215
Matt
The thought of returning to the Blue Moon Estate with Tony had my stomach churning, but when he asked me to drive him there, I couldn't refuse.
Ginevra was still in the hospital, unconscious and not getting any better, but that didn't mean we could leave Quillan at the pack house with Oren and the rest. Tony was hopeful that the pack had been doing their best to keep Quillan distracted from her absence, but I knew better. The pack wasn't doing anything but what Oren told them to do.
Oren was likely not even concerned with what would happen to Quillan if he lost his mother-- just like he had never been all that concerned about how we felt after our mother died.
Still, I was grateful that Tony seemed more grounded, more aware that there was something off with Oren's way of doing things. If nothing else, it seemed like the reality of him being a father had caught up with him.
"You alright?" I asked.
Tony said nothing for a moment. "I keep wondering how much of what I know is true."
I winced, biting back the confession that was still burning at the back of my mind.
As we arrived at the Estate, the familiar surroundings felt more suffocating and more ominous than I had ever remembered it being. Despite Tony's hopes, he didn't even pretend to be eager to go inside.
He gripped the handle tightly before getting out of the car. I followed, hoping for the best and knowing that it would be far worse than I could imagine. But today, our focus was on Quillan.
"No! I want my mommy!"
My heart sank when I heard his voice. I saw him running around the corner. Eliza followed quickly after him.
"Quillan!"
He sobbed, running towards us before throwing his arms around Tony's legs as he cried.
"Where's mommy? I want to see her."
Tony and I exchanged a glance. He looked unsettled and uncomfortable. Eliza came up behind him.
"Come along. You have lessons to get to."
"Leave me alone," Quillan said and looked up at Tony. "I want to go back to school. I want my mommy. I don't want to be here."
Tony looked down at him, at a loss for what to say, as tears streamed down Quillan's cheeks.
"Hey, Quillan," I said softly, kneeling beside him. He turned to look at me. His eyes were screaming that he knew what I would say, knew that it wasn't good news, but he didn't want to hear it. "It's okay to miss your mom. There's nothing wrong with that. We miss our mom, too."
I glanced up at Tony for a moment. "And that's why we came back today..."
Quillan sniffled, his lower lip trembling.
"You're going to take me to mommy?" He whimpered.
I swallowed hard, my heart aching for him. "I--"
"Yes," Tony said, crouching down beside me, his voice thick with emotion. "But before I take you, we need to talk, okay?"
He wiped Quillan's tears gently. "You know that your mom loves you very much, don't you?"
He nodded. "Is she gone?"
My eyes widened.
Tony's eyes fluttered close. "No... She's just... sleeping, but they don't know when she'll wake up."
A fresh batch of tears came. "S-She promised I could say g-goodbye."
Tony's eyes widened. "What do you mean by that?"
Eliza watched us from a short distance away, her expression a mix of anxiety and helplessness. She shifted her weight back and forth and glanced down the hallway.
I could almost feel Oren coming down the hallway.
"Mommy's sick...She said she would be okay, b-but she said that if she went to sleep for a long time, then it was time to say goodbye. A-And she promised... She promised..."
Quillan sniffled and wiped at his face with his hands, but the tears just kept coming as he wept.
Then, Oren rounded the corner. His arrival was like a dark cloud looming over us, and I could feel the tension in the room escalate as soon as he stepped through the door. His expression was a mixture of anger and frustration, and it didn't take long for his ire to be directed at Quillan.
"What's the matter with you?" Oren snapped, his voice sharp and unforgiving. "Why are you crying like a little baby?"
My blood boiled at the callousness in Oren's words, and before I could say anything, Tony had swept Quillan into his arms and glared at Oren.
"Don't talk to him like that," Tony said.
"He's weak," Oren said. "Blubbering--"
"Leave my son alone," Tony said, lifting him as he stood and glaring at him.
Quillan clung to Tony like a lifeline.
"Daddy," he whimpered, his small fingers gripping Tony's shirt.
For the first time in a long time, I felt a surge of emotion through Tony. It was in the way his eyes filled with red light and the way he pressed Quillan's head into his shoulder.
My heart ached just seeing them and knowing that this was just the beginning.
"It's okay, Quillan," Tony murmured, trying to soothe him. "Everything's going to be okay."
Quillan continued to sob into his shoulder.
Oren's eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer, his anger unabated. "Stop that useless crying. You're a Blue Moon Wolf, we don't cry over useless--"
"Shut up," Tony growled.
Eliza gasped, stumbling back as Oren bared his teeth.
"You will not talk to my son like that. Don't you have alpha things to deal with?"
Oren barred his teeth, and Tony carried Quillan past him.
"We're going to pack you a bag, and we're going to see your mother, okay?"
"Okay," Quillan sniffled.
I followed behind him, keeping an eye on Oren as he watched us go. His eyes narrowed and full of malicious red light.
He was pissed, and I knew that would be a problem later, but I couldn't help but be a little proud. We went up to where Quillan's room was, and I packed his little suitcase full of everything before going to pack some more clothes for the two of us. Tony continued to soothe and rock Quillan before we headed back downstairs.
As we made our way out of the Blue Moon Estate, Quillan in tow, I couldn't help but feel a mixture of emotions swirling within me. Was it really going to end so easily?
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Oren asked, hissing, standing in our way. His voice seemed to heat the air as if he was trying to command us the way he commanded the rest of the pack. I felt it wash around and over me. I felt myself getting angry in response. A bit of magic seemed to boil and seethe at my fingertips like sparks. "I'm alpha of the Blue Moon Pack, and I say that you're going to stay right here, and that little brat is going to learn what it means to be a Blue Moon Wolf, starting with--"
"Fuck off," Tony snarled back at him, his voice shaking the air. My eyes widened. I could tell that Oren had been surprised, too, but there was a glimmer of something in his eyes that made my heart race.
It was like an animal instinct raising the hair on the back of my neck and heightening my sense like prey scenting a predator.
The rest of the pack who had been nearby looked stunned, and I followed Matt out of the house past their shocked faces.
As we climbed into the car, I couldn't help but smile. I glanced in the rearview mirror, where Tony was holding Quillan close to his chest.
When Quillan was fast asleep, Tony pulled out his phone.
"Yes, I'll need you to prepare my condo in Black Moon." My eyes widened. I hadn't known he had a property in Black Moon. "Outfit one of the rooms for a small child. A boy, and prepare the guest room for my brother."
I drove away from the Estate, feeling a bit hopeful. Tony got off the phone.
"The nerve of..." He huffed and looked out the window. "The callous bastard hasn't changed at all... I thought maybe that... Maybe he would be kinder since Quillan is his grandson, but I can't say I'm surprised that I was wrong."
I nodded. "I'm glad you're... coming around."
He cocked an eyebrow. "There's something else you want to say?"
I shook my head. "What I have to say isn't important right now. I think it would be better for us both to focus on getting Quillan to see his mother."
Tony nodded, stroking his head. "It's nothing like when mom died."
I swallowed. Images like flickers in a pond fluttered through my eyelids.
I love you, I heard her say in the back of my mind.
There was a question I wanted to ask Tony, but I couldn't bring myself to ask, so I drove as the memory of my mother's lullaby started to play in the back of my mind.
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