The Rejected Werewolf Princess

CAMILLA'S POV

A part of me hoped that he hadn't heard my slip up or that it flew over his head but I knew that was wishful thinking We were talking about Ryker and he was quite possibly the most attentive man I knew. There was no way he missed I judging by his expression and the fact that he took a slow step away from me. I opened my mouth to defend myself but he held up a hand to stop me.

“How do you know that you haven't been here since she died?” he asked and I hesitated before responding.

“You told me,” I lied but he shook his head. “Come on, Ryker, don’t you remember? When I asked you to explain everything to me, you told me that I didn’t take my mother’s death well and that I-”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Don't lie to me,” he cut me off harshly. “I can take just about anything from you right now but do not lie to me. It seems like you have been doing enough of it already. I want the truth, Camilla and I want it now or so help me, I will walk out of this room and that will be it.”

Ryker had never given me an ultimatum before and that was how I knew that he was being serious. Despite the fact that he wasn't yelling, I could tell that he was pissed and I knew that what I was going to say next could possibly make it even worse but I had to. I swallowed deeply and made my way over to the door that had been left slightly ajar.

I made sure to look around to be sure that no one was watching before slowly closing it. Ryker was watching me the entire time but he didn't say a word. I tried to ignore the look in his eyes, the one that said he didn’t trust me anymore and tapped the side of the bed next to me. In his anger, he had rushed to his feet and I needed him seated for the conversation.

“Camilla-"

“Please, just do this for me,” I whispered and he sighed before obliging. I took a deep breath before finally speaking the words that I knew could potentially wreck us. “I remember.”

His breath caught in his throat but there was no surprise, he had already made it out with my slip up. I never planned for him to find out this way, I never planned for him to find out at all. I just needed a little time and I wasn’t sure if my admission was going to make things worse. His eyes held betrayal and anger and I wished I could take it all away but the truth was that I had betrayed him- I had lied to him.

“How long?” was his only question after a moment of silence. “I can understand if it was yesterday or a few days ago. “I got my memory back the night I returned,” I admitted and he stilled. “It started to come back after I used my powers for the first time but it didn't completely come back until after”

Ryker remained silent. He just sat next to me staring at me like I was a stranger. No words were spoken and there were so many things I wanted to say but I couldn't bring myself to utter the first words. I had already done so much damage, I needed him to make the first move but he was taking so long to do so.

“Why did you pretend? Why did you lie to each and every one of us?” he asked. I opened my mouth to respond but he cut me off. “Was it for attention? Was there something you wanted that I couldn't give you? I don’t understand wh you would put all of us through hell for nothing.”

“Please stop yelling,” I implored looking around in a panic.

“Il will yell if I goddamn want to because you have been lying to me!” he exclaimed. “If for whatsoever fucking reason you didn’t want to tell the others, then you should have told me. I am your mate for f***s sake and you always do this. What will it take to get you to f*****g trust me and realize that we are a team?”

“I know we are a team but you need to please calm down. I will explain everything. Hell, I was going to explain everything when you woke up. I didn’t plan for it to happen like this, I needed to be sure but I wasn't sure, I'm still not sure.”

“Not sure of what?”

“Marie and Peggy,” I whispered and he turned to me with a confused look.

“What are you talking about? Did they do anything to you? Did they say anything?”

It was endearing how quickly he could switch from upset to concerned. He was still pissed at me, that much was certain but his concern outweighed the anger and that was how I knew I made the right decision and was mated to the right man.

“Since I got my memory, I noticed something weird. I found it unusual that they wanted me to move here so badly, especially Marie. She wanted it too much. At first I thought it could be something else but it's more- there is more. I don’t know but there is something off about her, and Peggy too because she just agrees with whatever Marie says or does, almost like Marie is pulling the strings.”

“So what, you planned to fake your memory loss until you were sure about them?” he asked. “You could have told me. I would have helped you, I would have supported your decision. I have supported every crazy fucking decision that you have made, even the one that almost cost me you. What do I have to do to let you know that you can trust me?”

“I do trust you,” I reached out to him but he brushed off my touch. “Ryker, I know you're upset but you have to understand. This was the only way I could keep you all out of it. I could be wrong but I also could be right and if I am right then they could be dangerous. I didn’t want to put anyone else in the firing line.”

“So once again you took the heat of it,” he scoffed and stood to his feet. “I had hoped that after what happened, you wouldn't be so keen on putting your life on the line for others. You did it and it cost you a part of your soul. You almost died on that cliff. How are you even still alive? I saw the life leave you.”

“I don't know. If I did, I would tell you, I swear.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that's true,” he brushed invisible lint off his clothes. “I'm done playing your game, Camilla. I cannot keep chasing after someone who does not want to be caught. I cannot keep up with all of this. I love you but cannot keep doing this if you don’t trust me.”

He started to leave and in that moment, I panicked. I grabbed his arm and I knew if he wanted to leave, it wouldn't have taken him any ounce of energy to brush me off but for some reason, he stilled. He turned to me and I could see just how tired he was. The truth was, if I were in his shoes, I would have felt the same way. I understood where he was coming from but I needed him to understand me.

“I put other's lives above yours and the girls,” I began. “I know that now and looking back, I probably would not have done it but I will always put your life over mine because that is what a good mate does. I wanted to keep you and th girls safe and I will not apologize for that. It killed me having to do what I did. It killed me having to pretend I didn't know you when all I wanted was you but they were always there. I couldn't have told you if I wanted to.”

“What about the lake? I kissed you and you kissed me back. You could have told me.”

“I could, I wanted to but I saw Marie.”

Thinking about it alone had shivers washing over me. I was prepared to tell Ryker everything when I smelled her. I had gotten used to Marie's scent and Ryker must have been so fixated on me that he didn’t notice. I saw her hiding behind a tree watching Ryker and I. She didn’t notice that I saw her and I needed to pretend so that she wouldn't grow suspicious and that was the only reason I pushed him away.

I explained it all to him and by the time I was done, he was staring at me in deliberation. I could tell there was a war going on in his mind. He believed me, I could always count on him for that but there was obviously something else bothering him.

“That isn’t enough,” he said finally. “That was one time. There were plenty other opportunities.”

“I promise you, there were not. I have felt her everywhere. I am risking everything by telling you this but I know that she isn't aware of this room which is why I came here. I just needed to think. I swear, I never planned to hurt you, I love you."

“I know you do,” he whispered before placing a soft kiss on my temple. “I love you too which is why I am doing this. You need to learn to trust people and until you do that, I am not playing this game with you.”

“Ryker please,” I begged but he held out a hand to stop me.

“I will pretend with you. I will keep up with this simply because I don’t want to be the reason something happens to the girls if you are right. I will look into Marie and Peggy and I will try to find out what I can about their life but it ends there. You need to prove that you aren't just going to run away again and act out when things get hard.”

“How do I do that? How do I prove that to you? Tell me what to do and I will do it”

There was an almost sad expression on his face. He ran his hands up and down my arms in a comforting manner before resting his forehead against mine. He stayed like that for a full minute before taking a step back.

“That is something you have to learn for yourself,” he whispered. “I will see you in the room, Camilla”