Un.Requited (Claimed Series) (41 page)

The two brothers seemed equally matched as they danced around each other, testing the waters. Nicolas seemed more proficient with the blade and Cole seemed to prefer hand-to-hand combat. Already, Nicolas had taken possession of Cole’s dagger and was successfully wielding one in each hand. As Cole blocked an oncoming swipe from his brother, Nicolas used his opposite weapon and sliced a long lesion across Cole’s forearm.

In retaliation, Cole kicked Nicolas in the chest, slamming the rogue against a tree. Rather expertly, he slipped o
ne of the daggers from Nicolas’
grasp and swiped it down his older brother’s chest.

Nicolas bared his teeth as his shirt and skin tore from the blade. Blood seeped from the wound, a deep, almost black crimson. “Getting better,” Nicolas spoke crisply. He was hardly out of breath as he pushed Cole away,
ducking
and rolling back on his feet.

Cole was just as composed, his face blank as he circled the rogue Alpha. He readied himself as Nicolas slashed at him again, the dagger a spitting flash of silver. Before anything could
come to pass
, a stampede of rogue werewolves suddenly ran parallel next to them, a clear indication of a retreat.

Nicolas lifted his lip in displeasure, his eyes cutting through the trees to see something only he could see. Hayden supposed the other werewolves that accompanied Cole were approaching. She could hear the rapid paws and feet hit the forest ground, nearing the trio.

“Until next time, I suppose,”
Nicolas
bid his brother farewell.

Hayden frowned deeply. There was a loaded gun in Nicolas’ pocket. He had taken if from Joseph and placed it in his coat after shooting Devan. Yet, despite all the opportunities to shoot Cole, Nicolas had never taken the shot. If the rogue was really out to kill his brother, he had missed his chance several times tonight.

That begged the question as to why Nicolas decided to refrain from killing Cole. Was he just bored and he considered Cole a source of entertainment?
Or
was it something completely different, a hidden agenda?

As if reading Hayden’s mind, Nicolas snapped his head around to look at her
. 
A slow, languid smile crossed his lips as he held up his dagger between two fingers. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it spiraling toward her with heightened speed.

Cole made a lunge for it, just missing it with his fingertips. Hayden hardly flinched as Cole cried out her name. She only stayed rooted against the tree trunk, her eyes surveying Nicolas, ignoring the flying blade as it closed in on her. As she expected, it embedded into the tree just inches from her head.

“I call your bluff,” Hayden whispered icily.

Nicolas blinked, taken aback at her calm and aggressive demeanor. He then laughed pleasantly. “A dangerous game you play,” he crooned. The Alpha took a step backward, and then another. “Take it. It’s my gift to you,” he encouraged. “I hope you can learn to use it before we meet next time.”

He then disappeared.

Hayden barely caught a glimpse of Cole before the shadows in the surrounding trees shifted and materialized into werewolves, all members of the neighboring packs. Some of them were in
their wolf form, while others had preferred to fight in their human skin. She could only see a few wounded, but the majority of them were unharmed.

They were all talking amongst themselves, crowding mostly around
Cole
and even approaching her for answers. Among the werewolves, Hayden spied a wolf with a golden pelt and warm eyes.

His presence was familiar to her, and she knew it was Asher. He sat down on his haunches next to her, poking his nose reassuringly against her hand. His silence was preferred, as the swarm of voices was beginning to have a strange effect on her.  

“Are you alright, Hayden?”

Blake was there, reaching out and curling a hand around her shoulder. She nodded, wanting to tell him everything, but finding herself unable to speak. In an attempt to avoid any direct contact or conversation, she occupied herself by tugging out the dagger from the tree.

Her reflection mirrored back at her as she stared down at the blade, her fingers curling over the hilt. Deep sorrow welled up in her chest as she recollected everything that had transpired. From the shock of Devan’s betrayal to the confrontation with Nicolas, the events finally hit her.

She hunched further against the tree, wanting to disappear away from the hustle and bustle of the aftermath.

Strangely, the atmosphere seemed to quiet down. When Hayden glanced up, she noticed the crowd of werewolves parting and stepping aside for a lone figure. When the last few men stepped out from her line of sight, she was surprised to see Cole approaching her, his expression set, but his eyes oddly gentle as they looked at her.

“Come here,” he coaxed as he held out a hand to her.

Hayden moved automatically. She stepped into his solid torso and into the shelter of his arms. He enveloped her with his body, shielding her from the outside world and somehow muffling the hollow emptiness inside her. Closing her eyes, she inhaled him, relaxing further against him at the familiar scent.

In response, Cole tightened his hold, burying his face in her hair and nuzzling his cheek against her. In the back of Hayden’s mind, she was aware of him escorting her away, his arm around her shoulders a heavy, but comfortable weight.

“Cole—”

“I need to be with my pack now, Adolf.”

Hayden blindly followed wherever Cole led her, her mind in turmoil and her emotions haywire. It took a great deal of effort to stay standing and to remain dry-eyed. “The silver,” she whispered uncertainty. “Your back—”

“Will be fine,” he interrupted smoothly.

“Devan…
she
…”

“Betrayed the pack,” Cole replied darkly. “Let’s focus on getting you back to the pack house. When you’re ready to tell us what happened, we’ll be here. There is no need to hurry.”

He escorted her through the woods, his shielding presence all the therapy she needed to chase away the nightmare of the night’s events.

Two hours later found Hayden standing in Devan’s room with the rest of the pack. All six of them were surveying the damage to her room. Drawers
were torn
from their hinges, clothes were off their hangers, and there was blood.
A lot of blood.
 

“I didn’t know the extent of what was happening,” Addie confessed. Her thin arms wrapped around her torso, a gesture meant to comfort and defend. “While everyone was gone, Joseph showed up with Devan. I helped him heal her as much as possible, but he didn’t wait long enough to stabilize her condition. They left long before you came back.”

Hayden stared unseeingly down at the blood on Devan’s sheets. After Cole had gotten his wounds healed and inspected, Hayden had insisted that she was ready to tell them what happened. The last thing she wanted to do was hold it off and dwell on how to break it to the pack.

They had listened in a stony, depressed silence. Losing Devan, no matter the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, was a heavy blow.
And
to make matters worse, Addie didn’t think Devan would make it through the night.   

“You wouldn’t have been able to stand in their way. It was better you let them leave without interference,” Cole comforted gently as he stared at the destroyed bedroom.

There was deep distress painted across his face, bringing attention to the turmoil in his eyes. While the rest of the pack was shook-up over what happened, Cole was the one to take it personally.

Nathan reached out to clasp Cole on the shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Cole.” His face was grim. “You couldn’t have known what was going on between those two. Even Hayden didn’t know how deep their relationship went, and she was the one who knew about it the longest.”

Guiltily, Hayden kept her back turned to the rest of the pack.

“And it isn’t Hayden’s fault either,” Blake swiftly intervened. His voice came directly behind her, a solid buffer between Nathan’s allegations and her vulnerability. “Was there anything
else that she said that explained why she would betray the pack, Hayden? Was it all just for Joseph?”

Devan hadn’t wanted to betray the pack. She had every intention of returning and pretending as if nothing had ever transpired. In Devan’s exact words, she had never considered Hayden a part of the pack.

She could have reassured them that Devan had never meant to hurt anyone with the exception of Hayden, but somehow, the words were too painful to speak, especially when she had considered Devan a part of the family.

“No,” she whispered. “Devan only did this for Joseph and her belief that Nicolas would keep his word and protect the town.”

Her fingers plucked at the sheets as she pondered over everything. Devan had done this all out of some sort of frenzied need to be with Joseph. Love like that shouldn’t have brought out the crazy in someone, should it have? Hayden had never loved someone with that much intensity, she couldn’t fathom.

“Were they life mates?” she asked the others.

Vaguely, she remembered Cole telling her that his father and mother had been life mates, two souls destined to share a strong and unbreakable affection. 

“
No
.”

Hayden’s eyes widened and she whirled around to look at Cole. His face contorted menacingly as he stared down at her. He had denied her inquiry with such strong conviction, he almost sounded offended. The others were just as taken aback as Hayden at his quick and firm
answer
.

Cole kept his stance. “Life mates are not as desperate or as cheap as Devan and Joseph. What Devan was experiencing was blind fascination. She became infatuated with the idea of Joseph and became susceptible to his influence, to his every whim. The bond between life mates is
strong, but it certainly doesn’t consume the two people involved to the point of losing their own identities.”

“It sounds like you think highly of life mates,” Hayden observed as she suspiciously eyed his guarded stance. “But you… you look down on your father for killing himself over his life mate. I thought you were disgusted with the very thought of having attachments.”

Immediately, his eyes narrowed and his voice was cold. “Have I ever said that?”

Hayden held her ground in the face of his intimidating air. He didn’t need to say it, no, but his actions spoke volumes. Cole was too afraid of loving someone.

Blake shifted uncomfortably when he felt the tension in the room. “At any rate, Devan couldn’t be Joseph’s life mate,” the beta said. “A few years, Joseph was critically wounded. From what I remembered of Xavier and Marie, they had some sort of a sixth sense. Devan would have been able to know Joseph was in trouble, but she never even flinched.”

Heart in her throat, Hayden clutched the comforter behind her. “Sixth sense?” she repeated numbly.

Blake nodded, eyeing her in confusion. “They were aware of each other when they weren’t even in the same room.
Kind of freaky, but useful.”

The implications… it was too much.

Hayden took a step back until the back of her knees hit Devan’s mattress. Her mind spun frantically and she did all she could to keep face and remain standing.

All this time, all those uncertain qualities she shared with Cole,
was explained
by a simple explanation. The answer was always there, always at the tip of her fingers.
But
for some unexplainable reason, she had wanted to remain ignorant, exactly how Cole had wanted it.

Being Cole’s life mate illuminated everything. It explained why he had decided against killing her when they first encountered one another in New York. It was the reason behind their unusual ability of experiencing the other’s emotions. Each time she was in trouble, it explained
how Cole was able to find her despite the obstacles in his path. Above all else, being his life mate would explain why he wanted her close, but far enough not to
get
too attached.

He was… he was
selfish.

Hayden could hardly meet Cole’s eyes, but when she did, he greeted her with a smoldering look. After closing the door behind the last member of the pack, his broad figured-body blocked the exit. They were alone and Hayden had never felt as cornered as she did then.

“You should shower and get some rest.”

She bowed her head, her hair veiling her face. At her sides, her fists clenched. He had to know that Hayden had come to the realization they were life mates. However, he still wanted to pretend as if it wasn’t real, like it wasn’t even an issue worth mentioning.

Two could play at that game. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she demanded breathlessly. Looking up, she caught and savored his expression of trepidation. “Why didn’t you tell me Nicolas was your brother?”

Nicolas was another topic he didn’t want to discuss. Unfortunately, this was something she wasn’t going to back down
on
. They could pretend all they liked that they weren’t life mates, as Hayden was just as uncertain about the notion as he was, but Nicolas was another matter entirely.