Innocent As Charged (Completed)

Chapter 27

"Iz, I love you. I will always love you. No one and nothing can change that, past, present or future," he says, his eye locked with mine, filled with sincerity. Tenderly, he plants a kiss on my head and I sink into his warmth, ignoring our absent clothing. He's my mate: he will not judge me on my body but for who I am.

I gesture for us to sit.

"Isaac we should talk about your first mate. What happened?"

Isaac shifts and I see a slight film of tears over his eyes but he quickly blinks them away and acts like they were never there. He inhales sharply as if preparing himself for the worst, and begins to narrate the story to me and Jack.

"I was only 19 at the time, before Dad stepped down as Alpha. She was a girl in my University class. A human. One day she chose a seat next to me in a lecture and we met eyes and I knew we were mates. As a human, she was unaware of the existence of supernatural beings so I didn't tell her immediately."

"When did you -?" Isaac scowls and gestures for me to shut up. I realise just how hard this is for him to speak of so I do as he asks. "Sorry."

"She began to feel the attraction after a few days but I still didn't give her an explanation and claim her, despite Nate and tradition demanding that I do so. As a human she was vulnerable, and for her own sake I kept her hidden from the pack's judgement. I thought keeping her secret could prevent her becoming a target. Not that anything I did mattered in the end. I was going to introduce her to my parents as she wanted to meet them, but she was still unaware of werewolves' existence. That night, rogues attacked the territory."

A single tear escapes his eye, falling down his cheek, compelling me to take his hand. He continues.

"During the attack we were travelling to the packhouse. Rogues attacked the car, pulling her out of it and snapping her neck before I could react. She didn't even have time to scream. I managed to slaughter the rogues but I couldn't bring her back. I could have saved her if I'd never agreed to taking her, if I'd followed tradition, if I'd - "

"Isaac, you could not have predicted what happened. It's not your fault."

"You don't understand. I could have saved her." He pulls away from me, burying his face in his hands.

"There was nothing you could do. And there's nothing you can do now. All you can do is respect her memory and live your life the way she would have wanted you to." I attempt to comfort Isaac but am only partially successful as a solitary tear traces his cheek.

I'm sorry Iz; we should have told you sooner.

It's alright.

We still love you the same. I'm just happy you had the courage to tell us, not knowing the consequences.

So thank you.

"I love you too. And thankyou for taking this so well." Isaac says.

"Of course."

We stand in silence for a few minutes, neither of us caring about how exposed we are.

"We should probably get back before the pack starts to worry," I suggest.

He says nothing in reply but simply shifts, and we pad calmly back to the lake, changing into our clothes; however, I leave my shoes off.

I approach the edge of the lake and sit myself on the bank, trailing my feet in the water and watching the ripples dissipate. Isaac also sits on the bank, his arm entangling me and I rest my head on his shoulder, his skin warm against my body.