His body tensed. “What happened?”

“My parents had promised me to another wolf. The day I ran away was the day he came to claim me.”

Eyes glowing, Ryker growled and his fangs lengthened, but he drew them back. “They promised you to someone who wasn’t your mate? Why the fuck would they do that?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to them since I left. I kept running until I found my way here.”

Taking my face in his hands, he tilted my chin, demanding I look at him. I knew he was trying to see into my mind, but I couldn’t let him. With as much force as I could muster, I envisioned a wall to block him out, just to see if it could work. Thankfully, it did. I could feel him attempting to penetrate through, but with no success. “What aren’t you telling me, Bailey? You can’t keep me out forever. That kind of power only lasts for so long.”

He was right. “It’s not easy to talk about. I don’t even know where to begin.”

“How about the beginning? If you can’t speak it, show it to me. Don’t make me force my way into your mind. I’ll do it if I have to.”

Judging by the heated look in his eyes, he would do it. “Fine, I’ll let you in. Then maybe you’ll understand why I can’t stay here.” Reluctantly, I closed my eyes and let the memories of the night with Kade flood my mind. Everything from the beginning when he tried to claim me, to the part where I ripped out his throat.

Trembling with rage, Ryker was close to shifting, but he held it back. If we were bonded I could help control his wolf, but at this point, there was nothing I could do.

“Ryker, look at me.” His eyes flashed and his fangs lengthened again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to know, but that’s what happened. Now you see why I can’t stay here. I will be found and there will be a war. I don’t want you in the middle of it.”

He growled low, his voice more animal than human. “It’s too late.” Getting to his feet, he stormed toward the front door and kicked it open, sliding his jeans and boxers to the floor. The magic began to shimmer around his body, but disappeared when I spoke.

“You’re not a part of this fight, I am!” I shouted.

He turned to look at me, his gaze heated and full of rage. “You are my mate, and he had no right to fucking claim you. If his pack comes for you, they will have to get through me first.”

“I can protect myself. I’m an alpha and just as strong as any of them.”

“That’s not the problem.” He rushed down the front steps toward the woods.

“Then what is?” I shouted, going after him.

He paused and turned around, his shoulders rising and falling with his rapid breaths. “Kade was my brother, Bailey.”

I gasped and watched him shift into his wolf before disappearing into the woods. How could someone like him be related to a sadistic bastard like Kade? I had just shown him images of ripping his brother’s throat out. What the hell was I going to do now?

Bailey

My first instinct was to chase after him, and if there was one thing I’d learned in life, it was to always trust my instincts. Shedding my clothes, I rushed out into the snow and shifted as I ran. Ryker’s trail was strong, and even more so because he was enraged. An angry alpha was a deadly one. Up ahead, Ryker slowed his pace and I finally caught up to him, approaching slowly.

“Ryker, please shift back so we can talk. I wish I could apologize for killing your brother, but I can’t.”

His eyes glowed and he bared his fangs. Since I hadn’t taken his blood yet, I wouldn’t be able to hear him if he spoke. He stared at me before the magic swirled around his body, turning him into his human form.

“I don’t want a goddamn apology. I should’ve been the one to kill him.”

“So you’re not mad at me?”

Breathing hard, he closed his eyes and knelt down on the snow in front of me, clenching his teeth. “No, I’m not mad at you. I saw what my brother did, and he deserved much more than he got. It kills me I wasn’t there to protect you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know.”

“Why did you run off?”

He moved closer to me, putting his hands in my fur. “I’m pissed, Bailey. Watching your mate almost get raped by your brother isn’t exactly a walk in the park. All I could see was red. If you hadn’t ripped out his fucking throat, I would be halfway up to Canada by now.”

Closing my eyes, I let the magic take over my body so I could shift back. When I did, Ryker pushed me back and rolled us onto our sides. His hands went to my face and he kissed me, opening my lips with his tongue. I pulled away, even though I didn’t want to.

Breathing hard, he rested his forehead to mine. “I’ve wanted to do that since the first moment I saw you.”

I couldn’t deny it felt amazing. In fact, all I could think about was how good it was going to feel to let him claim me. Chest rumbling, his body reacted to my thoughts. My wolf wanted to mate, but the logical side of me wasn’t ready. “What would’ve happened if Kade and I had . . .”

“Fucked?” he finished for me, wrapping me in his warm embrace.

I nodded. “You never told me what happens to those who end up mating with the wrong person.”

Sighing, he leaned his chin down on the top of my head and placed his hand on my bare hip. The more he touched me, the more I wanted. It didn’t help when he rubbed his rock hard arousal against my hip.

“Being forced to mate with another wolf is forbidden; it’s punishable by death. If your parents came down here looking for you, I could legally kill them.”

“No,” I growled, trying to move out of his arms but he held me firm.

“Calm down, I’m not going to kill them. But I do hope they think twice before coming down here.”

“I don’t think it’s them you should worry about. The Yukon pack will be the ones who’ll want to avenge Kade’s death.”

“Then they’ll be surprised when they find me.” He gave me a humorless grin. “Back to your question, if you and Kade had mated, it’d feel like a part of you was missing. That’s what it’s like when you mate with the wrong person. You’re not ever fully happy. Some wolves are okay with that and find whatever happiness they can in others, while some of us wait an entire lifetime, refusing to be with anyone other than their true mate.”

“And when the need to mate drives you mad, how does that affect the older males? In my pack, I saw a lot of violence, but Sebastian made sure to keep me away from everyone.”

His haunted gaze stared wearily down at me. “They can let out their frustrations by fucking human women. It appeases them for a time, but there’s always a need there that never gets satisfied. Eventually, it gets to the point where something has to be done.”

“Like what?” I asked, already knowing the answer by the look on his face.

“Putting them down. There are times when the wolves ask their pack to kill them. Those are always the hardest. I hope I never have to go through that again.”

“Who was he?”

A sad smile splayed across his lips. “Odolf. He was a good man too.”

“I’m sorry. I know that couldn’t have been easy. To be one of the strongest wolves in my pack, I don’t know shit about them. If my parents had their way, I’d still be in Canada with Kade, plotting every single way I could kill him. I need to know why my parents kept me in the dark. There’s something I’m missing.”

Ryker held me tighter and lifted one of my legs so he could drape it over his. “If my parents were still alive, I bet they would know. My banishment has to be a part of it somehow. Kade was allowed to stay behind and I never understood why. It can’t be a coincidence. I never spoke to him after we left, not even after all of these years. For all I know, he thought I was dead.”