CHAPTER SIXIt seemed as if everything had moved so fast after that initial night at the party where she and Bradley had announced their engagement. Within two weeks, they were married, at least on fake paper and in the minds of the clan. She had found herself returning to the chambers of Walter, out of sympathy or shame, she wasn’t quite sure.
“Take care of Bradley for me,” he had told her.
“You seem very fond of him,” she replied, holding the dying man’s frail hand.
“I am. He’s like a son to me. I was never able to have my own sons, an unfortunate circumstance for the alpha of a clan. What can you do, though? If mother nature had seen fit for me to multiply, she would have seen that I did so.”
“You wanted children of your own, I take it.”
“Honestly? I never really cared. It was my wife that was important to me. She was an angel and I wanted her to be happy. I even offered to allow her to mate with others, to bring new life into the world, despite my inabilities. I was relieved when she said no, more than once. So, we kept trying and failing. At some point, we stop trying and just enjoyed failing,” he said, some hint of a faint glimmer in his eye. He smiled and looked at her softly.
“What became of her?”
“In every clan, there are those who do not belong. They do not want what is best for all, only for themselves. When you are the alpha, people will take from you what is most precious. She is buried beneath the large oak tree just outside my window.”
It was only in this moment that Kay realized that, despite being located away from the sunlight, he was angled in such a way that the tree he referenced was still within his view. She followed his gaze toward it, for the first time noting the small white cross that sat beneath its heavy branches.
“Someone killed her?” she gasped.
“Yes. Seconds later, they met the same fate,” he sighed, his voice trailing off as he added, “but it didn’t bring her back to me.”
“I’m sorry, Walter. This must be very painful for you. I didn’t mean to dredge up ancient history.”
“No. You dredged up nothing. She is never far from my thoughts. I’m looking forward to seeing her again very soon.”
“Don’t say that. You still have lots of time.”
“No. I do not, and I’m okay with that. I’ve made peace with it. I’m leaving the ranch in good hands. I know that you and Bradley will see after this clan and this place just as my wife and I did for many years before she passed. Do better than me. Fill it with cubs that will pass it down from generation to generation, so that your family never dies like mine does with me.”
“You’ve no brothers? Cousins?”
“No. My cousins were lost to a disease that ravaged our childhood ranks when I was young. Only my brother and I survived it. It was the cause of my inability to produce children and he suffered the same fate.”
“But you said he survived. What became of him?”
“He didn’t survive me,” Walter said sadly, his gaze falling back toward the oak tree in the yard.
Kay realized it had been his brother who killed Walter’s wife and he had put him down for it. The two people closest to him, dead in a matter of moments. Had Bradley taken advantage of his loneliness? Played the part of the good son he would never have of his own blood? The thought made her feel horrible and she wanted to tell Walter the truth, but she hesitated. What good would that really do a man in his position. Who was she to give him more heartache on his death bed?
Leaning down, she kissed him softly on the cheek. She tried not to express her disdain at what she knew nor react to the smell that now emanated from his body. It was the smell of death that settled in during those final days of the long-term ill. Soon, the death rattle would come, signaling the beginning of the end. Walter would be gone within the month, probably sooner.
“Goodnight, sweet girl. Go and find your husband. Hold onto him tight. I will see you again soon.”
“Goodnight, Walter.”
Kay hurried out of the room, leaning against the wall outside his room. The tears fell again, just as they had every single time she had visited since arriving in this place. Pulling herself together, she went downstairs. Bradley was laughing with some of the other members of the clan, leaving her to wonder, once again, if Walter and this place really meant anything to him or if he was just playing a part to put his hands on the wealth he hoped the ranch would bring.