Chapter 54 Chapter 54
Morning struck sooner than they hoped. Suki and Reynard remained silent as they got themselves dressed and packed. They left their temporary accommodation and waited in the centre of the town for Talon to guide them out of the pack.
Suki could feel the awkward tension between her and her mate, and she knew that Rey could feel it too, but she chose to push it aside for now and stay focused on their main goal – keeping the people of Moonstone and fellow werewolves safe.
The two stood quietly waiting to leave, but also waiting for one of them to speak up.
Reynard cleared his throat as if he were about to speak, but that moment was immediately stopped as Talon approached them.
“Sorry to keep you both waiting,” he exclaimed, dipping his head in a bow. “I had a few last-minute tasks to deal with.”
“Not to worry, we weren’t waiting long,” Suki smiled, offering a bow in return.
Talon smiled, “I’ll just go ensure the rest of the guards in my team are ready to head out and then we’ll leave shortly.” He hastened off.
From afar, Hadeon was rushing over in their direction. “Oh, good,” he panted as he approached them, “you’re still here.”
“Hadeon, hi,” Suki offered a soft smile. “Is everything alright?”
Hadeon bowed deeply before shooting himself back upright. “I wanted to say goodbye properly. I thought it was only fair since I was a bit pushy with all my questions last night. Please, forgive me, like the rest of us in Nighttide, we tend to get a little too excited about outsiders visiting.”
Suki frantically waved her hands. “Oh, there’s no need for an apology, I completely understand. I’m sure we would be the same,” she smiled towards Reynard, who was holding a still and focused face, as all protective warriors do. Clearing her throat, she looked back at Hadeon and bowed her head, “Thank you for coming to say goodbye–”
“Hadeoooooon, what’s taking so long?” questioned a little girl, who couldn’t be older than 10 years old, as she stomped over towards them. “You said you’d take me to the park.”
Patting his hand on top of her head, Hadeon laughed, “Apologies, this little one is very impatient. This is my baby sister, Katherine, but everyone calls her Katy.”
“I’m not a baby!” she huffed, crossing her arms.
Kneeling to her height. “Hi Katy, nice to meet you,” Suki said, holding out her hand. Katy shook her hand and smiled. Suki pointed to the black wolf teddy in her arms, “Who’s this handsome fella? Does he have a name?”
She nodded excitedly, “His name is Bren.”
Suki’s smile vanished for a split second. “Wow, what a lovely name.”
“I named him after–”
“Alright, Katy,” Hadeon interrupted her, “go back to the car, and I’ll be with you in a moment. Let me say goodbye properly to my new friends.” He patted her shoulders, encouraging her to make a move.
Katy sighed, “Okay, okay!” She leaned forward, ushering Suki to do the same. “You’re really pretty,” she whispered.
Giggling, Suki whispered back, “Thank you, so are you.”
Suki wasn’t wrong either; there was a certain beauty that the Ateos siblings had – somehow having a perfect combination of elegance and might. Katy was slightly different, however, with the obvious glow of innocence, and she also had much lighter hair and eyes compared to her siblings, a lighter brown rather than the deep dark, almost black hair and eyes of her brothers.
They watched as Katy ran off back to her guard and entered the car.
“She’s adorable,” Suki complimented.
Hadeon laughed, “Yeah, but she’s a handful.”
“It’s so worth it when they’re that cute, though. I love kids.”
“You want kids?”
Suki nodded. “One day for sure,” she smiled and looked at Rey, who still wasn’t looking at her and was focusing on keeping an eye on their surroundings. She looked towards the forest where Talon was waving them over.
Reynard placed a hand on her back. “We should get moving, don’t want to keep the guards waiting.”
“Of course.” She turned to Hadeon, “Thanks for coming to say goodbye. Maybe we’ll get to meet again one day.”
He held his hand out, “I hope that day will be sooner rather than later.”
She gripped his hand to shake, but almost gasped as he pulled her into a hug. His behaviour was quite different from Brendan’s, who was distant and rarely expressed his emotions. He was more expressive and open with himself, but that almost made Suki feel more confused about their family.
As Hadeon gave her a light squeeze, the small squeak that escaped Suki’s lips was enough to trigger Reynard’s jealousy.
He pushed Hadeon away from her and held himself between the two. “That’s enough physical contact with her.”
Hadeon arched a brow. “Protective guard, aren’t you? I don’t think we properly introduced ourselves to one another. Forgive me,” he lowered his head. “I’m Hadeon Aetos,” he said, holding out his hand.
Reynard held back his annoyance and stepped forward, taking Hadeon’s hand and shaking it with a firmer grip than usual. “My name is Reynard. Reynard Otake.”
He winced at his grasp, then blinked, almost perking up when he processed what Rey had said. “Sorry, did you say Otake?”
“Yes, sir.”
Stepping back with a wide gaze, Hadeon couldn’t look away from Reynard.
Suki’s eyes bounced from Hadeon to Reynard, back and forth, confused as to what was going on. “Hadeon… Are you alright?”
His eyes shuttered as he shook his head back to reality. “Forgive me, I’ve heard much about your parents and… you,” he cleared his throat, almost choking on his words. “I’m very sorry for your loss. It was tragic what had happened to you; no child should ever have to experience that.”
“No one at all should ever have to experience that,” Reynard corrected him.
“Yes, of course.”
Reynard’s eyes pierced into Hadeon’s, as if he were aiming for his soul. Ushering Suki to move forward, towards the forest, he spoke bluntly, “We’ll be off now.”