Sky’s POV
“Brother, you shouldn’t do this to yourself,” Glen said softly in my office.
He was leaning against the wall with his arms folded.
“Do what?” I asked while I read an email on my laptop.
“Have you looked at yourself in the mirror?” he asked.
“No,” I answered simply.
“Then you should, brother; you don’t look too well,” he said sadly.
Of course, I wasn’t well, and that’s because I had not slept in two days!
I was very concerned and worried about how Riff was holding up. Yes, he was with his mate, but that didn’t mean he was okay. At least that’s what I thought. Also, I was wondering why his sister was quiet.
Although she was in town, she must have heard the news. Was she crying somewhere, or did she now despise me?
“I am very fine, Glen,” I answered coldly.
“Did you even sleep?” he asked, making me sigh heavily.
“Where are you going with these questions?” I asked back.
He shrugged and then kept quiet.
I was about to tell him to leave if he had nothing more to say when the door opened and Harley walked in.
I immediately raised a brow and glared at Glen.
“I did not call her here,” he said in a low tone.
“Of course you didn’t; it was your mother who did,” she answered simply as she moved closer.
Damn! What was with her sending mates to others? She did that to Riff and now to me!
“I am seriously okay; she didn’t have to send you,” I said softly.
“Sky, have you looked at yourself in the mirror?” she asked, surprising me.
“Exactly, those were the exact words I asked him too a few minutes ago,” Glen said loudly.
“Guys, you are seriously acting like I look hideous or something,” I answered seriously.
“You do, brother; you have dark circles under your eyes, and your lips are white and dry as hell. Your hair is a mess, and just take a good look at your clothes!” he exclaimed.
“What is wrong with them?” I asked simply.
“They are terrible! Did you even look at them carefully, or did you just put on whatever you grabbed first from your wardrobe?” he asked.
I touched my wrinkled t-shirt and then looked at the shorts I was wearing with a low sigh.
“Honestly, I grabbed the clothes that were put out for ironing,” I answered in a low tone.
There were clean, ironed clothes in the wardrobe, yet I left them and absentmindedly picked the wrinkled t-shirt and shorts that were about to be ironed by one of the omegas in charge of cleaning my room.
“They look terrible; you have to change,” he said loudly.
“I have to go through this email from Jace first before I-”
“Now, Sky,” he said seriously while pointing at the door.
I groaned softly as I stood up from my seat.
“You can be pushy at times, do you know that?” I asked as I walked to the door and grabbed the handle.
“That’s because I take after our mother,” he answered calmly.
I opened the door and turned to look at our mate, who was gazing at me with a sad expression on her face.
“Are you coming?” I asked as I extended my hand to her.
She smiled and quickly moved, grabbing my hand.
“I’ll be back, brother,” I said, and then walked out of the office with Harley and went to my room.
“How are you holding up?” she asked once we had walked into my room.
“Terribly,” I answered honestly while I closed the door behind us.
“We have never argued to an extent where Riff stopped talking to me. And no matter what I did, there was never a time he decided to leave the pack,” I said sadly.
“I understand that what I did was the worst for him, but he could have at least allowed me to apologize. He is like a brother to me, and knowing he may be out there in pain over what I did makes me very sad,” I said honestly.
“I have tried to sleep, but I end up failing badly. I feel very exhausted, and my head is aching, yet there isn’t much I can do about it,” I said.
She moved and sat on the bed, patting her lap.
“How about I help you sleep?” she asked softly.
I moved and got on the bed next to her, lying down and resting my head on her lap.
“Just close your eyes and sleep,” she whispered while she brushed her fingers gently through my hair.
My body instantly relaxed as tingles spread throughout me.
I was about to close my eyes when I picked up Riff’s scent. Although it was mixed with Sophie’s scent, it was definitely his. I immediately got to my feet and rushed to the door, opening it.
“Harley, he is here,” I said, then left the room and the packhouse.
When I saw him approaching me with Sophie, I felt overwhelmed with emotions and couldn’t even find the words to say.
I was scared and nervous about what he would say. What if he wanted to stop being my Beta or a part of my pack?
What if he wanted revenge for killing his father?
When they stood in front of me, Sophie gave a quick bow of respect and then stood upright.
I stood frozen, looking at Riff for what felt like forever.
“Fuck this,” my wolf growled and then took over.
Riff widened his eyes in shock and then lowered his gaze to the ground as a form of respect and greeting.
“Alpha Shadow,” when he called as a greeting, I felt so relieved.
“Whatever my human did was for the greater good of the pack. If the former acting Beta was banished from the pack, would you have guaranteed that he wouldn’t have returned or tried to harm our father by putting another spell on him?” he asked strongly.
Riff looked up sadly and then shook his head.
“If you were in our position, wouldn’t you have done the same?” he asked.
“I would have,” Riff answered in a cracked voice.
“Then do you hate Sky for what he did and me for allowing him to act on what we thought was best?” he asked.
“No, Alpha, I understand what you did, and I would have done the same. But just because I understand it doesn’t mean I am not mourning my father.”he answered and then linked his hand to Sophie.
That’s when I saw their mating mark on each of their necks.
“So, I will ask you, Alpha, to give me some time,” he said.
“Take all the time that you need; just don’t turn your back on us,” Shadow answered and then gave me back control.
“Also, congratulations on your mating,” I said with a fake smile and then turned to walk away.
“Sky,” he called, making me freeze in place.
“Thank you for giving me some time alone with my mate. You would have come after me if you wanted to, but you sent Sophie. For that, I’m grateful,” he said as I nodded and then walked into the packhouse with a smile and tears filling my eyes.
Knowing that he had already forgiven me made me happy.
He hadn’t said the actual words, but him saying all that to me and talking to me showed how he wasn’t going to leave or abandon the pack that we worked so hard to improve and make our home.