Chapter 88

RYKER’S P.O.V

As soon as the girls left, I saw the guilt in Riley’s expression. I wanted to assure her that she had nothing to worry about but that would have been a lie. Damien comforted her while I balanced my sleeping infant on one hand and began clearing up the picnic. It was a good day but it could have ended better. Damien and Riley came to help but they did so in silence. I could feel the tension in the air and I knew it was only a matter of time before someone broke it.

“Should I have picked a better time?” Damien whispered once Riley was out of earshot. “I didn’t want to hurt her but I figured she was going to find out sooner or later.”

“Are you asking because you want a genuine answer or because you want to make yourself feel better?” I asked and he shook

his head with a small smile.

“I almost forgot how brutal you could be, Ryker,” I glanced at Audrey out of the corner of my eye. She was playing by the stream and I wanted to make sure she didn’t run off or get hurt. “I want the truth.”

“The truth is that I don’t know,” he frowned at my response, it was clearly not what he was expecting. “Look, I know better than to comment on something that I don’t have the full picture of. Only you know the answer to that question and I think the fact that you’re torn up about it tells you everything you need to know.”

He wanted to say something but footsteps filled the air. Christine and Camilla returned but I saw an expression in her eyes that had my spine straightening. I quickly called Riley over and handed Aurora over to her. She looked like she had a million questions but I didn’t wait to hear them. I walked over to my mate and ran my hands down her shoulders. She gave me a small smile but I could see through her façade. She was shaking and her skin was a bit cold to touch.

“What happened?” I asked but she shook her head. I resisted the urge to growl because I knew it wouldn’t help. I dropped my voice so it was soft. “Talk to me, Camilla. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I thought I saw something in the woods but it was nothing, I blinked and it wasn’t there.”

for

Camilla wasn’t easily sp ooked so her reaction didn’t add up to the picture she was trying to paint. Isearched her eyes a hint of deception but there was nothing. She had convinced herself that everything was fine. I knew I was not going to get anything out of that conversation so I sighed.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, you’re fine,” I assured her and she allowed herself lean into my arms. She mumbled something incoherent and I kissed her head. I looked over her shoulder and saw Christine staring at us with a longing look that bordered on envious.

I felt bad for her but I knew the last thing she wanted was my pity so I just gave her a nod. She smiled softly and turned away from me. No words were spoken again as we made our way back to the carriages. As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice that Christine was the only person walking alone.

We put the girls to sleep and as soon as we got to our room, Camilla fell asleep. She didn’t even bother changing out of her clothes. I had to slowly take them off while trying not to wake her. I never realized how difficult a corset was until I had to take it off without ripping it. I couldn’t fall asleep because I couldn’t help but think about what she had told me.copy right hot novel pub