\[William’s POV\]
I give Serenity and Maverick a final look before turning and peeking at Elise, who is curled up in bed with the blanket wrapped so tightly around her you would think she considers it the only thing protecting her from what is happening around her.
“Why does this feel like goodbye?” Serenity asks, drawing my attention back to her. “I don’t like it.”
“Don’t worry,” I chuckle, ruffling her hair. “I promise that I’ll be back, after all…”
After all, wherever Elise is is where I will be. There was no way that I was going to let her out of my sight now that she was here with me. Of course, I knew that our relationship could never be what it once was given our current standing, but I could still be her support as she navigated the trenches of whatever life she decided to lead.
“Now,” I continue, gently shutting the bedroom door behind me. “You and Maverick should take advantage of the time you have left before we leave.”
“Okay,” she says quietly, but from her gaze, I know that she doesn’t want to say goodbye to me.
“Stop worrying.” I sigh. “I’m not lying.”
Giving my niece one last hair ruffle, I turn and head toward the garage, where I’m certain Rosco is waiting for me. Even if he didn’t seem to be too bothered with my announcement that I would be heading back to Crystal Fang to handle something, I knew that he wasn’t just going to sit back with no answers, and when I arrive at the garage, he is there frowning.
“Took you long enough.” He huffs, lifting his large body off the hood of my car.
“If you dinted that, you’ll be the one paying for it to be fixed.” I say, eyeing my car to make sure he didn’t dint it with his wait. “I’m quite fond of my baby.”
“Your baby.” He grimaces. “Are you really calling a car your baby?”
“What else?” I chuckle, heading to the driver’s side of it. “I don’t have anything else that I consider dear to me.”
“What about Lydia?”
Tensing, I take in the neutral expression on Rosco’s face as he tries to pretend that he isn’t too interested in what I have to say, though we both know that is farthest from the truth.
“I thought that since you were letting her stick so close to you that you decided to make her Luna of Crystal Fang. After all, she is…”
“No,” I say quickly, not wanting him to finish his words. “How could I possibly do such a thing?”
“Then why have you been humoring her this whole time?” He demands. “Don’t tell me it is because...”
“That’s right,” I confirm, unlocking the car door in front of me and then pulling it open. “I’ve been keeping her with me because she is all that is left of Marigold. Since it was my fault her family was killed, it is the least I can do.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Rosco growls. “What kind of piss poor reason is that to allow a woman to all but use you?”
“I didn’t have any reason to decline.” I point out. “There was no one else who even made my cold dead heart stir after Elise.”
As the words leave my lips, images of Elise’s unmoving body appear in front of me, threatening to drag me back to that horrible time when she left me just like Marigold.
“What about now?” He demands. “Now that you know that child is Elise, are you still going to continue to allow Lydia to cling to you?”
“No,” I respond evenly. “But that doesn’t mean that I won’t continue to care for her. I owe her that much at least.”
“You’re a fool,” Rosco grumbles. “How can you possibly be so fucking stupid to allow someone to guilt you into such things?”
“Maybe it is some part of me that wants to atone for everything.” I sigh, climbing into my car. “And if this is all you wanted to say to me, I’ll have to ask you to save it for when I return.”
“Idiot,” Rosco spits, causing my lips to twitch into a smile. “You’re a fucking idiot.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “I guess I am.”
Finished speaking, I revv my car to life, and once the door to the garage is open, I peel out and onto the street.
The ride back to Crystal Fang takes the better part of a day, and by the time I reach, the sun has already gone down and the moon is high in the sky, but there is still a light on in my office.
“She must have been waiting.” I chuckle, climbing out of my car and heading toward the large packhouse in front of me.
Once inside, I head straight to my office, where I find Lydia sitting behind my desk with a look of excitement on her face that resembles Marigold’s so much. Was this the reason that I took pity on her and allowed her to stay beside me?
No. I would never dare attempt to replace my mate with another, but even despite knowing that, I let us get closer than we should have ever been.
“Welcome home,” Lydia beams, jumping up and rushing toward me. “The drive wasn’t too much on you, right? Should I maybe run you a bath so that you can relax? Or would you like something to eat? I can…”
“Lydia,” I say, grabbing her arms and pulling her away from me. “You didn’t have to wait up for me.”
For a moment, she doesn’t speak as her golden eyes examine me, searching my face for what I was sure was a hint toward what was about to come next.
“I wanted to.” She says easily, her smile remaining in place. “You’ve been coming and going so much recently that I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. Haven’t you missed me?”
“No,” I respond honestly. “But you should know that since you’ve always been aware that our relationship has been one without feelings.”
At my words, her smile falters, but she quickly recovers and presses herself against me.
“Maybe not for you.” She murmurs. “But for me, it is different. You’re the only one I have and the only person who understands me.”
“You shouldn’t tie yourself to a man like me.” I point out, stepping back and breaking our connection. “That’s why I think it’s about time that you...”
“No!” She gasps, her eyes growing wide. “I don’t want to!”
“Lydia,” I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “Don’t you think this game of mutual comfort has gone on long enough? You’ve known since the start that I am incapable of giving you the love and affection that you deserve.”
“I don’t care!” She wails, tears springing into her eyes. “I don’t care if you don’t love me! I don’t care if my feelings are one-sided. As long as you stay with me, then that’s more than enough for me. Anyway…” She continues, her voice shaking. “Anyways, how can you leave me now? Especially when I'm...”
“You’re what?” I growl, though I have an inkling toward what she is about to say. “Spit it out.”
“I’m pregnant.” She whispers, touching her stomach. “We’re going to have a baby, William. Are you really going to leave me when I’m carrying Crystal Fang’s future heir?”