“You tell me that you breathe for me, that you live for me,” she says. I nod in agreement. Taryn is my purpose, she is my destiny. “You are my everything too, you and our baby and the idea that there is anyone out there that may harm either of you, it makes me feel murderous. I may not carry the kind of strength you carry, but I can assure you that if I can do anything about it, no one will ever harm either of you.”
I can see that she means it, and it scares the hell out of me.
I hear a shuffling behind me and I look back over my shoulder just in time to see Amelia pause in the open doorway and look between the two of us. Part of me is thankful that she came so quickly, but another part wishes I’d been given a little more time to assure Taryn that my protection was not her responsibility.
My determined woman, so strong and assured.
“Do you mind if I sit with her for a bit, talk?” And heal, I hope.
Nodding, I offer Taryn a gentle kiss and stand, moving aside for Amelia to move closer.
I stand silently near the door, watching as they talk. My body is still humming from the events that have taken place. My world feels shaken, unsteady by the events of our morning.
I don’t know if it's the pregnancy, or the ability she holds to hear others' thoughts, but I know that this type of fear is one I never wanted her to feel.
Turning to leave I walk to the stairs and mindlessly descend. Reaching the platform at the bottom I feel the urge to tear something apart. I wanted normal, or as normal as a shifter could get anyway. I wanted to relax, feel comfort in knowing the one I love is safe, but that is a luxury I can’t have.
You’ll need to form an army around them.
The words of my father fill my mind as I walk toward the bar in the corner of the expanding great room.
They will always need to be watched, protected. Never for one second let your guard down son, because that’s when they find their in.
Grabbing a tumbler, I set it on to the bartop a little too hard that the clank of the glass against the marble echoes through the empty space. I don’t want to be the hardened man my father is, but I’m man enough to accept that I’ve been a little more lenient than I should. I had to listen to his words, even if they only pissed me off. Because the safety of the two I love the most lies in the ballast. To an extent I had to be my father, only I had to be better, stronger, more observant. I had to be mindful and...I had to be ready, always ready.
“There’s movement in Italy, and in the northern regions of Canada.” Ryder points to the expanding map before us. “I’ve gotten word that many of them are moving closer, taking their time so that they remain hidden. But they are coming.”
“Should I worry that the idea of a clan of vampires moving to town brings me comfort?”
Ryder chuckles as he finally takes a seat on the leather sofa across from me. Rowan and Amelia are upstairs with Taryn while Jonathan, Ryder, and myself work to make sure that everything is in place to keep our true natures hidden from the towns folk who don’t know what we really are.
For their safety, it is better if the people from Stone Ridge to remain sheltered from what is taking place around them. To them this land remains peaceful, a sweet place to visit and an even better place to raise a family.
“Asta and Fiona will arrive in a few days,” Jonathan confirms the arrival of my ancestors. There are still some bad feelings between them and my father. They all thought the other handled everything poorly, but it was a shitty situation all around.
They are coming for me, though, the child they know will reopen the world they’d lost. “They will be moving back into the estate, reopening the gardens,” Their home is the oldest in the area. It’s a huge sprawling mansion with a lot of land on the opposite side of town. I take in a slow calming breath and I slowly sip on the tumbler of whiskey. “Later the others will fill the quarters, living as hired help around the land. Or so that is what most will think.”
The apple orchard, when flourishing and well kept, is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Rows and rows of trees, enough for many of the towns people to pick for days and still there would be more. I remember doing that very thing with my mother when I was younger.
If I close my eyes, I can see my mother standing on a later with a basket in one hand as she picks apples with the other. She’d find the best one and give it to me every time. The wind would blow her dark locks behind her and she’d smile from ear to ear.
I wish, more than anything that my mother was still here, I wish she was here so that she’d be given the chance to know my child. So loving, my mother was an angel, much like my Taryn.
“We’ll learn from the mistakes of our ancestors,” I’m pulled from my memories and am instantly reminded of the now. Ryder and Jonathan both watch me close as if they could read my thoughts, see my visions. “We will protect them,” the determination in Ryder's voice, the devotion in his eyes brings me a sense of comfort. The gift of my child means a lot to the others too. “We’ll build a force around them so strong
