“You’ve been back two days and he hasn’t told you?” She asked.
“No, we haven’t talked a whole lot.”
“Oh,” she said, her nose wrinkled. “Gross.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” Her face is red and blotchy.
“I don’t know why I’m surprised. I should know better. He killed Trent,” she choked on his name and fresh tears began to run down her cheeks.
“What?” I asked, breathless.
“He killed Trent,” she wailed. “After you left, I needed someone, I needed … I needed a lot of shit, Adea. He was there and we… he was more than a friend.”
She always liked him, so I’m not surprised to hear that anything happened. As wolves, we prefer to wait for our mate but that isn’t always the case.
“What happened?”
I didn’t want to, I think I already knew the answer but I couldn’t help it. I had to be here for her and she’s probably been keeping this all to herself this whole time. She needed to get it off of her chest.
“When Shane attacked, Trent died. Everyone who was related to the family of the traitors was killed,” Mavy balled. “No one was spared. And Trent… Trent was the Beta’s son. He didn’t care, he killed him. It was terrible,” Mavy hiccuped.
“You saw?” I asked.
“No,” she cried harder. “I didn’t but I saw him after. He was hanging up there with everyone else until I came across his body. Shane couldn’t find me and when he found me underneath Trent he put two and two together. He didn’t kill him himself but he sent out the order. It’s his fault he’s dead. He didn’t care, he knew how I felt about him before. Yes, he was gone and didn’t know what happened between us but… but… ”
“It’s okay,” I held her in my arms.
“He… he…”
“I know,” I said. I patted her head.
“After you left, we had to tighten our borders. Father wouldn’t let anyone leave or come in. I haven’t had contact with Nikki either. I had to stay here. I lost everyone. The only person I had left was Trent. And now… now… he’s gone.”
“It’s okay, Mave. I’m here,” I said as soothingly as I could.
When she stopped crying, she sat up. “I’m sorry,” she hiccuped. “It’s been a long week and I’m so tired. I’m happy you’re back. Now that he’s gone, I want to talk to you. Do you love Shane now?”
I couldn’t trust her not with what I was doing. She just told me she lost the one person she thought she had left. I couldn’t tell her I was here for her brother. I couldn’t tell her I was going to kill him. She may be angry with him but he’s still her blood, her twin, her family.
“I think love is a strong word,” I started.
“If not love, what would make you leave your mate for him? Isn’t the mate bond unbreakable?” She asked.
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Try,” she asked.
“How do I explain that I have visions? Visions that I’ve had since I turned eighteen? How do I tell you that this isn’t my first life? That it isn’t Shane’s or Ethan’s first life? IT isn’t our first life together. Hell, it isn’t your first life either. How do I tell you that Shane and I are cursed? How do I tell you that he was my mate a long time ago but in this life it’s Ethan? How do I tell you that what I feel for your brother is bigger than love? How do I tell you that the man I love is the man that cursed us? How do I tell you that he raped me during some weird-ass ritual that broke my bond with Shane and transferred it to him? How do I explain that I’m trying to make things right? How do I explain that I came here to stop everything from repeating over and over again?”
“I… damn.”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “Life is fucked right now.”
“Do you want more with my brother, Adea?” Mavy asked.
“Yes.”
It wasn’t a lie.
“I’m sorry, Adea,” Mavy said as she squeezed my hands in hers.
The look in her eye told me she meant it. She was sorry. For what? I wasn’t sure. The door swung open and Shane walked through the door. His gaze zoomed to his sister and I saw a flash of regret as he took in her red eyes.
“Time’s up.”
Mavy didn’t say anything as he stopped by the couch. She didn’t look his way either. He didn’t look fazed when she didn’t acknowledge his presence. He motioned for me to come to him and I looked back at his sister. Leaning in, I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a big hug.
“We’ll see each other tomorrow,” I whispered.
She grabbed my hands and I felt her slip something into them. I turned to look at her but she smiled at me as if nothing happened. She squeezed my hands tightly before she hopped to her feet.
“It’s real late. We’ll catch up tomorrow,” Mavy said as she smiled at me. Turning to her brother, she reach out and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stared down at her as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Goodnight, big brother.”
“Goodnight, Mave.”
Shane turned and watched as she made her way up the stairs. I looked down at my hands and unwrinkled the small paper in my hands. I read the hurriedly scribbled words before crumpling the paper up and getting rid of it. Shane turned to me, he stared into my eyes before he held out his hand. I walked over to him and grabbed it. Together we walked up the steps. I should have been focused on him and what was to come but I couldn’t stop thinking about what Mavy had written.