Azaire POV
“Elaine, what’s wrong?”
Richie and I burst into the room. I scanned the surroundings, but Elaine was nowhere to be seen.
“She’s in the mirror,” Elaine’s voice trembled.
“Who is?”
“Avena…”
That’s impossible. Avena was dead, and people didn’t pop up in mirrors, or at least I hoped they didn’t.
“Wait here,” I told Richie.
Elaine had fallen in front of the bathroom mirror. The mirror was covered in steam. A broken bottle of conditioner lay on the floor. There was nothing in the mirror but my mate was trembling.
“It’s alright, sweetheart.”
She shook her head violently. “She was there!”
“I’m here, Elaine.” I approached her slowly.
“I can see you! Avena was there. I know her, and she was staring at me.”
Fuck this wasn’t good. Richie stepped into the bathroom slowly. He looked at her with concern.
“Dude?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, man.”
Richie closed the hot water shower tap while I carried Elaine out of the bathroom. She gripped my shirt and trembled.
“She’s dead,” Elaine mumbled.
“Yes, Laiken killed her, and Lynn took her magic.”
This could be a side effect from using her healing gift for so long.
I set her down on the bed. Elaine was still shaken. I couldn’t do anything to help her. I’d take the damn mirror out of the shower if I had to.
“Do you think we should call Rae?” Richie asked.
“No, there’s an explanation for this. Avena is dead. I saw her.”
“You don’t believe me?” Elaine’s voice cracked.
“It’s not that, sweetheart. You could be tired. You told me you were exhausted.”
She nodded slowly. “That has to be it. Avena’s dead, and that’s how she’ll remain.”
I smoothed her hair, and she settled into the mattress. I thought about pushing small ounces of Alpha power into her to make her relax, but she wouldn’t appreciate that.
“I’ll be right back, mate,” I said, standing.
“No, you don’t have to stay with me. I overreacted.”
“Fuck that, Elaine. I’ll be right back. Come on, Richie.”
The second my brother and I were in the hallway, Richie grabbed my arm. “I’m going to check on Opal.”
“You don’t think the witch survived, do you?” I growled.
“Nothing’s normal when you’re dealing with a witch, Azaire.”
I hated that he was telling the truth.
“We’ll talk about Lucas later, but I’ll have someone look for him and bring him here. I knew that kid was messing around with the wrong crowd. I don’t know how I can save him now.”
He’s our brother, but he could have killed Fran. If Fran wasn’t an Alpha female, she might not have survived the attack. I wanted to know what prompted Lucas to behave that way. Our Father wasn’t that type of man, neither was our Uncle. They never laid a finger on their wives. Where did he get the guts to do that to Francine?
“Look, there’s Daddy!” Mom laughed.
I paused after I entered the kitchen. I was shocked to see my son in my Mother’s arms.
“Wasn’t he here this morning?” I asked.
Mom smoothed his hair. “Holly had things to do, so I offered to babysit.”
“She could have told me,” I grumbled. “Let me have him.”
“What? Excuse me?” Mom gasped.
She held Leon back as if I’d asked to throw him in the garbage can.
“Where are you taking him?” she questioned.
“To my room, to hang out with me and Elaine.” I really wanted my son to get used to my mate. After the conversation I had with Lawrence, things changed. Lawrence didn’t even know how much he helped me.
Mom frowned. “Holly wouldn’t be too happy about that. You know how she feels about your girlfriend.”
“Hmm, I knew how you felt about my girlfriend before Holly reappeared in my life!”
“Azaire, honey, I just want you to have a family, and Holly can offer that. She already has your son, and Leon needs both of his parents.”
“That’s why you invited her to live here without telling me!” I hissed.
“That little eavesdropper!” Mom snapped, and it startled Leon.
I took my son from her arms.
“Listen, if you keep this up, I’ll leave.”
“Azaire, you wouldn’t. You’d take Leon with you. He needs me!”
What happened to Leon needing his Mother and Father?
“Then accept I chose to be with Elaine. She’s my fated mate, and I love her. She’s the woman I’m having a family with. Holly’s not moving in. If she does, then I will move out. Do you understand?”
“Don’t I have a say on who gets to live in my house?” she puffed.
Living here might not be a good idea anymore. Richie wouldn’t like it if Elaine and I moved out, but Janet was leaving me no choice.
“I’m taking him upstairs.”
“Azaire, please…”
Leon rested his head on my shoulder as I climbed the stairs.
“Tired?” I asked him.
He bobbed his little head.
I often wondered how I didn’t catch his scent when Holly was pregnant. Things would have turned out differently for him. I missed out on a lot, but I didn’t intend to miss out on more.
I entered our room and found Elaine had changed into pink fluffy pyjamas. She was taken aback by Leon’s presence.
“Oh… you brought him.”
“Yeah, I think it’s past his bedtime.”
I set him in her arms, leaving her no choice but to hold him.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked.
Leon fit perfectly in her arms. He knew he was safe.
“Of course, I am. You would never hurt him, and you two look amazing together.”
She smiled and stroked Leon’s cheek. “He’s precious.”
Looking at her as she held my son did things to me. I was certain Elaine was the Mother of my future children.
“Do you feel better?” I asked.
She sighed and nodded. “I know I sounded crazy. I could have been exhausted, but I think it’s a good idea for me to speak to my Mother.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Elaine bit her lip. “She was worried about something moving in the cosmos. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I still have to speak to her.”
Rae said the same thing. I hoped there was nothing moving in the cosmos. I didn’t want more harm to come to my family. They’d been through enough.