“Oh, my Creator.” Dillon breathed out. A wave of realization washed over him, and a heaviness like a giant boulder landed in the pit of his stomach. Tanya’s mom had sacrificed herself, knowing her death would also be her mate’s. She kept Dillon from having to kill Jeremiah or vice versa.
Dillon looked up at Tanya, who was being held back by Daniel and Trevor. “Mom!”
He nodded at Daniel, and the males released her. Tanya ran straight for her parents and heedlessly hit the ground next to them. “Mom, no.” Tanya cried as she held her shaking hands over her mother, seemingly unsure where or if to touch her. Tanya’s anguish and hopelessness ripped through the bond. It traveled into him and shredded his soul.
“Why? Why, dammit?”
“I’m sorry,” Jeremiah choked out, tears pouring down his face. “He doesn’t deserve you. Tanya he—”
“I know what he did, dammit,” she snapped at him. “You had no right! None!”
Jeremiah slumped to his side, his hand still buried in his mate’s chest as if he didn’t have the strength to pull it back. “You’re my little girl.” Utter despair and sadness filled his eyes.
“I’m a grown woman, Dad. My choices are my own. And your selfish pride did this.” She motioned to her mother. “You did this. Not Dillon.”
“Tanya.” Rose’s voice was weak. “Look at me, daughter mine.”
Tanya turned back to her mom and pressed a hand to her cheek. “Mother.” Her voice cracked.
“Forgive him,” Rose implored. “He is not a god, only a man. And he will make more mistakes in this life. As will you. You will live too long to be angry and bitter. Love him and help him be a better man, and he will help you be a better woman. That is the gift you can give one another.”
“I can’t lose you, Mom,” Tanya cried. “Not you, too.”
“Nobody lives forever, sweet girl.”
Tanya growled. “I’m sick of hearing that.”
“Dillon,” Rose called out. Though the sound was barely more than a whisper, Dillon appeared, hurrying around so the alpha female could see him. “Promise me you will love her even when she doesn’t return that love. The feelings of love will wane, but the actual act of love is a choice. Promise me you will always choose love.”
“Done.” Dillon didn’t hesitate. “I promise, Rose, with everything I have within me.”
Rose’s brow furrowed, and a tear leaked out of her eye. “Oh, Tanya. You will face more trials, and they will cut you to the bone. Trust the Great Luna to be your strength and guide. Don’t let bitterness kill what she has blessed you with.”
“I won’t, Mom. I promise. I’ve already forgiven him,” Tanya said softly. “You’ve been the best example of what a true mate should be.”
Rose’s hand lifted, and she beckoned Tanya forward. She whispered something in Tanya’s ear that Dillon couldn’t hear. Tanya’s shoulders shook even harder. She lifted her head and looked around until her eyes landed on something. Dillon followed her gaze and saw Penelope standing in the crowd. Her hands covered her mouth and tears flowed down her cheeks. Tanya lifted an arm and motioned for the girl to come. Penelope ran to her and fell into Tanya’s arms so hard that she nearly knocked Tanya over. The girls wrapped their arms around one another, and their weeping ripped through the pack like a tidal wave.
A few seconds later, a burst of power rippled through the pack, and Dillon knew the alpha pair was gone. He looked up to see every member of the pack hit their knees and bow their heads.
Tanya rocked Penelope back and forth, running a hand down her hair. “It’s going to be all right, Nell. I promise. I love you. It’s going to be alright.”
Dillon heard in his mate’s mind what Rose had told her, and his heart threatened to beat out of his chest. Penelope was Tanya’s half-sister. “By the Great Luna,” he whispered. He understood Jeremiah’s loathing for him now. Part of the hate he had for Dillon was his own guilt at the choices he’d obviously made in his life. And his mate had to see the result of that choice every day. And yet, Rose had been loving and kind to Penelope, treating her like a daughter, and, no doubt, loving her like one, as well.
Suddenly, the howl of wolves drowned out the sounds of his mate and her sister’s cries. No matter how they’d felt about Jeremiah, he was still their alpha, and losing him and Rose would rip a hole in their hearts. That was the bond of the pack to the alpha.
Dillon kneeled as a sign of respect. Though he didn’t agree with any of Jeremiah’s choices, he could understand to a degree why he made them. The alpha had let guilt and regret rule his life, even though his mate had obviously chosen him over her own anger or grief. She’d wanted to be his. She’d wanted them to build a life together. To some degree, they had. But it was apparent by the ending today that Jeremiah had never given them a fighting chance. Dillon would not make that same mistake.
Rain seems to be a common theme on days that I say goodbye to people I love. Tanya watched Daniel light the pyres where her parents’ bodies lay. Penelope stood on her left, gripping her hand. Dillon stood on her right, his strength rushing through their bond. It was the only thing keeping her on her feet.
Tanya had lost three people who meant the world to her in less than a week. She’d gained a mate, a sister, and hope for a future. Her mother had showed her that a person’s choices were the things that determined a person’s misery or joy. Nobody else could determine the happiness, contentment, or success of her future except herself. Just as nobody could determine that for Dillon. They could strive for it together, but each of them would have to make those choices on their own. It would take Tanya time to forgive her father, but she hoped one day she would. His choices had been horrible, but he’d made them because he couldn’t forgive himself, even though his mate had. She didn’t want that for Dillon, herself, or their pack.
Today, they would set the tone for their future. Dillon would take the place of the Colorado pack alpha, as was his right because Jeremiah had fallen during their challenge and because he’d taken Tanya as his true mate. Though their bond wasn’t complete, in her mind, it was a done deal. Dillon and all his mistakes, flaws, and grievances were hers. And she was his, for better or for worse, as the humans put it.
“I love you, Mother and Father,” Tanya whispered. She bowed her head to her former alphas. She asked the Great Luna to guide them to their eternal resting place and for grace for her father’s transgressions. After a time, she looked at Penelope, the sister she’d always had. Tanya gave her a small smile. “No matter how we came to be sisters, I’m so glad you’re mine.”
Penelope smiled back and wiped her tears away. “Me, too.”
How the female wasn’t bitter and angry for all the years Jeremiah had mistreated her, Tanya could only guess, but it had to do with Rose—their mom. And that was exactly who Rose was, even if she wasn’t Penelope’s birth mom. Rose had adopted her and loved her just as she loved Tanya. She could only hope to be half the woman her mother had been.
