Ryleigh knocked on the door to Austin's bedroom. No response came, but she knew he'd just returned from patrol. Besides, she could pick up his scent even through the closed door. He was in there, alright.
"Austin, open up," she said. She could hear him move around, but he didn't open the door. She tapped her foot against the floorboards. What was this, even? She wasn't going to beg to talk to him. She was doing him a favour by seeking him out. She owed him no explanation. "You know what, never mind."
What did he think? That she was desperate to speak to him? That she was bothered by the fact he'd been avoiding her since Jade had shown up? That she gave a damn whether or not he was pissed at her? She could care less. She turned and barged to the stairs. Behind her, the door clicked open and she halted, a breath escaping her.
"I was just getting changed," he said.
Her eyes fluttered shut at the sound of his deep voice, but she made sure not to show anything when she swivelled round again. Right enough, he was standing in the doorway wearing only his trousers.
"Well," she said. "I did always have good timing." She inched closer, making every effort possible to keep her eyes locked on his face. "Can we talk?"
"I guess." He stepped aside just enough to let her in. Her shoulder brushed his bare chest in passing and her breath hitched in her throat. She moved over to the window, keeping her back to him.
"I'm guessing you're pretty upset with me," she said.
"If you've come to give me excuses, Julie already brought me up to speed. Now, aren't you even going to look at me while you talk?"
She rolled her eyes and turned around. "I don't have an excuse. None that would satisfy you, anyway. Look, I get that you're pissed, but I had to protect Jade."
"I thought you said no excuses." He crossed his arms across his chest, muscles flexing, and Ryleigh reached behind her, clasping her hands around the edge of the windowsill.
"Right. Guess I lied again." She chuckled, but he didn't seem to find it as funny. "Alright, moving on. Jade has agreed to ask our father for some time. Hopefully he'll give me long enough to be able to reject you."
"And then you're going back to him," he said.
"It's complicated. I have to, to save my life. But after that I might escape again. At least if I can convince Jade to come with me. I can't leave her behind."
"Do you think he's going to give you another chance to get away?" Austin asked, raising a brow.
"Maybe in a few years, once I've regained his trust. But that's not your problem. I'm not your problem."
"You really don't care, do you?" he said. "You'll reject me with a smile on your face and then you'll never think of me again. How is it that the mate bond has affected me so much more than it has you?"
Ryleigh removed herself from the window and walked to his closet. She rummaged through it, pulled out a shirt and went over to him. She pressed it against his chest until he took it, his fingers brushing over hers.
"Really?" he said.
"Yes, really. I can't focus with such a view."
He shook his head, but pulled the fabric over his head. Ryleigh released a breath, nodding.
"That's better. Now, to answer your question, it hasn't. I'm as drawn to you as you are to me. I mean, how could I not?" She gestured to the entirety of his being. "I'm not blind, and the mate bond isn't exactly helping. I usually have more restraint." She didn't move to the window again, but remained in front of him, her head slightly tilted up to be able to look at him. "All jokes aside, I won't be smiling when I reject you, and I'll think of you every day for the rest of my life."
His furrowed brow smoothed out, and his shoulders lost their stiffness. "Then why did you never show it?"
"Why? To make everything even more complicated? No thanks. You know, at first there was Julie, and I hated you, so it didn't feel appropriate to want you. And after that, there was still my secrets, and now there's reality. Mate bond or no mate bond, I can't stay."
"So you do care?"
She blinked. Did he forget she jumped off a cliff with a feral wolf for him? "Of course I care."
He shook his head. "But that doesn't add up. If you cared, you wouldn't have kept lying. You would've told me truth sooner."
"Affection doesn't equal trust. It took me a while to learn to trust you."
"But you do? You trust me?"
"You've given me little reason not to. You don't have a deceitful bone in your body."
"Unlike you."
She stepped away a little, frowning down at the carpet for a moment before looking back up at him. "Yes."
He slipped his hands into his pockets, regarding her. There had been a change in him, Ryleigh noticed. He was more confident around her. Never broke eye contact. She used to be able to stare him down.
"Things have changed since I've marked you," he said, as though he could read her mind. Damn – could he?
"Changed?"
"I understand you now. I can feel what you're feeling – more than I could before. I've been testing it out over the past few days, and it keeps getting easier to see through you. Sometimes I even get bits and pieces of your thoughts and dreams."
She nodded a few times and cleared her throat. "That's, uh, that's unfortunate." She stepped back further and let herself sag down onto the edge of his bed.
"I can imagine you don't like this development. The point is, I can tell when you're lying now."
Her brow shut up. "You can, can you?"
"Yes."
She draped one leg over the other, narrowing her eyes at him. "The first time I killed someone, I was eleven."
"Lie."
She sucked in a breath. "I love blackberries."
"Truth."
"Well, that doesn't say anything. Everyone likes blackberries." She thought a moment. "You were the first man I ever kissed."
"Truth." A smile slowly built around his lips. "Really? That was your first kiss?"
"No. That was a lie, actually."
He shook his head. "No, it was the truth. You never kissed anyone until me."
She regarded him, not sure whether to smile or frown. "I don't like this at all."
"I can imagine."
She wiggled her feet and clasped her hands on her lap. "Well, doesn't matter. I have no reason to lie to you anymore."
"And yet you still are."
Her head shot up. "No, I'm not."
"Do you really want to keep doing this? I know you're hiding something from me. I don't know what it is, but it's big."
Her mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Since when was he the one in control? She was the alpha of the two, not him. He had no right to push her in a corner.
"This is a first for you, isn't it?" he asked. "That someone doesn't buy what you're selling? Just tell me the truth, Ryleigh."
Was he saying her name just to distract her? If he was, it was working. "What if I don't?"
"I won't ever trust you again."
"So?" She swallowed. "I'm leaving anyway. Whether you trust me or not won't make a difference."
"Maybe not." He shrugged, like it was all the same to him. Worse than losing, was losing at her own game.
She got up. "I don't like this. You don't get to manipulate me into telling you things. That's my thing. Don't turn my tricks against me." She made for the door, but he grasped her wrist, stilling her. She halted, and he released her. The tingling sensation his touch left on her skin didn't leave as rapidly.
"You can walk away if you want, but I don't think you will."
"Why's that?" she said, her voice a little shaky. Standing that close to him, it was hard to focus on anything apart from his scent, or his muscles evident even through his shirt, or the heat radiating off him, or how badly she wanted those hands on her skin again.
"Because you don't want to leave without me knowing you."
He stated it so simply. So confidently. She stared at him – wide-eyed and with her mouth slightly agape. She slammed her jaw shut with sudden urgency and shook her head as though she could shake off his influence. Only she couldn't.
"Twenty-five," she said.
"Twenty-five what?"
She raised her eyes to his. "There are currently twenty-five Shadow Walkers."
Looking at him, she saw her words take root. His eyes widened and he released a stunned breath, but didn't speak.
"Not all of us are originals," she said. "Twelve of us were already Shadow Walkers during the battle fourteen years ago. Three are their offspring, two of which are old enough to have developed gifts. So counting Jade and myself, there are currently fourteen Shadow Walkers with magic. The others are rogues we picked up along the way and their pups." She paused, shrugging one shoulder. "We're a small pack. I mean, compared to Midnight Moon, we're hardly worthy of the label at all. But we're a family."
"How did you manage to stay secret this long?" he asked. "It's easy enough to hide three Shadow-Walkers, but twenty-five?"
"We're good at covert operations. We stayed hidden." She cast her gaze down, her brows drawing together and meeting over her nose.
"There's more," Austin said. "What is it?"
"I can't tell you." She dissected the carpet between them with her dark gaze. It was one of those carpets with long fibres – the one that tickles your toes.
He placed two fingers underneath her chin, forcing her face back up to him. "Please."
She closed her eyes. "We have a cause."
He paused, as if he understood the gravity of the moment, even though he couldn't possibly. "What cause?"
She shook her head, but his hand was still supporting her chin, and his scent was still surrounding her, and his voice sounded so pleading, so warm. Telling him was a betrayal – it was treason. It was unpardonable. And yet, despite all that, she spoke the words that would change everything:
"My father won't rest until he's sitting on Alder's throne."
[The End]
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A/N: The full truth, out at last! Is it what you were expecting?
I started one of my usual author's notes here, but it got a bit too elaborate, so I'll make a seperate chapter out of it ;) Be sure to check it out for a link to book 2, among others.
Thank you all for reading! <3