Roxanne’s POV:
I knocked on the door, then walked into Garren’s office. He was on his laptop, typing something. He looked exhausted and low-spirited. Now that Thelma was gone, he was handling everything by himself.
“Hey,” I whispered softly.
“Hey, baby girl,” he answered, then looked at me.
“Roman,” I called, more as a question.
He chuckled softly, then extended his hand towards me.
Why was he in control? Was Garren going through something serious that I wasn’t aware of?
I moved closer and held his hand. He pulled me onto his lap, then wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head against my shoulder.
“You don’t have to worry, Garren is fine. I took control because of a few issues I had to settle with the heirs of each vampire bloodline. It’s my duty to make sure they all fall in line and under our rule,” he said as I sighed softly in relief.
“How are you?” I whispered softly, then tensed when he pressed his lips on my shoulder.
“A little annoyed over what’s going on in the vampire territory. Besides that, I feel happy,” he answered. I quickly turned and faced him.
“Are you happy?” I asked softly.
“Yes, I am. Slowly but surely, I’m beginning to appreciate life, and so far, I am content with being alive,” he answered.
“I’m happy,” I said and then moved my hand to his cheek.
“Kyle will be leaving soon for training. He will be back after five years,” I whispered sadly.
He leaned in and kissed my forehead lightly, then pulled back.
“Do you want to say goodbye to him?” he asked.
“Yes, I would like to see him off or just say goodbye personally,” I answered honestly.
“I understand, Jersey!” he called loudly.
“I’m here, master,” she answered when she appeared a few meters away from us.
“My mate wants to go back to Ian’s pack to say goodbye to her younger brother. You will be in charge of her protection and taking her to and from here,” he ordered.
“I will do my best, master,” she answered.
“Aren’t you coming with me?” I asked seriously.
“No, that would be a wrong move. As it is, I have a lot of eyes watching my every move. If I leave with you, something bad might happen, and I would be forced to wipe out important bloodlines. Just relay my greetings to Ian and the Alpha queen,” he answered as I pouted.
I wanted him to go with me no matter what.
“Pardon me, master, but when do we leave?” she asked.
“Today. Also, we will be staying a few days there. Is that okay, Roman?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s fine,” he answered.
“Then, are we going right now?” she asked.
“No, we will leave in the evening,” I answered.
“I understand. Then, excuse me,” she said and then disappeared.
“How long are you going to be in here?” I asked seriously.
“Why do you ask?” he asked back.
“I wanted us to spend time together before I leave,” I answered honestly.
He stood up with me in his arms and walked to the door, carefully putting me down.
“Come,” he whispered, then linked his hand to mine and walked out of the office.
As we walked in the passage, I couldn’t stop smiling.
I was looking forward to wherever we were going.
He made a turn and approached an elevator as I frowned.
How big was this place? When I was around, I had not seen this area where there was an elevator.
He pressed the button and then stepped in with me when the doors opened.
“Where are we going?” I asked when he pressed a floor.
“To my late mother’s greenhouse,” he answered.
“There is a greenhouse?” I asked loudly.
“Of course, on the roof. My mother loved nature and plants a lot. It wasn’t enough that our territory was surrounded by trees. She wanted to plant flowers and take good care of them herself,” he answered.
When the elevator doors opened, we stepped out.
I stood in awe, looking at the greenhouse in front of us. It was bigger than those I had seen before in our territory.
It had a lock and chains on the door, although the flowers and plants inside looked very well taken care of and beautiful.
“Let’s go,” he said and then motioned for me to follow.
He grabbed the lock and broke it once we reached the entrance.
“Thelma was the one looking after this place for years. While I chose to let it fall, she refused and took good care of it in memory of my mother. You see, Thelma has a habit of holding on to something that means a lot to her. Even if it’s broken down or old, she will try to fix and renovate it,” he said, then pushed the entrance door open.
I quickly let go of his hand and rushed ahead to look at the place.
Different flowers grew all around. A table and a few chairs were set in the middle, and green vines grew on the house wall up to the roof.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
Was he kidding me? I loved it a lot.
“I love it,” I answered honestly.
“If you don’t mind, how about taking it as your own? No one will look after it, and this place might fall in time without anyone to take care of it,” he said as I smiled happily.
“I will take good care of it every day without fail. But for now, how about you step in for me?” I asked.
“Excuse me, what did you just say?” he asked.
“I was asking you to look after this place in my stead until I return from the pack,” I answered.
“Baby girl, neither Garren nor I are good with plants and flowers. Last time Garren was in here with our late mother, he ended up picking out green flowers as weeds, and I was right there backing him up that they weren’t flowers. Our mother was so upset that she asked us to never do anything whenever we visit the greenhouse besides have a cup of tea,” he said as I burst out into laughter.
I could imagine them both doing that, and it was so funny to me.
“You can always learn which ones are flowers and which aren’t,” I said with laughter.
“No, we can’t. The last time we tried again, we ended up leaving weeds thinking they were flowers, and mother got upset yet again,” he answered as my laughter got louder.
“I’m serious,” he whispered.
I stopped laughing and moved closer, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.
“Can you do it for me, please? It will only take a few days,” I whispered.
He averted his eyes, then sighed heavily.
“Fine, I’ll do it. But when you return, you will have to indulge me in some fun, deal?” he asked, then looked at me as I nodded.
“Deal,” I answered happily.