Page 53 of The Last Sacrifice

Hyde took his hand. Watching the relief flood through the young man at his acceptance.

Taking the lid off the bottle of whisky, Hyde handed it to the boy. Ignoring the Doc’s sigh.

“Explain” he knew his voice was rough. But he didn’t curb it. Ryder had deliberately kept information from the Pack about the blood hunt. He had taken part in trying to cover up a break in the king’s law. He still needed to face Hyde’s judgement.

Taking a swig, Ryder swallowed hard as the liquor went down his throat.

“The newborn vampire was my sister,” the words were whispered. Another lie revealed. Even the Doc looked shocked as he tried to pretend he wasn’t listening.

“You told me you had no family” it was Pack policy to sever all ties with family members when joining the Titans. Hyde refused any weakness that may give Draven another tool of control over his men.

“Only her. I thought you would kill her. So I lied.” The words rushed out of the young wolf now that he had started to talk. “she knew something was wrong. No matter how much I begged her to stay away, she still showed up. I refused to meet up with her Hyde. I tried to follow your orders, but then she met that vampire Harry. He lied to her about what I was, promising that if she joined Harry, she would be like me... the asshole used her.”

Taking a deep breath, Ryder’s grip tightened around the bottle.

“Her next phone message was begging me for help. It was my fault she was here, my fault that Harry even turned her. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Damn” Valentine’s voice was low as he stood leaning against the door. Meeting Hyde’s look, he shrugged. A newborn vampire with a werewolf brother would have made Draven’s day. The sadistic bastard wouldn’t have been able to resist testing the siblings against each other, at the very least.

“And you still didn’t tell me.”

“I thought I could get her out of the city before Draven discovered her. In Europe, she wouldn’t be the king’s puppet. She might have had a chance. I didn’t know that Harry would insist on going with her,”

Harry was the reason they had called the blood hunt. Refusing his master’s call had alerted the king to the illegal newborn.

The vampire king was harsh with the wolves he controlled, but he was even more a sadist with his own people. If the kid had come to him. Told him the truth. Hyde would have punished him for the first lie. But he could have got the girl out.

Now Ryder was blind, recovering from torture, and in time Mortica would present the girl at Draven’s court.

Everyone lost.

“You failed. Was it worth it?”

Shoulders straightening, Ryder nodded. “She is my sister.”

“You’re a fucking idiot” taking the bottle out of his hands, Hydes stood as he took a swig.

Flinching at his alpha’s words. Ryder swallowed hard.

“We all do crazy things for love” glaring at Valentine Hyde, shook his head.

“And that’s how you get people killed.”