Easing Their Guilt
“No. Only Annie could have. If she had stayed away from him until after he met Giselda, he would have forgotten about her. He would have moved on with her and they would have provided Annie and Logan a way to connect. And just to ease your mind, yes, I’m sure. I know what all your futures hold.Every single last one of them. For example, I know that in a few years, your mate will get pregnant with twins. You will be father of one while Tony fathers the other.”
I barely managed to keep myself from blurting out the question that came to my mind, choosing to just think about it for a moment. Why would the Goddess let her get pregnant by both me and Tony? It would make sense for the Goddess to give me and her another chance at having a child, because our son would soon be dead, but Tony? Was something going to happen to Annie? It couldn’t. Tony and I would grieve, but Tasha would shatter. She was barely holding it together as it was. She had been glued to my side since our talk with Osprey. If she lost two children at the same time, I wasn’t sure she would be able to handle it. I turned to look at the Vine Keeper again as my determination strengthened.
“Where do we find Gerald and Annie?” I asked.
“They are on their way to your grandfather’s private cabin,” she told me as she looked lovingly down at the vines that were wrapping around all of her limbs for a moment before lifting her head to meet my eyes. “The private one that’s not in the town’s records. The one he built in Pennsylvania to teach you to hunt.”
I swallowed hard as I nodded. “May I ask one more question?”
“You mean other than that one? You can but I might or might not answer,” She answered.
“When will they be there?”
“I can’t answer that, but I will advise you that if you don’t hurry, Annie does not have much longer to live. ”Maybe a week tops.”
I immediately jumped to my feet, feeling the need to hurry even more now. Tasha was already going to be devastated. If I could keep her from being even more devastated while saving Tony from also losing his daughter, then I had no choice. I had to end my son’s life before he could do the same to Annie. I was almost to the trees, when the vine keeper cleared her throat behind me.
“Oh, and Alpha Timothy?” She called out softly, making me stop.
“Yes?” I asked as I turned around to face her.
“You’re a good man. A little misguided sometimes, but still a good man. And a great man apologizes for his mistakes. A good man forgives. A good man supports his family. But above all else, a good man works to remain a good man. And you are just the kind of man that works at being a good man, Alpha Timothy. Never forget that. Not even in the coming months. They are going to be hard, but life will work out. The Goddess is granting you another chance. Don’t waste it, Alpha. These chances aren’t given out alot,” she told me.
“I know. I promise not to.” I hesitated before walking over to her to kneel at her first for a moment. “Thank you, Vine Keeper Annaria. I will do my best to make both the Goddess and you proud.”
She gently squeezed my shoulder. “I know, son. Now hurry. Annie can’t afford for you to be late.”
I nodded as I jumped up to rush away. When I arrived back at the campsite, all eyes went to me, waiting for me to tell them what happened with the vine keeper. I ignored them all to walk up to Osprey, who immediately eyed me wearily. I knelt at his feet with my head down.
“I’m sorry, Osprey, for everything that I said to you. I shouldn’t have said it and I was wrong. I shouldn’t have blamed you or pressured you into accepting part of the blame. There is no blame for you to share. This is not your fault, or mine. Just like it’s not your mother’s fault or anyone else’s except for his. And I am so sorry. If you don’t forgive me, I understand.”
Osprey reached down to grip my forearm and pulled me back to my feet. “I already have. There’s no need to apologize,” he told me. “I understand.”
I pulled him for a hug. “Thank you, son. I am so proud of the man you have become. You are the son that we all wanted him to be.”
“I know, Dad. I wish things were different too. I don’t blame you.”
He didn’t have to blame me. I blamed myself enough for both of us. I put my hand on his shoulder, nodding my head a little before letting him go. A quick scan of the clearing allowed my eyes to almost immediately land on Tasha who stood between Tony and Falcon while Raul, Lee, Jamie, and Sebastian stood around them. I walked straight over to her, instantly reaching out to grip her face with both of my hands, pulling her forward a little to put my forehead against hers.
“It’s not a nightmare, baby. He did it, and for that we have to truly hunt our son down. I am so sorry and I know that this is the last thing that you want to do, but I swear to you that I–we– will be with you through this entire thing. It’s okay to break. It’s okay to be hurt,” I told her as I reached out to pull Tony into our embrace, cupping the back of his neck while angling our faces in a triangle. “We will catch you. I promise.” I pulled back to kiss her tears away before pecking her lips and turning to kiss Tony. “I’ll catch both of you.”
I pulled away from them fully as the urge to beg for their forgiveness started to overwhelm me. I turned around to look at everyone in the clearing. “You should all go home. Be with your loved ones and hold them tight. This is our son, and we will be the ones to end his life. Not you or anyone else. He is ours and we take responsibility.”
Tasha reached out to touch my arm. “If he is as strong as we’re being told he is, then we will need them to help us. Even if it’s only to track him.”
I shook my head as I turned back around to pull her into my arms. I tucked her face into my neck. “No, baby, we don’t need them. Not even to track them.”
“But we might,” she repeated.
“No, Tasha, we don’t, because I know where they are going.”
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