Ryleigh pushed the infirmary doors open, calling Ridge's name in a sing-song voice to announce her arrival. Ridge wasn't there, however, but Julie was. 

"Why! Good morning. If it isn't the woman of mystery," Ryleigh said.

Julie breathed a laugh. "Me? I am the woman of mystery?"

"O, yes. Is Ridge here? He told me to drop by today."

"Not right now. He's making the rounds. I expect him back in a little bit."

"Alright. To return to my remark: yes, you're very mysterious to me. I've only seen you once, you know, and I've been here sixteen days – not that I'm keeping track or anything."

Julie was sitting on the edge of one of the beds, one leg gracefully draped across the other. Ryleigh plopped down on another bed, dangling her feet.

"I've been away a lot, I'll admit that," Julie said.

"I thought I might see you at dinner yesterday, but you didn't show. The others told me you were arranging a festival."

"Yes. Ellis sent me on an errand."

"Shame. I know Austin and you were supposed to meet up yesterday. He was pretty bummed he didn't get to see you. Are you meeting up with him today?"

"No. Ellis needed him to run an extra patrol."

Ryleigh pushed a chuckle through her nose and shook her head.

"What?" Julie said, not sure there was anything to laugh about.

"Ellis. He has such strict ideas about what fated mates should be like. He won't accept Austin and I aren't what he pictured. I get it, though. He wants what's best for his brother and he thinks fate is it."

"You don't think it is?"

Ryleigh smiled. "A better question is: do you?"

Julie's eyes flitted away from her and strayed through the room. Ryleigh was the last person she wanted to be discussing this with.

"You've had a fated mate, haven't you?" Ryleigh asked.

She froze, features tightening in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. "Yes. Ridge's son. He passed four years ago."

"I heard. I'm not going to pretend I can fathom that kind of loss. It does help me understand you, though."

Julie pulled her brows down, wrinkling her forehead. "How so?"

"Well, you leaving, for instance. What woman would do that? No one, except perhaps someone who is not only naturally moralistic but who also knows what it's like to have a soulmate."

"Right."

"Then on the other hand, I don't entirely believe you would just willingly step aside. I mean, I can understand why you would ask Austin to get me here. If I'd died in prison there would always have been a part of him that would have wondered about me. But leaving? That I don't get. Why would you willingly do that? My guess is that maybe you didn't."

Her head snapped back to Ryleigh. "What?"

"Like I said, Ellis has very clear ideas about fated mates. So I'm thinking that maybe he asked you to step aside?"

"Who told you that?"

"You did, I guess. And he did. You were going to spend time with Austin but then Ellis sent you on an errand? And then you would spend time with Austin today but Ellis sent him on patrol instead? He's clearly trying to keep you two apart. At the same time, he keeps pushing Austin towards me, forcing him to spend time with me. I'd find it funny if it didn't annoy me so much."

"You didn't tell Austin about this, did you?"

Ryleigh shook her head, slowly. "No. Nor will I. If he's really so daft he doesn't notice, then he deserves to be in the dark about this. It's interesting, though. No one seems to question your decision to leave for two weeks, which means that you must really have a reputation of doing the right thing. I wonder what that's like." She grinned. "My reputation is a bit the opposite."

"I heard," Julie said, a small smile playing on her lips. "Everyone seems to like you, though."

"Not everyone. I've wriggled my way into the hearts of some, but others need more convincing. My guards love me – don't you, guys?" She raised her voice at the last part, waving at Seth and Nate who had sat themselves down on the other side of the room.

"Do we what?" they called, looking up from the game of cards they were playing.

She made a dismissive gesture and chuckled, returning her focus to Julie. "They do love me. And Ridge likes me. So does Carry, I think. Ellis doesn't hate me. Conall does, but I get the notion that he hates most people."

"He does," Julie said, laughing despite herself. She wanted to dislike Ryleigh – she felt like she should – but she didn't. "Camden likes you too, I heard. You've been following his classes, haven't you?"

"Yes. They're interesting, and I have nothing better to do. I'm just biding my time. Two more weeks and I'm out of here. I'm guessing you're counting the days too."

She coloured a little. "Not really."

"I'm not saying you hate me so much you want to kick me out now, but I can imagine you wouldn't mind seeing the back of me."

"I have nothing against you."

"No, but I'm still getting between you and your man, whether I like or not. We're werewolves. We're nothing if not territorial. But you shouldn't worry. I have no interest in breaking you guys up. I fully intend to leave this place in two weeks, and I'm rooting for you."

"You're the only one, then," Julie said. "Ironic as that is."

Ryleigh smiled and slipped off the bed. "What can I say? I always bet against the odds."

*****

"Figured I'd find you here." Ryleigh entered the library, smiling at Austin. She glimpsed around the room. Satisfied that there was no one else there – which wasn't surprising since it was already pretty late at night – she progressed to where Austin was seated in front of the fireplace. She dropped herself into a comfortable chair, watching him.

He closed his book. "You were looking for me?"

"Yes, actually. Don't look so surprised. Can you dismiss Nate and Seth? I have something to tell you."

Austin looked up to Ryleigh's guards standing near the door and nodded at them. They left without a word. "Should I be worried?" he said, fixing his gaze on hers once the door closed behind the two men.

"No. After our conversation yesterday, I realised you were going to endlessly push me to tell you more about me."

He opened his mouth to protest but she raised a hand.

"You don't agree with my phrasing, I get that, but I'm sure you agree with the message. You're curious to know who I am, and you're not going to be satisfied until I tell you. I don't think I can endure two more weeks of your nagging, so I've decided to come clean."

"Come clean?" he said. "About...?"

"Everything."

"Really?"

She nodded. She was sitting on the edge of her chair, fidgeting with her fingers. "Yes." She smiled, almost nervously, which was very unlike her. "Where to start, though?"

"Perhaps with your pack?" he suggested, leaning forwards eagerly.

"Right. You're not going to like it."

"Don't tell me it's –"

"Golden Dawn," Ryleigh said, nodding her head a few times.

Austin cursed softly under his breath. "Should have known."

She chuckled. "Probably." She drew one of her legs up, wrapping her arms around it. "It explains why we never met. You haven't exactly spent much time at Golden Dawn since the war."

"That's true." His fingers tapped the armrest. "So how did you end up in Royal Wolf territory?"

"Right. Quite the story, that." She swallowed and looked up at him. He was looking back, his eyes wide, eager. "Did you know that Alpha Braxton's son – Ryan – lost his mate in the war?"

"Yes, I heard about that. I don't feel especially sorry about it. We lost a lot of mates too. They started it, you know."

"Well, that depends on who you ask. But none of that matters. What matters is that he's not getting any younger and no longer has a mate to provide him with pups."

"Alright," Austin said, slowly. 

"I'm a soldier," she said. "A good one. Lately I'd been drawing some attention. Ryan took notice of me. I didn't think much of it at first, but then one day his father called me into his office. Ryan was there too. Said he wanted me to mate him."

Austin didn't say anything, but his eyes grew a size larger and a shade darker.

"I mean, I'm twenty-five, which isn't old, but it's not that young either, and my mate wasn't exactly showing his face. I suppose they figured I'd be suitable for childbearing and that was that. I said no, of course, but he made it very clear he wasn't asking." She dragged her tongue across her upper teeth. "Ryan liked me. He liked how I fought, liked how I wasn't afraid to speak my mind. After I said no, his interest turned into obsession."

"Really?" Austin said. "I mean, I don't know him all that well but he never struck me as the type to obsess over someone."

"He's pretty good at hiding it. I never knew either. Walked right into the trap. Anyway. I ran. I wasn't about to mate someone I had no interest in. I wasn't sure where I was going. All I knew is that I had to get away from there before something happened that couldn't be undone. And that's how I ended up in the Royal Wolves' territory – and the rest is history."

He was quiet a moment, processing. "What about the attacks?"

"Ah, yes. Ryan's a pretty strong alpha. You know how when alphas get pissed, they push their authority onto everyone, and it makes them do things they don't want to do? It's a sort of mind-control, if you think about it. Well, it's kind of like that. He links me, and when I don't respond, he pushes his alpha energy through the link, and I lose my mind."

"But pack links don't work at a large distance."

"No, I know, but he lives right next door, and it's not too hard to imagine him sneaking past border patrol every once in a while."

"But if he knows where you are, why hasn't he attempted to come get you?"

"What is he supposed to do? Ask Ellis to hand me over? Ellis wouldn't do that. He loves fate too much, he would never rip me away from you, especially not at the order of someone he despises. Or is he to take me forcefully? Him and what army? I guess that's why he's been forcing me to run – so I'd get out of your grasp. If he can make me cross back into Golden Dawn territory, he can restrain me and mate me."

Austin exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his chin. "So why didn't you just tell me this?"

"At the beginning I guess I was afraid you'd turn me in. I mean, I've heard plenty of stories about this pack. I'm starting to realise most of those weren't true, but I didn't know that when I just got here. You clearly didn't want me, and I figured that maybe it would be convenient for you to give me back to Ryan. And after that... I don't know. I was embarrassed, I guess. Being mind-controlled by some Golden Dawn alpha? Come on, I'm better than that. Only I'm not. O! You should talk to Ridge. You know he's originally from Golden Dawn. The reason we've been getting along so well from the start is because we know each other. I mean, he hasn't been back at Golden Dawn for a long time now, but he used to come back every once in a while, before things turned sour. I've seen him a couple of times growing up. Ask him if he knows me. I can tell you have trouble trusting me. No, no, don't defend yourself. I get it. I haven't exactly been honest so far. So talk to Ridge." She got up from the chair. "Or don't. Do whatever you want. If it helps put your mind at ease, talk to him. I don't expect you to trust me blindly, not after everything."

He nodded slowly. "Maybe I will," he said. He glanced up at her. "So why tell me now? You were so adamant yesterday."

"I panicked. I don't like talking about things that hurt me, especially under pressure. But you were right: you deserve to know what's going on with my attacks. And, you know, keeping secrets is tiring. And I'm tired enough as it is." She shrugged and moved towards the door. "Anyway, that's all I wanted to say to you. I promised Seth and Nate I'd kick their asses in our card game again, so I'll be going now."

"Ryleigh," he said, causing her to turn around, one eyebrow raised. "Thank you for telling me." 

______

A/N: Answers at last ;) 

As always, thank you for reading!