Page 14 of Betrayed Bullied Mate

“Did he—”

“No,” I say, waving my hand and cutting him off, knowing what he’s thinking. “Not me, anyway,” my gaze drops to the floor as I think of the girls coming and going from the bar while I was there. “I’m a CPA; he brought me in to try and ‘clean up’ the financials for the bar, which is definitely part of a money-laundering scheme. While I was there, I saw a lot of stuff I wish I hadn’t. I don’t think there’s anyone in the pack who’s happy to have Varun in charge. When they know they won’t get caught, the old-timers talk about how much better things were when your dad was in charge.”

It feels wrong talking about Aris’s dad. I’d only met him a few times, at pack functions, when my parents dragged me along, but he was a classic sort of guy. Very formal and well-dressed. The few times I’d seen Aris outside of school when his dad was there, he was completely different. Buttoned up. Stifled, almost.

“I’ve heard that,” Aris says, pressing his lips together. “I know my dad was a good alpha.”

My brow draws together, and I look at him curiously. What does he mean by that? A good alpha, but not a good dad? Aris takes a breath and drops down into a chair, scrubbing his hands through his hair.

“I shouldn’t have left,” he finally says, his voice tight. When he looks up at me, my heart crumbles at the pain on his face. He may have been a bully in high school, but nobody deserves to lose their parents the way he did. “It’s my fault. I know that. I left because—I never wanted to be alpha. He was so strict all the time growing up because he was trying to prepare me for this role I didn’t want. So, I made a plan to go into the force. Leave right after high school. I thought—I thought I had more time. I thought I could build my own life and maybe come back after that. Do the alpha thing on my own terms. Then I heard about what happened, and I just… I was a coward. I couldn’t come back.”

I surprise myself by kneeling down in front of him, getting to his eye level.

“I lost my parents, too, Aris,” I say, and though I’m still a foot away, I can feel his breath coming quick. “It’s not your fault. Nobody deserves to be orphaned so young. And frankly—Varun’s a slimy guy. I don’t think—I mean, I know it doesn’t help, but not many people think he bested your dad fairly. Obviously, your dad was quite a bit older at that point, but he was still strong. Still healthy. Something was… Odd about what happened.”

“I’ve heard that,” Aris says, his voice choked. “If I had been here, it wouldn’t have happened.”

“You don’t know that,” I say, shaking my head. “Maybe Varun would have taken you out, too, in the same way.” My heart twists at the idea of that, but I move on. “At least now you’re here. You have the chance to come back and make things right.”

There’s a knock at the door, and Percy sings out in a terrible French accent.

“Dinner is served!”

Aris laughs under his breath and gets to his feet, holding his hand out for me to take. I stare at it for a moment.

He made my life hell in high school. Broke my heart on prom night. Has followed me through every day since as a phantom I hated and wanted at the same time.

But he’s just a guy. A guy who shares my traumas and has come back to try and make things right.

I take his hand and let him pull me to my feet. Our chests brush briefly, and Aris inhales sharply, drawing back away from me.

“Since you’re being so nice to me,” he says, “I’ll let you take the bed tonight. I’ll take the couch.”

I rear back as though he’s burned me.

“What?” I say, faking a laugh in case he’s joking. “We’re not sharing a cabin. I can share with Eva. Or… Someone else.”

“No,” Aris says, not a hint of humor on his face. “Eva will kill you in your sleep if you so much as roll over and wake her up. And there’s no way in hell you’re sharing a cabin with anyone else. We’ll sleep here. So I can keep you safe.”

“Like hell we will,” I snap, taking another step back from him. How does he keep tricking me into liking him? “There is no fucking way I’m sleeping in the same room as you, Aris. You have to be joking.”

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal.”

“Are you kidding?”

“We’re technically married.”

“Technically? If you lay a single finger on me—”

“Hello!” Percy sings through the door again, knocking once more. I see a muscle in Aris’s jaw tick. “Boss, girl we kidnapped—dinner is ready! Ado is gonna eat everything if you don’t get out here!”

“Go away, Percy,” Aris growls.

“Okay, okay,” Percy says, his voice muffled through the door. I can picture him holding his hands up, backing away with that silly smirk on his face. “Whatever you say.”

“Linnea, we are staying in this cabin together,” Aris says, using what must be his alpha voice—because it’s completely unforgiving.

“Over my dead body, Aris.”

---