Becoming His (Complete)

Mistake After Mistake After Mistake

I was shocked. I stopped breathing for a few seconds before I was able to find my voice. Cain had to be mistaken....

"What do you mean? Henry told me that... that his mate died protecting him. How is that your fault?" I tried catching Cain's eyes but he wouldn't look at me.

"That's true, but my mother would never have even been near those rogues if it weren't for me. If I had never gone out that night.... If I had just called on my dad or fought on my own. She wouldn't be dead and he'd be walking."

"Cain-"

"It's my fault she died!" Something warm and wet landed on my hand. I looked down and felt my heart constrict as I realized it was a tear, Cain's tear. I placed my hands on his shoulders and rubbed them carefully. I was frightened he would break at any moment.

"Cain... hey, look at me please." Cain raised his head reluctantly and wetness laid beneath both of his eyes but his face remained stoic. I placed my palms on either side of his face and felt the slight stubble prick my hands. I wiped both of my thumbs below each eye and tried to smile at him in a gentle manner.

"I'm not weak Emily."

"I never said you were."

"I'm not an emotional man. I'm strong, brave, a leader."

"You are all those things Cain, you are also my mate and therefor you can be as open with me as you want. You don't have to worry about your title with me. Be whoever you need to be, whoever you want to be. I'll support you, I promise." My cheeks burned and I felt a certain lightness in my chest. I always wanted to be a strong supporter for my mate and I had just made that very clear to Cain.

"You'll respect me?" I could see that Cain was nervous in his eyes. I nodded my head reassuring him.

"I'll respect you." Cain watched me a few moments longer and then reached up and grabbed the hands that I had placed on his face. He gripped them both with his own and sat them on my lap between us.

"About three years ago, around a year after I became alpha, my dad was still showing me the different responsibilities I'd be taking on. We had meetings, we went on trips together to other packs and we patrolled every inch of our territory countless times. This was back when rogues started to become more prominent in the area and I needed to be ready for anything. I thought I was ready for anything... but I wasn't."

Cain grew silent and looked up the ceiling. His eyes seemed to be searching for an answer to some question that he himself had never been able to answer. In that moment I saw a desperate man, I stayed patient and waited for him to continue.

"I did a solo run." He looked at me finally. His eyes locked with mine, a resolution clearly there. "It was late and I had a dumb argument with my dad that day. I thought I was... everything. Invincible. I felt like nobody could stop me from doing anything. I was wrong."

Cain let go of my hands and I tried not to miss the feeling of his warmth. He reached for his t shirt and in a blink it was off his body exposing his beauty. He gestured to a scar on his abdomen. It was large and I felt like wincing just looking at it.

"The first rogue took me down with a blow to the side. I tried fighting and I managed to take out that one and the one that attacked me after that but soon... there were just too many. I had to be surrounded by 10 of them when I realized that I wasn't in the woods alone. My mother had followed me."

"It happened so fast. I thought I was alone but she saw me leave that night and tracked me to make sure I'd be okay. She fought hard, too hard. She was strong but never truly trained the way our warriors were. Back then none of the females were. Pack members soon came but she was so weak. She lost her life while protecting my father."