Savage (Reagan and Kieran) novel Chapter 8

Reagan

I’m not sure how I feel about my mate’s eager acceptance of my offer, but I’ve made it and I’ll stick to it. I have a lot to do before tomorrow.

When I step out of the office, I’m not surprised to see Rich and my father standing there.

“Give him a room. If you don’t trust him, put him with Gamma Elias,’ I say as I walk past them.

“Reagan,” Rich says. He’s still my Alpha so I stop and look at him. “What are you going to do?”

“What needs to be done,” I say, and keep walking. I already know that neither man is going to be happy with my decision, but it’s MY decision to make.

I’m not surprised when my father catches up quickly and falls into step beside me.

“And what exactly needs to be done, Reagan?” he asks me.

“I need to decide if he’s worthy of me accepting him as a mate.”

“Agreed. How do you propose to do that?”

“I’m going back to his pack,” I say.

My father grabs my arm and spins me toward him. “The fuck you are!”

“Yes, Dad, I am. I am a grown woman, a Guardian. You know I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. His pack has no leadership and he needs to return and get things straightened out. It would be negligent to his pack, my potential pack, if I made him stay here until I could determine if a trust him. I told him I needed time to decide if I’d accept him and he’s accepted my conditions.”

“What conditions?” my father growls.

“That I will not share a room or bed with him until I make my decision and once that decision is made, it’s final.”

My father scrubs his face with his hands. “I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Reagan ...” he growls.

“Dad. I am NOT a child any longer. As a Guardian, I haven’t been a child in a long time. The Goddess chose him as my mate. There’s a reason that she did that. I don’t know what that reason is, but I intend to find out.”

“Why won’t you let me help you?” he asks, ready to negate whatever reasons I have.

“Because he lives ... well, I don’t know exactly where he lives, but it’s out west. Are you leaving Mom here? Or did you intend to bring her to some unknown territory with a pack of wolves that we don’t know?” I ask, knowing my father would never put my mother in danger like that. I also already know he’d never leave her for any length of time.

“You’re not making me feel any more comfortable about letting you go,” he snarls, Cyran, his wolf, front and center.

“You’ve always told me that I’m your bookend, Dad. That I’m more like you than Mom. That means I’m a fighter with a Guardian’s strength. Do you really not trust that I’ll be okay?”

“I don’t like you being so far away. I don’t like not knowing if you’re okay. What if something happens? What if ...”

“Mom survived seven years in a vampire coven as blood bag and she was underage when they caught her. She didn’t have the training that I have. She didn’t have the family that I have, and she survived. Nothing’s going to happen to me, Dad. I’ve trusted you all my life. Now it’s time for you to trust me.”

I take the rectangular box and unwrap it, opening it to find a necklace with unfamiliar stones and runes.

“Thank you?” I say, not sure why this is so important.

Maeve smiles. “The stones represent boundaries, shields, protection, and truth. I think you’ll need all of those things on your journey. But, Meadow also thought it would be important for your to know if someone means you harm. Similar to the necklace we made for Madelyn, this stones on this necklace will begin to glow if someone means you harm. You’ll have to figure out the context of the harm depending on the situation you’re in. However, you can guess that if it glows, someone is trying to kill you, since it takes a lot to bring a Guardian down,” she says.

“Well, that’s ... not comforting at all. I mean it is, but it isn’t,” I say. “Thank you, though. And thank Meadow and Tate for me too.”

When everyone finally leaves and my bags are packed and stacked by the door, I fall into my bed, exhausted but unable to sleep. For the first time in my life, I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. It’s equally exciting and frightening.

In the morning, I get up, shower, put on my comfortable clothes, put my hair in a ponytail and walk out to the living room of my parent’s house for the last time. However, when I get there, I stop dead. Meadow is sitting on the couch, looking at me as if she’s been waiting for me.

I smile. “You came to say goodbye.”

“Fuck that. I’m coming with you,” she says, gesturing to the load of baggage that has doubled since I went to bed.

“You can’t come with me, Meadow.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, rubbing a finger in her ear as if clearing it out while standing to face me. “Did you just tell me I can’t do something? Did you forget that I’m an adult just like you? You don’t get to tell me what to do anymore than your father gets to tell you. So, are we done with this conversation, because I’d like to find out where we’re going and where my new temporary home is going to be,” she says, giving me a look that I already know means I’ll lose this fight.

Rather than argue, I rush to her and pull her into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re going with me,” I whisper.

“As if I would have let you go without me,” she whispers back, holding me tightly.