Page 49

C larice tells me Azalea has kidnapped the orphanage children.

Hearing this, I finally leave the room. I want to see the kids, and I want to help.

All day I spend building bunk beds and setting up the ballroom, and we change it into a makeshift orphanage, though it is far more glamorous than anything they were accustomed to.

My mind keeps wondering if Tyson will be among them.

I refuse to have hope. Kade had promised to get him for me, and I now realize it was only ever a way to get me to comply.

A false promise, another lie he fed me, and I foolishly believed.

What if he isn’t amongst them? What if Mrs. Daley killed him with her cruel punishments? He was just a boy. My sweet boy.

I can’t bring myself to ask Gannon. Some part of me doesn’t want Tyson to be used as a weapon against me, another false promise and another way to crush me.

I know Gannon is nothing like Kade, yet that fear lingers that I will be blinded by my heart’s desires, which we all now know overrides any logical or rational thought.

I don’t trust my own decisions, don’t trust my instincts anymore because they are constantly wrong.

Gannon follows me everywhere, helping wherever he can, and it feels good doing something. It occupies my mind and removes the memories, even if only temporarily.

“You okay, love?” Gannon asks, touching my shoulder. I flinch, not hearing him sneak up behind me. He is helping drag in toy boxes from the Lycan community. They all sent any spare clothes and toys up to the castle until the king can order things in.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I tell him while fitting the sheet to the bed.

“Abbie, you haven’t stopped. You should have a break,” Gannon says. I shake my head, grabbing the pillowcases and pillows.

“Abbie!” Gannon says, gripping my wrists.

“Stop. You need to have a break,” he says just as the guards yell out that the king has returned.

They’re here! Excitement and hope bubble up within me.

Gannon sighs loudly and lets me go when I try to pull my wrists from his grip.

I race across the castle, hearing them piling out, their excited voices growing louder.

“What the heck is going on out here?” Clarice yells out.

The kids, not hearing her, continue to rush around, and the castle staff look overwhelmed when I walk out.

I stick my fingers in my mouth and whistle loudly, calling for their attention.

Something Azalea and I used to do when they got too rough or too loud back at the orphanage.

The kids freeze and glance in my direction.

The way their eyes light up makes emotion choke me before they rush at me.

I smile and I’m nearly knocked over when they spot me, all trying to hug and touch me.

Reaching for them, I try to say hello to each one, grabbing them and hugging them.

That’s when I hear a noise I have only dreamed of hearing again.

Tyson weaves through the crowd, hands flapping as he makes his grunting noise.

He is alive! He is still alive. I reach for him, grabbing him from the ground, clutching him tightly. I bury my face in his neck and inhale his scent. His hand moves to my face, brushing my cheek. He is skinny, skinnier than when I left him. I can feel all his bones, yet he is here.

“I missed you, mister,” I murmur, and he makes his grunting noises, bouncing in my arms when I notice Azalea. I try to move to her but can’t, so I have to wait for her to come to me since I am still trapped under her command.

She wraps her arms around me, and I hug her, tugging her closer. “You got them out,” I whisper, wiping my tears. Azalea nods sadly. But now we have to find homes for them all.

“Katrina?” I ask.

“Now, Alpha,” she tells me, and I struggle to hide my shock, yet I am happy regardless.

She will be an excellent Alpha. The king comes up behind her, and I glance at him.

He places his hand on her hip and pecks her cheek before he reaches over and messes with Tyson’s hair.

Tyson stares up at him before sucking on his thumb.

“They never have to go back?” I ask worriedly as I look at all the kids rushing around.

“Nothing to go back to,” Azalea tells me. I stare at her, wondering what she means.

“I made them burn it to the ground. It’s gone, Abbie. All of it,” she tells me, and tears burn my eyes, flooding my vision.

“We are never going back?” I choke, tears slipping down my cheeks.

“Never! We are home now,” she tells me, and I clutch her tighter, pulling her into a hug with one arm.

“More than my life,” I whisper.

“Forever more than my life. We have a home now, Abbie, and we have set them free,”

“We are free,” I say, sniffling. Though what was free? Because I know I am, but somehow I am still trapped in the past.

“Free,” she repeats. I wipe my face before clearing my throat. Glancing at the children who Clarice is trying to get their attention. Azalea and I both stick our fingers in our mouths simultaneously and whistle. They stop, all freezing.

“Line up and settle down. You will wake the entire town,” she yells out at them. They all immediately line up into four rows. I shake my head and sigh, some things remain the same, yet the kids listen, and when Clarice claps her hands loudly, they straighten up.

“Now we have breakfast cooked and ready for you in your new room, but everyone has to be quiet and use your inside voices,” Clarice says. The kids all remain quiet before she turns on her heel.

“Now follow me. Quietly!” she calls out to the kids, and they file in after her.

I follow behind them. When I spot Gannon, I blink down at Tyson.

He won’t win if he tries to make me; I won’t choose.

I’m not letting him go now that I have him back.

He will not take him from me. As I go to pass him where he stands at the doors, he stops me with a hand on my arm.

“Who is this?” he asks, shucking Tyson under the chin to look up at him. Tyson sniffs the air, and he must be able to smell my scent on him because he then waves and grins at him.

“This is Tyson. And Tyson, this is Gannon,” I introduce them, smiling down at Tyson when he pats my cheek with his tiny hand. Tyson makes one of his noises, and Gannon smirks.

“Hello, Tyson,” Gannon tells him softly before placing his hand on my lower back. I follow Clarice, my heart thudding in my chest as I try to keep up, yet as I see Clarice taking the kids to the ballroom, I know I will be expected to leave him there. I wasn’t losing him again.

I will die before I allow someone to take him from me again.

He is mine, and Gannon either accepts that, or we call it quits.

Tyson isn’t up for discussion. Clarice walks through the double door past the kitchens, and I glance at Gannon before staring back ahead.

However, instead of heading toward the ballroom.

I stop at the stairs, heading toward our quarters.

“Abbie?” Gannon asks as I climb the stairs.

I don’t answer. Instead, I just keep climbing the stairs, and I know Azalea is following me.

She knows I want Tyson. She knows I love this boy as if he were my own.

Gannon races up the steps behind me, but I keep walking to our room. “Abbie!” he calls out.

“Abbie, where are you going?” he yells.

“Tyson is mine. I want him,” is all I say. I wasn’t asking permission. He either accepts it or loses both of us. Gannon scoffs, but I ignore him and continue walking.