Mated in the shadow of my sister by lady gwen

Chapter 0112

(Alpha Brady POV)

It has been two weeks since we returned to Black Moon. I am embarrassed to admit that I have been actively avoiding Lily since we got back. She has not tried to mind-link or come and see me, so she must

be trying to avoid me too.

I am ashamed at how I acted towards her on the airplane. Lily did not deserve my anger or the silent treatment that I gave her at the beginning. She told me that she did not sleep with James, and I believe her. Even if she did, it would have been wrong of me to blame her. James is her Goddess-chosen mate. Even a broken bond is a strong thing; I know from my experience with Evelyn.

Even though I got past my anger about her night with James, I know that I only made things worse. between us when I confessed what had happened between Evelyn and I.

1

But, Lily asked and she deserved to know. I had dreaded telling her the story; even I hate myself after listening to it. However, I had hoped that Lily’s pure heart would help her see that I have changed; that I regret what I did in the past; and that I was redeemable. I had also hoped that she would see parallels

between how James treated her and how I treated Evelyn. 2

The lesson I took from what happened with Evelyn is that sometimes regret is not enough to fix the damage in a relationship. Even if someone has changed for the better, sometimes, the scars of the past are too deep and too severe, and the only healthy way to move on is to close that chapter of your life and move on with someone else. And, of course, I wanted Lily to move on with me.

Unfortunately, I do not think that is the lesson that Lily took from my story. I do not know how I expected her to react, but I know that I did not expect her to become súddenly fixated on how similar she and Evelyn look. In fact, Lily really did not say much more after that.

I

When we got back to Black Moon, I immediately got slammed with work that had piled up while we were gone. It was a welcome distraction, but every night since we came back, I made time to go to Lily’s room at the packhouse so that I could talk to her and apologize. Unfortunately, every night, I have also found myself standing outside her door giving myself a hundred excuses about why she would not want to see me yet or why I should wait and do it another day.

Now that it has been two weeks, I know that I have waited too long. Tonight, I must force myself to finally talk to her. Not only do I miss her and want to get things back on track between us, but also we have received some intelligence indicating that our enemies are actively searching for her. I need to

make sure that Lily is taking extra precautions.

again. Silence.

She does not answer. I try

I try to mind-link her, but the mind-link is not going through. She must have a block in place.

I try knocking on the door again, but all I get is more silence.

“Lily, it is me. I can understand why you do not want to talk to me, but please… I need to talk to you.

Please let me in.”

Silence.

It occurs to me that she may not be in her room, but it is 9:00 p.m. I do not know where else she would

I turn to one of the guards that I have placed in charge of keeping watch on her. He tells me that she has

not come out of her room during his shift. I ask him when he last saw her, and his response enrages me:

not since the day that we returned. I mind-link the other guards who have been assigned, and they all tell

me the same thing.

I almost fire all of the guards right then and there. Hell, I also almost punch the one standing next to me.

What in Goddess’ name am I paying them for? I cannot believe that Lily has been holed up in her room

for two weeks and no one has thought to question it or inform me.

I mind-link the head omega to make sure that Lily has at least been receiving her meals. She tells me Lily

has not had a meal at the packhouse since the day we returned.

Now I am not just angry; I am scared. I promised that my pack and I would protect Lily, and here we have completely let her down. I am going to be firing some wolves tonight, starting with every single security guard who was supposed to be protecting her. I pray to the Moon Goddess that nothing has happened to

her.

This time, I try Lily’s doorknob. It is locked. I use my body to break the door down. Inside the room, everything looks quiet and normal. Well, everything except that Lily is not there. I check her closet and

see that most of her belongings are gone.

I am becoming more and more frantic. Then, my eyes settle on a piece of paper on the bed. As I read the letter, what is left of my heart shatters.

“Dear Brady.

I want you to know how much I appreciate you, your parents, and your pack. I do not know what would have happened to me without your support the last couple of months. You have shown me kindness that

I have never known before.

I also want you to know that I believe you when you say that you have changed. What happened with

Evelyn happened a very long time ago. It does not have to define you. I fully believe that you deserve to

be happy and find love again.

want

I know you me to be that new love for you, but I have no more interest in being Evelyn’s replacement

than I had in being my sister’s.

More importantly, I do not think it is fair of me to string either you or James along. I never wanted to be

part of a love triangle. My feelings are all over the place, and I do not think that is fair to either one of you.

I think at this point, it is important that I stand on my own two feet for a while. I need to take some time

to sort through my feelings and to discover who I am, what I love, and what makes me “me.”

Please do not worry about me. I do not know what the dangers are exactly, but I know how to be

cautious. And I have Rose with me.

I am sure our paths will cross again soon, and I will look forward to it. In the meantime, please tell everyone how grateful I am, and how much I already miss them.

With love,