The Red Wolf's Daughter (Book 3 Part 2: The Making of the Siran)

Chapter 50

Caroline and I were silent when he left, and she was the first to stir while she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "Ky?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper while she took a hesitant step toward me.

I shook my head and wiped my eyes, blinking the remaining tears away, even though some of them kept falling even when I tried to make sure that I wasn't. "I am ok," I said, my voice barely above a whisper as well. I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet, grabbing my necklace tighter. "I will be ok."

"Can I give you a hug?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, and I bit back a small chuckle while I slowly nodded in confirmation. She bit back a small smile and hugged me, and I couldn't help but hug her back while I closed my eyes and cleared my throat, biting the inside of my lip and biting back another sob.

"I'm sorry, Caroline," I said, my voice barely above a whisper while I squeezed her tighter against me. "Can you forgive me?"

Caroline bit back a small snort and rolled her eyes, pressing her lips into a thin line while she pulled away from me. "And why would you be asking me to forgive you?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question while she studied me. "What did you do to me?"

I bit back a tired sigh and shook my head, pressing my lips into a harder line. "I'm sorry that you have to see that," I said, my voice barely above a whisper before I pulled her into a harder hug and rubbed her back with more tears running down my face.

Caroline chuckled and shook her head. "Don't be sorry, Ky," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She pulled away from me and wiped the tears from my eyes, something that I should've been doing for her. "It's not your fault that we might be mated to the same man, and all he wants is to be with you."

I took a deep breath and released it with a small whoosh before I took a step back and wiped my eyes some more, and Caroline's hands dropped to her side. "Now, why were you two yelling at each other?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question, changing the subject with her scowling and narrowing her eyes. "What happened?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about," she said and shook her head, pressing her lips into a thinner line. "Why are you trying to change the subject?"

The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention while I stared at her. Warning bells went off in my head, and I had a feeling that there was something more to the story than that, even though she didn't tell me anything just yet.

"What is it?" I asked and narrowed my eyes just a tad. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Caroline hesitated and bit back a small smile, and her cheeks turned red. She didn't look me in the eyes while she shifted on her feet, growing nervous for some reason. "I am ok," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "You don't have to worry about me."

I scoffed a laugh and rolled my eyes while I pursed my lips in annoyance and narrowed my eyes. "Don't lie to me, Caroline," I said and bared my teeth in warning. "What happened? What's going on between you and Andrei?"

Caroline bit back a tired sigh, and her shoulders sagged in sadness and defeat. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, looking away from me. "Nothing is going on between the two of us," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know why you are thinking that something is w-"

"Because you two were arguing, and you were crying when I got into the tent, Caroline," I said, interrupting her, "and I want to know why and if I need to do something to protect you from him."

Caroline opened her mouth to say something before she caught something in my eyes before she relented with a tired sigh and shake of her head. "We had a fight," she said, finally relenting before she cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "He wanted to know where you were and what you were doing, and I wouldn't tell him."

She shook her head and looked down, setting her jaw. "He kept going on and on and on about you, and he wouldn't let me get a word in. He was mad about how you wouldn't let him in, and he wanted to have something with you." She bit back a tired sigh and shook her head. "He didn't seem to care about what I was feeling and why I was acting the way that I was. He didn't care about me at all, which is something that I thought would never happen in the past."

I pressed my lips into a thin line, and my heart hurt and became filled with pain and guilt while I looked at her. "I'm sorry," I said and rubbed the back of my neck, becoming very sheepish and guilty because I knew that it was because of me. "Do you think you can forgive me?"

Caroline bit back a small chuckle and slowly shook her head. "There's nothing for me to forgive, Ky," she said and shook her head while she bit back a small smile. "You do not have to ask for forgiveness or apologize because I know that you didn't do anything."

I breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded, and my shoulders sagged with relief. "I know, but it just feels like I had done something wrong," I said while I shrugged and grimaced. I pressed my lips into a thin line before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "I hate that we are basically mated to the same person."

She bit back a small laugh and slowly nodded in confirmation. "I know," she said. She licked her lips and looked away from me, blinking back tears while she wiped her face. "I am surprised that we are, but I think it's only because we are on alternate timelines." She looked at me.

I bit back a small smile and slowly nodded, and my heart ached and yearned to go back home and go back to my mate, who I needed to help just as much as I needed to help them. "Ya," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "It sucks that we are both here and that my future is tied to yours."

"But we'll get through this," she said and nodded, furrowing her brows. "Now, did you find anything?" she asked and cocked her head while she studied me. "Or was the feeling a bust?" She raised an eyebrow in question while she continued to study me with wide innocent eyes.

I pressed my lips into a thin line, and my heart ached while I shook my head and bit back a tired sigh of annoyance. "Unfortunately, it was a bust," I said coldly while I rubbed my head and face with annoyance. "Percy stopped me from leaving the safety of the encampment and from following the feeling, and unfortunately, there is no way for me to get the feeling back..."

Until he finds a different way to contact me again one way or another...