Garren’s POV:
I was in my office, on my laptop, going through some emails I had received from women in my past.
A day had passed since what had happened between us. Although we talked a bit more about our lives, our meals together were quiet, and it seemed like we both had concerns.
Was I avoiding her? Yes, totally. I was.
That day, I wanted to have my way with her without stopping, but the look of uncertainty on her face was what made me pull back. I didn’t want to be the selfish bastard who pushed her into having sex because of his own desires.
“You think locking yourself in here would make her happy?” Roman asked.
“No, it wouldn’t. But she would think I’m busy doing something important,” I answered as he growled at me.
“We should be spending every single hour with our mate. By now, the coven elders must have known that we aren’t in our castle. They might think we have switched sides,” he said.
“Just shut up,” I said lazily, then stood up and went to open the door before Roxanne could knock.
Her scent was strong, and her movements were too loud to be ignored.
“Can we talk in the living room?” she asked.
“Yes, of course,” I answered and then stepped out and closed the door behind me.
As we walked side by side, I stole a few glances at her.
She looked pale and extremely exhausted.
“Are you okay?” I asked, concerned.
“Yes,” she answered, then smiled when we walked into the living room.
“Garren,” she called, getting my full attention.
“When do you feed?” she asked seriously.
I was astonished by her question but tried not to show it.
“I can go for a few weeks without blood because I’m a hybrid. The longest I have gone without it was a month,” I answered.
“Have you been sleeping well?” she asked.
“If you mean do I sleep, then yes. I sleep at noon but sometimes at night depending on how I feel,” I answered as she shook her head.
“I mean to ask, have you been sleeping well?” she asked as I sighed heavily.
Did she mean to ask if I was sleeping well because she was in the house?
“No, I don’t sleep well, but I refuse to make it a burden for you. As much as I would like to hold you, I don’t want to hurt or rush you into submitting,” I answered as she looked relieved.
“I haven’t been sleeping well either since we came here. That night, I couldn’t sleep at all, and today I only slept a few hours. I kept thinking that we should finally share a marking,” she said.
I was about to ask her if she realized the impact of her own words when I heard the sound of a car approaching the mansion.
“Stay here. No matter what, do not come out,” I ordered, then rushed outside.
I stood outside the entrance of my compound and waited patiently for whoever it was.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. When I opened them, Roman took complete control.
We were more than ready for the fight that was coming our way.
When the cars came into view, I could feel our heartache and our adrenaline kick in.
The car stopped a few meters away from where I was, and the doors opened.
“It’s a good day to kill, don’t you think,” Roman whispered when Ian stepped out.
We knew the man very well. We would be a fool not to know the face of our enemy.
On the other side, his wife came out, and two more people followed suit.
The second car doors opened, and more people came out.
By their scent, I could tell there was an Alpha queen, two Alphas, a Beta, an omega, a fairy, a pure-blood vampire, and a human who, by his specific scent of magic, gave him away as a warlock.
As they moved approaching us, Roman moved too. Each step we took was that of war. We cared less who was on their side because no one was going to stand in our way of slitting Ian’s throat.
“Do you know what I’ll do to you, Ian?” Roman asked loudly as we got closer.
“I’ll first take out your Alpha queen and female Alpha. Then I’ll easily rip apart the warlock and fairy because I’m immune to magic. After that, I’ll kill you along with that Beta and omega behind you,” he said as Ian frowned deeply.
“I would love to watch you try… is what I would say, but I’m just here for my little girl,” he said as Roman laughed mockingly. Then he stopped in his tracks and looked at the pure-blood vampire.
“As for you, you might be of importance to the coven, so you will live,” he said as they all stopped moving.
“I would rather kill you than return to the coven,” she answered. Then, in a split second, before she could grab his hand, he hit her head with his elbow. He moved in a flash and grabbed the Alpha queen’s neck, while the pure-blood fell to the ground as the scent of her blood filled the air.
She was fast but thoughtless in her own movements.
Ian was about to move with his people when Roman tightened his grip on the Alpha queen’s neck and raised her in mid-air.
“Would you like to test my strength and speed? It will only take me a second to snap her neck, while it will take you about fifteen seconds to jump on me. So think wisely,” he warned as they all stood still.
They were all stupid because when it came to Roman, he saw each and every attack thrown against us in slow motion.
“Stop! Please stop,” Roxanne’s voice came from behind us.
Everyone looked at her and Roman willingly dropped his hand as the Alpha queen fell to the ground. He inhaled deeply.
“Roman!” I exclaimed.
“Quiet, you,” he ordered.
The warlock and fairy rushed to the pure-blood’s side and helped her stand, which we found surprising.
The blow was painful to her, but she was acting as if she was a weakling. Only vampires that fed on animal blood were weak. Those that took human blood were stronger. And being a pure-blood vampire, we were expecting a tough fight from her.
“Didn’t Garren warn you to stay in the…”
He cut his sentence short when she ran past him and into Ian’s embrace.
The Alpha queen wasted no time in joining their embrace.
Just watching the scene play out in front of us and seeing how they all looked at her made our hearts ache.
He silently stepped back and gave me full control as we watched everyone surround her with questions about how she was doing or if she was hurt or threatened in any way.
In that moment, it sunk in how much they loved and cherished her. I knew they would have fought against Roman, yet they had let their guards down. Their actions weren’t those of people ready for war; they were the actions of people who wanted to make peace.
I had feelings for Roxanne, and taking her with me against her will would only make her feelings for me turn into hate and anger, and that’s not what I wanted.
“Letting her go is going to make the coven elders our enemies, but it is better than making her hate us,” Roman whispered.
I turned and walked to my car without saying a word. Our decision was the same because we both couldn’t bear to be hated by her.
I opened the car door and looked at the car keys, which were already inside.
“I guess this is our goodbye to her,” I said silently to Roman, then moved to get in when Ian called my name.
I turned and looked at him coldly.
“There is something you need to know,” the pure-blood said seriously. She looked pale, and the red bruise below her nose was visible as hell.
“You have no right to talk to me because you are a disgrace to the coven, and as for you, I’m only going to say this once, Ian. The reason I’m choosing to leave right now is because of how I feel about your daughter. I chose to risk my life rather than make her hate me or do something that might hurt her badly,” I said as the omega took a few steps forward.
“Please, it will only take a minute,” she said softly as I laughed loudly.
I was so furious with them all. Could they not see how much I wanted them dead?
“Garren,” Roxanne whispered as she moved closer, wiping away her tears.
She was so happy to the point of tears, and I hated it. But I also understood how she felt. If I were given a chance to meet my parents for a day or even a few minutes, I too would throw away my pride and break down in front of everyone.
I forced a smile across my face when she grabbed both of my hands.
“Where are you going?” she asked seriously.
I looked at Ian for a second, then back at her with a low sigh.
“Home,” I answered softly.
“What about your revenge?” she asked as I tightened my grip on her.
“He was already miserable without you by his side. That alone is enough revenge for me,” I lied, then slowly pulled my hands away.
“Now then, I guess this is our goodbye,” I said as she frowned.
“What do you mean?” she asked loudly.
Was she playing dumb or testing my patience?
There was no way in heaven or hell that I was going with Ian or allowing him to stay here. I hated the man, no matter what.
“I mean this is where we say our final goodbyes. I’m letting you go back to your family, Roxanne, because that’s where your happiness lies,” I answered seriously.
She angrily glared at me, then looked at her family.
“I love my parents with all my heart, and they know that. But I am not going anywhere with them,” she said, shocking me.
“Roxanne,” Ian called in disbelief.
“I adore you guys so much, but that’s not where my heart is,” she answered, then turned and faced me with tears in her eyes.
“I want to be wherever you are, Garren. If I truly wanted to go back home, I would have attempted to run away for as long as I was breathing. I was concerned about my parents’ well-being because I knew how worried they were after I went missing. I wanted to find a way to tell them that I was fine and happy being with my mate, and with time, I would find a way to keep communicating with them,” she said.
I looked at Ian and the rest and noticed that they all had shocked expressions on their faces.
“Roxanne,” the Alpha Queen called loudly.
“I’m sorry, Mother, but there is no way I’m leaving my mate behind. If you were in my situation, would you leave Father behind? If I did, no matter what, I would feel so lonely, and my days would be filled with regret. I know you are concerned about him and you think he’s a bad guy, but he isn’t. The walls he usually puts around his heart make it easy to judge him and see him as a cold man when he isn’t. If he wanted me dead, I would have already been by now,” she said, then sniffed.
“As we started getting to know each other, I got to see how broken and alone he felt. He can never admit it to anyone, but he needs me by his side more than I need you guys. He might not directly tell me how he feels, but he does love me a lot. That’s why he chose to set me free, despite knowing how the coven wouldn’t tolerate it,” she said in a cracked voice as tears blinded my vision.
Her words were sad and true. They hurt, but at the same time, they touched my heart.
I blinked back the tears, then moved and linked my hand with hers.
She looked at me and smiled, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I don’t want you sacrificing your family for me,” I whispered as she shook her head.
“You are now my family,” she whispered.
“Ah, fuck this. Didn’t I tell you that we had something important to tell you?” Ian asked as he approached me.
He stood in front of me, then looked at the door.
“Are you fucking coming along or not?” he asked, then turned and walked to the mansion as everyone followed.
I was left alone with Roxanne, trying to understand how they would just make themselves at home like that.
She wiped off her tears with her free hand, then tiptoed and kissed my cheek.
“It should be very important. Come along,” she said, then pulled her hand away and walked back in.
“Do you think he is genuine…”
“Just go in already. I don’t think it’s a trap,” Roman growled, cutting me off.
I hesitated but turned and went back in.