Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
I sighed and then shook my head. “No, actually, I’m not. Wesley and I—we um… well, I asked him for some space to think about some things. I found out he was lying to me about something—something big—and I didn’t know how to feel about it.”
Scott scowled and opened his mouth to speak, but Shirley cut him off before he could even start. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.” She reached across the table and grabbed my hand to give it a gentle squeeze. I forced a small, grateful smile. “Is it something you two can work through?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve tried calling him, but he won’t answer or call me back. I—” I inhaled and covered my mouth with my napkin, hoping they wouldn’t notice my trembling hands.
“Well, that doesn’t sound like Wesley at all,” Shirley said, furrowing her brow.
I nodded in agreement. “I know. And now I—I feel—“
I stopped again. I felt like I’d felt all those years ago when I’d lost my family and my only friend. I felt alone and abandoned. Like no one in the entire world cared what happened to me. Like everyone and everything was against me, and didn’t give one thought to how their actions affected me.
And I was the reason for all of it. I was the cause of my pain and my sadness. My one choice had changed the course of everything, had set my life down a path that wouldn’t have appeared if I’d just been a good kid.
Tears pricked the back of my eyes, and I put my elbows on the table and my head in my hands.
“I’m sorry,” I choked out, shaking my head.
“It’s okay, Haven, you’re allowed to be upset,” Shirley said.
“I ruined everything.”
“It’s just dinner. You’re not ruining anything.”
“I ran away! I ran away, and then they took me away. If I had just stayed, then everything would be different.”
Everyone froze as they realized what I was talking about. And everyone was silent as the truth of my words settled over the room.
“If I’d stayed in my room, then I’d still be Haven Kenway. I’d still be with you. I would never have lost touch with Wesley. And I’d be happy and with the only family I ever really had instead of with people who—” I pursed my lips as a choked sob tried to force its way out.
“It’s all my fault,” I whispered, not even sure if I was referring to being taken away from them or everything that was going on with Wesley or all of it.
“Haven, it wasn’t your fault,” Scott murmured from beside me. I looked at him, and his eyes were rimmed with red. “It was my fault. I should have kept a better eye on you. I should have paid better attention and realized something wasn’t right. And I should have stood up for you and insisted they let you see Dad.”
My lip trembled, and he opened his mouth again, but Shirley started talking first. “It’s my fault. I wouldn’t let you see him because I was too afraid of how you would react to his state. And I—I was too far gone in my own depression to—“
“Enough!” Jack exclaimed, his voice raspy. “It’s no one’s fault!”
I shook my head, but he stood from his chair, limped over to me, and hugged me. “It’s not your fault, anymore than it’s Scott’s or Tiff’s or Shirley’s or mine. It’s just something that happened, and there isn’t anything we can do to change it. You can’t keep blaming yourselves,” he said, looking at each of us. “It’s not your fault,” he whispered, tucking my head under his chin.
I let it all out then. All of it. Every single tear of pain and sadness I’d held back since that day the cop pulled me away from my family fell from my eyes uninhibited. Scott took my hand and squeezed it, his shoulders shaking as he joined Dad in hugging me, and Mom came around the table and put her arms around all of us.
I realized then I wasn’t alone. Not truly. I wouldn’t ever have to feel the way I had since that day in the hospital because they would always make sure I wasn’t alone.
And as the flow of my emotions ebbed, and I let myself feel the love of my true family, I sent a small thank you out into the universe.
I didn’t believe in fate or a higher power. Not really.
But just in case there was someone out there watching out for me and guiding me, I wanted them to know I was grateful they’d led me back to my parents.
WESLEY
I was wrong. I was so, so wrong. Never in my life had I been so wrong about something.
I thought for sure we would wrap everything up and wash our hands of this whole situation with Amber Forest by Sunday. But Sunday came and went. And then Monday. And then Haven’s birthday. And then Wednesday.
Almost a week. Almost a whole fucking week had gone by, and we were no closer to having all the evidence we needed than we had been before I pretended to agree to this stupid union.
Tim was drawing it out, demanding proof of our sincerity, asking us for things he had no right to ask of us before he’d give us the access we needed. But we had to play along, had to agree, and keep up our facade.
And that’s how I ended up agreeing to a small, private mating ceremony with Nicole that was scheduled for late Friday evening. I wouldn’t actually go through with it, of course, but it was the only way he would give us the account information for the merger.
And despite that, what he gave us had missing details. We just had to hope it would incriminate him enough—that the missing info would be enough to force the council to pull his title and dig more. We were still waiting to hear from them.
The ceremony would just be us, our parents, and one witness each. He didn’t care if his daughter’s mating ceremony was extravagant, as long as her luna ceremony was.
After I’d agreed to that stupid request, I’d shoved my phone into the bottom of my dresser. I couldn’t bear to see text after text and call after call from Haven come through and not answer.
It killed me and my lycan to ignore her, but it wasn’t worth the risk it would bring to her safety for me to answer. Or sneak out to see her.
I’d drunk myself into a stupor the night of her birthday, sitting in my dining room with Seb, Nolan, and Reid to make sure I didn’t leave to go find out if we were mates. I’d wanted to—I’d wanted it more than anything.
But I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold myself or my lycan back if she was my mate. So I stayed locked in my house, pretending I was the epitome of a playboy who just used her.
I didn’t even want to think about how she must feel. It had to be worse than how I felt. She probably felt used and abandoned. And it was all my fault, just like when I lost her the first time.
A knock on my front door brought me out of my spiral, and I answered it, surprised to find Nicole and Benjamin on my front porch.
“What?” I snarled, annoyed at their faces.
Even though it wasn’t their fault their dad was being a right pain in my ass, they were still a reminder of how, once again, I had fucked up and failed Haven.
“We come in peace,” Ben said, lifting his hands in surrender, a thick envelope held in one.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?