Shattered (Complete) #Wattys2019

Chapter 25: Emerson

Watching the last remnants of color drain from her face, I knew the note she held was gonna be bad. What I didn't expect was for her to flinch from me when I went to take it.

"Rose?" Why did it hurt me when she flinched?

Her beautiful brown eyes looked up to me with fear and unshed tears. Her whole body trembled. All I could do was continue to hold her as tight as she would allow, pulling a blanket over her. Grateful she hadn't tried to pull away yet, I took things slow. I waited for something to improve.

It felt like ages had passed before her nervous words reached my ears. "He was there."

"Who? Zachary?"

She shook her head as I felt a tremble run through her. "Distract me. Please."

Uncertain of the problem and desperate for answers, I continued to dig. "What did the note say?

"You killed your mate."

I looked down with concern. "What? Do you believe that?"

Quickly, she pushed the note into my chest and I read it. The growl that left me resulted in her pulling away whimpering. How? Who? Why would anyone...?

I shook my head. My eyes staring into hers. I tried to put as much sincerity as I could into the way I looked at her. "This isn't the truth."

Yet, she remained distant.

"Rose, I promise you. I did not kill my mate. Brother or not, Phalen would have arrested me for such a crime. Her death was her choice and not by my hand, though I do blame myself."

"What happened?"

I rolled on to my back, not leaving in case she needed me, but not reaching out to her in her panicked state. I needed to not look at her, not look at anyone.

How was I supposed to explain my most devastating defeat?

Would she ever trust me again?

I didn't deserve it.

"Em." She was hesitant, but not as full of fear. "Please, I need to know what the note is trying to accomplish."

My eyes closed and I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe I would even think of talking about it. But it was for her. For Rose. If she hated me afterwards, then, I would have to find away to live with it. "I told you before, everything about Caroline was complicated. I didn't meet her the normal way, there was no whirlwind romance where the world stopped spinning and flower petals fell from the sky. I didn't even know her for long."

My calloused hands scrubbed at my face out of frustration. Fingers fisted in my short hair, pulling at the roots. Anything to try to make the nightmares stop. "There was a rogue who had been forming an alliance with other rogues, raising and army, trying to take the throne." I heard her gasp. "Nolan was crazy, aggressive, and preyed upon the vulnerable. I suspect Donovan was once one of his disciples, though no records were ever found that listed any of his allegiances."

I paused. I knew I was stalling, giving more history than she asked for. But it was easier to talk about the history. Anyway, Phalen had killed Nolan and his alliances shattered. I was too young to be involved at the time, but I grew up knowing that he had influenced others into his way of thinking. I just never realized they were as determined as they apparently were. It was Jeremy who stood out next. He claimed to have been Nolan's son and lead a strike on the crown. Only, instead of going after Phalen, they hit our parents."

"I'm sorry." Rose whispered.

I couldn't open my eyes. I couldn't look her fear or pity. I didn't want to see her change how she saw me. "By then, I had just become Captain of the Guard, and I had failed. I failed in protecting my parents. Worse, when we raided Jeremy's camp, that was where I found Caroline."