Page 7 of Back to You (Legendary Shifters #14)

“Why would he do that?” If Vincent had nothing to do with the auctions, he didn’t have a reason to apologize.

“Some people feel responsible for what the people close to them do. Even if Vincent didn’t have a relationship with Fulton, I wouldn’t be surprised if he felt the need to fix what his father broke.”

Cam looked in the distance, where they could see that Vincent had parked his car. He was still inside, and Ronan had to resist the urge to run to him and pull him out. “So you don’t think he had anything to do with the auctions?” he asked, hoping to get confirmation.

“I could be wrong, but we looked into Fulton and his operation. We know the names of the people who worked for him, and Vincent’s wasn’t anywhere we could find.

Hell, we didn’t even know Fulton had a son.

It was a well-guarded secret, and it would’ve been easy for Vincent to stay away.

There’s no reason for him to come here and apologize, but it’s something a good person would do.

He seems to be horrified by what his father did. ”

“So you believe him.”

“I do, but don’t worry. I won’t put you or the pack at risk. I want to hear what Vincent has to say, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be careful.”

Cam was thinking about Ronan. Of course he was.

He was a good alpha, even to Ronan, who hadn’t been with the pack for long.

It looked like he was worried that Ronan thought he was in danger, and he was trying to reassure him.

It made Ronan feel guilty because he should tell Cam about the past he shared with Vincent.

Cam needed all the information Ronan had about Vincent.

But not now. Ronan didn’t think he could say anything about Vincent to anyone. He wasn’t even sure he could talk to Vincent. He felt like he might start crying or screaming if he found himself alone with Vincent.

He’d dreamed about this moment for years.

He’d thought it would only be a dream because Vincent was dead, but he’d spent hours thinking about the life they could’ve had while he’d been in a cage or chained to a wall.

He’d thought those were only dreams, yet here Vincent was, standing in front of him.

He’d exited his car and was leaning against it, watching as Ronan and the other three men were coming toward him.

It was tempting for Ronan to turn the other way and leave, but he couldn’t, even though he knew that Cam wouldn’t try to stop him.

Whatever was about to happen, Ronan needed to be part of it.

“This way,” Cam said when they reached Vincent.

Vincent glanced at Ronan before nodding. He was tense and looked ready to bolt, and Ronan was sure he wasn’t the only one who knew that. It was obvious in every one of Vincent’s movements, but instead of doing that, he followed Cam.

Ronan had always been impressed by Vincent’s courage.

His father had been a scary man, but Vincent had told him to fuck off more than once.

Fulton had never hurt Vincent, but he easily could have.

Vincent probably didn’t even realize just how easy it would have been for Fulton and the kind of man he’d been.

Ronan wished he’d never found out. Vincent hated Fulton, but the man’s blood was in his veins.

Finding out that his biological father was a monster couldn’t have been easy for him.

Ronan wanted to tell Vincent that it didn’t make him a monster, but he’d have to get Vincent alone to do that.

He wasn’t ready for everyone else to know about them.

They finally reached Cam’s house. It was dark and silent since Toby had been at Bryson and Preston’s house when Ronan had left it.

Bryson and Preston didn’t seem to care that people were still partying without them in their living room, though.

They were talking softly, and it was clear they weren’t going anywhere.

Bryson wouldn’t leave his brother in a dangerous situation.

Where Bryson went, so did Preston, so he wasn’t going anywhere.

Neither was Ronan.

* * * *

VINCENT WAS PANICKING. He was about to walk into the alpha’s house, and it looked like Ronan would do the same.

What was Vincent supposed to do? He needed to talk to Ronan, but at the same time, he didn’t want to do it in front of all these people.

He had no idea how they would react—or how Ronan would react.

After all, he’d ghosted Vincent. He hadn’t wanted to be with him anymore, even though they were mates.

He’d left Vincent and had never come back, and Vincent wouldn’t have seen him again if he hadn’t come here today.

He was starting to regret that decision.

Peter had cautioned him because they didn’t know what the alpha and the others would do, but Vincent hadn’t realized that wasn’t what he should be afraid of.

How could he have? He’d believed he would never see Ronan again.

Part of him wished he hadn’t. Ronan had left him, and Vincent doubted he’d want to get back with him.

If he’d had feelings for him, he wouldn’t have ghosted him. Ronan had to know that Vincent would have given him time if that was what he needed, right? But instead of talking to him and telling him about his problems, he’d left him.

Vincent needed a second. He had to allow himself to freak out for just a moment before packing it all up and going back to the conversation he was about to have with the alpha. He could think of only one way to get that.

“Can I ask where the bathroom is?” he asked Cam when they walked into the house. “I drove for a while.”

“Of course.” The alpha turned, but Ronan got there first.

“I’ll show him where it is.”

If the alpha thought there was anything weird about that, he didn’t show it. He nodded at Ronan and walked away, followed by Bryson and the man who’d been standing with Ronan.

This wasn’t what Vincent had been trying to do, dammit.

“This way,” Ronan said gruffly before walking away, clearly expecting Vincent to follow him.

Vincent didn’t have a choice, even though there was nothing he wanted less than to talk to Ronan.

He was afraid he’d start screaming at him and maybe even crying, and he didn’t want to do that in front of people he didn’t know.

They already knew he was vulnerable. He was human, and while he had no idea what kind of shifters Cam, Bryson, and the other man were, he could guess that Cam and Bryson were wolves since this was a pack of wolf shifters.

He knew that Ronan was a wyvern shifter, of course, so even if the last man was human, it would be enough to hurt Vincent.

What could he do against two wolf shifters?

He didn’t even want to consider the possibility of Ronan hurting him.

“How can you be here?” Ronan asked in a whisper as he glanced back. He didn’t want the others to hear him, and Vincent was on board with that.

“I guess you didn’t think I’d ever find you after you left,” Vincent hissed back. “I’m not here for you, so you don’t have to worry about me.”

“Of course I didn’t think you’d ever find me. You were dead.”

Vincent had a reply ready, but Ronan’s words stopped him in his tracks. “Dead?”

“Your father told me you were dead. It was right before he imprisoned me and auctioned me off.”

None of those words made sense. Ronan had thought he was dead? That couldn’t be right. “You left me. You packed your things, and when I came home, there was nothing left. You didn’t even leave an address where I could reach you, and your phone was disconnected.”

“Why would I have left you? You’re my mate.”

“People leave me.” Vincent’s father had left him before he was even born, and no matter what Fulton had said toward the end, Vincent knew he hadn’t been enough for him.

He’d been hurt by Ronan leaving, but deep inside, he hadn’t been surprised.

Ronan could have done much better, especially considering the kind of person Vincent was related to.

“I wouldn’t have. I didn’t. Your father told me you were dead.” His voice shook, and Vincent realized what all of this meant.

He’d lived with the knowledge that Ronan had left him for years, and it hadn’t been great, but how much more painful would all of this have been if he’d believed that Ronan was dead? He could imagine that pain, and he didn’t want Ronan to feel it, no matter what had happened.

He reached out and took one of Ronan’s hands, squeezing it tightly. “I’m all right. Nothing happened to me, no matter what my father said. I was never even hurt.”

Ronan sucked in a breath and nodded. He wasn’t looking at Vincent, and while Vincent wanted him to, he was also relieved. He didn’t think he was ready for whatever he’d see in Ronan’s eyes if he looked up.

“We need to talk,” Ronan said as he stepped away.

Vincent dropped Ronan’s hand, even though he didn’t want to.

If anything, he wanted to pull Ronan closer and hug him.

It had been too long since they’d last been together.

They hadn’t touched since Ronan had vanished from Vincent’s life, and it had always felt like Vincent was missing part of himself.

That part was back, but he wasn’t allowed to touch it.

“We do,” he confirmed. “But not now.”

“This isn’t the right moment, and Cam wants to talk to you.”

Vincent snorted. “I’m not sure why, but I’m here, so I might as well talk to your alpha.”

“Cam is a good man.”

“I’m sure he is.” That was what Fulton did—he hurt good people. “Do you have your phone on you?”

Ronan frowned but took it out of his jeans pocket and held it out. Vincent’s hands shook when he took it, but he ignored it as he entered his number. “Call me anytime. We can set up a time and place we can meet and talk about this.”

Ronan stared at the phone for a moment before taking it back from Vincent. He slid it into his pocket, and for a second, the two of them stared at each other.

Ronan had thought that Vincent was dead.

That was why he’d never come home. Vincent was aware that he only had part of the story, and he was sure that the rest of it would hurt him as much as this part had, but maybe there was an explanation for what had happened after all.

If he believed that Vincent was dead, why would he have come home?

There had been nothing left for him there.

Or at least, that was what he’d thought.

Vincent didn’t know the details yet, but his father had something to do with it.

Knowing that made him want to find where Fulton was buried, dig him up, and kick him in the balls.

He wouldn’t feel it, but it would be incredibly satisfying for Vincent.

If he’d been cremated, Vincent could use him as cat litter.

He didn’t have a cat, but he was willing to get one just so he could get revenge.

He needed to know what had happened, and while he prayed that this had been his father’s fault, he couldn’t ignore the niggle of doubt at the back of his mind.

If Ronan had thought he was dead, he’d probably built himself a new life.

Vincent was sure that Ronan would have grieved for him for a long time, but it looked like he was settled here.

The pack was his home, and it was clear he was close to the man he’d been talking to earlier.

Was that Ronan’s new partner? Had he replaced Vincent?

Vincent couldn’t blame him if he had. Ronan had thought Vincent was dead, and Vincent wouldn’t have wanted Ronan to be alone for the rest of his life if he had been.

But he wasn’t dead. They’d lost years in which they could’ve been together, and Vincent might have lost his mate entirely.

If Ronan was with someone else, what could Vincent do?

He might never get Ronan back, even though he knew where to find him now.

That was even worse than not knowing what had happened or where Ronan was.

Vincent wished he could go back in time. At the same time, he was happy and relieved to know that Ronan hadn’t just woken up one day and decided he didn’t want to be with him anymore. He didn’t know where that left him, but he would find out.

He had to.