Had he planned in advance, by packing the herb, or had he sent Isaac to find some after Milo’s reckless actions? Whichever proved true, Milo would thank him later.
As soon as Milo had taken a sip, Isaac asked if Haley was allowed to see him, as she’d been worried, he said. Stunned, but eager to check on his sister, Milo encouraged his legs to hold out. Haley wisely stayed far from the people who had hurt her, by remaining on the other side of the campfire to where they’d been contained.
The moment Milo sank onto a low log beside her, Haley’s eyes flooded with tears. He barely had time to register the unfamiliar reaction before she leaned against his shoulder to bury her face in his jumper. “I’m sorry,” she gushed, hands clasped tight in her lap. “I was stupid to believe he liked me.”
Heaving a sigh, Milo held and shushed her. There was no point in self-recriminations or taking the blame for Vega being a despicable person. “You didn’t do anything wrong, bug. You just got lost and caught inside your head. That’s completely normal, when your whole life has been turned upside down without anyone asking your opinion,” he reasoned, reminding her this was partly his responsibility. He’d dragged her from their father and their home pack, taking her to a new pack with people she didn’t know, and people she didn’t know she couldn’t trust.
Milo felt the heavy weight of guilt on his shoulders, while Haley cried. She’d been frightened, stressed, hurt, and pushed to the point of exhaustion by all Vega had done, and she had every right to cry. Milo didn’t even chastise himself for crying silently with her, because this was worth crying over.
No matter what his father said about crying being a weakness, a show of emotion he couldn’t afford, a vulnerability exposing him to manipulation, Milo had always been an emotional person. He felt deeply, whole-heartedly, and it was the reason he could never give up on Haley or Usher. He believed in the good inside them, and saw the potential for them to be free and happy, if only they could escape Thatcher.
He’d accomplished the first goal, by freeing himself and Haley, but he hadn’t stopped to think about what came next for her. That was his mistake, and he’d work hard to show her that what she wanted, how she felt, and her dreams for the future were as important as his. Even if he’d done a poor job of proving that.
When Haley was all cried out, they talked. The first real, open conversation of their life. Haley talked about how she’d gotten caught up in Vega’s lies, because she’d been jealous of another girl getting close to Isaac. She confessed to how she’d doubted Vega was a nice person, but ignored her gut instinct because she wanted everyone to worry, when she went missing with such a reckless person.
“I thought…if I went along with his plan, and made it seem like we’d run off together, you would?“ She paused and rolled her eyes, tucking a strand of dishevelled hair from her face. “?you would stop mooning over Keon long enough to notice me.”
The exasperated tone and the quick glance up proved Haley knew that was a criticism he didn’t deserve, but Milo didn’t want to ruin the honesty and open communication they’d developed by lying. “You know that’s not true. I always made time for you, and wanted to include you in the things we did. Keon did the same, making room for you in his home and our lives,” he argued, though he fought to keep the anger and frustration from his voice. He didn’t feel like he’d earned her judgement, but accepted Haley saw things differently.
“I understand I did this to us,” Milo said, acceptingthatguilt, “but I did it because I care about you, and I knew the risk if you stayed with Father. He’s already threatened to hurt you many times, using you to hurt me.” He paused, having never meant to say that out loud, but Haley didn’t seem surprised.
“I know. Usher told me,” she said, with a sniff, tugging the sleeves of an over-large jumper over her hands. It appeared to be Isaac’s. “The night of the challenge, he said if you asked me to go with you, I should pack anything important to me and leave with you.” Haley huffed a frustrated breath and shrugged. “I didn’t know what he meant, but I knew it would mean leaving the pack, and I didn’t want that. He told me you’d sacrificed enough for me. That you were crippled because Father threatened to hurt me, if you didn’t take that challenge.”
Glancing up, Haley nibbled her bottom lip, perhaps finally putting the pieces together, and realising what her safety had cost him. Though Milo would never regret it, it would be a relief to not hide the truth anymore.
“I’m sorry. I never knew Father did that to you. Even when Usher told me, I didn’t want to believe him,” she said, with a half-hearted shrug. “When I saw you ready to leave that night, without asking me to go with you, I got angry. I didn’t want to feel responsible for your pain, or for what you’d gone through because of me. I didn’t want you to leave.”
Milo nodded, absently brushing hair from her face as the wind picked up. “I understand,” he promised, though it was hard to say he forgave her. If she hadn’t fought him that night, he would have had more supplies in the bunker. He might have risked approaching Keon, rather than waiting in the bunker as if he needed to be rescued. “How about we settle on the fact we’ve both made stupid mistakes?” he suggested, with a smile. “I was stupid not to trust you to handle the truth, and to forget you’re strong enough and old enough to make your own choices. And we can agree you were a stupid teenager acting out, as every other teenager does.”
Haley laughed, unclasping her hands to offer one. Instead of shaking it, Milo linked their fingers, tucking her arm under his to keep her close.
“You’re really not hurt?” he asked quietly, saddened it made her laughter stop, but needing to be sure.
“I promise. Just the head thing,” she said, absently gesturing to her head. The memory of how Vega had gloated over Valora’s initial attack grated, but Milo refused to make a big deal of it to Haley, when she was tired and vulnerable.
He would never forget seeing the attack in his vision, and swore he would never push for more detail again. There were some things he could never unsee.
He contained his reply to a nod, then licked his lips. “Keon is writing to Alpha Katarina to check if she’ll take responsibility for the prisoners, so we can travel home safely,” he said, not mentioning how Keon’s decision would prevent Haley from being around them any longer. “Can you put aside your feelings for Keon tonight to let him take care of you? As my mate, and as Alpha, you are his responsibility as much as you’re mine, but he is genuinely worried about you and what you’ve gone through.”
When Haley frowned and opened her mouth, Milo gently squeezed her hand.
“Just a moment,” he asked, only because it was important he get the words out before he lost his courage. “All I’m asking is whether you’re willing to talk to him. If not, I’ll let him know you’re not ready, and he won’t argue. He’ll understand if you only want to talk to me, due to your previous…animosity.” That was putting it kindly, but this was no time for complaints. Haley had already apologised for how she’d misread the situation. They could talk more later, when they had distance from this awful night.
Milo swallowed his pride and confessed, “Without his concern for you, I could never have travelled so quickly to find you. I may have lost your trail, if he hadn’t chosen the right people to help reach you in time,” he reasoned, aware a delay of even hours would have had Vega moving on, closer to Katarina’s pack, or further from m’weko territory.
He wanted Haley to remember Keon was the reason she was safe, now. The fact it was his Fates-given mate who hurt her, for revenge after Keon’s rejection, wasn’t his fault any more than it was Haley’s for falling for a well-crafted lie.
All the blame lay with Vega, and he wouldn’t hear otherwise. But without Keon Milo would be struggling through the forestry alone, trying to accomplish something that would have either killed him or gotten Haley killed for his recklessness. He could admit that, now he’d injured himself with stupid heroics.
He’d wanted to be the one to save Haley, to protect her, and prevent Keon having to make an impossible choice between whether to let Vega walk free or save Haley from two unpredictable strangers.
Milo opened his mouth to argue that all Keon wanted was to welcome Haley into his family, but she smiled and put her hand over his mouth.
“My turn,” she insisted, her eyes tired and sad, but earnest. “I’ll talk to Keon.”
Those words were enough to keep him quiet. Haley removed her hand and laid it over their joined fingers.
“I’ve spent the last…Mother, I don’t remember how long it’s been, since we left…listening to Vega spew hatred towards Keon,” she said, barely above a whisper, staring at their hands. “After hearing what he said, I realised how petty it was. He didn’treallyhate Keon; he was just angry he’d been rejected by someone he considered unworthy. And I realised…if I wasn’t careful, I might end up like him, one day.”
