Last Wolf Standing by Rhyannon Byrd

Author:Rhyannon Byrd [Byrd, Rhyannon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-09-17T15:52:10+00:00

“Oh, shit,” he groaned, flashing her an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, honey, but only Mason could screw that speech up so bad. I love the guy like a brother, but he can be such a bullheaded ass.”

“Why is he so dead set against caring for someone?” she asked, folding her cold hands around the sturdy mug to capture its warmth. She wanted—no, needed—to understand. Needed to understand what was going on in his head, so that maybe it could help her get a grip on her own jumbled, chaotic emotions.

Jeremy’s usually carefree grin bled into a small frown at her question, the splash of sunshine beyond the window casting his shaggy hair in a pale-golden glow, his hazel eyes turning thoughtful beneath his straight, tawny brows. “I think a lot of it comes from how we grew up. God knows it affected us all, some in the same ways, some different. I guess we all thumb our noses at the pack for their refusal to accept us for who we are, and that’s bled into how we live. We’re always on guard. Always wary. Knowing Mase the way I do, I think he’s terrified of what he could feel for you, if he gave himself the chance. And that’s before you take into account what happened to his brother.”

A cold knot of dread settled in the pit of her stomach at his words. “What happened to his brother?”

“Dean committed suicide eight years ago,” Jeremy admitted quietly, staring into his coffee.

“Wh-why?”

The Runner blew out a harsh breath, then leaned back in his chair, tipping it back so that he balanced on the rear legs, his hands folded over his hard stomach, the wounds in his throat already showing remarkable signs of healing. “Dean had been mated and married for almost three years when his wife was killed in an accident. When one half of a bonded mating pair is killed, the sudden severing of the connection can drag their mate into a living hell. Usually they simply lose the will to live and slowly fade away—but in some cases, the rage over their loss consumes them, destroying who they were. When Dean lost Lori, he found himself so filled with fury that he worried over what he might become. To keep it from happening, he took his own life.”

“He was worried that the grief could turn him, making him go rogue, wasn’t he?” she asked, her voice quiet, her head and her heart hurting for what Mason and his family must have gone through. “He didn’t want to harm anyone, and he didn’t want Mason to have to track him down and kill him.”

“Yeah,” Jeremy rasped, shaking his head. “And Mason was the one who found him. Since that day, he’s sworn that he’ll never end up like Dean did.”

“So that’s why he’s so determined to keep his emotions under lockdown,” she said shakily, thankful that Jeremy had shared the story. It made it easier to understand where Mason was coming from, though it was still hard to accept.

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