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“I think you do. You’re looking for logic. There isn’t any. Not with this. I think if you listened with your heart, you’d have all the answers you need.”
She looked up. Jarred, my mother and father, had come forward. My father had his arm looped around my mother. I knew it would be a long time before he let her go.
Relief washed over me. Worry and grief that I’d been holding in for so long. I ran to them and threw my arms around my parents. My father’s embrace was strong. My mother cried into my shoulder. Then, I pulled my brother forward.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” I whispered. “You scared me to death.”
He was different. His scent. All of them. I knew in my heart the sickness was gone. They were safe.
“I’m so sorry,” Jarred said. “This was all my fault. I trusted Lissa. If I had listened to all of you in the first place...”
“Shh,” my mother said. “It doesn’t matter now. What happened in the past…you were young, Jarred. Barely more than a boy. Headstrong. You thought you were protecting the pack.”
“No,” he said. “I was just jealous and angry. I never should have tried to challenge X…er…Anson. I thought I had something to prove. I forgot who I was. And then Lissa…she found that in me. Used it against me. If I’d been stronger, I could have ended things before Tem ever came to find me. I could have fought back. I brought this sickness, this horror, to Wild Lake.”
“It’s over,” I said. “There’s enough blame to go around.”
My father stepped forward. He put his hands on my shoulders.
“I need to talk to my daughter. Alone.”
My mother and Jarred exchanged a glance. Then, they did as my father asked. The two of them went into the woods. I knew she’d want to make sure the rest of my father’s pack was settled.
“Dad,” I started.
“Shh,” he said. “Let me say this. You said there was enough blame to go around. You’re right. But I think I might need to shoulder a lot of that. Something happened. When I tasted Anson’s blood, as it healed me, I…saw him.”
“What?”
“He’s been suffering. He…Tempest, he loves you. That’s hard for me as a father. As your pack leader. But I know he was willing to die for all of us. And I know if he hadn’t done what he did…you would have been the first to die. He’s…he’s yours, isn’t he? Your fated mate?”
Behind us, a howl rose. It rocked through me. Anson. X. They were one and the same.
“Yes,” I said as tears filled my eyes.
My father smiled. “Then you need to go to him.”
I threw my arms around my father. “I love you. God, I’ve missed you.”
He hugged me back. “Me too, Tempest. More than you’ll ever know.”
Then, I turned and headed toward the sound of Anson’s voice.
Chapter Seventeen
I found him sitting at Pat’s kitchen table, rolling down his sleeve. Dr. Olivet had bandaged his forearm where she’d drawn so much of his blood. He looked slightly pale, but the worst of his wounds…the ones the packs had made…were already healing.
“Dragonblood,” he said. “My whole life I’ve avoided the stuff. Since you came into it, that’s twice I’ve needed it or I would have died.”
My heart hammered inside my chest. I couldn’t breathe. Could barely think. He looked up at me, concern knitting his brow.
“Tem…”
“You would have died,” I whispered. “You almost died!”
I broke then. Tears streamed down my face. I went to him. He caught me, grunting as I barreled into him.
“I’m sorry,” I said, pulling back. “You’re still hurt. Where? I can…”
