

I shrug and shake my head at the same time. “I don't know.” I admit. “Because he’s a good guy. Because he’s torturing me by proving just how fucking decent he is.”

I mean he did lock me in his house, I’m not sure what he thought would happen, but I went too far.

“He just told me to get out.”

Wyatt looks as stunned as I feel.

“He knows who we are, Wyatt. Probably since yesterday.”

My brother stops wearing a path in the deep carpet and turns, his face turning as white as a ghost, as understanding dawns on him.

“So, is she here?” Wyatt asks, the fact that our mother is here just dawning on him. It’s not the only bombshell I have to drop.

“I still don’t know,” I whisper, “But we have a brother.”

Wyatt’s freezes. He wasn’t expecting that. He stares at me, in complete and utter shock. Our little pack of two is bigger than we thought.

“He looks just like you, Wyatt.” I hand over the photo and Wyatt clutches it, his eyes going glassy.

He stares at it, then at the door, as if he expects Dean’s enforcers to burst through the door and drag us away any second.

“None of this was part of the plan. You've gone completely rogue here, Jamie.” His poor choice of words would be funny if this situation wasn’t so tragic. “Is he going to throw us out? Maybe if you just go and apologise, he’ll let us stay. We could meet our brother. I don’t care what you have to do, just make this right. I could really win this thing. For once, something could go right for me…”

The longing in his eyes for just one good thing to happen for him is something I feel deep in my heart. He’s given up everything for me, and now I’ve probably ruined his best chance at a fresh start.

Wincing, I own up to the worst part. “I accused him of keeping her from us.” My voice cracks, and big fat tears fall from my eyes as my worst fear seems like the most logical answer. “But I think… she just didn’t come back for us.”

She didn’t want us anymore.

Wyatt stops in front of me and pulls me in for a hug. He’s annoyed with my actions, but he can see I’m beating myself up enough for both of us. Finding her has been my obsession. I’ve let it cloud my judgement. And I’ve hurt Dean.

‘He hates me.”

“Well, you've just accused him, without any evidence, of holding somebody hostage.” Blunt, but accurate. Wyatt rocks back and looks me in the eye, deathly serious. “Jamie, I went along with your plan to come here and look for her because I wanted to win this thing. Not to go breaking and entering. You’ve overstepped. Again.”

My heart drops, because it’s true.

“But why the lies?” I put my head in my hands, and the tears begin to fall again. “Why not just tell us she doesn’t want to see us?”

“I don’t know, Jamie. Maybe she’s sick.” Wyatt wraps his arms around me, his big hand cradling the back of my head to his shoulder. “He lost his mother, too. He’ll understand why you went a bit crazy, eventually.”

My brother is always so positive. He hasn’t heard the real kicker yet. The thing that has my wolf howling in despair.

“He’s my mate,” I whisper, finally saying the words out loud that I can scarcely believe myself.

Wyatt stills, all the colour draining from his already pale face.

“I knew it. When he was more focused on you than me, the giant male wolf stomping through his land....” Burying his fingers in his hair, Wyatt tugs hard, eye wide in disbelief. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know! She’s been keeping secrets from me.” I bury my face in my hands at the absurdity of the situation. “He’s mine, and now he wants nothing to do with me.”

“But he didn’t reject you straight away.”

“Probably because he has a competition to run, and it would draw attention to us. Give him time.”

And I would have accepted it on day one. But now I’ve had a chance to see the real Dean, not the dangerous alpha I’d heard about, it’s a harder prospect to face.

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