Chapter 51: Grace
“Come on, Grace,” Ethan prodded. “Don’t you think it’s weird how everything in that pack worked? How you were blamed for the Luna’ death, but not given a trial or literally any chance at all to uncover the truth? Don’t you want to know what happened and get justice for all the injustices against you? To prove your own innocence and take back what’s rightfully-?”
“That’s enough!” My mate cut him off angrily. “You are not here to regain control of a pack you don’t even remember living in. You are not here to influence her. You are here ONLY to answer questions, and not here to push your own agenda!”
I felt uncomfortable still, but I stared at my so-called brother. I remembered the day the Luna died. It was one of the worst days of my life, and it was engrained in my brain so clearly. I hadn’t even seen the Luna that day before being dragged away, thrown in the dungeon, and accused of murder by my own father. I was so confused at what was going on, but Ethan was sort of right. It hadn’t made any sense then, and it didn’t make any sense now. Everything felt out of control and confusing. I didn’t know what to think. What to believe.
“Sorry,” Ethan responded, shrinking back a little. “I just wanted-”
“I don’t care what you wanted,” Rhys cut him off, anger dripping from his voice. “I would have done everything I could to get my sister out of that situation, instead of gathering ‘bits and pieces’ of information as it was convenient.”
“Well, that’s easy to say when you have all the resources you do,” Ethan bit back angrily. “You forget that I was also only 14 when the Luna died. I was a rogue kid, and yea, I had a little help, but I was not in a good place either.”
“SHE WASN”T SAFE THERE!” Rhys bellowed.
I touched his hand with my own in an attempt to calm him, the way he kept attempting to calm me.
“AND SHE WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SAFE IF I TOOK HER AWAY!” I’ll give Ethan props, Rhys’ aura was strong right now, and he wasn’t backing down. “I told you already. I did what I could. I did have an informant in the pack. He attempted to get in contact with Grace several times and was never successful. Then he was killed shortly after the Luna. I also did try to approach Grace, several times, and every time I was unsuccessful. When she was younger, she played outside a lot, and I was 7 the first time I tried. However, once the Luna died, it was impossible. She never left the house, and despite multiple attempts, I could never get in.”
He had tried to get to me? I wasn’t sure whether I was happy to know he tried or creeped out, but he it was nice to know either way he tried.
“Okay, we are getting nowhere,” Rhys shook his head in exasperation. “He’s annoying me. Leon, take him back to the dungeon. Now, please.”
Ethan looked saddened by the news, but I was grateful. I didn’t know how to feel about everything, and I had no real reason to believe the stranger in front of me, even if a part of me wanted to. A part of me wanted to believe that without me knowing, somebody cared about me, and tried, even if it didn’t work out.
The door shut, and I turned my chair around to look at my mate who hadn’t moved from behind me. It was crazy that he went from being The Alpha King in my head to just Rhys. He was just my Rhys, and I was glad he was here.
“I’m sorry, Gracie.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “I thought he would help empower you, and reassure you, and he did was make it worse and make you feel guilty.”
I gave him a small smile.
“He looks like my father a bit,” I told him thinking back on everything I remembered. “Especially his eyes, but I don’t remember him at all. And nobody ever mentioned to me that I had a brother, a twin, but I guess that doesn’t mean much because they really didn’t talk to me anyway.”
“When I saw him,” Rhys touched my face gently, “I thought his eyes looked like yours, so it’s funny that you mention your father. But I think yours are far prettier.”
“I don’t know what to believe,” I confessed.
“That’s okay.” Rhys told me. “You don’t have to make any choices right now. I just thought you should meet him, but I’m not sure that was the right choice based on how that went.”
I could feel the guilt rolling off him. “It could have been worse.” I shrugged as I stood up.
He let out a little chuckle taking me by surprise and then pulled me into him. “You never cease to amaze me, Grace.” He said in awe. “I promise that I will hunt down every single person who has ever hurt you. They will pay for what they’ve done.”
His fingers traced my sides as I looked up at him, making me shiver. I didn’t know what to believe about anything. I had always believed that everything was my fault even though I couldn’t remember doing anything. I had always believed I deserved their poor treatment of me. I was the bastard child after all. But Alpha King Rhys here had changed everything for me. And I couldn’t help but feel comforted just simply by being with him. I was glad he had been here for me to confront my maybe brother.
My eyes flicked to his lips, and knowing exactly what I wanted, he leaned in. His springtime scent filled my senses. His lips met mine, soft and slow, and feeling brave, I deepened the kiss. His tongue asked for entrance into my mouth, and I made way for it. I might not know much, but I did know that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.