Page 122 of Black Willow Witch
Her lips tightening, Claris exchanged a grave look with her mate. ‘We never expected it to reach this point or we would have spoken to you sooner.’
Ripper winged up a brow. ‘About what?’
‘About how utterly inappropriate it is for you to become seriously involved with a woman who belongs to another man.’
The fuck? Feeling his brows snap together, Ripper echoed, ‘Belongs?’
‘You know she’s mated,’ Colton cut in, impatience rippling across his face.
‘I know shehada mate. That’s not the case anymore.’
Claris bristled. ‘Emberlyn dragged her heels when it came to breaking the mating tie. She didn’t want to do it. She loves my boy. Loves him with her whole heart.’
A heart Michael had broken. But as Ripper couldn’t share their son’s betrayal with them, he said, ‘Maybe so. Matters nothing, though. He’s not here. And if he were, it would make no difference – she renounced him as her mate.’
‘That would change if he came back,’ Claris insisted.
Ripper shook his head. ‘She made her choice. She wouldn’t go back on it. If he returned, he wouldn’t be the same Michael anyway. Parts of him would be lost, and he’d never get them back.’
Claris leaned toward him slightly. ‘They said that about you when you were Rabid; said you’d be a shadow of your true self if you ever came back. But that’s not the case.’
‘He’s been Rabid longer than I was.’
‘But you were just a child. Even a year in that state should have broken parts of your spirit. It didn’t.’
Colton nodded. ‘Like you, Ripper, our Michael is strong. Unbelievably strong. He would come back to himself if hereturned, and he would want his mate. She would go to him; she’d reclaim him in an instant.’
‘And you’d be tossed aside like trash,’ Claris added. ‘That can’t be what you want. Do what’s best for all involved and step aside.’
Ripper felt his face go rock hard. ‘That isn’t going to happen.’ They were fucking high to think it would.
Annoyance sparked to life in Colton’s eyes. ‘You’d truly want a woman who was once claimed by another werewolf? You can’t tell me it doesn’t bother you.’
In truth, the knowledge of it made jealousy score its nails down Ripper’s back. He hated that she’d once been another wolf’s mate – especially since the son of a bitch hadn’t deserved her – but it didn’t make Ripper want her any less.
He took a step toward the couple. ‘What bothers me is that you’d rather she walked through life alone than find happiness with anyone other than Michael.’ It was cruel and selfish. ‘You don’t like the idea of her moving on because it shows she’s accepted that he isn’t coming back. You can’t handle that becauseyoudon’t want to accept he’s gone.’
Colton’s jaw went tight. ‘He’s our son.’
‘But not Emberlyn’s mate,’ said Ripper.
Claris shook her head wildly. ‘She belongs to him.’
Anger flared in Ripper’s gut and shot through his blood. ‘She didonce. Now she’s mine. And it pisses me off that you’d question my rights to her.’
‘You can’t have rights to someone who already gave them away,’ said Claris. ‘She broke the mating tie rather than live in a state of limbo, but she never really gave herself permission to move on. She’s held back from every man she dated – none of them lasted long. You won’t, either. She took things a step further with you, but this is as far as she’ll go. Don’t you see that?’
‘No,’ Ripper replied. ‘And whatyousee is quite simply what you want to see. You barely talk to Emberlyn; you couldn’t possibly know what’s going on in her head. Feel free to believe whatever you want to believe, but do not again question my claim to her. We’re going to have big fucking problems if you do.’
Twin flags of heat stained Colton’s cheekbones. Moments of tense silence slipped by, and then he took his mate’s elbow. ‘Come, Claris. He’s not going to see sense.’
Even as she allowed herself to be led away, Claris looked at Ripper. ‘Ask her. Ask her what she’d do if Michael returned; if she’d reclaim him. Then you’ll see that we’re right.’
Ripper didn’t respond; just watched as they got into their car and drove away.
A creak filled the air as Crew shoved open the truck’s passenger door. He puffed out a breath. ‘That was intense.’ He slipped out of the vehicle. ‘I was surprised they dared ask you to walk away from Emberlyn. They can’t have honestly thought you would, or that anyone considers her to still be Michael’s mate – other than them, that is.’
Ripper would have felt sorry for them – it couldn’t be easy to lose your child to Bloodhill, knowing what could become of them – if they weren’t being such selfish assholes. ‘It pisses me off that they expect Emberlyn not to move on with her life just because they’ve put their own on pause while waiting for their boy to come back.’
