Kyle’s POV:
“Kyle, do you think Mama is okay?” Tamara asked in a low tone.
“Of course, she’s one of the strongest vampires I know,” I answered honestly.
“Not anymore. Mama gave up feeding on Daddy. She is afraid of killing him, and she doesn’t want to hurt humans. What if…” She cut her sentence short when her gaze went to Larson, who was looking at her with a very pissed off expression on his face.
In the past weeks, he had avoided her and refused to talk to her. Whenever he did say something to her, it was either mean or mocking. She cried a few times in her given room but refused to hate or hurt him back.
I was doing my best to cheer her up while uncle Blade scolded him badly for being harsh to his mate. Whenever I couldn’t seem to calm her down, she talked to August, who told her a few jokes that made her laugh.
Everyone was worried because there was no news yet. All we could do was wait and hope for their safe return.
“Everyone, come outside now!” Jeannie screamed loudly. We all found ourselves rushing outside without a second thought.
A smile crossed my face when my father’s car came into view, which was shortly followed by Uncle Neo’s own and another behind.
We waited patiently as they parked close to the pack house.
Before my mother could step out of the car, I rushed to open the door for her.
“Welcome home, mother,” I whispered happily when she came out with a smile.
“Thank you,” she answered, then hugged me as I hugged her back.
“Quit acting like a baby,” Roxanne’s voice made me pull back quickly and look at her.
She came out of an expensive car and went around, standing next to a tall, good-looking man.
“Sister!” I exclaimed and ran to her side, embracing her tightly.
“I’m so sorry for…”
“Kyle, it’s okay,” she whispered softly as she hugged me back.
Tears filled my eyes and a lump formed in my throat.
For weeks, I blamed myself for not being by her side when she needed me the most. I actually hated myself even more for not being the one kidnapped. Now, seeing how she was well and alive, it made me feel at ease and my guilty conscience was finally going to be put to rest.
I pulled back and looked at the man who nodded.
I nodded back, then turned and looked at everyone as they hugged each other happily. My family was not only safe, they were all back together.
Larson was smiling between his parents’ embrace while Tamara was in Felix’s arms sobbing as Chase stood behind her, rubbing her back gently to calm her down.
“I’m glad they are all safe,” I whispered, then frowned when I noticed Larson’s gaze on Roxanne.
He looked shocked for a second, then his expression turned soft as he quickly ran to where we were. Before he could touch Roxanne, the man moved between them and looked down on him. His aura was so strong that it made me feel uncomfortable and caused me to take a step back.
“Touch my woman in any way and I swear on whatever you believe in that I’ll rip your head off,” the man warned strongly with an accent, shocking me and everyone who had stayed behind.
“My woman?” Larson asked, then shifted his gaze to Roxanne who was standing behind the man, peeking.
She moved and stood by the man’s side, linking her hand to his.
“Family, meet my mate, Garren. He is a hybrid born from a vampire and a white Lycan,” she introduced as everyone looked at them in silence.
“He will be staying with me in this pack. Father and mother have permitted it,” she said, shocking us even more.
“Are you fucking serious?” Larson asked at the top of his voice.
“Does she usually joke with you?” the man asked coldly.
“Alpha Ian..?” Larson called, in the form of a question.
“She is telling the truth. I have permitted Garren to stay in my pack for as long as he wants,” Father answered.
“Now that we are all clear on that, I want to set a few rules specifically for you, warrior. Don’t look longingly, sadly, or lovingly at my woman. Don’t even dare lift your finger to her, not even in a friendly gesture. You might as well never speak to her, do you understand?” he asked as Roxanne pulled on his hand a bit but kept quiet.
She was showing everyone how she was standing by his side without question, and that wasn’t going to sit well with Larson. I could feel it.
It was obvious his rules were absurd, and Larson wasn’t going to follow them. Yet he made them because he was clearly telling him to back off and warning him about how he was going to hurt him if he became friendly with my sister in any way.
For him to do that, Roxanne must have told him how she felt towards Larson, no matter how I looked at it.
“Garren, I understand that you want to protect your mate, but Larson is my son and her cousin. There is no way you would have him avoid her,” uncle Neo said seriously.
“Believe me when I say I know how packs work. There is no such thing as cousins, but only sisters and brothers, right?” the man asked.
Was he implying what I thought he was?
Most packs respected their sisters and brothers, but that was another thing when it came to cousins. Some packs mated cousins, while some even partnered and married each other.
“Well said, but I can assure you my son has no such feelings for Roxanne. Right, Larson?” Uncle Neo asked loudly as we all looked at him.
Although I expected him to agree, I knew he had a thing for my sister.
When a minute went by in silence, the man folded his arms with a smirk on his face.
“He asked you a question, how about you answer?” he whispered huskily as a shiver went down my spine.
He really was a very intimidating man, hybrid or not.
“I’m in love with her father,” he answered as gasps broke out.
I couldn’t believe he chose this moment, of all days and times, to confess his true feelings.
I quickly rushed to his side and laughed nervously.
“He is probably messing with all of you,” I said while gently hitting his back, hoping he would take back his words. The man had a death glare on his face, and my sister had her mouth wide open.
“Right, he should be joking,” Roxanne said, then faked a smile across her face.
“No, I’m not, Roxanne. I see no point in lying or denying how I feel anymore. When you got kidnapped, I took time to think through everything and came to accept how I felt about you. I promised myself that I would confess upon your return, so I see no reason to go back on my words. And I see no reason why I should hand you over to some random guy who is a stranger to….”
He cut his sentence short and grabbed the hand on his throat that was choking him.
I quickly grabbed it too and tried to pull it back, but the man couldn’t budge, and his eyes were slowly turning another color. He wanted to kill Larson. No, he wanted to do more than that.
“Sir, let him go!” I screamed as Larson clawed at his hand while his body began to shake.
“Garren,” Father screamed, but he couldn’t drop his hand.
I watched in fear as Larson’s eyes rolled up.
“Why the fuck aren’t you all doing something? He is fucking dying!” I screamed out in fear.
“Roman, that’s enough!” Roxanne exclaimed at the top of her voice.
He dropped his hand and then looked at my hand on his wrist, which I quickly withdrew.
I took a few steps back as Larson inhaled deeply on the ground, with tears running down his cheeks.
The man in front of us was nothing like the so-called Garren we had met earlier. His presence was scary, and his aura suffocating. He was way more intimidating than anyone I had met.
“Garren may tolerate your nonsense because of our mate, but I won’t waste a second to hurt you,” he said and then looked at everyone to show that his words were meant for all of us.
“Roman,” Roxanne called softly.
He looked at her, then grabbed her hand without warning, putting her on his shoulder caveman-style.
“Now, if you will excuse me. I want to have a talk with my mate, privately,” he said, then walked towards the forest with Roxanne, not putting up a fight.
Larson stood up from the ground and looked at me angrily. His neck had a red bruise showing.
“Just to be sure, was Roxanne in love with him?” Mother asked seriously.
“I think so. We all know that she did have feelings for him,” I answered honestly.
“Fuck,” Father whispered, then walked into the pack house as everyone followed behind, looking very disappointed.
The only ones that remained behind were Larson and Tamara.
She was looking at him in disbelief and anger. I knew she was trying so hard not to cry, sadly her tears were already threatening to fall. Who could keep a straight face after witnessing their own mate confessing their love to another woman or man?
I went to her and grabbed her hand.
“Let’s go,” I whispered softly, then walked with her back to the pack house.
“Remember what I said back then? Don’t you think now is the time to leave and breathe?” I asked as she sobbed silently.
I didn’t want her to feel miserable and sad because of what was going on.
Moreover, she deserved so much more, and that was a man who could understand and see her pain. She deserved me.