56
“How do you know Beckett Lawley?” I asked Rylee as I stood in the doorway of her bedroom.
“Why?” she asked me and I could see that she had stiffened when I mentioned his name.
“You’re living in his apartment,” I said.
“How do you know that?” she asked me.
“The Elders told me, so it’s true?” I asked her.
“I met Beckett about three years ago at a function that Colin had at his house,” she said.
“I’m sure he just jumped at the opportunity to take you in,” I said.
“We became friends,” she said.
“So how do you see this working?” I asked her.
“See what working?” she asked me.
“Us,” I said to her.
“There is no us Lucas. I meant what I wrote in that letter,” she said.
“So why are you here?” I asked her.
“Closure maybe and I felt guilty for you taking my punishment and I wanted to help you heal which my presence did,” she said.
“So you intend to leave again?” I asked her.
“Yes,” she said.
“Don’t,” I said to her.
“I know you don’t want them and I’m more than capable of looking after them myself,” she said.
“You know that’s not true, I’m their father, I have a right to be in their lives,” I said to her.
“You only want to be in their lives now that you know the truth,” she said angrily.
“No, I told you I wanted them before I knew they were mine,” I said to her.
She turned her head away for a moment and I saw her shoulders sag as she started crying. I sat down on the bed behind her and pressed my chest against her back and wrapped my arms around her. She lowered her head against my arms.
“I want you to be happy Rylee, preferably with me, but if you want to leave then I’ll let you go. I love you enough to give you what you want but I won’t be an absent father. I want to be involved in their lives, in everything they do. I’ll buy you a house in town, I’ll give you everything you want just please don’t take my children away from me,” I said.
I stood up and left her room. It would break me if she left again but I’d suffer through it if that’s what she wanted to do but I couldn’t ever let go of those children. Hannah had been right, what would my parents think of my choices and what I’ve done up to now especially with Rylee? They’d be disappointed as hell, even I knew that.
I went to the open area at the back of the house and walked to a little clearing that was shielded by trees. I liked coming here because it was semi secluded and nobody could see it from the house. Baz separated from me and he stretched his wings and neck and then let out a puff of smoke through his nostrils.
“Are you ready?” Baz asked me.
“Bring it on lizard brain,” I said as I rolled my sleeves up and looked at him.
“Pfft lizard brain,” he said and I grinned at him.
I launched myself at him as his tail swiped under my feet and he curled the end around my ankle and slammed me against the ground. He chuckled as I got up and I circled him as I leapt up his tail and ran across his back.
He fell to the side as I jumped on his neck and grabbed his horn. I swung my body over to the other side and brandished the knife close to his eye as I laughed in victory. I landed on my feet as he pushed me down with his paw and held it against me.
“Fine you win,” I said to him and he removed his paw.
As soon as he did that I moved under his torso and held the tip of the knife against the weak spot in his chest and tapped him twice. His tail knocked me off my feet and my back hit the tree. I got up and ran towards him and punched him straight on his nose breaking my hand.
He had a small trickle of blood that ran out of his nose and I spat blood from my mouth. My knuckles were raw and bleeding and Baz sighed as he looked at me.
“Did it help?” he asked me.
“I don’t know,” I said to him as I sat down and leaned back against him.
“You were honest about everything and you told her everything you never said before. There’s nothing more you can do,” he said to me.
“I wish things could be different Baz, I have so many regrets now. I think this time I really lost her for good,” I said to him.
“I think so too halfling, you both made mistakes, but perhaps it’s better this way,” he said and I sat up straight as I turned to him.
“How can you say that?” I asked him.
“If she stays in town, you can still see your children and be a part of their lives and both of you have a chance to move on and be happy with someone else,” he said.
“I don’t want someone else Baz, she’s the one for me, I just don’t know how I can get her to forgive me. How the fuck am I supposed to do this without her?” I asked him.
“Do you mean that?” Rylee asked and my head snapped up as I looked at her.
“How long have you been standing there?” I asked her.
“Answer the question Lucas,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it,” I said to her.
She looked intently at me for a while and then she turned around without saying anything and walked back to the house. Now I felt more confused than ever and I’d never been so honest with a woman before.
“You shouldn’t wait too long before you kill that son of a bitch Carson,” Baz said after a while.
“I know,” I said and stood up.
Baz merged with me once again and I walked back to the house. It was almost lunch time and I had spent about two hours sparring with Baz. Rylee was sitting on the couch in the living room and I sat down next to her.
“Rylee, we’re having a lair meeting tonight, you should be present,” I said to her.
“Did the Elders say anything about our situation this morning?” she asked me.
“Yes they mentioned it,” I said.
“And what was the conclusion?” she asked me.
“I asked them to release you from your obligations but that I wouldn’t reject your position in the lair or as my bonded half no matter where you lived,” I said to her.
“They accepted that?” she asked me.
“I’ll owe them a favour in the future but yes they accepted it,” I said to her and stood up again.
“Why would you do that?” she asked me.
“Because I love you Rylee, you are my bonded half no matter what. I know I deserve everything that’s happened but I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t hurting inside at the thought of you leaving. I’m in the deep side of the pool here, drowning and I don’t know how to save myself. I’ve never been here before and at this stage I’m just trying to keep my head above water because you’re my life raft, the lifeline I’m holding on to,” I said to her.
“And if I decided to leave but stay in town?” she asked me.
“I’d accept and respect your decision no matter how hard it was for me,” I said to her.
“I’ll be at the meeting tonight,” she said.
“Seven pm,” I said and left the living room.
I sent out the notifications for the meeting and I sent Rev a text to have Carson at The Drake when we spoke to the lair about his punishment. I went back to my office and opened the laptop. I hadn’t spoken to Jasper since he left with Haley as I was giving him time to find a new normal now that he had a bonded half.
I looked at all the for sale houses in Aurora and I printed out the ones I thought Rylee might be interested in. I hated doing it but if that kept her closer and in town I’d do it gladly. I would need to get used to my new normal too.
“This is Lucas,” I answered my phone that showed unknown number.
“Hello Lucas,” he said and I recognized his voice instantly.
“Joseph,” I spat his name out.
“I hope this isn’t an inconvenient time considering your whole little world is crumbling around you,” he said.
“Fuck you Joseph,” I said and he laughed.
“No, fuck you Lucas. I’m not done playing with you yet,” he said.
“I’m going to find you and when I do I’m going to take my time killing you,” I said to him.
“Aww Lucas, I’m not going to kill you but I am going to break you,” he said.
“Give it your best shot,” I said to him as he laughed again.
“Oh yes, I’ll enjoy breaking Rylee too and then Hannah and Jennifer and maybe even Tessa,” he said to me.
“You’re a sick son of a bitch,” I said to him.
“That I am, I can still remember the way your mother screamed,” he said to me.
“You’re dead Joseph, you’re fucking dead!” I yelled at him.
“Maybe I’ll let Rylee live long enough to give birth to your bastard child and then I’ll make her watch as I kill it and send you the video,” he sneered.
“I’m going to enjoy hurting your son Joseph,” I said to him.
“Carson was weak and he’s not my only heir,” he said.
“You better run Joseph because the Elders granted me your execution warrant,” I said to him.
“You’re a good liar Lucas but I don’t believe you,” he said.
“The new Elders Joseph, I disbanded the other ones and I know they hid the evidence of how you killed my parents. I have a lot more friends than you do and there’s nowhere you can hide from me. I will find you,” I said to him.
“Come and get me Lucas, I’ll enjoy having you watch me play with your toys,” he said and ended the call.
“Motherfucker,” I said loudly.
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