Page 80 of The Enforcer's Rejected Mate

THORNE

Ididn’t expect Cordelia to recognize who the portrait was. Mostly because I’d forgotten about it in the first place. The portrait has hung there since I was a pup. It was put in after the Blood Moon Days. For as long as I’ve been bent on revenge, the portrait has hung on the wall as a reminder to Ronan of what we lost.

It’s his woman.

Cordelia’s mother.

She haunts him the same way the girl they took haunts me. I watch as Cordelia steps forward with her mouth parted in a silent gasp. She raises a trembling hand like she’s going to touch the painting but then at the last second snatches it back with a shake of her head.

“Why is my mother here?”

“I….” I want to tell her but it feels wrong. That’s Ronan’s story to tell. When I don’t answer her right away Cordelia takes in a shaky breath and then does reach out and touch the portrait. Her hand touches her mother’s hand.

“You know what’s been the strangest thing about coming here?”

“What?”

“Knowing that everyone remembers her better than I do. I didn’t even know what she looked like until now.”

Fucking hells.

We stand in silence for another second before I step up behind her and put my hand on her shoulder. “You’re home now,” I remind her. “We’ve only been keeping her memory safe for you. When you want it, ask any of us and we’ll help you remember her.”

Touching Cordelia wasn’t a smart idea but I’ve never claimed to be a smart wolf. Touching her is like grabbing hold of a live wire. Cordelia turns and when she looks up at me there are tears shining in her eyes.

Fuck. I said the wrong thing.

Again.

But then she throws her arms around me and hugs me tight. The feel of her body against mine nearly makes me lose my footing. My knees feel weak but I somehow stay standing. Hells, don’t think about the Meadows.Do not think about the last time you held her. Now is not the time.

She turns her face and presses her cheek against my chest. “Thank you,” she whispers.

I pat her awkwardly. “Of course.”

I let her hold me and everything in me screams to touch her. To hold her like I did in the Meadows but that wouldn’t be right. If I touch her I don’t know if I’ll be able to let her go. I stay still and Cordelia hugs me for another minute before she lets me go and steps away with a rueful smile.

“I’m sorry,” she says and swipes at her cheeks. “I-I’m not normally this emotional but this place. I just-I don’t know who I am anymore. I kind of feel like I’m turning into someone else.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

She frowns and looks back at her mother’s portrait. “I don’t know.” She sounds thoughtful. Thoughtful is better than sad. I’ll take it.

“Bloodstone Territory has a way of reminding you of exactly who you are,” I tell her. It’s true. There’s been a few of us that have tried to leave but it’s never for long. I tried to leave when I was eighteen but it didn’t take. Every second I spent away from my home felt wrong. I know I’m not the only one that’s felt that way. We’re all called back to the land our ancestors lived and died on. This place is the only place in the world that feels right. When I’m here, I remember exactly who I’m meant to be and why.

The Blood Moon Days.

Crimson War.

The Crimson War is what the fucks in Frostclaw call it. No doubt to give themselves an overinflated sense of importance. It wasn’t a war. It was a slaughter. A blood betrayal that runs deep. My anger comes to life at the sight of Cordelia’s teary eyes. Frostclaw is to blame for the way Cordelia feels, why she doesn’t have her mother here with her now, why the omega at my side grew up in enemy territory. Our home is haunted and Frostclaw created the ghosts but and others would see sadness and heartache.

We don’t.

Bloodstone Pack sees memories. Proof that our loved ones lived and loved their whole lives before they fought alongside us. We know the truth of it. They’re not gone. Thorne’s Embrace holds them here and binds us to them. Frostclaw wanted to break us but the only thing they did was make us more committed to this place—to each other.

After what we’ve been through together the pack is stronger than ever. Bloodstone Pack wasn’t always this unified. Weused to be split, fractured, it’s what gave Ronan’s brother the followers he needed to challenge for Alpha.

He lost. No fucking surprise there. Ronan was and still is one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen. But from that loss came the betrayal, a fucking coup that nearly destroyed us. Wayne meant for it to kill us off.