“Terrific timing.” Ryder growled. “You couldn’t have gotten here sooner, say when Alastair was ruining the pack?”
“Things were meant to happen as they will unfold.”
“Stop sounding like a damn fortune cookie,” Ryder snapped. “Where were you when everything was going to shit?”
“At your side, as you will recall. Do not judge me, Lupine.”
The wizard’s voice was dangerously soft.
But Ryder ignored the warning. “Alastair turned psycho long before I was pushed into challenging him. He hurt Kara!”
“You have free will, Ryder. You did not choose to leave,” the wizard pointed out. “And neither did Kara. You did this because of your love for Kara, and your respect for her father. Is that not true? If not, correct me.”
Ryder fell silent at that.
He gave them a critical look. “Alastair committed many wrongdoings and now it is time to heal. It is up to you, and Aiden and Kara, to forgive the past and move ahead. To forgive Alastair for all he did.”
A knot formed in her stomach. Kara stepped forward and looked directly at the powerful wizard. “I can forgive him. I know now what it is like to love so completely, your heart shatters when your mate is missing.”
Her mouth wobbled and her voice dropped to a bare whisper. “I just wish, wherever he was, he’d be at peace. He never had any peace after she died.”
The wizard gave her a gentle smile. “He’s with your mother now, Kara, and they are at peace, in Tir Na-nog, the land where the departed live, home to the Brehon. He did what he did because he loved her so much he could not bear the pain of losing his mate. He’s suffered enough in his earthly life.”
The wizard gave Ryder a solemn look. “You will find the official death certificate for Alastair on his desk. It is dated for today. With the death certificate you may fully assume ownership.”
“How did you get the death certificate? We buried him on the property and never informed the authorities. It’s why I kept forging his signature to pay bills and purchase food,” Ryder asked.
Tristan gave a mysterious smile. “You are not the only one who can forge signatures, Ryder Carrington. What is the use of having power as a wizard if I cannot help my people? It was the last action I had to take to set you on your way to leading the pack.”
The wizard waved a hand and vanished.
Aiden snorted. “Always the showmanship. Comes and goes when the fun gets started.”
Something inside her tight chest eased at last. “Come on. Both of you.”
Taking their hands, she led them inside, past the dining hall. They walked down the steep steps. Kara found the hidden key and unlocked the basement door. At her father’s office, she walked inside as they silently waited. Kara remembered all the love her father once showed her, and how cherished she once had felt, before her mother died.
“I forgive you, Dad. Be at peace,” she whispered, placing a palm on the table where he’d hurt her so much.
They went into the cell where Ryder had been imprisoned. Ryder placed a palm on the wall where he’d marked the days with his own blood. “I forgive you, Alastair. Be at peace.”
Then they walked upstairs. Aiden led them outside onto the porch. He turned, his expression deeply troubled.
“I can’t do this.”
“You must,” she said gently. “You must because you need healing. Dad is gone now, and you have to carry on.”
His silky black hair became tousled as Aiden shoved a hand through it. “There is no place where I suffered the most, like you two did. I never shared what the old man did to me. I know what he did to you.”
“Tell us, Aiden,” Ryder said.
His expression turned haunted. “He didn’t beat me as he did to you, Ryder. He didn’t burn me, like he did you, Kara. He hurt me with words. Every day, telling me I was incompetent and could never rule a pack of my own because I cared too much. He said I’d be even bigger fool if I fell in love because love is a bitch that will rip your heart apart. And an alpha must never let that happen. I made a vow to him that I’d always remain strong, and never let a woman capture my heart.”
Kara blinked and put a palm over her brother’s strong, beating heart. “Then he placed the deepest wounds of all on you, Aiden. That’s why you must forgive him.”
Aiden sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He placed a trembling hand over his chest. “I forgive you, Dad. Be at peace.”
Tears glistened when he opened his eyes. Aiden gruffly wiped them away. “Damn, enough of this. I’m going to the barn to supervise my men. They’re probably flirting with all your available females right now, Ryder. Don’t be surprised if a few steal away in my truck.”