Mated To The Alpha King

Little Brother

A low growl sounds from behind me and I pull back from my brother's embrace. Once separated, a possessive hand guides my body back until my back bumps Ryder's chest. I look up at him through my lashes. "It's not like that, Ryder. Cameron is my little brother." I turn my head back to take in this unbelievable sight. "I was so scared you were dead," I whisper, my eyes still wide in disbelief. 

Unable to stop myself, I take Cameron back into a tight hug. Cameron says nothing but squeezes me back. I lean back taking in his face. He looks so much older. "How, Cameron? We've been looking for you everywhere. It was as if you had fallen off of the face of the earth."

Cameron's jaw clenches tightly as he shakes his head, pulling away from me. "So much happened that day," he says with a weak smile, but a heavy silence hangs in the air at his words. "I was with the rogue pack for almost three years. It wasn't good - beatings, starvation, sleep deprivation, and whatever else their twisted little minds could think up." His words startle me and guilt swallows me whole. He's so much more brazen than the boy I remembered. Though I know that the rogue pack took a lot from me and Jason...they took a whole lot more from Cameron. 

"But one day the Royal Pack ambushed the rogues' base, finding me and some other prisoners in the basement," he continues. He pauses for a moment before locking our eyes. "I had just assumed that our pack was gone. After seeing Mom and Dad and not knowing what happened to you and Jason," his emotions choke him for a moment, but he quickly clears his throat. "My job here had nothing to do with other packs and no one ever brought up ours. I guess a small part of me was always hesitant to go find out myself because I was afraid of what I would find." Again, guilt rocks my soul and I ache for my little brother who went through the unimaginable. 

I turn to Ryder. "Would you mind giving us a little time to talk?" I ask. 

Ryder nods his head. "Yes, of course. Take all the time you need. Link me if you need me," he rattles off, squeezing my waist with the hand that somehow managed to get back on there. I give him a small smile in confirmation and he slides out the door, closing it behind himself. 

I place my hands on the sides of his shoulders. "I am so sorry, Cameron. We tried, but couldn't find you. Jason and I searched for you every day, in one way or another. We have packs all over the country on the lookout. I'm sorry we couldn't find you, Cam," I tell him with tears in my eyes.

Cameron frowns and shakes his head in a disapproving manner. "What happened to me wasn't your fault or Jason's. It was the rogues and only the rogues that hurt our family. You both did everything you could to help me and there's nothing more I could have asked for," he states firmly.

I give him a small smile. "Okay, little brother," I say.

Cameron smiles in return, pushing my arms away to bring me into another hug. "I love you, Snow."

I giggle at the nickname he so affectionately dubbed me when he saw my shifted form for the first time. He said the white fur reminded him of snow and henceforth, he has always called me Snow. "I love you too, Cammy." Cameron automatically groans and pushes me away playfully at the "girlie" nickname I gave him when we were kids. 

"Is Jason here with you?" Cameron asks and I can hear the hope in his voice. His expression of disappointment crushes me a little bit when I shake my head no.

I motion towards the loveseat against the wall and we both take a seat. "Then why are you here?" Cameron asks, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion. 

I sigh and let out a humorless chuckle. "The Alpha King is my mate, Cameron. I had to come back to the Castle with him,"  I explain. Shouldn't he already know this?