I nodded I heard him and stepped away. I couldn’t answer that for him, and not because he should figure it out on his own… But because I didn’t know the damn answers either.
I really fucking wished I did.
We were almost to the portal when Mel stopped me, nodding for the others to start going through. “I have one thing I need to say, and I’ll go back to quietly supporting you however you need.”
“Okay,” I sighed, thinking that was fair, and she had been really great at keeping her opinions on this to herself… Something practically unheard of for Mel.
“I’m rooting for you to forgive Darby and take him back.”
Well that was not what I had expected, and I wondered if my jaw had touched the actual ground, or it simply felt like it.
She nodded after giving me a few moments with that. “I am.”
“I figured you would push for Hudson,” I admitted.
She looked away, but not before I saw she wanted that too. “I can’t be objective on that. I love you both. I was there when he was born. It’s in my family’s DNA to do what’s best for the Vogels, and you are what’s best for him. But I love you too, and I don’t know he’s best for you. Darby is though.”
“I can’t—”
“Let me finish, because you’ve been ignoring stuff that you need to know to make the right decision.” She waited until I nodded. “He will blow his entire family apart when the chips land. It’s not just his dad and grandfather, but his brother. His uncles were part of it, any male Moore was groomed to be part of it. He fell apart and went on a bender after he learned that’s part of why there aren’t many Moores.”
My eyes went wide, understanding she meant some fairies had won when they’d tried to abduct them, killing members of his family.
She swallowed loudly. “Yeah, it wasn’t his grandfather or dad going rogue. It’s deep—sick—but deep in his bloodline. He’s convinced his grandma and mom had to know and… It’s been bad, but he’s doing it because it’s right. Yes, it’s because he loves you, but I absolutely believe he would have done this, even if he’d never met you. So do my cousins.”
“That’s a lot to try and get over,” I rasped, my heart aching for him.
“Yes, but he’s desperate for you guys to get over it together and heal.” She sighed when I simply bobbed my head. “There’s more to what he thought his family did. You should hear it from his lips, but my mom called me a few months ago when he was drunker than shit and blabbing all about it. I get taking a break and both of you trying to process and heal separately, but I think you need to at least talk to him.”
I swallowed loudly. “Would you forgive him? Could you move forward with him? Really? We both lied and—”
“Yes and yes,” she cut in, her tone firm.
Shock rocked me. “How? Why?”
“You both lied—though I’m not sure his was a lie, as he truly had no idea it was about fairies—to protect yourselves. And you weren’t at the stage of your relationship to tell all your secrets. That’s normal, Tams. You were going through something completely normal where you found out something bad about your partner you didn’t like. It’s just what it was, and how much it hurt you, that was so abnormal.”
“I’ll think about it. I will, I promise. I might—he really went on a bender?”
“Yeah, bad. He loves you with his soul, just like you do him. It’s killing him to lose you.”
I glanced at her, not sure I had felt that deeply about him. Yes, I knew I had loved him, but I wasn’t sure it was that deep.
Like it had been with Craftsman. I opened my mouth to ask about that, but I didn’t get the chance, Mel always able to tell where my head was.
“No, I wouldn’t forgive Craftsman.” She frowned. “Yet. I think he can do what he needs to so you can, but right now, I’d push him off a cliff instead of pushing him towards you.”
Okay then. Glad she was clear, as that actually helped.
8
The next morning I headed out for my run to get into my back-on-campus routine… Only to find someone ready to join me.
Besides one of my guards.
The funny part? I had half expected Lucca, since he used to run with me in bear form. It was our thing, and I had wondered if he would try, knowing I found his bear irresistible. But no, it wasn’t Lucca.
It was Craftsman.
He was standing there looking sexy as fuck in a tank top and basketball shorts, stretching as if passing the time. He froze when I came out, Zack walking around the building—since he knew the time I had planned on—and sighed as he realized we had an extra party.
Yeah, I wanted to sigh too, but I went another way.
I glanced down at my iPhone and changed from the playlist I was about to start to Lady A’s “All For Love.” I took off at my warm-up jog and kept his gaze as I sang the first half, the guy’s part where he was saying walking away—no matter the reason—is never about love.
Craftsman flinched, clearly knowing the song, and fell in step with me, even as I kept singing. My warm-up was done after that minute or so, and I picked up the pace to my new routine I’d been on all summer.
Which was way faster than he was used to last year. He had no
