The ceremony of mating,
Alpha's quarters, Cork.
His heart stopped and he looked around him to be sure he wasn't dreaming. The sounds of hushed whispers and the eyes of everyone were on him.
It has finally happened, the moment he has been dreading since that night that he killed Adrienne. He slowly got to his feet, his hands stained with the red stuff poured on him, and tried to breathe properly.
He took deep breaths as the sound of whispering around him started to fade out of his ears and he could only see their lips moving. He could feel the disappointment from everyone as curious eyes stared at him, prompting him to explain himself.
Turning to look at the elder, his heart burned at the sight of the slimy grin on his face. Here he was, standing in the middle of the pack, facing this dilemma, without a mate and there he was, sitting relaxed and grinning as if he wasn't the one who put him in this situation in the first place!
He opened his mouth to speak, trying to say something, anything, that would get them to stop looking at him that way, as though he was a cold-blooded murderer, trying to explain to them that although he did kill the girl, he wasn't at fault, that he had no choice. The words failed to come out of his mouth and his throat was dry.
Feeling ashamed and embarrassed, he took one last look at the people that cheered for him just three minutes earlier, the people who considered him a family but were disappointed, and turned to leave, the crowd parting for him silently observing his movements till he was no longer within their midst.
As soon as he was out of their sight, Ryan fell to the floor, his already weak legs giving away. He looked at his trembling hands stained with what looked like blood and let out the tears that he had been holding since the announcement of his mate.
In a way, he feels relieved, at least he no longer has to be walking with the fear of his secret being found out by the pack or disappointing them. But the pain of being treated like a murderer( Yes he did kill her, but he didn't intend to do it), hurt him and he still couldn't believe his secret is out.
Sighing deeply, he stood up and started walking towards his quarters but stopped when he reached the entrance overlooking the forest. Hesitating for a while, he turned back and headed towards the forest.
He stood at the point where his life changed, the point where he stood seven years earlier in front of the dead body of Adrienne and told her to rest in peace. If only he could turn back time, if only he had found the courage to tell the elder that he wasn't going to kill her, if only he had warned her with his howl to stay away from the elder...he wouldn't be in this situation now, she wouldn't be dead, he wouldn't have had to face seven years of nightmare and anxiety.
He stood staring at the burial ground for a while before crouching before it. Using his hands, he picked the grasses growing around it, his eyes watering again.
"Adrienne, are you feeling okay there? Are you feeling better with the moon Goddess? I hope you have forgiven me for everything that I did to you in the past" he said softly, remembering the angry eyes that taunt him every night in his nightmare.
Funny, he had no one else to talk to now other than the person he had killed, the reason behind the pack's disappointment in him.