Five:

Rhyder's POV.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to talk to Alexis as soon as I get back home - and then I'm going to find Grace and fix things with her."

Jackson, my future Beta, jerked his head in my direction and looked at me with cocked brows.

"That won't be easy for Alexis to hear, mate. You should know how she feels about you by now - all those letters she's sent these past months..."

"I know. And breaking another girl's heart is the last thing that I want to do, but I can't give her what she wants from me - my heart belongs to Grace, so does my wolf. It's not fair to Alexis to make her think otherwise."

Jackson nodded his  head slowly and waited for me to continue.

"Of course, I'll do right by my child. But I have to do right by Grace and myself as well. I can't spend another day letting Grace think that I don't care about how much I hurt her. I have to find her. I have to tell her how sorry I am. And I have to prove to her how much she means to me."

"I'm on your side, mate. You know that I've always thought that you and Grace were the perfect couple and that you guys would do a great job at leading our pack one day..."

"But?"

I cocked my own brow at him.

"But your parents are going to be really disappointed when you tell them that you want to postpone becoming Alpha so that you can go after Grace. You know that they've been looking forward to you taking over leadership almost more than you."

I dragged my hands through my hair, exhaling sharply through my nose.

"I know, but they'll understand why I have to do this. They love Grace - and they want her back home just as much as I do."

Jackson rested his hand on my shoulder.

"I hope you find her. You haven't been yourself since she left - the two of you deserve to be happy more than anyone else that I know. And I really hope that you can find that happiness with each other again."

I gave him a grateful smile just as we reached the cars waiting to take us back to the pack.

A few hours later, we arrived back home. My parents were waiting to greet me as soon as I stepped out.

"We missed you so much." 

My mother wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close.

"Welcome home, son. They were very impressed with you during your training - told me that you were one of the best candidates that they've ever had."

My father gave me a strong handshake, a look of pride in his eyes.

"Thanks. I knew that I had big shoes to fill - I wanted to make you proud. Both of you."

"You always have."

My mother gave me a quick kiss as a single tear rolled over her cheek.

"Can we talk, please? It's important."

My parents shared a loaded look before nodding their heads and following me away from the rest of the pack - they looked concerned.

"What's wrong, Rhyder? Did something happen?"

My mother barely waited for us to be out of earshot before she spoke.

"No. Well, yes. I've made a decision. I know that you won't be happy about it, but I really need you to support me on this because I'm going to do it anyway."

They shared another look, only this time, something different passed between them.

"What is it, son?"

My father's voice sounded strained.

"I won't be taking over as Alpha just yet. I need to find Grace first - I need to fix what I broke with her and I need to bring her back home. I have no interest in being Alpha if I can't have her as my Luna."

"Oh, sweety..."

My mother's voice faltered, her eyes filling with fresh tears. My father rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"What? What is it? Something happened, didn't it?"

An uneasy feeling settled over me like a heavy storm cloud.

"It's Grace..."

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, yes. It's nothing like that. She came back a few days ago. She wanted to see you -to talk to you. But you weren't back yet."

"So, what happened? Why didn't you tell her to wait for me to get back?"

"I did... we did. And she was going to, but then she ran into Alexis..."

"And Alexis told her about the pregnancy..."

The realization hit me like a bucket of ice water - the blood in my veins ran cold. I couldn't even imagine how Grace must have felt when she found out - the amount of betrayal and heartache that she must have experienced.

She must hate me.

I would.

I do.

"Why? Why would Alexis do something like that?"

"Was she supposed to hide it from Grace, son? Was she supposed to lie to her?"

I began to pace, suddenly feeling restless and agitated.

"No, no... of course not. But she could have waited for me to get back - given me a chance to talk to Grace first. And then we could have told her together."

"I don't think that it would have made a difference. Grace was shattered when she left."

My mother's voice was gentle. She was trying to disarm me, maybe even comfort me in a way, but all she managed to do was anger me.

And even though I knew that they weren't to blame for any of it - that this was all my fault, I still needed someone to blame. Even if it was just to lift some of the burden from my own shoulders.

"Why did you let her leave again?! Why didn't you make her stay?!"

"How were we supposed to do that, son? She didn't want to be here and we understood why."

His words felt like a slap to the face.

"You're her Alpha! You could have ordered her to stay!"

I lunged at my father, suddenly blinded by rage. My mother stepped between us just in time to stop me.

"Rhyder! That's enough! This is not who you are!"

Her eyes were filled with disappointed fear. So were my father's.

When the rage boiling inside me subsided, I was left with a feeling of complete emptiness.

"Who am I then, mother? Who am I without her?"