Mated To An Enemy

761  A Part of His Family

Landon was surprised, to say the least. He had questions, but Fiona had no real answers to share. She had no idea where Caleb had been or how Ashleigh had found him. She told him that Ashleigh and Caleb would arrive in two more days, and then they would get their answers.

After telling him about Ashleigh’s message, Landon and Fiona had gotten out of bed to focus on the conversation. Now they sat together at a small table, each partaking of an apple.

“If they are still two days from arriving,” Landon said, looking at Fiona across from him. “Why did you leave in such a hurry?”

Fiona sighed and set down her apple.

“I was shocked,” she began, “I wasn’t sure what to do. But as I began to think that Caleb might really have come back, I realized what I had done.”

She lowered her head and took a deep breath.

Landon furrowed his brow, confused by her reaction.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I gave up on him,” she said softly, looking up at Landon with tears. “And in doing so, I took everything away from him.”

“Fiona…”

Landon began to protest, but Fiona held her hand to stop him.

“I don’t want you to try and convince me that I have done nothing wrong,” she said. “I know it was reasonable to assume that there was no hope. To accept that Caleb was gone and move forward for the sake of the pack.”

Landon nodded.

“But,” Fiona continued, “I could have done that without sacrificing Caleb’s role as Alpha.”

Landon swallowed as he heard the pain and anger slowly moving into her voice.

“In fact, I planned to do exactly that,” she stated. “I was going to become Summer’s Alpha, holding his place for him until he returned.”

Fiona paused, clenching her jaw.

“I believed he would return,” she said quietly. “I was sure of it… until Galen convinced me otherwise.”

Landon lowered his head and closed his eyes.

“That was why you came here yesterday,” he said softly. “To confront Galen about convincing you to give up being Alpha.”

“Yes,” Fiona replied through gritted teeth.

She was angry and hurt. Nothing about the years that followed Caleb’s disappearance was easy, but giving up on his return had been one of the lowest points in her life. And knowing that it was Galen, of all people, who had convinced her when he still believed Caleb could return, it was a betrayal she had never expected.

“I have always considered him a son,” she said, her voice quiet and hurt. “I raised him, loved him, and trusted him. He was a brother to Caleb. The three of us… we survived so much together…”

She paused, taking a deep breath and clenching her fists.

“I don’t understand how he could stand there and lie to my face… how he could have looked me in the eye all these years.”

Landon looked up at Fiona. Her hands were balled into tight fists, and her jaw was clenched shut. She looked angry, but he knew that, more than anything else, she was hurting.

The joy she should have felt at Caleb’s return was overshadowed by the guilt of moving on with her life and not protecting his place in Summer. While she and Galen should have celebrated together, they were now at odds.

Growing up in Broken Crag, Landon had always known the value of family. Jonas had taken him in and guided him like a son. He taught him all that he knew and more than he could have ever thought to ask.

Landon had never considered the possibility of getting close to anyone outside of his pack. He had held feelings for Nessa when he was younger, but after meeting Fiona, after spending even a short amount of time with her, he had questioned whether he ever actually loved Nessa or simply wanted to remain a part of her family.

In these past five years, he had made many friends and alliances. But no relationship mattered more to him than the one he shared with Fiona. And through her, he had also gotten close to Galen, Bell, and their son Ren.

While he was very well aware that Fiona would likely never allow him to make it official, he considered them all a part of his family.

He knew what they all meant to her and how hard she had worked to get through her grief over losing Caleb.

Landon stood from his chair. Surprised by the sudden movement, Fiona looked up at him.

“Come with me,” he said, extending his hand to her.

Fiona furrowed her brows but stood and took his hand. Landon led her out of the room without another word. It wasn’t until they turned down the hall that led toward Galen’s office that she finally said something.

“Landon, stop. I don’t need you to be my hero,” she said, pulling back against him, “this isn’t something for you to get involved with. It is between Galen and I.”

Landon did not stop. Instead, he moved even more determinedly toward the door.

“Landon, I am serious!” Fiona shouted.

But it was too late. They had reached the door, and Landon didn’t bother to knock, shoving it open and moving them inside.

At his desk, Galen stood from his chair.

“Landon?” he called out, then seeing Fiona, he swallowed. “Fiona…”

Fiona pulled her hand out of Landon’s grip and softly growled at him.

“I told you to stop,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” Landon said, looking back at her, “but we need to talk, all of us.”

Landon looked back at Galen.

Galen furrowed his brows and stepped out from behind his desk.

“What is this?” he asked.

Fiona looked up at Galen.

“You and I have not finished our conversation,” she said coldly, then looked back at Landon. “But this has nothing to do with you.”

Landon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out slowly and then looked at Fiona again.

“I’m afraid it does,” he said. “I know how much you love Galen, how much your relationship means to you. I cannot allow you to destroy that over something that was not his fault.”

Fiona looked at Landon with confusion and concern.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Landon looked back at Galen, who also stared at him confusedly. Then he turned back to Fiona.

“Galen may have been the one to convince you not to become Alpha,” he said. “But he only did so because I pushed him into it.”