Page 15

Chapter

Fourteen

A ZALEA

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 at the 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.

“What the heck is going on around here? Seems like everyone is finding their damn mates these days. So much for it being a rare occurrence,” Kyson mutters, nudging me playfully.

“Yeah, I sure as shit don’t want to be catching that damn disease.

I will need to get me some mate repellent.

Ain’t that right, Dusty poo,” Liam chimes in, joining our conversation.

Dustin clearly doesn’t appreciate the nickname Liam threw his way and retaliates by flipping him off while Damian glares at him.

I wonder what Liam said to make Damian so upset.

“Well, Tandi, I’m Azalea. Nice to see you again,” I smile. Her brows furrow in confusion, and she looks at me oddly.

“Why does that name sound so familiar to me?” she ponders. “And what are you doing here, and where is Abbie?” she asks, trying to take her son from Damian, but Damian holds him higher, not allowing it.

“It’s a long story, and Abbie?” I smile to myself as I hear her coming up behind us.

The sound of hurried footsteps catches my attention, and I turn to see Abbie stopping in her tracks as she stumbles out of the door.

In a state of shock, Trey grips her arm to keep her steady as her mouth opens and closes in shock.

As Abbie looks at me with the same shock that I felt upon seeing Taylor, I find myself sputtering as I see the look on her face.

She looks at me for confirmation, as if she doesn’t believe what she’s seeing.

Several steps behind her, Gannon and Tyson emerge from the castle.

I watch as Abbie’s lip quivers when I nod to her, telling her that Taylor is here before her feet are moving quickly, and she collides with Tandi.

There is barely enough time for Tandi to catch her before Abbie’s legs and arms are wrapped around her.

“I thought you were dead,” Abbie gushes, squeezing her tight, and I move closer.

Taylor, who is now Tandi, reaches over, squishing us together as she embraces us.

“How, how are you here?” Abbie says, placing her feet down as tears stream down her face.

Kyson, Gannon, and Damian all just stand there gawking at us while we fuss over each other when Tandi turns to Damian and pins him with her glare.

“My son— now. I did what you asked,” she says, earning a look from Damian. But it is Gannon who nudges Damian to hand her son back.

“Give her son back. She looks like she bites, like an angry gremlin,” Gannon mumbles.

“She fucking does. She’s already bitten me twice while throwing a fit,” Damian growls irritably as he reluctantly relinquishes the child.

“You have a child?” Abbie gasps, peering into the blankets to catch a glimpse of the sleeping toddler in Tandi’s arms. Turning towards Gannon, she extends her arms, silently indicating that she wants to hold Tyson.

As Gannon passes Tyson to Abbie, the little boy squirms and reaches out for her. The sight of Abbie cradling her son, reunited with our long-lost friend, fills me with both relief for Tandi and Abbie and longing for the life I lost.