Confessions

ALLIE

I rush back to the house to tell people Ryan has been here. They need to know that he got past the patrols and breached our border yet again.

My first thought is that I need to tell James. He will know what to do. He will be able to stop Ryan.

But if I go to him, I’ll have to tell him everything. Confess that Ryan is coming for me, that he wants me. What will James do then? Will he think I’m somehow to blame for Ryan’s interest in me?

We are only just starting to get to know each other and trust each other. Can I trust him with this?

I need advice. I’ll ask Danielle. She will be able to help me decide what to do.

When I arrive back at the house, I’m relieved to find the party is over and Danielle is the only person still up. She’s sitting at the kitchen table drinking hot chocolate.

“Did you enjoy your run?” she greets me. “You were gone for ages. You missed the whole party.”

“I ran into some trouble.”

She looks concerned. “What happened?”

I need to tell her about Ryan. All of it. My encounter with him tonight and the bits I skimmed over when I told her about how he tried to kidnap me during our run.

She needs to know everything if she’s going to understand why Ryan sought me out tonight.

“I ran into Ryan, the Alpha of the Savage Wolves again. I say ‘ran into him,’ but it was more like he was waiting for me. He knew I was going to be there.”

“Waiting for you? Why? Did he hurt you?”

“No, he didn’t hurt me. He… Look, there are some things I need to tell you. Things that I left out when I told you about Ryan trying to kidnap me the other night.

“I didn’t know what it meant at the time or if it was important but after tonight… I know it is.”

“Okay, don’t keep me in suspense! What happened?”

“When I was attacked by their pack. I expected them to kill me, but Ryan stopped his wolves from hurting me, and he said something strange. That I could be the one he has been searching for.”

“Searching for? What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. He was taking me back with him. I think his intention was to question me and find out more. That was when James and his warriors arrived.

“I had been so scared about what Ryan planned to do to me… I was so relieved when James rescued me.”

“Understandably,” Danielle says, squeezing my hand.

“I haven’t told James or anyone else. You know how he hates loners. I put it out of my mind, but then on my run tonight Ryan appeared.

“He was alone, and he said his purpose in coming here was to speak to me. That he has been looking for me for a long time, that I’m his, and now he has found me he won’t let me go.

“He wanted me to know that soon he will come for me.”

Danielle is horrified. “Oh no, Allie. He wants you. He’s relentless about getting what he wants, destroying anything in his way. But he isn’t your mate, is he?”

As soon as she asks me, I know he isn’t. “No. I don’t feel for him the way I feel for James.”

“Good, so you have finally recognized that James is your mate?”

“Yes. The time I spent with him today was special. I feel like I’m starting to get to know the real him. And after what happened tonight with Ryan, it’s made me realize that it is James that I want.”

“Good, as much as I may dislike Alpha James, he’s a far better wolf than Ryan. He’s fair to pack wolves at least, and his hatred of rogues hasn’t meant that he kills us out of hand.

“He sounds like he’s genuinely trying to win you over. No abduction involved!”

“No, I know he would never do something like that. He has never tried to force me to be with him or do anything against my will.”

“Look, if you’re mated to James, you might be able to do some actual good to help other loners. If he can accept you, he has to recognize that we aren’t all rogues.

“Ryan, on the other hand, would only ever want to control and dominate you. He will never treat you as his equal. You’ll be a prized possession.”

I nod. I know she’s right.

“I’ve spent time in his company, and I know how good-looking and charismatic he is. How charming he can be.

“But once you have been exposed to the brutality, the cruelty of the man, you’ll realize what he is, and I know you would come to hate him if you don’t already.”

“What should I do now?” I fret.

“Well, we need to tell the right people. We need to stop him from trying to take you.”

“I don’t want to tell James, not yet anyway. I know he accepts me as his mate, but I can’t be confident that he will understand. That he won’t blame me in some way for bringing Ryan here.”

“That’s fine. We don’t need to tell him. I can think of someone else, someone better, who will know how to deal with this.”

***

Danielle’s bright idea is to confide in Alexander.

I like Alexander, but I don’t know him very well and I’m not sure telling him will be any better than confiding in James.

I trust Danielle though, so if she believes he can help me I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

When he arrives, she shows him into the kitchen and pours him a cup of coffee.

“Alexander, we need your help. Allie has a problem, a big problem.”

He turns to stare at me with a curious look on his face. “I’m listening.”

“But first, before we tell you about it, we need your word that you won’t betray her, that you won’t tell anyone about this without her permission.

“If this information was common knowledge, people could use it against her. Do you swear to keep what I’m about to tell you secret?” she asks determinedly.

He pauses for a moment, and I can tell he’s thinking about it seriously.

Finally, with a smile to Danielle, he says, “You have phrased your request well. You know my family is bound to keep the secrets of others. It’s the only way we can be trusted by all the packs.”

“Sorry, but I had to. Allie needs help, but the information I’m about to tell you could put her in great danger.”

“I promise to keep your secret. Tell me what is so important.”

Danielle nods at me and I begin to speak.

“Everything I told you about the night that the Savage Wolves tried to abduct me was correct.

“But I left out something Ryan said, which I think was the reason he didn’t kill me. Why he wanted to kidnap me instead.

“He told me he thought I was the one he had been looking for, for a long time. He wanted to find out if that was true.”

“Who has he been looking for?”

“I honestly don’t know, but he thought I might be her. I didn’t think too much of it. I tried to forget about it. Then tonight I went out for a run, and he was there. He told me…”

I close my eyes and work up the nerve to trust Alexander. “He told me I belonged to him, and that he would be coming for me.”

“He managed to get on to pack lands without being stopped by the warrior patrols, and he did that in order to find and speak to you?” Alexander sounds shocked.

“Yes, there was no one with him. I don’t know if he knew I was going for a run, or it was just a coincidence…”

“He must have been waiting nearby, waiting for a signal,” Alexander speculates.

“Would he take such a risk? Entering pack lands alone, just for the opportunity to speak to her?”

“It sounds insanely risky, but that’s what it looks like. We now need to find out who he has here spying on you.”

“There were thirty wolves here tonight,” Danielle exclaims. “They all knew she had gone for a run. How can we identify which one is the spy? They all had the chance to call him without being noticed.”

“We will need James’s help. I have my own contacts who will be able to help, but we will need the resources he has at his disposal if we are going to find who is spying on you.”

“No, I don’t want you to tell James,” I insist. “Not yet, anyway. I don’t trust him not to use it as an excuse to persecute all the loners.”

“I understand why you don’t trust him, but on this, I think his main concern will be to protect you.”

“It might be, but would he be prepared to harm or banish innocent loners in an attempt to find out who the spy is?”

“We can’t keep this from him,” Alexander presses gently.

“I’ll help you to explain the situation to him so he doesn’t go off the deep end, but if he finds out any other way that Ryan is still after his mate, he’ll go crazy.

“I don’t know what he will do, and I don’t want to find out.”

I shiver. I know he’s right and I need to tell James about this, but it feels like a massive step.

I recognize that James is my mate, but I’m not ready to accept the possessiveness and sense of ownership that comes with that.

“Okay,” I reluctantly agree. “But he has to understand that he can’t take over or try to rule my life. I’m not his.”

Danielle grabs my hand and squeezes. “Easier said than done with an alpha.”

I look at Alexander.

“I’m a master of diplomacy. I keep the peace while dealing with warring packs. James is also one of my closest friends. It won’t be easy, but I think I know how best to handle him,” he reassures me.

He better be able to.

I don’t want to have to deal with an angry alpha.