133
I had taken a cab from the airport to the industrial area of Chicago and got out two blocks from the Elder’s headquarters and walked the rest of the way. I saw Andre standing outside and we shook hands before I headed inside.
“Sire Ryder, thank you for joining us on such short notice,” Elder Michael greeted me.
We were in the same room where I had met them the first time before merging with Abeloth. Lucas was there as well as another man that I didn’t know. He didn’t seem pleased to be there and I now I was really stumped.
“This better be good Elder Michael, I was in Mexico following up on leads with regards to Megan’s death,” I said and he gave me a small smile.
“Ryder,” Lucas said as he joined us and Elder Michael left us alone.
“Dad.”
“Is Kurt also in Mexico?” he asked me.
“How would I know?”
“Don’t fucking lie to me, Ryder,” he said with irritation.
“He was.”
“Where is he now?” Lucas asked me.
“Dead. He killed himself and now I’m back to square one with no leads on Megan,” I said and rubbed a hand through my hair.
“Fuck sakes, Ryder,” he said but the irritation had left his voice.
“What do you expect me to do? Megan was my bonded half, I won’t stop until I find whoever’s responsible,” I said.
“You might want to put that on ice,” he said as the Elders and the unknown man walked towards us.
“Let’s get started, shall we?” Elder Victor asked.
“Sire Ryder, this is Sire Anthony Jacobs,” Elder Cliff said.
“Hi,” I said as the man looked down his nose at me.
“He’s a Sire?” Anthony asked.
“Sire of Princeton,” I answered him.
“I thought he was the youngest son of Sire Lucas,” Anthony said.
“What’s this all about?” I asked Elder Victor.
“These are formal pre-bonding negotiations between yourself and Sire Anthony,” Elder Victor answered me.
“Excuse me?”
“We’ve taken into consideration that your bonded half has passed on … “
“Fuck your consideration, I won’t be forced to bond with anyone. There’s no stipulation demanding me to be bonded as a Sire,” I said angrily.
“You will bond with her! She’s already ruined!” Anthony yelled at me.
“Ryder, his daughter’s pregnant and she claims you’re the father,” Lucas explained.
“That’s absurd,” I said.
“Are you calling my daughter a liar?” Anthony asked me.
“I don’t know your daughter,” I said.
“Did you not spend two weeks in Bermuda with Miss Ava Jacobs?” Elder Victor asked me.
“Shit. She’s pregnant?” I asked.
“Yes, Sire Anthony has been kind enough to forward the confirmed pregnancy results to us,” Elder Cliff said.
“If I’d known she was a Sire’s daughter, I never would’ve …”
“Well you did, you both did and now you’ll take her as your chosen Drakaina,” Anthony said.
“Ryder?”
“What?”
“Are we all in agreement?” Elder Michael asked.
“We’ll be in agreement once my lair doctor has confirmed her pregnancy and the paternity of said baby,” I said.
“You have some nerve,” Anthony said as he looked at me open mouthed.
“I’m not denying that I had sex with her but I barely know her, it was just two weeks of fun …”
“You son of a bitch,” Anthony yelled as Lucas stepped in front of him.
“Calm down,” Lucas said as his eyes flashed yellow and he tightly gripped Anthony’s shoulders.
“I mean no disrespect, Sire Anthony, but I won’t be forced to just bond, if she is in fact pregnant and it is mine, I’ll do the right thing,” I said to him.
“You bet your ass you will,” Anthony said.
“Sire Ryder is an honourable man, his word is as good as gold,” Elder Michael said.
“Let’s keep it civil for Ava’s sake, she’s on her way,” Anthony said.
“Wait? Why? Am I supposed to take her with me? Now?” I asked.
“Until such time that the facts have proven otherwise it will be assumed that the facts are true, if they turn out not to be true then retribution will apply,” Elder Cliff said.
“Fine,” I said as Lucas pulled me to one side as Anthony signed the temporary transfer papers with the Elders, stipulating that I’d take responsibility for her protection.
“I thought you were smarter than this,” Lucas said.
“She said she was on the pill, it was one time, the rest of the time we used protection,” I said.
“It only takes one time,” Lucas said as he wiped a hand over his face.
“Congrats, grandpa,” I said and I saw the tug on his lips as he tried not to smile.
“Your mother’s going to kill you,” he said and I briefly closed my eyes.
“Do I really have to take her with me right now?” I asked him.
“Yes, Ryder, from this moment on you are engaged and you’ll act like it, treat her like a future Drakaina, be by her side and introduce her to your lair, hold her hand and fucking whatever it takes until that bond is in place,” Lucas said.
“So I guess separate rooms are out of the question?”
“Fuck off, Ryder, you made your bed, now sleep in it,” he said.
“Thanks for that Dad,” I said.
“I always worried that it would be Chase, never you. What’s done is done, you liked her enough to screw around for two weeks, at least it’s someone you remember,” he said.
“Yeah that makes everything so much better,” I said.
“She’s a Sire’s daughter, Ry. There’s no getting out of this one like you did with Tia. This is the one thing you will do as you’re told,” he said his eyes flashing yellow again.
“Will you tell Mom at least?” I asked him.
“And have her yell at me?” Lucas asked back and I laughed.
“Rather you than me,” I said.
“Asshole.”
“Does that mean I have to call Link for a ride?” I asked.
“Andre will drive back with me, you can take the truck,” he said.
The door to the inner sanctum opened and two warriors led Ava and another man inside. She didn’t meet my eyes and Anthony walked over to them. They spoke in hushed tones and the man looked at me a few times.
“Smile and don’t be yourself,” Lucas said as they made their way over to us.
“This is Andy, my son, and Ava, my daughter,” Anthony said.
“Nice to meet you Andy, this is my father, Sire Lucas,” I said as Ava looked at me for the first time.
“Same here, Sire Ryder,” Andy said as we shook hands after he had shaken Lucas’s hand.
“Hello, Ava,” Lucas said but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Sire Lucas, it’s nice to make your acquaintance,” Ava said.
“If there’s nothing else, we still have an almost two hour drive ahead of us,” I said.
“I’m only a phone call away, we’ll be in Chicago for another few days,” Anthony said to Ava.
“Don’t worry Dad,” she said as he hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
“She’s safe with me,” I said.
“I’ll keep you to that,” Anthony said.
We said our goodbyes, thanked the Elders – for what I wasn’t sure – and headed outside where a warrior took Ava’s luggage out of a town car and brought it over to Alex who handed me the keys for a truck I didn’t even know Lucas owned.
We were both silent in the truck for the first fifteen minutes. “I’m so sorry about all of this. My mom found the test in the trash,” she said in a small voice.
“We both knew that this could happen,” I said.
“Still, it’s not ideal,” she replied. She stared at me intently for a few seconds before clearing her throat. “You don’t want this, do you?”
“Do you?”
“Fair enough,” she said and looked out of the window again.
“Look, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound pissed off, it’s just not how I planned my life,” I said after a while.
“You think I planned to get pregnant so young?” she asked me.
“Are you sure it’s mine?” I asked her.
“Excuse me? You’re the only person I’ve ever slept with,” she said angrily.
The truck veered half off the road as my head snapped towards her and she looked away. That’s why the linen had been stripped off the bed that morning when I got out of the shower. I never questioned it and I felt like an asshole suddenly. Her first time and I didn’t even remember it.
“Shit Ava,” I said.
“Keep working on your apology, you’ll need it when you get the paternity results,” she said and ignored me for the rest of the drive back to Princeton.
“I’m sorry, I guess I’m just in shock, you’ve had time to get used to the idea,” I said as I parked the truck in front of my house.
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