Chapter 120: He Stole My Heart, I Stole His Child

Max POV

“Grandpa, just do it,” Taegan scowls at me.

“No!” I huffed, “Rover, there is not coming anywhere near me with that fucking needle.”

Thyra is leaning against the wall, smirking, and I can feel the woman’s amusement in the damn bond. Fuck, this is so frustrating. I know they need my blood to save Bailey, I fucking get that, but I trust Dante to take it about as far as I can throw him, which isn’t far.

I found that out the hard way. My pride is still stinging from challenging him to spar and then losing in the most shameful fucking display you could imagine. Damn divine dog. I still hate him.

“Will you let me do it, then?” Taegan asks, looking a little too eager at the prospect of digging around my veins with a needle.

“I’ll hold him down,” Dante offers, his snout stretching into a menacing grin.

A fierce growl vibrates my chest. He’s really not coming near me now.

“Just give him a knife and let him get blood the primal way, since the big bad alpha seems to be frightened of a little needle,” Thyra offers.

“I’m not fucking scared of needles. I’m scared of a rabid mutt or a 6-year-old stabbing me and digging around in my fucking arms.”

“Give it here, Dante,” Thyra holds her hand out for the syringe.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Give me the knife instead.”

“Why? Do you not trust me either?”

“Do you have a medical degree?” I asked.

“No, but I have many other qualifications,” she quirked a brow at me.

“Like what?” I crossed my arms over my chest in case the mutt, still watching me like a snake, tried to take me by surprise.

“Like having the ability to castrate you in your sleep if you don’t quit being a brat.” She then adds in a mind link, “I also have the vagina in this relationship. I don’t want to be the only one with balls too.”

“Did you just call me a pussy?” I scoffed.

“I sure as hell am not seeing anything to prove otherwise right now,” she snaps.

Fuck, why does it turn me on so much when she gets all authoritative to me? It's like she is challenging my manhood, and fuck do I want to meet her head-on.

“Shit,” I gripped, closing my eyes and held my arm out for her to stab me with the vicious looking needle.

“Finally,” Taegan sighs, “You’re a big baby, grandpa. Uncle Nate would make fun of you so much right now.”

“Shut up,” I growled, peeking out of one eye to see him staring at me with an amused smirk. His eyes cloud over a bit, not like mind linking but in a strange way that makes his entire eye glow a faint blue.

He must be talking to the thing in his head he calls a Lycan. The moon goddess told me I couldn’t see it. She said that he had to wait to shift until he was with his mom. It irritates the hell out of me that he has a fucking wolf that I’m not allowed to see, one that is supposedly stronger than me, but I’m not going to jeopardize saving Bailey by demanding something the moon goddess said no to.

Taegan looks like he is laughing at himself, his smile stretching on his face and a snicker leaving his lips.

Fucking irritating. I want to know what kind of thing is in his mind. What the hell is it telling him?

“Ready?” Thyra asks.

“No,” I grumbled.

“Too bad.”

Without any warning, she stabs my arms, making me yell in a very unmanly manner. Fuck, she’s going to say something else about me being a pussy. I’m almost excited about it, but then I see Dante chuckle to himself and I’m pissed off again.

“What the fuck are you still doing here? Go play tea party or something,” I growled, wanting the infuriating dog man to leave.

He rolls his black, beady eyes, then exits through the kitchen, probably to go tell on me to the goddess. Annoying animal. I’m glad we’re getting ready to go home. Fuck, we should be leaving as soon as the moon goddess gets back. She had to prepare something for Taegan, and then we are out of here.

“There, you big baby,” Thyra says, pulling the full syringe from my forearm. I looked away, cringing at the feel of the needle slipping out of me.

Taegan produces from his jacket pocket a glass container that looks like a mason jar, only with an air-tight clasp instead of a screw top, then takes the syringe from Thyra to squirt my blood in it.

“Why do you need my blood? Why couldn’t you get your fucking dad’s when we got back?” I asked him.

“Because dad is going to be very unhappy when we get back, and taking his blood will be impossible. I actually need you to hold him back for me the second you see him, or he might kill Grandma Katherine’s mate.”

“Antonio?” I questioned. Why the fuck would that twat waffle be there?

“That’s him. He’s the closest and most convenient original vampire we have. Mom is getting him ready for his part for us.”

I stare at my grandson, uncomfortable with the implications of everything he is saying. Why the hell would Axel want to kill Antonio? What is Antonio going to do to Bailey to make Axel want to?

Thyra looks concerned down at Taegan, then combs her fingers through his hair. He turns and smiles up at her. “I’m excited for you, Grandma Thyra.”

“Me?” she coughs a laugh. “Why? What’s going to happen to me?”

Taegan shrugs. “I think mom wanted to keep it a surprise. That’s what it looked like. She is doing some renovations to grandpa’s house for you.”

“Is she upgrading my kitchen or something? What the fuck is she doing?” I asked, now concerned about my house. “And why isn’t your mom in the damn hospital like she’s supposed to be?”

“Mom isn’t supposed to be in the hospital,” he simply says.

I groan. Decoding the shit that comes out of my grandson’s mouth gives me a fucking headache. I wish he could just be straightforward with me.

“Good. You got it, Princess,” the goddess says as she walks into the kitchen, making me jump out of my stool in surprise. I didn’t even hear her come in.

“I had to threaten him to get it,” my mate smirks at me, and I feel myself going weak in the fucking knees at her sultry face. Fuck me, I can’t wait for all this shit to be over so I can do something about the look she’s giving me. This pussy will show her pussy just who has the balls in this relationship. They will be smacking against her ass until the fucking sun comes up.

“Focus, Max,” the goddess scolds me. The disapproving looks she sends me makes me hang my head shamefully.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

She comes to Taegan and crouches down in front of him. She stares into his eyes and his eyes do that eerie glowing shit again. Taegan smiles and nods his head, taking a book from her hands, an old weathered one with different phases of the moon on it. He nods at her again, and then opens his jacket to stick it in an inside pocket.

They must be mind linking. Freaks the shit out of me that my grandson can do that.

She smiles up at him, rubbing her hand on his cheek, then kissing his forehead before she stands to look between me and Thyra.

“Let’s head to the place we first met. Your pegasus will be there waiting for you. We can discuss what is to come next while we walk.”

Nervousness eats away at me as we follow behind Taegan and the goddess. This scene is a lot like when we first got her; Thyra and I holding hands and following behind the goddess and my grandson. I’m as confused and anxious now as I was back then, but this time it’s not anxiousness for my mate. One thing that has solidified during our time here is our bond. She’s fucking mine forever and I have no doubt about that.

My anxiety and worry is for my grandson and his mother. This almost feels morbid. The atmosphere around Taegan is heavy with responsibility; too much responsibility for a boy. Too fucking much for my boy; my grandson.

“Max,” the goddess turned her head to look at me, Taegan mimicking her and looking back as well. “It’s very important that you listen and do as I say for what is about to happen. If you don’t, the consequences will be grave.”

Well, shit. There goes any chance of my anxiety going the fuck down. I gulp nervously, and Thyra takes my hand in both of hers, squeezing it reassuringly.

“What’s about to happen?” I dared to fucking ask, then regretted it instantly.

She smiles sadly. “Bailey doesn’t have magic to fuse a Lycan’s magic with. She will have to be reborn for the transformation to happen. Not just her, but the twins she is carrying in her womb.”

Thyra gasped, pressing her hand to her chest, then looking up at me nervously. I still don’t understand. No. I don’t want to understand. I don’t want to let that thought fully comprehend in my mind. It can’t. She can’t.

“Please tell me you’re not saying what I think you’re saying,” I murmured. No way. I won’t fucking believe it.

The goddess nods. She looks down at Taegan, smiling sadly, running her hand over the top of his head while he stares confidently up at her. “It’s okay, goddess. I know. I know what’s going to happen.” Taegan's voice didn't waver. It may be the tone of a young boy, but the words and weight behind them are not.

“I know you do, Taegan, but I also know it's never easy to hear that your mother has to die.”

“No,” I whisper. She can’t. I can’t let her. I won’t. I’ll die if I fucking have to. Bailey can’t fucking die. She can’t.

“She can, and she will. That is unchangeable, Max,” the goddess says, looking sternly at me and reading my mind. “If you want her to live again, you need to do exactly as you are told, or all of this will be for not. Do you understand?”

Her eyes are glowing with matchless authority. I can feel the weight of her power crashing into me for a moment, and it takes the breath right out of me. She can not be defied here, but it is not my actions here that she is worried about.

My eyes sting, the threat of crying making my face burn. I hate this, but I know I have no choice here. I can’t let my son lose his mate. I can’t lose my daughter-in-law. I can’t lose my grandbabies before they ever get the chance to grip my fingers. I can’t miss those first cries of life, the first steps of theirs. I can’t miss their first words or the first time they call me grandpa.

And I can’t lose Bailey. She is the Luna my pack has always needed. She is more than we deserve. I can’t lose her gentle love and tender hugs. I can’t lose her teasing and easy dimpled smile. No one can be as big of a pain in the ass as her. No one could compare.

She is the daughter I have always longed for.

I will do whatever I have to to make sure she comes back.

“What do I have to do?” I asked in a broken whisper, a tear spilling down my cheek.

The goddess smiles sadly. She walks back to rest her hand on my shoulder and Taegan takes my hand that is free, Thyra still gripping my other. I can’t tell anymore if Thyra is trying to calm me or herself. Both of us are a weeping fucking mess.

“You are both going to war with your own pack. That’s how you are going to fucking save her,” the goddess smirks, her eyes still filled with sadness, even while teasing me for the last time.