27. Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

A mournful howl carried on the wind, the bitter chill brushing cool fingers through her coat as Ava continued her blistering pace through the mountains. The voice behind her begged her to stop but didn't contain the command she knew her alpha could voice.

Riaz wasn't asking her to yield yet, but he soon would.

Her alpha was an enormous mahogany wolf who was faster than her, but Ava had a head start, and she needed every stride she could get before he demanded answers.

Another howl that she refused to answer. Closer this time.

Her wolf insisted she echo the call, but the woman within denied it. The pain at Remmus' revelation bordered on being too much, and Ava had to process it alone. All this time, she'd been attempting to desensitize herself with Remmus when he was the monster she'd needed to find.

For ten more minutes she ran, the cries of her alpha becoming closer with every passing second. Ava didn't stop, and he didn't demand that she did. She hadn't bolted without a plan, knowing instinctively to remain close to the den but out of earshot of any curious packmates.

The loop trail didn't carry her more than thirty minutes away from the den at any time, and she'd taken it because in her heart, there was an almost painful urge to return. Not to her den, but to her mate.

Remmus. Ciru.

Through their bond, she felt Remmus' agony, a pain that was so sharp it was nearly blinding. Snarling toward the heavens, she cursed the bond that tied them together. She'd finally found her mate—the one fate had decreed she would love forever—and he'd been the one that'd cut her deepest.

Her heart, lanced open and bleeding at her feet, no longer beat with hope.

Now, it beat with revenge.

When Riaz' whine sounded in her ear, she lashed out with tooth and claw, the anger inside boiling over.

Teeth met flesh and claws scrapped muscle. Her snarls echoed against the stark winter landscape, all the other animals going silent as she locked onto the bigger predator. Riaz didn't fight back, didn't raise a single paw to her, only shielded himself from the worst of her blows.

When Ava came back to herself and her wolf realized who she was attacking, she yelped and flung belly up in the dirt below his paws. Riaz shifted a split second later, assured she was once more in control. She followed suit.

"Ava." Her name was a prayer on his lips, and her cries became muffled as her alpha dragged her into his arms. "Ava, sweet, what's wrong?"

But she couldn't answer. Fisting hands in his woolen sweater, Ava nuzzled her nose into his chest. She needed the tangibility of the alpha she'd pledged her loyalty to. Instead, Riaz asked another question, his voice low and unreadable.

"Why is there blood all over Remmus' quarters?"

Startled at the change of direction and the frostiness of his tone, Ava threw herself away from her alpha. "It was there when I got to him! I hope he suffers."

"Ava, he's your mate!"

Disbelief heavy in his voice, Riaz's face twisted as he closed the distance between them and once more opened his arms. He knew she needed the touch, and she accepted it. Contact was a necessity for their breed.

"He's the one who killed my family, Riaz!" Her voice was hollow. "Remmus is Ciru. His parents were the ones who killed mine, and he watched!"

"How is that even possible?"

"He admitted it to me," she shouted. Tears tracked down her face and instantly chilled upon her cheeks. "He told me things that only Ciru could've heard or seen."

No stranger to her history, Riaz gaped.

"That can't be." But the truth of it was undeniable. "We have to demand an explanation. Fate wouldn't have linked you to him if he'd wronged you so deeply. We need to go back to the den and figure out what happened."

They entered the den only ten minutes later, but Ava was numb as she followed Riaz into his office. She stood there, arms coiled protectively around herself, as he dialed Zeke's cell and put it on speakerphone. Within three rings, the sovereign picked up.

"Now is not a good time, Riaz."

"We need to speak to Remmus, and his cell phone is still here," Riaz replied. "We need an explanation."

"No."

Riaz' wolf appeared behind his eyes. "Either we talk to him now, or Ava and I will be driving down with Aidan to demand answers."

A growl that came through the receiver sounded eerily animalistic. "I'll teleport you, but if you make one wrong move, I'll have no hesitation in defending my clan and each one of its members."

On that ominous note, a dizziness she associated only with teleportation tingled through her. The feeling was odd, different than how Remmus' power caressed her skin. When her feet hit solid ground, Ava immediately looked around for her mate.

What she found were solemn faces she barely knew, accusing pairs of eyes boring into hers like she was somehow the villain. Ava bristled.

"Where is he?"

She barely recognized her own voice, but the sliver of trepidation that went through their gazes spoke volumes. No one responded, adding to her unease, and Riaz shifted defensively beside her.

Again, she repeated, "Where is Remmus?"

"He's indisposed," Zeke said. "What do you need from him? What answer are you seeking?"

Riaz stepped forward, happily going toe to toe with the massive Raeth sovereign. "We'd prefer to do this without an audience."

"Zeke, Kaien—stay, please. The rest of you, please excuse us." Nina's voice rang out from the couch, behind the wall of muscle.

The dismissal sent their audience out the door. Riaz remained unrepentantly beside her as she fought the trepidation that bloomed inside her. A moment after they were left with the smaller group, her alpha spoke up: "Remmus is Ava's mate."

For a moment, no one moved.

"You're Remmus' mate?" Kaien jolted. "You're Avelina. Ava. You knew each other as children."

"Ciru—Remmus—was the one who betrayed me," Ava spat. "His parents murdered my family, my cousin, my entire village. He's the one who told his parents where to find us."

Kaien was already shaking his head. "No. No, that's not right. He didn't betray you, Ava. They tore the information out of his head. His parents rooted through his mind without his consent, knowing he'd be unable to do anything about it. He was barely a teenager, and his psychic shielding was still immature. There was no way he could've stopped them, even if he wanted to."

"He was there with them—watching them murder everyone!"

"Tied down, Ava. He was tied so that he couldn't move, couldn't even stand up straight. If he could've helped any of you, he would've. He told me so many times, he relived the pain in front of me, the helplessness and regret. I pledge on my honor that is the truth."

Nina stirred. "How did you survive when his parents came for the village?"

"I hid beneath a pile of blankets."

"No, that makes no sense. His parents would've found you by psychic signature alone," Zeke replied, solemn. "No amount of cloth could've hidden you."

"Remmus saw me there, but he didn't say anything to his parents." Her eyebrows pulled together, the hurt spilling over. "I always wondered why he didn't say anything."

Conversation hit pause momentarily before Kaien's gaze snapped to hers. "Remmus is a Shield. It must've manifested that day, when you needed it. He must've unknowingly shielded your presence from his parents."

A sob escaped her, wretched from her very soul. Remmus hadn't only held his tongue about her whereabouts, he'd saved her life. He had done the only thing he could: remain silent. He hadn't betrayed her; he'd tried to protect her.

Everything came together in her mind only moments later. Remmus had admitted to murdering his parents. At the time, she'd thought it justified because of their abuse—and still did. But that wasn't the only reason. Remmus had murdered his parents because they'd taken hers.

She'd done nothing but loathe him ever since. Her mate wasn't the villain in her tale after all; he was the hero.

Somber, Zeke asked, "Who were his parents?"

"Trax and Mithelda."

The other Raeth cursed at Kaien's answer, Remmus' lineage apparently speaking for itself. Zeke dragged a hand down his face and locked mournful eyes with Nina.

Kaien strode forward and placed a hand on Ava's shoulder. "I'll take you to him."

"What do you mean, take me to him?"

A jolt of fear spread through her like wildfire, but her feet were already moving. The predator at her core writhed beneath her skin, loathing the fact that she was off balance.

Zeke followed behind them, bringing with him an impending sense of doom. Arguably more worrisome was the startling absence of emotion that resonated in the mating bond between her and Remmus. It'd been far too quiet in the last half hour.

She and Riaz shadowed Kaien quietly until they arrived outside a door on the first floor of the home they'd arrived in. And then the door opened.

A wave of dizziness nearly overcame Ava as her mind rejected what her eyes were seeing. Her mate lay unconscious on a bed, his arm hooked up to an IV saline drip. Blood had dried all over his white sweater, the same one he'd worn earlier when he'd confronted her.

His face was too pale, and his breathing too shallow. Everything about him was eerily still.

Ava closed the distance between them on quivering legs, walking stiltedly to his side. A fine sheen of sweat beaded on his skin. Clasping her hands together to avoid touching him, she dragged her gaze away from him to the Raeth males who stood opposite her.

"What's wrong with him?"

"His body is attempting to repair the damage to his mind." Bitter, Kaien's voice held a note of longing and remorse that was tangible.

"From the silver?"

Kaien frowned. "What silver?"

"The silver from the gunshot wound he sustained when we first encountered the Citizens Raeth." Narrowing her gaze accusatorily at Kaien, she added, "He came here several times for help. Apparently, he never received any."

Guilt hit Kaien's features like a shotgun. "He came here for help?"

Ava let her silence answer him, and the healer dragged a hand across his face.

Swallowing harshly, Kaien explained, "There was no silver in his system. Remmus was psychically poisoned, most likely by the Raeth you encountered on the Citizens' lands."

Ava wrapped her arms around herself. Her entire world had shifted in the course of ten minutes, and she had to brace her legs to keep from falling. Overcome with emotion, a deep, keening hurt fisted a hand around her throat and choked her.

"Tell me what psychic poisoning means, Kaien."

"Psychic poisoning feeds on negative emotion, on destructive habits. Every time Remmus thought ill of himself, self-harmed, or criminalized his own actions, the poison grew. It never should have gotten this far or taken such hold of his mind.

"But that is who he is: he never believes himself good enough because his parents convinced him that he was worthless. The vile woman who gave birth to him had the gift of coercion, and she used it to warp his mind when he was psychically defenseless. He still fights those compulsions on a daily basis."

Trying to digest the information, Ava reached for Remmus' hand, gasping at the clammy nature of his skin when she made contact. It made her heart ache even more. A jolt of energy riffled through her, and with it, the need to provide for and protect her mate.

"His sweater is bloody."

Lips pursing in a tight white line, Kaien explained, "His nose was hemorrhaging when I found him. A side effect of the poison."

He reached forward, touched a hand to the bloodied sweater and teleported it away. Catching sight of his bare chest, Ava's hand covered her mouth to stall a cry.

Though Remmus had prepared her for it, seeing the scars on his chest and ribcage made her lightheaded. To know that his parents had forced him to mutilate his own body for their sick satisfaction sickened her.

"Remmus hides the scars behind transfiguration," Kaien finally explained—if not to her, then to Zeke. "But his transfiguration was compromised with the poison, and we're looking at his real markings. If you weren't his mate and his sovereign, I would never allow either of you to see his secret and rob him of his dignity, but you both need to see and understand."

"And the brand?"

This time, it was Zeke asking the question, and everything about the way he said it spoke of barely concealed rage, a pent-up aggression on Remmus' behalf for the abuse he'd suffered.

"After they attacked Ava's village, his parents branded him with their initials, telling him he'd never mate or find a clan that would take him in." Kaien's voice broke. "He was fourteen."

Sounds of outrage erupted around the room, and Ava let her tears flow freely. Running her hand along his arm, she stared at the line of slashes that'd been concealed beneath ink. Ava shoved all of it into the little black box in her mind where she trapped her rage. Then, she refocused on the situation at hand.

"Tell me why he hasn't woken up."

"Psychic poisoning is excessively rare, a purely destructive gift, and we can't just flood his mind with healing magic and expect him to wake up."

"Why can't you repair it?"

Beneath her skin, her wolf snarled, the beast barely holding onto her sanity. When mates were in trouble, or injured, a werewolf often succumbed to the more primal part of their personality. Ava was no different.

"Because minds aren't like bones and muscle," Kaien explained. "It holds memory, personality; the core of who you are. Raeth healers can heal the tissues, but not what it contains. We can't heal the mind if it's already been damaged."

Anger dissolved under a rising tide of dread. "What are you saying? That Remmus could have been irrevocably changed by this?"

Kaien didn't respond, but she saw the truth of it in his eyes. Just as quickly as the anger had dispelled, it arose with a vengeance. She pointed to her comatose mate on the bed.

"How did you miss this?" Ava screamed. "How did it get this bad?"

Riaz's grip tightened around her upper arm. His touch was meant both as a reassurance and as a warning to remain calm when her own predator was seeking blood.

"I'm certain they have good reasoning, Ava; let's let them explain."

Kaien hung his head, and the guilt and shame that washed over his expression made her stomach clench. "Both Hemin and I were working on keeping our expectant mothers healthy. Following the Heat, so many mated women are with child, and we've been waging our own personal war to keep everyone strong."

"And somehow, your efforts didn't include Remmus."

Seething, Ava leveled all her antagonism on Kaien. Though she knew it wasn't entirely his fault, she needed a scapegoat.

A strangled cry lodged in Kaien's throat, and when he stepped forward to grip Remmus' shoulder, she knew the remorse was real.

"You're right, Ava. You're right." He shook his head violently. "He's my best friend. How could I have missed it?"

"None of us noticed it, brother," Zeke whispered.

"He has two healers—two sovereigns!" Kaien's attention shifted to his sovereign, and the pain he wore was undeniable. "We all failed him. And now, we might never get to say we're sorry. My best friend is unaware and unresponsive, and it's my fault!"

The man collapsed against the bedside and his head fell into his hands. In a flash, a woman sprinted into the room and converged on him, her long blonde hair streaming behind her. As she whispered reassurances into Kaien's ear and held him tight, Ava looked away and let her tears fall.

"How did Remmus not know?" she whispered. "How could he have not known what was happening to him?"

"Remmus spends all his time pushing back the darkness within him," came Nina's voice at the door. "He didn't realize this dark was anything different."