Bloodlines: Fated Mates (Book 6 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 24

Abby opened her eyes the next morning and panic set in. Where was she? Matt. Memories from the day before returned and she relaxed. She was in Pennsylvania with her mate.

She had seen the beauty of the Appalachian mountains yesterday. Very different from home. Sage would have skirted around the Cascade mountain range. The Rockies were so different from the Appalachians. A different kind of beauty that she could easily appreciate.

When she'd started learning about all of the different places, she'd decided when she was old enough that she wanted to travel and see them all. Maybe still. She'd have to wait and see what her life with Matt was like.

She turned her head and looked at him. He was so beautiful. His face was relaxed and his blue eyes closed. His blond hair was messy, and the hair on his face almost looked longer. She reached out and touched it and his eyes snapped open, settling on her. "Morning."

"Good morning," she replied, her eyes still on his facial hair.

"Are you checking out my stubble?"

She touched it again, lightly running her hands over it. "It's kind of prickly, but not."

His face settled into a smile. "Yeah that's a good way to describe it." He rolled on his side facing her. "Did you sleep well, Abby?"

She nodded, rolling onto her own side so she could look at him. She'd slept really well last night. It was so nice to actually sleep in a bed as a human and not curled up somewhere as a wolf. She'd never slept well, and neither had Sage. They'd always had to be on their guard and weary of predators.

Her gaze darted down to his lips and she  thought about the kisses from last night. She wouldn't mind doing that again. He'd made her lips tingle in a nice way.

"Abby, are you from Redwood Pack?" Matt asked.

She frowned. Why did she not know that? "I don't know."

"Was the place you lived in the desert?"

"No." Did her pack have a name? She'd never heard it mentioned that she was aware of. Why hadn't Marcie ever told her? It seemed like such a a basic thing.

"I think you were from Redwood. There were two packs in California. Redwood and Sierra Nevada, but Sierra Nevada is in the desert," Matt explained.

"Isn't that a mountain range?" She frowned. "We lived north of that."

Matt's eyebrows shot up. "Yes it is. You seem to know a lot about Geography."

"Marcie loved Geography. She was a good teacher." She shrugged. She really missed her.

"Did she tell you where in California you were?" Matt asked her. "Like what major city was nearby?"

She grew quiet for a moment, thinking. "Sacramento. But we were north of it."

"Definitely Redwood then," Matt said and frowned.

Abby watched his expression change to one of sadness. "Why? Why are you sad?" She didn't like it when he was sad. It made her sad.

He took a deep breath. "Redwood Pack no longer exists. They were wiped out last fall."

"What?" What did he mean?

"The Alpha of Sierra Nevada attacked them and killed everyone. No one survived that we are aware of," Matt said quietly.

She felt her heart drop at that, and she rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling, as a sharp pain went through her. Her pack was gone? Marcie was already gone, but what about the kind man who had come to help Marcie? Was he gone too? And what about her mother? Abby wasn't sure if she was in the pack or not; she saw her so rarely.

She thought back to the fall and realized she'd felt the break from them. She hadn't known what it was, but she'd felt it. She took a shuddering breath. She'd been hit by sadness, and depression then. She'd already been that way, lonely, but it had gotten worse. This past winter had been the worst one she'd gone through.

"Abby," Matt said softly and she suddenly found herself in his embrace and realized she was crying. She felt herself calm down and let Matt hold her. She was safe with him. She had a home. She was no longer alone.

She snuggled into Matt's chest, and buried her face in his neck, seeking comfort from his scent as he gently rubbed her back.

After a bit, Matt asked her another question. "Abby, do you know Liam and Finn?"

"No," she said. The names weren't familiar to her.

"Liam and Finn were both in Redwood. Neither of them were there when the pack was attacked, so they both are still alive. The pack was dissolved and that's probably when you became a rogue," Matt said quietly.

She'd buried her face against his neck, breathing in his scent. She liked his scent so much. It was calming and made her feel safe. Matt was home to her now, she realized. "I didn't know very many people. I rarely left the house. Marcie said it was important for me to stay inside, or if I did leave, not to go far. She didn't get many visitors."

"Was Marcie your grandmother?" Matt asked her.

"No. She was just my friend." She wasn't really sure what Marcie was to her. She'd just always lived with her.

"What about your parents?"

"I have a mother. She would come visit me every once in a while. Not very often. She was very pretty. But sad." She was always sad, especially when she left. Abby had always looked forward to those visits, but they were few and far between.  She'd only seen her mother once every few months.

"Was your mother in your pack?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry I don't know much," she murmured, as more tears came. "I don't know why she kept so much from me."

"That's okay." Matt rubbed her back. "You're just a mystery, and that's why I'm asking questions. You're free to ask me questions too."

She liked when he rubbed her back. "Do all packs have names?"

"Yeah. There are packs all over the world."

"What's your pack's name?" She knew where Pennsylvania was. Knew it was near the Atlantic Ocean. Marcie had described the ocean to her and she'd seen it on TV. She wanted to see it in person though.

"Regal Eclipse. Have you ever heard of them?" Matt asked her.

"No. I don't know any pack names."

"Huh. Marcie taught you a lot about Geography but nothing about packs?"

"I guess not." She felt annoyed about that, like she'd missed out on so many important things.

"Well, that's okay. You'll learn about them. How old are you?" He asked her.

She still had her head buried in his neck, her arms tucked in between them, her legs tangled in his. She didn't want to move. Ever. She thought over his question. She'd sort of lost track of the passage of time when she'd left the pack. "What's the date?"

"Um, June 1st," Matt said after a second.

"I think I'm twenty-four. I left when I was twenty-one." She knew three winters had gone by.

"Ha. You're older than me. I'm twenty-three," Matt chuckled.

"Is that a bad thing?" She frowned.

"No, not at all. Most of the men in my pack are a lot older than the women, except my sister," Matt told her.

She pulled back a bit, looking up at him. "You have a sister?"

"I have two sisters and two brothers," he smiled at her.