The Mating(42)

“Dietrich? He died in a freak accident about eight or ten years ago. Kane was, oh, about fifteen or sixteen at the time, I think—barely out of being a pup, in my mind—but he wanted to learn how to do patrols.” Helen set down the whisk she’d been using to beat the eggs and gave Elise her full attention. “Even back then, Kane was showing leadership potential. While all the other boys were sniffing around the females, he was trying to learn pack business. He was such a serious little fellow.” She smiled reminiscently. “Anyway, Dietrich said he’d take Kane with him and show him the ropes. It should have been a basic patrol, especially with a young one along, but Dietrich was showing off, at least that’s my opinion. He took Kane over some of the roughest territory we own, down by the cliffs and ravines—there was absolutely no need to go there.” Helen shook her head. “Dietrich was running full out, which was just plain craziness on that type of terrain, probably trying to show up Kane and prove that he couldn’t keep up with the adult males.”

Giving a heavy sigh, Helen concluded the tale. “To make a long story short, Dietrich missed his step and fell down a ravine, breaking his neck. He died instantly, but, at the time, Kane didn’t know that. Kane tried to reach him and when he realized he couldn’t, he ran back for help. Of course, it was too late.” She paused and pursed her lips.

“Kane warned me not to go near the ravines by myself. Now I know why. He probably relives the horror of the experience every time someone goes there.”

Helen nodded. “The accident affected Kane deeply. Everyone told him he wasn’t responsible, that Dietrich knew the area and should have been watching, but Kane wouldn’t listen. He felt it was his fault for wanting to go along, for not getting help fast enough. That boy beat himself up for months over that accident. Then, he sort of pulled himself together and decided that he should be Marla’s protector. Kane said that with her father gone, it was his job to watch out for her.”

“But what about Marla’s mother?”

“Jeannie left a few months after the accident. She’d married into the pack and decided to go back home.” Helen shrugged. “I don’t think she ever really felt comfortable away from them. Some wolves are like that; they can’t make the transition no matter how long they’re with another pack. Marla didn’t want to leave; she’d been born here, after all. So Kane promised to keep an eye on her. He got her a little apartment, helped her get her driver’s license and even tried to screen her boyfriends.”

Elise smiled at the image of a young Kane trying to vet who Marla dated. That probably hadn’t gone over well!

“Marla, being Marla, just lapped up all the attention and put on her ‘poor little me’ act whenever she wanted something. Kane never could see through it for some reason. I suppose the guilt blinded him. For a while, I thought Marla would talk Kane into being mates. They dated a bit, but then she suddenly switched over to Ryne.” Helen resumed preparing the eggs, adding a dash of salt and pepper. “I think Kane was confused at first. After being responsible for her for so long, he didn’t know what to do. About that same time though, he became Zack’s Beta and threw himself into the job wholeheartedly. Zack and I used to worry about him.” A frown marred the woman’s brow as she slowly stirred the eggs again. “The poor boy always seemed to try too hard, worrying about everyone else before himself. That was one of the reasons Zack had Ryne become co-Beta. He was trying to get Kane to ease up and start living his own life. It only worked for a while though. Now with Zack gone, well...it’s all back on Kane’s shoulders again.”

Elise spoke softly. “I guess that explains why Kane wants me to be nice to Marla. He still feels responsible for her.”

Helen snapped out of her reverie. “Yes, but he should be more concerned about you. You’re his mate, after all, not Marla. Mind you, Marla’s playing all her cards right. She knows exactly what buttons to push to get Kane to do what she wants. Right now, she’s got Kane thinking it’s his fault she’s by herself. He feels guilty about being the reason Ryne left, even though the challenge was Ryne’s own idea. And Marla could have gone with Ryne if she chose—I’m sure he asked her—but the idea of living on the road and trying to find a new pack, or forming one of their own, would have seemed like too much work for her. Oh, no. She wanted to stay right here in the lap of luxury, with a well-established pack and a hefty bank balance.” Helen had once again picked up a head of steam while talking about Marla and resumed vigorously beating the already thoroughly whisked eggs.