Twice Tempted: Between Two Alphas (Mia and Cameron) novel Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

“How do we get out of here, Ashley?”

With Cameron, I would just wake up, but now, with her blood, I’m panicked.

She ignores my question. “It’s your fault anyway,” she tells me. She waves her hand. “All of this.”

She grabs a stone and tosses it into the water. “One little action can cause so many ripples…”

Okay, clearly a metaphor. “I’m pretty literal, Ashley, so why don’t we save us both the aggravation. Tell me why we’re here.”

“Cameron devotes nearly all of his attention to his own pack so I’m going to assume when it comes to other packs and their politics that you’re fairly useless.”

That’s insulting. But whatever. “Like I said… I’m here. You can talk in riddles or we can just lay out all our cards and figure out a way to co-exist.”

She scoffs. “How would that work? Are you going to share your beloved Alpha with me?!”

Part of me wants to say, ‘which Alpha?’

Oddly, the thought of ‘sharing’ would’ve made me blind with rage once upon a time. But I’ve since learned that love is…complicated.

“I wouldn’t begrudge you or your daughter, Ashley. If that’s what you’re thinking. Cam wants you to get better.” Deep down I know that. He resents the lies, and the heartache, but he doesn’t hate this woman. “You’ve been married to Cam for years now, surely you know him.”

A tear tracks down her face. “He’ll never forgive me for this.”

No, he probably wouldn’t. But he hadn’t rejected her outright. Which would’ve been one way to sever the bond between them. If he truly hated her, he could’ve done that the moment he awakened.

Maybe he hadn’t for fear of my condition, or maybe he didn’t want to have to look his daughter in the eyes one day and admit that he had killed her mother. I don’t know.

“I’m sure you have your reasons,” I say.

“Please don’t placate me or patronize me. She did that.” The vehemence in her voice makes my blood run cold.

She skips another stone and it skids across the surface before sinking. There’s a metaphor in that too, I think. Like we’re here in this world…until we’re gone.

Hmm.

“My parents invited her–which makes it all the worse, you know. We invited that evil bitch right into our home. I blame my father… he never got over her.”

“Oh?”

She points to the mountain. “Our lands ranged from Denali down to British Columbia. Our pack was strong. Cultured. Our ties to the land were steeped in conservation and our roles as protectors. Then he came.”

“Who?”

“Come now, you know who… his stench is on you.”

I don’t think she means Cameron. “Eric?”

“We knew he was ambitious. We knew he wanted to unify every pack within his reach–and that’s the problem…he keeps expanding his reach.”

I can see where this is going.

“We could’ve bested him. My brother is fierce. Powerful enough to rival your two precious Alphas. But we were told not to fight. We were told to make peace.” Ashley’s eyes are dead when they swing to me. Defeated in a way that feels almost soulless.