Page 104 of Protected Promise
I was really trying not to get my hopes up too much though. What if she was wrong? What if I was just too stressed out and that was affecting my ability to shift? I didn’t know if that was a thing, but it sounded plausible.
“Hey now, just breathe. In and out. I’ve got you,” Landon said.
I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly as I wrapped my arms around him. Breathing in his delicious woodsy scent helped calm my nerves even further.
“There’s nothing to worry about. You’ve got this,” he said.
I closed my eyes and nodded against his hard solid chest.
“Promise me that no matter what happens, everything will be okay.”
He tilted my chin up so I was forced to look at him. “What’s wrong, gorgeous?”
I shook my head.
“Talk to me,” he insisted.
I sighed. “It’s nothing for you to worry about. Can we just go home? I’m worn out and should try to rest some before the opening. We’re about as ready as we’re going to be.”
“This place looks amazing, Kaitlyn. Everything is going to go smoothly.”
I scoffed.Oh yeah, and I might be pregnant. How’s that for a giant kink in that smooth plan?
I didn’t say a word, not yet ready to share even the possibility of it being true.
We headed back home. On top of the hotel project, Landon had recruited some additional help to begin construction of Jackson’s new company headquarters. He and I were both ecstatic when Jackson came to us and asked to officially build his company just down the street from the hotel. He was financing the project himself, but with the Pack busy with Kaitlyn’s Place, we had to bring in additional resources. While some of the work was being done by local human companies, much had been outsourced to various shifter teams.
With a flurry of extra mouths to feed and the room and board required, we’d begun work restoring additional cabins, already on the property, and had three stages of expansion projects planned for the Lodge.
Just in the time I’d been there, we’d come close to nearly doubling our Pack numbers, beginning with Abby and Cadence’s requests to stay. They’d become great assets to the Pack and were busy starting their own business of a shifter rehabilitation clinic.
Needless to say, life in the Pack had been a whirlwind of crazy changes, and I couldn’t be prouder of everything we’d been able to do in such a short time. It was truly amazing.
With Landon at the helm and me at his side, big things were coming to our Pack.
Once home, I walked straight to the bedroom and stripped out of my clothes as I rummaged through my dresser drawer looking for an outfit to set out for the next day. It was part of my daily routine.
Something at the back of the drawer caught my attention. I reached back and pulled out an envelope. The front of it simply said, “Kaitlyn.”
I immediately recognized the handwriting, it was from my aunt, the letter Sawyer had given me when he explained she was dead.
“Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“I don’t know,” I told him honestly as I ripped into the envelope I’d never opened.
My dearest Kaitlyn,
Oh how I messed up in this life. I have so many regrets, but this choice to die with my mate is not one of them. Please do not hold this against Sawyer. He is a good man who means well. Your uncle has given him no other choice and truth be told, I’m tired.
While your uncle and I are fully bonded, he was never my true mate. I made the mistake of choosing a compatible one instead. That was my mistake. Whatever you do, don’t follow in my footsteps. Seek out your one true mate and hold on to him for dear life.
I know from talking to Sawyer that he knows how weak I’ve become and how I was unable to protect myself, let alone you. Your uncle isn’t a bad man, but he is sick, Kaitlyn. Still, I cannot make further excuses for how he treated you all those years. I wasn’t strong enough to stop him and that too is a great regret I will carry to my grave.
Despite everything, you asked the Alpha to spare him because of me. I love you for that sweet girl, but it wasn’t necessary.
This time he’s gone too far and there is no turning back. I will die by his side just as I bonded myself to him all those years ago. He wasn’t always the monster you knew. That’s no excuse, but it is the truth.
Carrying hate in your heart can destroy you, just as it destroyed him. Don’t be like him, sweet girl. You’re better than that. Let it go just as you must let me go.
