160
“What exactly do they want you to do for them?” Lucas asked me.
“To be their hunter,” I answered him.
“You are a good hunter,” he said.
“I used to be a good hunter,” I said.
“You once told me you were born to kill,” he countered.
“And you once told me I was trained to kill,” I said and he started laughing.
“What are their terms?” he asked me.
“I’m not sure,” I said.
“Arrange another meeting, find out, being out of exile will make things a lot easier for a lot of people,” Lucas said.
“I know.”
“It’s your choice Ryder, but also keep in mind the doors it could open for Wynter one day,” he said.
“What doors? No doors were opened for me,” I said.
“You became Sire of Princeton. You went to the Unit, none of that would’ve been possible if I had been in exile,” Lucas said.
“Fine, I’ll think about it,” I said.
“Call me when you grow a pair,” Lucas said and ended the call as my mouth gaped open.
“Why do we love him again?” Abeloth asked.
“Not a clue,” I said with a smile.
“We should do it,” Abeloth said.
“Why?” I asked him.
“Come on, you know you miss it,” he said.
“Megan might not like it,” I said.
“When did you turn into a girl?” he asked me.
“Piss off Abeloth,” I said as he turned his back on me.
I stood up from the wooden swing that looked out on the lake and headed back to the cabin. I had the Florida Elders’ numbers and I knew that I had to make a decision. Being out of exile would make life easier, but I needed to know the ins and outs of what they wanted from me.
Two days later I received an email from them, outlining my duties. I had to smile because they really wanted me to accept. I’d get paid for hunting down rogues, they’d send me the details and I’d go find him or her.
“Isn’t that why the Until was established in the first place?” Megan asked me during dinner.
“Technically yes,” Felix said.
“Not really,” I said and Felix turned towards me.
“Of course it’s the reason the Unit exists at all,” he said.
“The Unit goes after criminally inclined groups, rogue packs and so on,” I said as I looked at him. “Individual people that needs to be taken out is usually outsourced if the Unit is too busy,” I said.
“But why you?” Megan asked.
“Because I’m good,” I said.
“Do they know I’m here?” Felix asked and Ava glared at him.
“I didn’t marry a hunter,” she said.
“Look it’s not like these people are innocent, that’s not how this works,” I said.
“I know, I just wished you didn’t like killing them so much,” Megan said.
“I know this isn’t what you signed up for but it’s the only way to get us out of exile,” I said.
“Then just promise me you’ll be safe,” Megan said.
“Don’t even think about it Felix,” Ava said.
“I have to, he’s my brother,” Felix said.
“No!”
“I wasn’t asking you Ava, it’s a done deal. Ryder goes, I go,” Felix said.
“And what about us?” she asked him.
“Max is here, Tank and Jack is here, Elio and Marlo are barely ten minutes away, you’re on an island for crying out loud,” Felix said. I noticed the slight irritation in his voice and I could see that Ava hadn’t picked up on it yet.
“And what about Milo?” she asked him.
They were eleven months old now and Milo was beating Wynter in everything. He sat first, crawled first and he also had more teeth. Milo was also saying mommy and daddy while Wynter remained stubbornly quiet.
“What about him? It’s not like I’ll be gone for months at a time like we were with the Unit,” Felix said.
“We’ll be fine Ava,” Megan said.
“I can’t believe you’re not freaking out over this!” Ava said loudly.
“This is who they are, it’s what they do and frankly I can’t believe you’re being such a girl over this. They make our world a safer place to live in,” Megan said and threw her napkin down on the table when she stood up.
“Maybe I just love my husband more than you love yours,” Ava said.
“Excuse me?” Megan said from the doorway.
“You heard me. Why do you have to be a bitch about it?” Ava asked her.
“Who the hell do you think you are talking to Megan that way?” I asked Ava.
“Let’s not get too worked up here,” Felix said as he stood up and faced me.
“Get your wife under control,” I said to him.
“You get your wife under control,” Felix said.
“I think both of you should leave now,” Megan said.
“Gladly,” Ava replied and pushed her chair out.
“Careful Felix, Megan didn’t start this,” I said as I gripped the top of the chair and I could feel the wood splinter under my hands.
“Ava’s just worried,” Felix said.
“Then be a good little boy and stay home,” I said.
“Fuck you,” Felix said.
“Fuck me? Fuck you!” I said.
“Both of you stop it!” Megan said angrily.
“No, he clearly wants to do something about it, so do it or do you need to ask your wife’s permission first?” I asked.
“That’s it,” Felix said and the next moment he dove across the table and we crashed through the kitchen door and onto the porch.
We were both punching each other where we could land a shot and even rolling down the stairs didn’t stop us from hitting each other. I could smell Felix’s blood and I could feel my own broken ribs as we rolled on the ground, kicking and punching.
“You’re both such idiots!” Megan yelled at us as she followed us down the stairs.
We ignored her as we kept punching and by this time we were both bleeding as I finally reached my knife and stabbed Felix in the chest. “You bloody asshole!” he yelled as he fell backwards and I pushed my foot down on his chest and pulled the knife out.
I pulled Felix to his feet as we both started laughing and then we traded slaps on the back as we hugged. “See you tomorrow?” Felix asked.
“Yeah, we can grab breakfast in town,” I said as I wiped the blood from my nose.
“I think I bled on your t-shirt,” Felix said as he fingered the hole in his shirt where I had stabbed him.
“I need a new t-shirt in any way,” I said as we both smiled.
“What the hell just happened?” Ava asked as she looked at us with her mouth open.
“I think this is how they sort out their disagreements,” Megan said as I walked past them back into the cabin.
I headed upstairs and washed the blood off in the shower, I broke my nose again and aligned it in its right position as I swore under my breath. My lip was split open and I guessed about four ribs were broken too. Felix hadn’t been playing with me, but neither had I with him.
Megan was sitting on the bed, the covers pulled up under her arms, revealing her bare shoulders. Water still dripped from my hair as she smiled at me. “It was kind of hot when you stabbed Felix in the chest,” she said.
“If I had known that this would be my reward I’d stab Felix in the chest every day,” I said as she opened the covers and my towel fell to the floor.
We lay in bed afterwards, our breathing laboured as she lay with her head on my chest. Our fingers were intertwined and I knew without a doubt that I never wanted to be without her. She was my final destination, my reason for existing and Abeloth chuckled softly in my head.
“I love you for having my back earlier,” I said.
“And I’ll keep on loving you if there is no tag team on your assignments,” she said as I started to laugh.
“There will be no tag team, I promise,” I said.
“I know,” she said.
Falling asleep with her next to me was the perfect end to each day and waking up next to her was the best start anyone could ever ask for. Having a life so perfect, so filled with laughter and love had me agonizing over the future. Every new day was a gift, as they say, but even gifts could turn into unsettling realities.
Nothing lasts forever, not life, not happiness and even love didn’t always survive. As we celebrated Wynter and Milo’s first birthdays I had a creeping feeling that what lay in store for me next might not be so pleasant. We were still young, had our whole lives ahead of us, but life always had a way of putting you in your place.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you more,” she whispered back as a smile formed on my face and I closed my eyes to finally sleep.
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