(This scene also takes place in Book 1: Alpha King's Missing Mate Chapter 48 from Talia's POV)
Ragnar couldn't pull his eyes away from the she-wolf who had just entered the room with his Alpha. She was beautiful, with long blond hair and clear blue eyes. Her lips were full and parted, her skin a healthy golden tan. She was almost a foot shorter than him, and she wore a purple flannel shirt, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of faded jeans. He could tell she'd been crying; her eyes were swollen, and she looked exhausted. He couldn't imagine the pain she felt after losing her mate.
And that was what confused him. Werewolves didn't get a Second Chance Mate, unless they were members of his pack. 'You're sure?' he asked Rollo, though he already knew the answer.
'Of course I'm sure.' Rollo was disgusted. 'But she doesn't know. She's drawn to us, and so is her wolf, but they don't realize we're their mate yet.'
'How is that possible?' He couldn't take his eyes off of her.
'Perhaps she will join our pack soon,' Rollo suggested, preening for his mate.
It sounded logical, but it annoyed him a bit that she didn't realize he belonged to her.
'Mate is not ready for us,' Rollo said wisely. 'She is hurting. They both are. They need time.'
'Well, we have plenty of that,' Ragnar mused.
'For now, we must be their friend,' Rollo advised.
'She has a pup,' Ragnar reminded him.
'So? Then, WE have a pup. We will train him well,' Rollo huffed at him. 'Shut up and let the Alpha speak. Other Alpha may know why mate doesn't recognize us.'
"Talia, this is Ragnar, my Beta," Daniel said, glancing back and forth between the two of them curiously. "I've got a few more things to do before we can get out of here. I'm going to leave her with you."
"Alright," Ragnar murmured, his gaze never leaving Talia.
Daniel raised an eyebrow at him, then shook his head and left the room.
Ragnar stood and walked over to Talia, stopping about a foot away from her. The urge to gather her in his arms and kiss away her pain nearly overwhelmed him, but he couldn't do it. He'd kill any chance he had with her.
For eleven hundred years, he'd been a werewolf, and he'd never had a mate. He'd never understood why, and neither had anyone else. Ragnar had been married before he'd become a werewolf, but he'd had to walk away from that once he'd fully understood the ramifications of becoming an immortal werewolf bound to the Alpha King. He didn't regret the decision.
Of course, there had been other women, but none that he'd ever grown attached to. He'd watched others find their mates and the joy they experienced from the bond. But he realized he'd never fully understood it until that moment when Talia had entered the room. His world had stopped, been flipped upside down for a moment before being flipped back to his new normal. She was suddenly the center of his universe, his glorious sun that he would happily orbit around for the rest of his days.
But she had no idea, and he'd bet his favorite sword a new mate was the last thing Talia wanted right now.
'Don't bet the sword. I like that one,' Rollo said solemnly. 'She does want us, and it's freaking her out a little. I think even if we told her she was our mate, she'd be hesitant to reject us.'
Ragnar hoped Rollo was right.
'Stop staring at her like a creep and say something.' Rollo rolled his eyes at Ragnar.
"Are you ready for this?" Ragnar asked, aware that Rollo was looking out at her.
'Real smooth, dingbat,' Rollo huffed. 'Notice she's been staring at us just as hard as we've been staring at her.'
Ragnar watched a frown mar her pretty face, though she didn't respond, and he wondered if she was talking to her wolf. He stepped around her and walked out of the room, glancing back to make sure she was still following him. He stopped in front of the room Leon was in. Talia looked in through the small barred window before pulling back with a gasp.
'Mate is panicking,' Rollo warned him. 'Comfort her. She'll accept it.'
Ragnar hesitated but felt his heart break when Talia began to sob. He wrapped his arms around her and felt the tingles flow up and through him.
'Does she feel that?' he asked Rollo.
'No,' Rollo said sadly.
Ragnar let a sense of peace flow out of him and into her, something only a mate could do, and he heard her heart rate slow. She laid her head against his chest, and he breathed her in, wishing he could take away her pain.
"I can't do this," she whispered. "I just ... I can't. I'm letting him down."
"You don't have to, and somehow, I don't think he would want you to," Ragnar said quietly as he held her. "Killing him will not take the pain away. If anything, it'll only add to it. It won't give you the peace you seek. Only time will ease the ache. I'll kill him for you."
She looked up at him, and he gently brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs as he gazed down into her sad blue eyes. This is where you belong, my mate.
"You'd kill for me?" She seemed surprised.
"Yes, I'd kill for you," he said honestly. He'd do anything for her. "Tell me how."
Ragnar started to step back, but she grabbed him. "Please..."
He was startled to see the longing in her eyes.
'Told ya,' Rollo gave him a wolfy grin.
He wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her against him. She felt so good, and he just wanted to hold her forever. He finally had a mate.
After a bit, she pulled away and slowly told him how she wanted Leon to die. Tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke, staring at Ragnar's chest, and he realized she wanted Leon to die the same way her mate had. When she was done, she looked up, finally meeting his gaze, and he silently nodded to her. He couldn't resist brushing her tears away one more time before he entered Leon's cell.
The former Beta's eyes suddenly opened, and he whimpered as he saw Ragnar approach. He walked around Leon and pulled the silver knife back out. A small gasp from Talia drew his attention for a moment, and he saw her covering her mouth.
He placed the knife against Leon's arm, and his scream filled the entire hallway. Ragnar then plunged the knife into Leon's thigh before jerking it upwards towards his groin. He pulled it out and repeated the action on his other thigh before he finally broke Leon's neck.
Talia's sobs reached him, and he tossed the knife down before leaving the room. She was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, her face buried in her hands. He sat down beside her, then pulled her against him, and let her cry.
Talia had finally stopped crying after several long moments, though she hadn't moved. She couldn't bring herself to break the connection between her and this wolf, and she had no idea why. He was... comforting. But she couldn't imagine that he appreciated having a woman use him as a handkerchief. She finally sat up. "I need to get back to Matthew."
He was on his feet very quickly and offered her a hand, helping her to stand. "Would you like me to walk you back?"
I shouldn't.
'Say yes,' Lila commanded her, startling Talia.
"Okay," she agreed. She followed him back up the steps and out of the building, stopping to take a deep breath of fresh air. "He was starting to stink."
Ragnar glanced at her. "He pissed himself shortly after I found him."
Talia snorted at that, then blushed, embarrassed at the unladylike sound. "Not very brave, is he?"
"Nope." Ragnar smiled at her, and she basked in it for a moment. She immediately felt guilty and started to walk back towards the pack house. He fell into step next to her.
"Alpha Daniel has invited me to come stay with your pack for a bit," she started, not sure why she was telling him.
"Are you going to take him up on the offer?" Ragnar asked hopefully. He had just begun to realize how complicated this could get with her not realizing he was her mate. She was from a different pack, and Ragnar had no good reason to see her again. Even if he told her he was her mate, she wouldn't believe him. He held his breath, waiting for her answer.
"Yes, though I'm not sure it's a good idea." Her pace slowed with her words.
"Why's that?"
"I'm the reason all of this happened. Your pack will blame me." She was supposed to keep all information about the Alpha King's mate secret. Very few had known that the King had found his mate because, shortly after he had, she'd disappeared. Talia had known, though, and she'd watched her own mate be tortured and then killed because she hadn't been willing to give up the information. It had only been when Leon had dangled her infant son by his ankles in her face that she'd broke. That had led to the Alpha King's mate and daughter being kidnapped. And while Daniel had found both his mate and his daughter, Talia had lost her own mate.
Ragnar stopped and turned her toward him. "Talia, the only one who blames you for any of this is you. You were put into an impossible situation. My pack will welcome you with open arms." He let go of her but continued to look at her, watching the conflicting emotions in her eyes.
Talia stared up at him. The Beta had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen. His hair was blond, shaved on the sides and long on the top. He had it slicked back, perfectly in place. He had a full beard that was neatly trimmed. His heavily muscled arms were tattooed. The man was incredibly handsome and probably intimidating when he released his aura, though she felt completely comfortable around him. "You can't know that for sure," she whispered, a tear falling down her cheek as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
"I know my pack very well. We've been together for a long, long time," he said quietly.
She stared at him, her eyes flashing a bright, vivid blue.
Hello, wolf. Ragnar felt Rollo look out of his own eyes, meeting her wolf's gaze.
"I know your pack members are immortal. It's why I asked Daniel to be Matthew's godfather," she said quietly. "I have no desire to go back to New York. I'm honestly not sure I ever will, either. I've lived there my whole life, but I never really saw New York City until this last year with James. It's something we did together, seeing the sites."
"So come to Pennsylvania. Spend some time with my pack. Get to know us. There are those there who will be more than willing to talk, to help you heal," Ragnar told her. Like me.
She was quiet for several long moments, just looking at him.
'We should go,' Lila said quietly. 'I don't wish to return to the city and reminders of Mate. And there is something about this wolf. Something I can't quite put my paw on.'
'You're sure about this?' Talia asked gently.
'Yes. We need time to heal, like he said. We need to be there for our pup. Though it hurts, we must carry on.' Lila looked out at the handsome wolf in front of her again and saw him looking back at her. She felt drawn to him and couldn't explain why. 'Tell him.'
"I'll come. I really can't go back to New York yet anyway, I just can't." Talia brushed away another tear, then turned and began walking again.
Ragna fell into step beside her as they walked into the house. He followed her up the stairs, and she stopped in the doorway of a room. He saw her square her shoulders, then she stepped inside. He followed her in, stopping just inside the bedroom.
The room was large, which was good as there were quite a few people in it. Jenna, who was the Alpha King's mate, was holding a baby, along with her father, Mitch; Charlotte, Caleb's mate, who was also holding a baby, and Caleb, who was standing next to her, looking down at the baby.
Jenna smiled at Talia, who walked over and took the pup from Jenna's arms, lifting him to her face and gently kissing his forehead.
"Thank you for taking care of him," she said softly. She still felt uncomfortable, knowing they were all here because of her.
Jenna wrapped her arms around her. "I love you, Talia. You've been like a sister to me. I'm here for you, no matter what." She kissed Talia on the cheek, then turned to the room. "Talia, this is my father; Caleb and Charlotte, Daniel's parents; and Ragnar, the Beta."
Talia gave a small smile that never reached her eyes. She bowed her head to the former Alpha King and Luna Queen, then turned to Jenna. "Your dad knows?" she whispered.
Jenna chuckled. "He knew before we told him. He's known for a long time."
Charlotte approached the women, having handed the baby off to her grandfather. "Talia, Daniel told me he has invited you to stay with us for a while?"
"Yes, Luna, I do plan to come back to Pennsylvania with you." Talia didn't dare look the former Luna Queen in the eye. But to her surprise, the she-wolf pulled Talia into a hug.
"It's just Charlotte. I haven't been the Luna Queen in over two hundred years." Charlotte rubbed her back as she held Talia. "We'd love to have you and help you heal."
"Thank you," Talia said quietly. Her gaze met Ragnar's intense one over Charlotte's shoulder. She felt comforted by the idea of being around him on a regular basis.