52. Rhyson

52

Rhyson

"Maybe we should go for a run. Blow off some of that energy," Maya suggested in a low tone. "If you keep pacing, you're only going to build more agitation."

Whirling around, I nearly snapped at her, but she didn't shrivel up at my expression or shrink away. She'd been with me while Elonso and London figured out exactly who my sister was within his pack. She'd been there, but London told me that he would not let me see her until he spoke to her first.

She'd kept me from pulling out every wolf in this pack and forcing them to my will.

With a low moan, I sank onto the bed and cradled my head in my hands. "Rhyson," Maya whispered, and placed her hand on my knee. "Talk to me. Let it out. It's okay. Whatever happens, we're going to be okay."

"I never looked for them. Not once. I was so certain that they were dead," I said hoarsely. "It's been years, Maya. They must have thought Marrow and I would come for them. That we would rescue them. They must hate me."

"No matter how they feel about you, Rhyson, and I doubt that they hate you, you did not kidnap them. You did not bring them here. This is not your fault."

It was the first time she'd touched me since I heard the news. She must have been so fucking scared that I would snap. I was barely hanging on by a thread, but with her hand on me, my wolf felt so much steadier. I felt so much steadier. Slowly exhaling, I stretched out until I could rest my head on her lap. Quietly, she stroked my hair.

"What would you be thinking? If it were you?"

"I don't know, Rhyson. I truly don't. They knew love. Your parents, your brother…" Her voice broke. "You. You all loved them. All of that was taken from them. They may have seen your parents die. And we have no idea what's happened to them since. We just have to hope that they want to see you, and then we can figure it out from there. Whatever it is they're going through, whatever it is that has happened, you'll help them through it."

She said it with such confidence. Turning my head, I looked up at her. "I don't think I could do this without you."

"You're the king of wolves," she said with a sad smile. "You don't need me."

She had no idea how wrong she was. We sat there in silence, her stroking my head, before she spoke again. "You didn't tell me that Emily was with…her friend. Did you know?"

Guilt washed through me again. "I didn't. Gemma was Emily's best friend, but we were all close. Right before they left, Gemma and I had gotten into a huge fight. I guess I just thought she didn't want to see me anymore. I had no idea that she was with Emily that day. She didn't have any family, so there was no one to even notice that she was missing."

"Elonso said that they escaped. And they're alive. It's going to be okay."

Her voice broke again, like she wasn't sure that it was going to be okay. A different feeling shivered through me. Had she just realized all the people I'd let down? That I was the fucking king of wolves, and I hadn't even known my own sister was still alive?

"You should go for a run," I said abruptly as I sat up. "My wolf is probably making you anxious."

Her eyes widened just a little. "You could come with me, Rhyson."

"No." I exhaled. "I want to be here in case London has some news, plus I could use some alone time."

Immediately, she withdrew from the bed and turned. "I understand. I'll bunk with one of the others for the night."

"Juniper. You'll bunk with Juniper," I growled. My wolves knew to keep their hands to themselves, but I wasn't going to think straight if I knew she was sharing a room with another man.

She didn't say anything else as she slipped out, and I closed my eyes and cursed myself. I hadn't meant to push her away. I just didn't want to see the pain in her eyes. I didn't want to know if she was wondering whether or not I could protect her.

But once I was alone, my wolf howled inside of me, and I felt the darkness threatening to take over.

***

Emily and Gemma both agreed to see me. The message came the next morning, and I practically broke Juniper's door down. Maya looked like she hadn't slept all night. "Rhyson?"

"I'm going to see them in half an hour. I want you with me."

"I…"

"You're the mother of my child. You should be there."

To my surprise, her eyes watered just a little, and she nodded. "I need a minute to get myself together. Why don't I give you a little alone time with them? I'll meet you in an hour."

"Meet me?"

"Yes. Rhyson, they're seeing you for the first time in years. They don't need to see you with a stranger on your arm. They deserve a chance to see you alone first."

She seemed resolute, and I nodded. I'd wanted her with me to soothe my wolf, but what she said made sense. There was much to talk about.

London met me at the door of his conference room. "Rhyson," he said in a low voice. "Before you go in, you need to remember that they are bonded to me. They've been part of my pack for a long time, and I am their alpha. If anything happens in that room to upset them, or if they can't handle this, then I am the authority that says the meeting is over."

My wolf growled inside of me, but all I did was nod. They may not even remember me. How would it look if they thought I was going to take them away from the only home they'd ever known?

"Maya is joining me in half an hour."

London's eyes widened. "The mother of your child is going to meet Gemma? Now? Today?"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"After what Elonso said yesterday, I just thought you might want to give it some time."

What the hell had Elonso said to make London think that? "What do you mean?"

London cleared his throat and shook his head. "What do I know? I'm going to be right here. I'll let you know when Maya arrives."

Nodding, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Two beautiful women stared nervously at me from the other side of the table. I let the door close behind me and locked eyes with the brunette on the left. Grief, pain, and gratitude hit me like a sledgehammer, and I nearly crumpled to my knees. "Em," I whispered. "You look…you're so beautiful."

Her eyes filled with tears, and she launched herself over the table at me. I caught her in a giant hug and held her tight while she cried into my shoulder. When I glanced up at Gemma, I saw that she was crying as well, and I opened my other arm to her. She raced into it, and I held her tight, trying desperately not to cry while they sobbed.

Finally, they pulled away and wiped their faces. "Rhyson," Emily gasped. "We never thought we were going to see you again. God, you look more and more like Dad every day."

"And you look just like Mom. I'm so sorry, Em. I thought you were dead. I thought you'd been killed with them, and Gemma, I didn't even know you were with her. I just thought you'd left me to join another pack. You must hate me."

"No," Emily said fiercely. "No, we absolutely do not hate you. We're just so happy that you're here. How are you here? We used to talk all the time about leaving the mountain, but we knew we'd never make it to the base alive."

"Why didn't you tell London what happened to you?"

"We didn't trust him, Rhyson. We didn't trust anyone for years, and then it wasn't so bad living here," Gemma said with a soft smile. Reaching out, she took my hand and squeezed. "I don't blame you. I thought of you every day and wished I could take that fight back. I hated knowing those were the last words we might ever speak to each other. I was such a child then."

Grateful, I squeezed her hand back. I told them that I'd found them because of Marrow, and then I had to tell them of Marrow's death. The pain washed over me all over again as Emily cried. "God, we should have tried harder to come home. Maybe none of this would have happened."

I thought of Maya's words and the guilt I held. "This isn't your fault, Emily. I'm going to find who killed him, and I'm going to make them pay."

There was a knock at the door, and I grinned. "There is someone who I want you to meet."

The door opened, and London popped his head in. "You girls okay?"

They both smiled warmly, and I realized how much I owed London. Apparently, all those years ago, two of his soldiers had been out and found them freezing in the snow. They brought them back, and London took them in and made them an official part of his pack a year afterward, even though they'd never said where they were from. A couple had raised them as sisters. The whole pack had made them feel safe and loved.

Maya walked in, and Emily gasped. "Oh my God, do I have two nephews?"

"This is Maya," I said as I pulled out a chair for her. "And yes, she's the mother of my child."

Emily squealed and leaned over to hug her, shocking the hell out of Maya. Gemma raised an eyebrow. "Is she your mate?"

"That's complicated," I admitted.

"It's wonderful to meet you. Rhyson has been beside himself since he learned that the two of you were still alive. I'm happy to give you more time together, if you'd like," Maya said quietly.

"No." Emily squeezed her hand. "You're going to be family. I want to get to know you. Gemma and I have been living together, and there's a plot of land right next to ours. I'll convince London to build the two of you a house."

"A house?" Maya looked over at Rhyson. "You're going to stay?"

"Of course he is. Why wouldn't he?" Emily's eyes rounded. "Wait, are you an alpha? Shit, bro, I can feel the power coming off of you."

"Not an alpha," Maya said quietly. "Emily, your brother is the king."

"The…" Gemma's eyes widened. "Shit, does London know? This mountain hates you. What did you do to them?"

"Previous king," I muttered. "And I'm not sure what we're going to do yet. I became king to use my power to avenge Marrow. Once I've done that, I'd planned on passing the crown to Rune. We could come back."

"Maya?" Gemma said softly. "Do you think Rhyson should give up his crown?"

Something flickered in Maya's eyes. "I think it's not up to me. What I'm worried about now is that Marrow's killer is still out there. If he thinks there are survivors, he might come for the two of you."

Shit. I'd been so busy dealing with the fact that they were alive, I hadn't even thought of the implications. "Emily, Gemma, do you remember anything about who abducted you? Did you ever meet Emerson?"

Gemma paled. "He was the one who took us into the mountain. We saw him once when he was alpha. We should have said something then."

"Don't blame yourselves. You survived," Maya said firmly. "That is what is important. Did Emerson abduct you?"

Emily's eyes filled with tears. "No. I barely remember that day, but I knew there were three different men. One who killed our parents. One who took us to the mountain. And one who took us into the mountain. Our faces were covered for the second part, but I will never forget his voice."

"I saw a tattoo on the man who attacked us." Gemma's voice shook. "A yellow snake wrapped around a wolf. I remember because it was so distinctive. What kind of shifter gets a tattoo of a snake strangling a wolf?"

Maya made a strangled sound and immediately stood. "I'm sorry. Morning sickness. Please excuse me."

With a moan, she raced from the room. Emily cleared her throat. "Rhyson. You look like you haven't learned a thing about women since the last time we saw you. You're supposed to go after her."

I was torn, but Gemma laughed. "I'm sure she understands. It's an unusual situation. A little bit like the answer you gave when I asked if she was your mate." Leaning across the table, something gleamed in her eyes. "Especially since you're supposed to be my mate."