Page 38 of Ruined Wolf

Maverick watched me calmly. “Who is your father, Nova?”

I took a deep breath. “Caleb Dawes. Alpha of High Rocks Pack.”

“Not Nova Dawson then,” Maverick said quietly.

“I used Dawson after I left the pack, but no, not legally.”

“And Tessa?”

“My half-sister,” I answered, watching him for any sign of his thoughts.

He nodded slowly. “Explain.”

His tone was completely emotionless, and it tore at my heart. I might have coped better if he’d yelled at me.

“I told you a lot of it on the boat that day. Nothing’s any different. When I arrived on the island, I was afraid. Our packs have been in some kind of cold war since before I was born. We were raised to fear the sea wolves, told you were cruel and violent.”

My eyes flicked to Lucas, and I was surprised to see his mouth turn up at the corners. For someone who hated being lied to, he was surprisingly calm.

I sighed and turned back to Maverick. “I was born an omega, rare and valued, and then raised to mate the son of the Sea Wolf Pack’s alpha, a bid for peace between the two packs.”

“Jaxon,” Maverick surmised in a heavy voice.

I nodded. “I was terrified. Everything I’d been told about your pack was horrific, but in truth, it paled in comparison to what I was already living through. I almost welcomed the match as I got older—it would offer some kind of an escape—until my father realised I would never be able to shift, and he had to renege on the deal.”

“He beat you,” Maverick said. It was a statement, not a question, but I nodded anyway.

“Repeatedly. For months. I was the reason your pack was going to hunt us down and murder us all, even the pups. The guilt destroyed me. I tried to be a good omega, I really did. I submitted over and over again...”

Maverick closed his eyes, and I could tell he was remembering the conversation on the boat. He knew what my submission had meant and what it had led to.

“So you left?” Lucas asked.

I shook my head. “I never would have gotten away. Father’s alphas would have hunted me down and ripped me apart. No, he banished me. He said if I ever came back, he would give the kill order, so I left. I made it to the city and found... my mate.” I looked at Maverick. “You know the rest.”

Maverick looked at me, his expression unreadable. “You were going to let me marry your sister? Even when you knew...” He shook his head, and I reached out to touch his arm.

“I couldn’t stay, Maverick. I was broken, scarred, and ruined… an omega who can’t shift, and I was scared that if my father found out where I was, he’d come after me... and he’d come after you.”

Maverick leaned against a nearby table, staring at the floor. “It’s a lot to take in,” he commented after a few moments.

“I wanted to tell you,” I murmured quietly.

Maverick raised his head and looked at Lucas. “You’re awfully quiet, brother.”

Lucas looked at me. “I already knew.”

“What?” I was astonished. “How?”

Lucas shrugged. “After the claiming, I left the island. I saw the scars on your back. I’ve been to a lot of places and seen a lot of things. It didn’t take me long to work out what had been done to you. I went to the mainland and worked out roughly where you went into the water. Asher helped me track sea currents and tides in the area, though he didn’t know what I needed them for. You went into the water from High Rocks Pack’s land.”

I nodded. “I went back to ask for sanctuary. I was pregnant and alone, and I’d lost my job. I hoped having proven I was... fertile... my father would take me back in some form.”

“I take it he didn’t,” Maverick said.

I met his gaze full on. “My father doesn’t forgive or forget. He gave the kill order, and I was hunted through the woods until I reached the cliffs. Jumping seemed like the best option at the time.”

Maverick nodded slowly, then pushed himself off from the table. He walked over to the bound man in the chair and hit him, then he hit him again and again.