Page 41 of Betrayed Mate

“No need to be alarmed?” I parroted back, my heartbeat quickening and my wolf stirring. “Look at where you’ve brought us. Did the vampire queen learn about Simon? Were we summoned? Is that why we’re here?” That was one of the rules established between vampires and shifters. If any sort of atrocious act of violence was committed against one species by the other, the royals of each species could summon the leaders and those accused of the crimes. To date, that had never occurred, mostly because the conflicts were intraspecies fights or disagreements, but we had tortured one of their own after two houses full of vampires had been slaughtered. Ifatrociousneeded a definition, I could get behind that one.

“We weren’t summoned.” Kendric’s eyes warmed. “We came here to inform them of what we found at the two houses.”

I blinked several times, my brain glitching. “Why not just call?” Even though I could get behind transparency, especially if we were fighting against the same enemy, we didn’t need to show up at the door and hand ourselves over. What if they learned what had happened with Simon?

“Because something like this should be communicated in person.” Kendric hung his head.

Before I could ask, the front door of the mansion opened, and a breathtaking woman came out. Her dark hair streamed behind her as she ran barefoot to the vehicle.

“Here we go. I’m not looking forward to telling her all the details and how we found Adira,” Kendric muttered and then opened his car door.

When the woman ran straight into his arms, my head jerked back, but that was nothing compared to the way my lungs seized when I watched Kendric wrap his arms tenderly around her. The gestures were intimate—but they weren’t of the same species.

Chuckling, Gage shook his head. “I told you not to worry. I understand your concern and discomfort, but after the deaths of the royals, the vampire queen reached out and offered us assistance and a place to stay. They’ve treated us better than any of the wolf shifters have, and we’ve grown close to many of them.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, needing to dosomethingwith my hands. Even though I understood his words, the combination of them didn’t make sense. I exhaled, trying to gather my wits and calm my racing heart. “That’s why the vampires called you for help.” Now that didn’t seem so random and strange.

“Unlike the wolf shifters our pack protected for centuries, the vampires opened their homes to shelter and protect us when we were abandoned by our own kind.” Ryker’s jaw worked, his muscles constricting.

“Maybe if your pack wasn’t known for being so cutthroat and the four of you hadn’t run off so suddenly beforehand, the other packs wouldn’t be so suspicious of you.” I didn’t like most other packs, but the sudden deaths of the royals and Ryker’s father had placed Ryker one step from the throne. The fact that he hadn’t tried to take it left everyone even more on edge, wondering what he was planning. That was one reason the other packs had pressured Dad or me to ascend. We had the bloodline claim that Ryker didn’t.

Ryker became a statue, and a chill ran down my spine. When Gage and Xander both grimaced and all the warmth they’d emanated toward me vanished, my heart seemed to stop. I’d just insulted the four people who were supposed to help me find my sister.

But they had to be held accountable for their actions.

“Wedidn’trun—we were called away to a nearby vampire attack,” Ryker snapped, and then he shoved open his door and got out.

Xander shook his head, his disapproval cutting worse than Ryker’s, and followed his alpha’s lead, leaving me in the vehicle with Gage.

A knot of shame sat heavy in my stomach, and I tried to push the sensation away. I kept my eyes forward, waiting for Gage to voice his displeasure and climb out, but all he did was sit there, staring at me.

After a few seconds, I couldn’t take it any longer. “Just say what you want and go out with the others. I plan on sleeping in here tonight.” There was no way I’d enter a nest full of Fate knew how many vampires. These guys might trust them and have an understanding, but I did not.

“Ember, I know you’re struggling. Hell, we all are.” Gage cleared his throat and placed a hand on my knee before continuing, “But a lot of people could claim that you ran whenyour pack was being killed too. Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical to be tossing around the same accusation that could be used against you?”

His words were worse than a punch to the gut. The pain was so sharp and intense that I even wrapped my arms around my waist, trying to minimize the pain. I hadn’t considered that some would claim I ran for self-preservation. I’d acted to protect my sister and obey my father, but I had no way to prove that beyond my own word. “I—”

“Don’t.” Gage shook his head and smiled sadly. “I think you’ve said enough for now. You’ve never asked us for our version of our story, and I get why. Not only would you be forcing us to relive our personal hell, but you’d be reliving your own as well. Yet, with the attacks escalating, I don’t think any of us can afford the luxury of ignoring those days. At least, not until we locate your sister and defeat our enemies. You do realize that we all need to work together to accomplish that, right?”

My face flamed—he was completely right, and I was allowing my emotions to get in my way. I’d never had that problem before, but Ryker somehow brought out in me all the anger and frustration I never even realized I had. It was a very hard lesson to learn. “I…I can’t trust you four. The last person I thought would protect me shamed me in front of everyone and might have slaughtered my family.” The sting of rejection flared inside me along with the words Reid had said—There’s something wrong with her.

Gage chuckled, the sparkle that I’d already grown accustomed to returning to his irises. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Ryker doesn’t trust you at all either, but you did agree to an alliance with us. We’re not asking for anything beyond that…yet. And even then, it could just be an added bonus of pleasuring one another.” He winked and scanned me from head to toe, making his intentions clear.

Even though Gage was one of the sexiest men I’d encountered, and I could use a distraction, nothing sparked between us.

Strange.

All I could assume was that it had something to do with Reid being my fated mate, which meant I might never be attracted to another person as long as I lived. At least I’d had a few partners before I became celibate.

This night kept getting better and better.

“As nice as that sounds, I’m going to pass.” I tried to smile, but I had no doubt my strained expression made it fall flat.

A hand pounded against the glass, startling me.

Gage exhaled and leaned back. “It’s time to tell the vampires what happened. Raven is falling apart, knowing that none of the vampires are answering her calls. They sent a group of their guards there to check things out, and the queen is demanding an update.”

Lovely. I could only imagine how our story was going to sound, especially after they learned about Simon. I could only hope and pray that they’d believe Ryker and the others when they said we weren’t behind the attack. “Do we have to go inside to speak to her? What if it doesn’t go well?” I had no clue why the hell we’d risked coming here, knowing that one nest had been slaughtered and we were the last ones there.

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