Page 43 of Protected Promise

He took a few steps closer to Kaitlyn as she sat down and bit into her sandwich.

“You’re welcome back anytime, both of you. Your uncle won’t be a problem any longer.”

Kaitlyn’s head whipped around. “What?”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to be the one to tell you personally. That’s why I came here this weekend.”

“What happened?”

“He got drunk at a bar outside territory, got into a fight. He shifted and then killed two humans. You know the penalty for such a thing. I had no choice.”

“You did the right thing,” I assured him knowing that if he hadn’t, I would have likely hunted the man down and killed him myself.

“And my aunt?”

“I’m sorry. They were fully bonded. I spoke with her beforehand. She sounded, relieved. I’ve tried to intervene for her numerous times, but in the end, I failed her, as I failed you.”

She nodded. “Thanks for telling me in person.”

“I truly wish things could have been different. I wish I’d known sooner.”

He looked at me curiously.

“You know.”

I nodded.

“Take care of her, better than I ever did.”

With that he got up and started to leave. Kaitlyn didn’t try to stop him and neither did I.

He paused and turned back. “Oh, I almost forgot. She asked me to give this to you.”

He set an envelope down on the table and nodded sadly.

“Bye, Kaitlyn.”

“Sawyer.”

“Yeah?”

“I know you did what you had to do for the Pack. I don’t blame you,” she said.

He nodded, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about the situation, and I couldn’t blame him. His remorse showed me more than words ever could, just what a great Alpha he was.

“You’re going to make a great Pack Mother, Kaitlyn. Your compassion and love runs deep despite everything that beast put you through.” He turned to me and studied me for a moment. “I hope you’ll consider me an ally, Landon. I know her allegiance has moved on already, I can feel it, but in my heart, she’ll always be the little girl I let down and will spend a lifetime trying to make amends for.”

I stood and shook his hand. “I’m sure we’ll be in touch soon.”

He left for real this time. I wrapped an arm around Kaitlyn prepared for her to breakdown or get angry, or whatever emotions she needed to let out, but she just sat there staring at the envelope.

“Are you okay?” I finally asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”

“Tell me what you need.”

“I think I need to just go for a run,” she said sadly.