Ryleigh had no recollection of how she'd ended up in the infirmary. The last thing she remembered was passing out in the woods. Embarrassment crawled through her stomach at the realisation that they must have discovered her there – out cold in a pool of saliva and silver.
Interesting enough, she wasn't feeling any pain. She ought to be in a world of hurt. Her eyes blinked open, squinting against the weak morning light peering in from under the closed curtains.
Austin was sitting beside her bed, leaning forwards, his head resting on the edge of her mattress. His hand was slipped around hers and his eyes were closed, his breathing even and calm. He'd fallen asleep at her bedside once before, back when they barely knew each other. Well, they still barely knew each other, but a lot had changed since then regardless. Perhaps it was his touch that eased her pain, but though their bond was strong, it wasn't this infallible. In fact, the only thing that had ever worked this well, was Paige.
She blinked, frowning. Had Jade...? No, she wouldn't. She would never risk pissing off their father. Not like that. She wouldn't dare go behind his back. And yet it was the only explanation.
Her hand inched towards Austin. He looked so peaceful, with his hair falling over his forehead and his lips slightly curved. She pushed a lock of his hair out of his face, tingles running up her arm and vibrating through her entire body at the touch of his skin. He stirred, but didn't wake. Her fingers travelled over his cheekbone, tracing his cheek down to his lips. Goddess, those lips.
"What are you doing?" he said, without opening his eyes. His voice was hoarse, hardly a whisper. She withdrew instantly and he looked at her then, those cursed hazel eyes sparkling. "I didn't tell you to stop." He smirked at her and her heart fluttered, then dropped.
"You know, I like you better when you're sleeping." She struggled up into a seated position and poured herself a cup of water from a jug sitting on the nightstand.
He sat up too. "And I like you better when you're awake."
She chuckled, nearly choking on the sip of water she'd just taken. "Since when?"
"Well, it means you're alive." The playfulness dissipated from his gaze. "I'm sorry I left you behind."
She shook her head and pushed the cup back on the nightstand. "You were right to. Hold up." She placed her palm against his cheek, eyes narrowing in concentration. Without any effort on his part, Austin's mind suddenly went over everything that had occurred the past few hours – quickly and chronologically.
"So it was Paige," Ryleigh said, drawing back. "Jade's insane."
Austin blinked. "Did you just – yes, you did." He shook his head. "She loves you."
"Yes, which is insane." She chewed her bottom lip, drawing her legs under her. "So, you're serious about me, huh?"
"You knew that already." His eyes flitted down to the mattress. "There's nothing stopping you from rejecting me now."
She was silent, looking around the room, or rather looking at everything but him. She feigned a morbid fascination for the clock on the opposite wall. It was six in the morning.
"I could reject you two days ago," she said.
Austin's mouth opened, but no words came out. His lips closed, parted again, expulsing air but nothing else. It took about ten seconds for him to find his voice again. "I don't understand."
Ryleigh shrugged. "My wolf's more in touch with that stuff. She let me know. She could feel your mark had faded enough to allow rejection again."
"But you didn't." Hope flickered in his eyes and she knew she had to extinguish that flame. Thing was, she really didn't want to.
"I wasn't ready."
His brows etched over his nose, and Ryleigh felt a twitch in her stomach. He looked adorable like that – unsure, vulnerable, thinking hard.
"You know it's not because I don't have feelings for you," she said. "My life is not my own. You know that. Nothing's changed." She pushed the covers off her and shuffled to the edge of the bed – the edge that wasn't flanked by Austin. He got up, trailing around the bed. "I've got it." She raised her hand to ward him off. The last thing she needed was to have him touch her, so her resolve could crumble even further.
"There has to be something we can do. Jade doesn't want to go either. She made that clear when she took the risk of getting Paige here."
"Jade doesn't know what she wants. And even if she does, she's less realistic than I am. She's a romantic, despite appearances."
She shook her head and headed for the door. Her legs were a bit unsteady from having lied down so long, but beside that, she felt better than she had in ages. Paige really was a life-saver. "There's nothing wrong with that, except that it's bound to get us into trouble."
"Can I say something radical?" He caught up with her right outside the infirmary.
"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this, but I can't stop you." She ran her hands through her hair, her fingers getting caught on the knots. She needed a bath.
"If your father is the only one standing in the way of your happiness, and if he's really planning a revolution, why not have him arrested?"
She stopped – dead in her tracks. She slowly spun around, her face not showing any one emotion, but rather too many to properly register. "What?"
"You know where he is. If anyone could stop him, it's you. Why not do it? You're clearly afraid of him, and he terrorises you. You owe him nothing."
Smart as he was, sometimes he really was an idiot. "I owe him everything. He is my father and my alpha. And yes, he controls me, but he has no choice. Duty binds us. We have to avenge our kin. Blood for blood, that's what our laws say."
"Your laws are going to get you killed." He stepped closer, but she stepped back, shaking her head. "Ryleigh, you have to give up this need for vengeance. You're not going to get it. You have a chance here – with Midnight Moon, with me. You can leave it all behind."
"No. I can't. That's my pack, Austin. I can't betray them."
"I'm not asking you to betray them. Just him. He needs to be stopped."
"Why? No one stopped Alder."
He released a slow breath. "That was different."
"Yes. What Alder did was unjustified. We're merely reacting to what he started. He turned us into this."
"I understand that you're angry, Ry. I do. I haven't lost as many people as you, and certainly not under the same circumstances, but I've lost people too. If I had Alpha Braxton in front of me, I couldn't tell you what I'd do. But that doesn't mean seeking revenge would be right, nor would it fix anything. If your father leads your pack into this suicide mission, you'll all die. That's the truth. You love your pack, don't you? You speak of duty. I get that you have a duty to the dead, but what about your duty to the living?"
Ryleigh shook her head and spurred back into motion. He matched her strides.
"That's why you ran, isn't it? Not because you don't want revenge, but because you don't agree with the way he's pursuing it. You know it's going to get all of you killed."
"That doesn't mean I'm going to turn against my blood. He gave me life, Austin. For all his flaws, I still look up to him and I still love him." She paused, taking a deep breath. "If this were Ellis – no, scratch that. He would never. If it were Conall, if he was doing something wrong, would you turn him in?"
"Conall wouldn't start a revolution."
"Are you sure about that? Goddess. I know you don't like hypotheticals, but work with me here. Would you betray your family?"
"I don't know. But I do know my family wouldn't tell me to reject my mate. They love me."
"My father loves me."
"But he loves vengeance more."
Ryleigh stopped again. "You speak of things you don't know."
"Maybe." He stepped in front of her, so she couldn't avoid his gaze. "I don't know him – you're right. But I know you're the toughest woman I've ever met. If you're anything, you're strong, and yet when you speak of him, I can see how scared you are. If he really loved you – loved you right – he wouldn't do things that make you fear him."
"I don't fear him." She sighed. "Listen. He won't do anything to hurt me. I don't fear him for my sake. I fear him for yours. Yes, he is obsessed with vengeance. So much so that sometimes he loses perspective. I don't blame him for that. We're destined for vengeance. And I might not agree with the way he plans to get it, but I do whole-heartedly agree that someone needs to pay for what's been done to us."
"Even if it kills you?"
Ryleigh released a breath and stared down at the ground, pushing at a twig with her boot. It was a hard thing to explain, especially to someone who didn't share her pain. "I get where you're coming from." She lifted her head back up to him. "I really do. And I understand you feel like I don't care about you, but you're wrong. I do care, and it's exactly because I care that I have to let you go. Because whether I want to be a part of this cause or not, I am part of it, and it's going to get ugly. I don't want to drag you down with me. And I know you don't understand why I can't give up on my anger, but I've held onto it for too long. If I let go, I don't know what'll be left of me."
"Your anger doesn't define you."
"Maybe not, but my pack does define me. My family defines me. My magic defines me. And no matter how much I value our bond, I can't leave my responsibilities behind, and I will never, ever betray my father."
"Good," a voice said behind her. "I was starting to worry."
Ryleigh's eyes flew wide open and she spun around. She stood face to face with Corbin.
_____
A/N: High time for a little father-daughter talk. I'm sure it'll go over great.
Thanks for reading!