Chapter 59

**ARIA**

"I'm staying." I say as soon as Austin's office door closes behind us. "For now."

"Okay." Adam simply replies before sitting down on one of the chairs opposite the desk.

"With Riley dead and David isolated, I think Austin needs my support. I mean, I'm not saying you don't need my support either." I quickly add.

Adam looks at me amused. "I'm more surrounded it's true but I'll always need you, babe." He sighs. "We need to find a long-term solution. We can't go on like this... forcing you to choose every time where to stay."

"I know and... I've thought about it a lot..." He looks at me expectantly. I clear my throat before continuing. "It's just an idea but I keep coming back to the same thing. Do you think it'd be possible... if... if we brought the palace closer to the pack?" I ask them not sure. "I know we can't move the pack but the community is closed, I mean there's got to be somewhere you could set up closer to here. The three of us could live in a house, a neutral space and one day start a family... together."

I look at them, frowning, trying to gauge their feelings. They're both wearing masks, revealing nothing. It seems like an eternity before Austin clears his throat.

"It's true that it would be a perfect solution, but it's not that simple. The place where the palace is located didn't belong to anyone and it's hidden from everyone's eyes. It must have taken them years, decades, to achieve this level of security." He says, looking at Adam, who nods. "And the council has only just accepted the fact that I may one day become a hybrid and be in a relationship with you and you may also be in a relationship with a hybrid.... so... now asking them for permission to plant a community of vampires and werewolves on our doorstep..." He shakes his head.

I sit down on one of the empty chairs, suddenly feeling very stupid.

"I can leave my position for someone else." Adam says softly, almost to himself. "I mean, I'm not strictly speaking an Alpha, I occupy this position by chance... Sort of."

"You could always remain a consultant to them, help them out and go regularly and here you could become my beta." He sighs. "I'll have to find a replacement for David because I don't think he'll ever be able to take over his position. I can put your name forward for a vote with the council. If that's what you want."

"I'll have to think about it some more and talk to those around me. This decision is not just about me."

"I know." I tell him as I stand up and sit on his lap. I hate that they have to sacrifice something for me.

"Hey, don't make that face." He says, stroking my cheek. "I love you and I'll do my best to make sure we're good. I want us to be a real family, the three of us, and I thought a lot when we found out about your pregnancy. I want our future children to grow up in a stable family environment."

I take his chin between my index finger and thumb and kiss him.

"That's what we all want." Austin adds, kissing the top of my head.

I hadn't even noticed that he'd gotten up and joined us. With them, I feel so safe and happy. No matter where we live, they'll always be my happy place and our future child or children will be the happiest in the world to have the chance to grow up in our family.

**ADAM**

Every goodbye is painful, but saying goodbye... again... to my mate is the most painful.

"How are you feeling?" Leila asks me.

"What do you think?" I answer her more curtly than my intention. I say, "I'm sorry. It's just not easy. The last few days have been..."

"Horrible." She finishes for me and I nod. "Aria handled it like a true warrior. I wouldn't have thought her capable of killing Riley but..." She shakes her head.

"She killed her fucking baby and our father." Cassisus says, gripping the steering wheel. "If she hadn't, I'd have done it myself without hesitation."

Leila puts her hand on her mate's arm and he instantly relaxes.

"You'll have people to kill, don't worry brother." I grumble. "I fully intend to cross off Riley's list one by one."

"Amen to that." Cassius replies.

I left some names to Austin but kept the majority with me and I also have a gift for Cassius, the names of the two guys who were in the van that hit Salvatore. I think he has a right to his revenge and I'll proudly give it to him on a silver platter. For my part, I'm going to start with those who wanted to cut off our blood supplies. They'll understand the consequences of touching my people.

"Please tell me you have some names for me. It's been so long since I've had the opportunity to spill blood." She said as she turned around, her eyes filled with joy.

"You almost freak me out, princess." Cassius says, amused.

"Don't worry about it. You'll both get it. We'll talk about it tomorrow in the meeting with Fares and Sasha."

I'll eradicate the majority of our enemies from the map and then I can get back to my mate. I never imagined I'd ever have a mate, let alone become a father, but now that I know it's possible, I won't let anything or anyone take it away from me. Something precious has already been taken from me and I won't let it happen again. I haven't told anyone how I felt about the loss of our child, but I suffered the loss myself, as much as Aria did. I've never been so powerless in my life, everything was out of my control. If I could, I'd kill Riley a second time, but since I can't, I'll attack those who helped her.