Savage Urges (The Phoenix Pack, #5)(64)

“I’m calling about the salamander brand.”

Ryan stopped in his tracks. “You remembered something?” It had been over three weeks since he’d mentioned the matter to Garrett.

“No, but you know I don’t like unanswered questions, so I looked into it. Asked a few people. The Alpha of a wolf pack in New Zealand made a point of branding each of his wolves. His name was Conrad Griffin. He was a sick bastard.”

“Was?”

“He’s been dead for seven years now. From what I’ve heard, the new Alpha’s nothing like him.”

Ryan would decide that for himself after he’d done some research. “Thanks, Garrett.” Ending the call, he went to his room, took a shower, and then pulled out his laptop. He could have asked Rhett to do the research, but it wasn’t right to share any of this without Makenna’s permission.

Two hours later, Ryan’s head was swimming with information. He wanted to share it with her, and yet he didn’t. Some of it would hurt her; he didn’t want that. But she was already hurting, wasn’t she?

Torn, Ryan spent the rest of the day debating what to do. Makenna deserved to know her past. But she’d already told him she didn’t want to know. The thing was, he didn’t believe that. Not for a minute. And neither did Dawn.

That night, as they lay in what had become their “spot” in the forest, she braced herself on one elbow and said, “Okay, spill it.” She jabbed a finger at him. “Don’t blow me off. Something’s been bothering you all day. I gave you the chance to tell me, you didn’t. So now I’m asking, what is it?”

He played his fingers through her hair. “You’ll be mad at me.”

Makenna stilled as various bad scenarios ran through her head. “What?”

“I couldn’t let it alone, Kenna. Not when it hurts you.”

Just like that, she knew what this was about. “What have you done?”

“I haven’t killed them, if that’s what you’re asking.” He rolled onto his side to face her. “You have a choice to make: you can ask me to share what I’ve discovered about your past, or you can tell me to keep it to myself and we’ll never speak of this again.”

She ground her teeth. “I trusted you with my secrets, Ryan.”

“I haven’t shared them with a soul.”

“All I asked was that you let it lie.”

“I’ll never overlook something that hurts you.” Ever. She tried to stand, but he curled an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “I can tell you about your pack. About your father. I can tell you what your real name is, what your mother’s real name was.” He raked a hand into her hair. “If you don’t want those facts, I’ll drop this forever. I just wanted you to have the choice.” He rested his forehead against hers. “But I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”

She knew he was; knew he never meant to hurt her, so she couldn’t stay mad at him. She’d always thought she didn’t want any answers. It should have been easy to tell him to do as he’d promised and drop it forever. But now that the answers were close, now that curiosity was biting her, it was hard to let it go. There was no harm in asking at least one question, right? “What was my mom’s real name?”

Ryan had suspected she’d want to know that, if nothing else. “Sinead Gannon.”

Makenna frowned. The name wasn’t bad, but it didn’t suit her mom at all. She shouldn’t ask. She should drop it, but . . . “And mine?”

“I don’t know about your first name. Your surname would have been Gannon-Paxton.”

Makenna’s nose wrinkled. “Why couldn’t you find out my first name?”

“You weren’t born in the pack. It’s a long story.”

That made absolutely no sense. She inhaled deeply, unable to resist asking, “What’s the story?”

“You’re from the Geraint Pack in New Zealand. When the old Alpha, Conrad, was in charge, it was very cultlike. He was controlling and oppressive. He branded each of his wolves as a symbol of dominance and ownership. He had a tattoo of a salamander, which was why he used it as a symbol for the pack. No one complained. They saw him as their savior.”

“Savior?” she repeated, incredulous.

“The prior Alpha was even worse. When Conrad stepped in and killed him, the pack was grateful. He rebuilt the place, gained them more land, found them a healer, and brought order. In doing all that, he bought their loyalty and took control. They felt indebted to this person who convinced them that everything he did was for the good of the pack. They were devoted to him.”

“Why did he banish my mother?”

Ryan slowly skimmed a hand up and down her arm as he spoke. “Your parents weren’t true mates, but they cared for each other and asked Conrad’s permission to mate. There were no unsanctioned pairings. He arranged every mating, whether those wolves were true mates or not, whether they cared for each other or not.”

“But that would be sabotaging the future of his pack. Only true mates or imprinted couples can develop mating bonds, and only mated couples can have pups. He had to know that.”

“It’s said that he wasn’t altogether sane. Maybe that blinded him. Maybe he didn’t want his pack to expand because it was easier to control a small one.”