Melton let out a long sigh. “I know what my brother did. I have nightmares about it. But at the same time…”
“It’s hard to hear about it?”
“Yeah. Maybe ’cause it makes it too clear in my mind. Like it’s harder to gloss over what he did. My little brother, man… he was always the kindest, shyest little guy.” His voice cracked, and he fell silent. I had no idea what to say myself, so we just continued to walk.
We were at a crossroads.
On one hand, he had stalked me, attacked Giselle out of nowhere, and admitted that he fully intended on killing her. But on the other hand, he hadn’t. Instead, he found Giselle, apologized to her, and gave her the medical bracelet back while promising never to cause harm again.
And he’d kept his word. While he had sent me the letter, so far, he hadn’t so much as raised his voice against me, and not once did I see the twitch of his hand curling into a fist. Because if he did, I would have no problem ending things right then and there.
While Iwashealing, and I had made great progress, I also knew I wouldn’t be able to continue to do that if I had to worry about the threat of him hanging over my head. And ultimately, that was why I had answered his letter. I needed to know whether he truly had changed his ways, or if he was adanger to the future I was building. A future where my children would never have to experience the horrors or trauma that had changed their childhoods.
So where did that leave us? Clearly, Melton was in pain and conflicted by his love of his little brother and the knowledge of what Charles did. I could tell he blamed himself for what happened to his brother, no doubt thinking if he hadn’t left his abusive household, Charles would have never done what he did, but that kind of rumination was also a poison. The coulda, woulda, shoulda of being stuck in the past could drown out everything else until there was only unending guilt and failure.
I knew that from personal experience.
“Here we are,” Melton said finally, cutting the quiet that had settled between us. I pulled myself out of my thoughts to see that the trees had given way to more of the rockier outcroppings, and the path ended a couple of yards in front of us at the base of a slate-colored hill. It was a forlorn sight, made only that much more so by three rough-hewn gravestones at the foot of the hill. The dusty, fine soil in front of two of them had long since settled, but the one on the left side faced a deep hole.
“What’s this?” I asked, a cold sort of feeling gripping at my chest.
“That’s my mother at the center,” Melton said. “I heard she was there that day, but by the time I got to your old pack lands, there wasn’t anything left to bury. So, the brooch she gave me as a kid to pass on to my future mate is there.”
“She was there,” I struggled to speak, throat thick as I answered his implied questionverycarefully. I could be cruel if I wanted, shove his face in what happened, but I didn’t feel the need. “She protected my wife and Veronica’s mother long enough that they were able to hide my son and future daughter in a hidden wolfsbane cache.”
I didn’t say that my son had heard Charles talking outside, that he’d heard him tearing apart the three women, but there had to have been something in my tone or scent because Melton looked to me with watering, empty eyes.
“It was him, wasn’t it?”
I nodded. Because sometimes, words were unnecessary.
“Thought so.”
He let out a sigh. It was a long, belabored sound, every bit of it drenched in pain. “I know he became a monster. I do. But he was still my baby brother.” His voice was thick with emotion, and he cleared his throat. “That’s his grave there to the right. I caught up with him maybe a couple of days after you, so I gathered up what ash I could. Ihatethat some of those bastards might be mixed up with him, but I suppose that’s symbolic of everything that happened in the end.”
That was… a lot. Awholelot. But as much as it was, my eyes were still locked on the empty spot.
“And the third one?”
“That’s mine,” Melton said flatly, like it was the most normal thing. And it was everything I was afraid of since I saw it.
“Why have you asked me here?” I said sharply. I had been prepared for a lot of things but notthis.
“Isn’t it obvious? This is the only way our story could end. I failed my brother the day I chose to run away without him. If I hadn’t done that, none of this would have happened.
“And you? Well, you’re an alpha, and I invaded your territory after my brother did what he did, and I tried to hurt you. I’m a threat. I can’t be trusted. So, the only thing to do to end all of this, to make it right, is to put a stop to our entire bloodline. Here, right now, none of this goes any further.”
I stared at him. What he was asking of me was horrific. There was no other word for it. Sure, I’d killed many times before whenthe moment called for it, but never,everhad I executed a man outside of battle.
“I’m not going to do that,” I said flatly, shock still coursing through my system and short-circuiting my brain. Of all the things I had imagined, this was not one of them.
“What?” Melton blurted, looking at me likeIwas the crazy one. “Why not?”
“Because it’s wrong! Yes, your brother did horrific, completely inexcusable things. And, yes, you made some very bad decisions due to your grief. But you didn’t hurt anyone. Unlike your brother,youchose a different path. I’m not gonna murder you for that!”
Abruptly, he was in my face, his hands gripping the collar of my shirt and yanking me down to look at him. While my inner wolf was immediately on full alert, a sort of preternatural calm befell me. Almost like I was channeling Giselle in a way.
“But I am a murderer! If it weren’t for me being a coward, none of this would have ever happened! Don’t you get it? It’s my fault! It’s allmy fault! I should have stayed and fought our father! I could have taken Charlie away with me! But I didn’t. I only cared about myself and now everyonebothof us cared for is dead. I owe you their blood!
