Chapter 77 LEAVE
WILLA’S POV
Elodie Drummond.
Daughter of Alpha Wilbur Drummond and his mistress, Beatriz Blanca.
I had the pleasure of knowing her when we were both sixteen.
She was beautiful then. But she must’ve grown to be a breathtakingly gorgeous and exemplary lady by now.
I could vividly recall her perfectly symmetrical face, her soft brown eyes, her heart-shaped lips, and her shiny blonde hair that almost looked like silver gossamer spun from the light of the moon itself…
Matching such looks with her reputation of being a very smart and kind woman who founded her own booming empire of winery, there was no way a single man could ever turn her down.
Unless, of course, he was a lesser man who couldn’t take a great woman. Or he was a man whose heart belonged to someone else.
As for Gallahan’s case, it was obviously the latter. While he was physically bonded to me for the sake of our children, he had also found a chosen mate in Miss Banfey.
But even though he had likely taken the oath of spousal with her already, he could never truly and fully bond with her since she was a witch.
So as far as Gallahan’s father was concerned, his son was still free to claim and be claimed by a werewolf.
But he wasn’t, because of me and our children.
“Your situation is shitty,” I blurted out against better judgment.
My hand immediately darted to my mouth, and I stared at Gallahan with eyes that were widened in shame. Heat of embarrassment crept to my face, no doubt painting my skin pink.
Gallahan, fortunately, didn’t take offense. He snorted, a smile hanging on the corners of his lips
“It is,” he agreed good-naturedly. “That’s why I have to go, even though I don’t want to.”
“Well, the faster you get to it, the quicker you’ll be done with it,” I replied with a shrug. “Just go and do what you have to do. Then once you’ve taken care of it, then you have one less thing to worry about.”
“Quite sensible, aren't you?” Gallahan teased mildly.
“I have to be. Life has forced me to grow up quickly.”
“But you did well, Willa. For bravely fighting for what you believe in, even if it meant giving up your fated mate along the way, and for raising the twins well without a father in the picture… You’ve done well.”
The compliment took me off guard, and I didn’t know I needed to hear it until the words had left Gallahan’s mouth.
But I truly needed it, especially after what had happened to Calisto and Gillian.
The severance of the parental blood link, regardless of the fact that it was an accident, had haunted me like a gloomy stormcloud above my head, dampening my spirit at every turn. I tried so hard to make it all go away, but it remained there. Persistent and heavy.
So the best I had done with it the past weeks was to ignore it.
And yet… Gallahan unknowingly managed to dispel that stormcloud with just a simple yet candid compliment.
“I…” I tried to say, but my throat was closing up as emotions swelled up inside me.
Tears sprung in my eyes, and I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. So I precariously placed my glass on my lap, looked up at the ceiling, and harshly dug the heels of my palms against my misty eyes.
“Hey, are you crying?”
Gallahan’s voice sounded closer, and there was a tinge of urgency there, mingling with his gentle concern.
“Don’t… Don’t say anything. Han. Just… Just give me a moment.”
Gallahan obediently heeded my request, but I felt him take the glass away from my lap, and I heard its soft clink as he placed it on the center table.
Then it was just utter stillness for a minute or two as I gathered back my composure.
I sucked a big and shaky breath, before releasing it slowly in a long blow.
Then when I had enough courage to bring my hands down and show my face again, I quickly said, “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be,” Gallahan asserted almost chidingly.
I smiled at him wanly, then sloppily slouched against the backrest of my chair while I let my arms hung like limp noodles on the armrests. “I just… I guess I badly needed to hear that. And I suppose it meant a lot that it came from someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” he parroted slowly and inquisitively.
“Yeah. Someone who wouldn’t play safe around me. Someone who wouldn’t bullshit his way with me. You’re just… You’re someone who would keep it real with me because you’re unbiased.”
He let out a short puff of incredulous laughter. “You think I’m unbiased?”
“Mn. You have no reason to be biased in my favor.”
Gallahan’s mouth parted lightly, but no sound came out of him. He openly gawked at me for a moment or two before erupting into a light and breathy chuckle that radiated a tone of disbelief.
He then mumbled something beneath his breath that I couldn’t quite catch.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Right,” I drawled. “Why don’t you head back to the Alfiero Manor now, so you could leave for Moonshire first thing tomorrow morning. The arrangement with the beautiful Elodie Drummond wouldn’t take care of itself, you know.”
“Ah, well… I think Zee is back in the Alfiero Manor. She’s likely waiting for me, so we could just teleport back to Moonshire.”
“Then you should make haste,” I replied easily, keeping my voice beautifully steady and devoid of any hint of my own discomfort. After all, I had grown quite good at maintaining a blasé facade every time Miss Banfey was brought up in our conversations. “You mustn’t make a lady wait, you know.”
Gallahan then grinned rakishly at me as he abandoned his own glass on the table and rose to his feet. “Is that so?”
“Yes. Don’t you know that manners make a man?”
I didn’t quite understand it, but his grin only grew wider at my response.
“Right. Of course. Then, will you be so kind as to fetch my bag for me? I believe it’s still in your room.”
I squinted my eyes at him, feeling quite sure something suspicious was running in his head. I just didn’t have anything to prove it.
Still, I didn’t want to go and get his bag, fearing that doing so meant I was dancing right in the palm of his hand and basically falling prey to whatever questionable plans he had in mind.
“Why don’t you get it yourself?”
“Okay. Let me just grab it, then I’ll leave.”
He then hurried upstairs without waiting for me to say anything in response. This only fueled my growing suspicions.
But when he returned with his bag in hand, there didn’t seem anything amiss.
Huh.
Maybe I was just being paranoid.
“Got everything?” I asked as I led him to the front door.
“Hm. I’ll see you and our kids soon, yeah? You are to stay in the Manor with the kids for a few days, right?”
I hummed. “We are. And actually… I have something to give you.”
At this, his eyebrows went up, creating multiple wrinkles on his forehead.
“Really?” Something akin to child-like excitement laced his tone. But he was able to quickly reign it down when he added, “What is it?”
I fished out an ordinary-looking key from the pocket of my lounge pants and offered it to Gallahan, who accepted it almost a little too eagerly. “This house is hidden and protected by layers and layers of enchantments. So only the people who I have personally given the magicked key can have direct access to it.”
Gallahan turned and flipped the key here and there, needlessly scrutinizing it. “How do I use it?”
“Just slip it into any door knob that could fit it and say the name of the house.”
“The name of the house?”
“The Fen Cottage.”
Gallahan snorted. “Really?”
“I’m not creative, okay? Cut me some slack.”
Gallahan raised his hands in the air in mock surrender. “Thank you. I’ll take care of this.”
“You better. If you lose it, I won’t be giving you another one.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” he replied blithely. “I’ll cherish this key like it’s the world’s biggest diamond.”
“Now that’s just bullshit.”
Gallahan chuckled. “I’ll see you next week, Willa.”
But the following week, Gallahan didn’t show up.