The Wayward Mate

Chapter Seventeen.

“Ten hours early.” Marti said looking at her watch while sitting on the bed and watching an old rerun of Friends. She cradled a tub of nutella and crackers, dipping them in to the chocolaty mix. “Though I had to cover for you, Nick, Ales, Yiannis, Dylan, Hunter, Matthias, King Nightingale and Queen Nightingale all came looking for you. Somebody’s popular.”

I dumped the bag next to the TV and headed for the bathroom, for a shower. I think I took half the desert sand with me and was soaked to the bone, thank god that the bag was totally waterproof. “I got what I wanted.”

“How’d you get in? That place was so reinforced that it may as well be a crypt and bomb shelter all mixed into one impenetrable fortress.” Chuckling at her description I stripped down and jumped into the shower, the door was ajar so I could keep talking to Marti as I showered though.

“I knocked.”

I heard Marti choke on the cracker she’d been stuffing into her mouth. “Come again?” She asked disbelieving.

“I knocked; the old man happily let me in.” I repeated.

“And I’m guessing that now he’s lying in a shallow, sandy grave?”

“Actually no,” I said as I smothered my shoulder length hair with shampoo. “He unfortunately suffered a violent, spontaneous heart attack while I was borrowing some reading material which resulted in his untimely demise.”

“Wow that’s fortunate,” Marti said sarcastically. “Well for you at least.”

Becoming serious I washed out the shampoo and scrubbed my dirty body with Marti’s strawberry and vanilla scented body wash. “Rieker had him stuck in that room for fifty years, he practically begged for death.”

“Do you think anyone will find him?” I stepped out of the shower and wrapped myself in a large towel, walking out of the bathroom I plopped onto a chair and closed my eyes.

“No, it didn’t look like anyone had been down there for years.

“Are you just going to leave his body there, he did help you.”

I shook my head and stole a cracker from her. “No, if I send anyone Rieker will know that it was me; no doubt he knows everything about my current position. If he finds out I have suspicion about my brother, and if they prove to be true, he will target the only family I have left.”

“You know that you keep saying your family is dead? Well we’re your family now whether you care to admit it or not Rory. Me, Nick, Alex, Matthias, Yiannis, Hunter, the enforcers, King Nightingale, though he might not admit it, Queen Riley, the woman and children, your children, my child are all depending on you. You need to stop acting like Aurora Tannin; the ruthless, cold-hearted, lying, murdering hunter and become Aurora Tannin; luna, mother and unforgiving trainer.”

She really got under my skin but I shook it off, though her words would surely haunt me for days to come. My biological family is dead and gone, but these people are alive and the hunters are going to come for them, they will die if someone doesn’t step in. I’ve treated them like crap, intimidated them.

I may not be able to fully let go but if I kept at what I was doing I would lose the only people who truly cared; Nick and Alex. I would lose Marti and the friends I’d gained, I’d lose any respect I’d gained and no one would listen when push came to shove.

“I’ll try to be civil.” I said to Marti. I wouldn’t become a pushover and although I am still the same Rory it wouldn’t kill me to act civil towards the people here. “Don’t you dare expect me to take things lying down.” I muttered. “I’m still an assassin, not a good little pack bitch.”