Chapter 95

Chapter 95
He gently untangled himself from Lucy early the next morning. He had already linked Slonsky and was eager to meet with him. He got dressed before quietly sneaking out of the room to go down to the dungeons below the castle. He jogged down the stairs, beyond excited for this conversation. If becoming an alpha did anything for him, it made him more stubborn and determined to never take no for an answer. He groaned when Sterling’s, Lukas’, Lily’s, and Joy’s scents all mixed with Slonsky’s.
“Fuck,” he muttered.
He rounded the last corner, slowing to a stop as he neared the group of powerful adults. He cleared his throat nervously.
“Good morning.”
“Morning,” Lukas said before pointing to a chair. “Sit.”
He sat in the chair across from the table from the rest of them.
“You need to spill what you are up to and I mean now! I don’t like seeing my daughter like that?” Lukas growled.
“Uncle Lukas, I swear to you, that was never my intention. I was only trying to help, not make her feel worse. I love her more than anything and I only want her to be happy. I will fix this. I promised her that I would not give up. She trusts me so I am asking you to do the same.”
“I swear to the Goddess if she gets hurt one more time, I will eliminate you from her life, boy.”
He lowered his head in submission. “I understand, Your Majesty.”
“You fucking better.”
“Lukas, calm down. You need to let them work this out between them. If she trusts him, then we should, too,” Lily murmured to him.
Lukas growled again warningly. “Oh, I’ll trust him, but he still is not making a move without my knowledge.” He glared at Josh. “Got it?”
Josh nodded. “Yes, Uncle Lukas.”
He waved his hand. “Get on with it, boy.”
Josh cleared his throat before looking at Slonsky. “I need to know where Amerald has been and where he will be this week?”
“Why?” Lukas immediately questioned, making Josh groan.
“Because Lucy wants to get married on Friday. I-”
Lukas slammed his hand down on the table. “Absolutely not!”
Josh bared his teeth at him. “I already told her yes. We either get married here or we will elope.”
Lukas leaned across the table. “If I kill you, you will be doing neither.”
Lily put a restraining hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. “Let him finish.”
Lukas folded his arms across his chest after waving a hand at Josh.
“I want to make him see reason.”
“And what reason is that? That Lucy is yours?”
Josh threw his hands up in frustration. “No. She is mine but that is not all. I just want to make this right, I swear. Her happiness is all that matters to me.”
“He has been frequenting a bar just outside of Dragão every night he’s not with the babies. It’s called Dragon’s Tail.”
“Is he ever with anyone?”
“No. He gets wasted and then Saber takes over. They sleep in a tree and then spends the whole next day hunting until it’s time to drink again.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes. Well… not so much this week but the rest, yes.”
“What was different about this week?”
“He spent his days killing for fun… or sport. Probably for sport. He’s been extra angry.”
Josh rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, that’s my fault. I didn’t expect him to react the way he did. If he spends his days hunting, why is Saber so thin?”
Slonsky sighed. “He does hunt and he does eat, but it doesn’t stay down long. It’s almost like he’s hunting and eating out of habit.”
Josh tapped his fingers on the table. “Do I need to be worried that he might hurt the children?”
“No. The only one he might hurt is you. Sometimes I hear him mumbling. It’s actually quite funny the arguments he has with himself. Saber is determined to end you and eat you while Amerald tries to talk him down. You two are so similar in how you love Lucy, it’s almost ridiculous that you two can’t get along.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “I’m trying.”
“Try harder,” Lukas snarled.
“What do you think I’m doing?” he snarled before taking a deep breath. “Uncle Lukas, I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do. I want her to be happy. I didn’t think Amerald would be the one to prevent it.”
“If he doesn’t want to accept your offer, I can have Javier break the bond. I’m sick of seeing my daughter hurting.”
“No. Please, give me this week to make it right. You can’t take that choice from her. From either of them. It’s not right.”
Lukas got to his feet, pulling Lily up with him. “Never thought I’d see the day where you advocated for your mate to keep the mate bond with another man,” he grumbled as he walked away.
Lily stopped to hug him. “I know he won’t tell you, Josh, but we are so proud of your selflessness. I know that soon she will see it, too, if she doesn’t already. Stay strong and if there is anything we can do to help, please, let us know.”
He hugged her back. “Thanks, Aunt Lily.”
She hurried after Lukas, leaving him with the other three.
“So, what now?” Joy asked.
“I will need to speak to some of the gang members about something.” He met Slonsky’s eyes. “If something happens to change with his location will you please, let Amaris or Lima know?”
“Any particular day or just in general.”
“Wednesday.”
“Alright, will do.”
“Thanks.” He smiled at Joy. “Also, I never thanked you for letting me use your connection to Slonsky to forge a link.”
She smiled at him. “We all love Lucy. Make this right and we’ll be even, okay?”
“I promise.”
“Good. Now, go speak to the gang and good luck.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you later.”
He got up and jogged up the stairs, linking Roselynn, Aiden Junior, Amaris and Lima.
‘Meet me in the arena. We need to talk.’