Page 11 of Deceived

I don’t want to pry into a painful memory if he only wanted today to be a light meeting with his mom.

His voice is slightly hoarse. “Yeah, they are part of why I brought you here today. That, and my mom really has been hounding me to meet you. She acts like I’ve been hiding you away for years.”

He rolls his eyes but his heart isn’t in the teasing.

“What happened?”

“My dads… they were killed by hunters who invaded our land.”

I can’t stop my flinch. Hunters killed his fathers, hunters like Aly.

“They were two of our protectors. Strong, incredible fighters and fierce in their snow leopard forms. They went to meet them at the border, with the other protectors. I was too young to join them, I remember feeling useless as they left. But I was also proud, proud my dads were so strong. That they could take care of us. I still am. Anyway, the Hunters were stopped before they could get to the young and weak of the village but not without significant casualties. More than two-thirds of our protectors died, and my dads were two of them.”

My heart weeps for him. For the pain in his voice and the suffering he so clearly went through.

“My mom was an angel. She fought for her kids, to raise them how dads would have wanted. She survived losing her mates, even though the pain is said to be unimaginable. As the oldest, I fought with her.”

“Felix… I’m so sorry. They sound wonderful.”

Weak words that can’t solve the problem. I can’t think of the right thing to say, so instead of speaking, I wrap my arms around him. Running my palm up and down his spine.

“My dads died and when they did it was like all the light they brought to the world was sucked out. Dad M was always the first to smile and make another person laugh and Dad G always went along with it.”

“They sound great.”

“With them gone, I wanted to be that for my family. So I tried to be jovial and lighthearted. It kept all of us from spiraling and I guess it stuck.”

It makes sense. That’s why he’s always trying to lighten the mood or make me smile.

“His death is why I joined the team. I wanted revenge on those who hurt our village. Then the truth came out, that hunters weren’t our enemies. That they were victims too, but the truth didn’t resolve the emotions I felt. I still rumbled with fury when I scented a hunter, wanting to rip them limb from limb. I’ve come to accept the truth, but it was still hard to resist hating your best friend.”

Aly. He is talking about Aly.

He continues, “But Aly seems kind and innocent. It was enough to start burning through the last of my anger and help me see the truth. Those hunters were a victim of their elders, just like me and my village.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I whisper.

“So you can understand me, and so you know your feelings are valid. You can’t move past the hurt Ryan has caused you in a day just because you know the truth now. Feelings don’t tend to respond to facts the way we would like them to. It’s okay to feel hatred and anything else you want towards him. I don’t want guilt to eat you alive for something valid. I know what it’s like and you deserve to work through your emotions at your own pace. So take your time, you don’t need to immediately move past your feelings, even though the info has changed. It took me a long time to get there with the hunters. You take as long as you need.”

I wrap my arms around him tightly. “Thank you, Felix. I needed to hear that.” I swallow roughly. “I am so sorry for what happened to your family. But I’m glad you’ve become the man you are today… because you’re pretty great.” And I’m glad I’m getting the opportunity to get to know him better.

He presses his lips against mine.

“Thank you.”

We say goodbye to Lottie, who makes me promise to visit again soon and head back to the house, to Ryan and the others.

Four

Blaze

Felix and Anna arrive back to find the three of us gathered around the kitchen table.

Immediately, I can tell something has changed. Anna is leaning into him, like she wants to be close. The smile on Felix’s face is genuine as he looks down at her. I guess taking her to his home and meeting Lottie bonded them.

If that was an option for me, I would consider it. Since it’s not, I’ll have to think of another way to endear myself to her.

Maybe I should just tell her we are mates. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Now that she’s warmed up to Felix, it would be better. But then I would need to explain why I didn’t tell her. I’m not ready for that.

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