Page 26

“Give him here! Give me my son!” the woman demands, her voice filled with desperation and anger.

“No! Do you want him? Then get out of the damn car!” Damian retorts firmly, his frustration palpable.

“Man, they have done nothing but bitch and fight the entire way back,” Liam groans, clearly exasperated by the situation.

“Fine! But if your King abuses me for trespassing, you can bet your damn ass I will whoop his!” the feisty woman warns defiantly.

“Good! Whoop his ass! He is right behind you. Let’s see what you got, short stuff!” Damian challenges her, his voice dripping with sarcasm. The woman turns around suddenly, her movements swift and fierce. I gasp and rock back on my heels as recognition washes over me. She still has the same face, though she has aged, she is more womanly than scrawny like she was at the orphanage.

“What is going on?” Kyson growls, his tone filled with both confusion and concern. Damian rubs a hand down his face wearily, looking both exhausted and defeated.

“Kyson, this is Tandi. Tandi, this is his royal highness, King Kyson, the one you want to beat,” Damian mocks, but my attention is fixated on the woman before me. Our eyes meet, and her mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water.

“Taylor?” I choke out, barely able to believe my own words.

“Ivy?” she stammers in shock.

“Taylor?” Damian says, taken aback. But my feet are already moving as I race towards her.

“Oh my gosh, it’s really you!” I shriek with joy, throwing my arms around her in a tight embrace.

“What are you doing here?” Taylor cries, clutching me just as tightly. Tears stream down both of our faces as we hold each other tightly.

“Wait! What about Abbie?” she asks, holding me at arm’s length to search my face for answers.

“She’s here. I can’t believe you’re alive!” I cry, my voice filled with a mixture of disbelief and overwhelming happiness. I cup Taylor’s face in my hands, cherishing this long-awaited reunion.

“Hang on, what is going on? Who is Taylor?” Damian interrupts, his confusion evident in his voice. I tear my gaze away from Taylor to look at Damian, a smile still plastered on my face.

Chapter

Fourteen

AZALEA

Damian stares at me, his brow furrow in confusion, mirroring my own bewilderment. What does he mean?Who is Taylor?She is standing right in front of him, so why does he seem so perplexed?

“Hello, can someone tell me what the fuck is going on? Did you give me your whore name?” Damian demands, his voice laced with frustration. My breath hitches at the derogatory term he used for her, and yet she doesn’t back down from him. In fact, she snarls, spinning on her heel to meet his gaze with a fiery glare.

“I’m Taylor,” she snaps, her words dripping with defiance. “It’s my birth name. The name I go by now is my middle name.”

Damian takes an involuntary step back, his expression pained, as if her words had struck a nerve.

“And I want you to hand over my son before you drop him,” Taylor growls, extending her arms toward the air, a desperate plea in her voice.

“Not until I know you’re not going to run off on me again,” Damian retorts, his tone laced with caution. As I glance atthe bundled-up toddler sleeping peacefully in Damian’s arms, I notice a smirk forming on Liam’s face. He exchanges glances with Dustin before chuckling under his breath.

“Give me my son, you prick, before I cut your balls off,” she snarls at him, pulling my attention away from Dustin, who I am still yet to release from my command. Using the mindlink, I send Trey a message telling him to get to Abbie and bring her here as soon as possible. A few seconds later, he darts back inside the castle as he rushes away from beside me.

“Whoa, whoa, hold on a minute. What the fuck is happening? Who is she? Why is she here?” Kyson interjects, his voice filled with confusion. Damian is the one to respond, his weariness evident in his voice.

“Tandi, Taylor, whatever you want to call her, she used to be one of the girls from the brothel,” Damian sighs, rubbing a hand across his face while still cradling the child. He winces as he rocks the toddler as if experiencing physical pain.

Damian huffs and looks rather exhausted, as if he has tried to explain this story to everyone a thousand times. “She is also my mate,” Damian says, scrubbing a hand down his face while holding the child closer and rocking him with one arm, wincing as he does so.

“Tandi, I don’t go by Taylor anymore. She died a long time ago,” Taylor says, and I get that. To me, Ivy feels dead, too. I understand that feeling all too well. Ivy, the person I used to be, is like a distant memory. I no longer identify with that name or the person I once was. The experiences of the past few months have transformed me into someone entirely different. Having experienced so much in the past few months, I don’t believe it will ever be possible for me to relate to the person I once was.

Kyson gapes at Damian in disbelief, his shock impossible to conceal. Yet, it is less surprising to me that Taylor is Damian’s mate than it is to discover she is still alive after all this time. Mrs.Daley had told us she was dead, so learning she had been forced into a brothel is horrifying.