REIKA

EIGHTEEN

THREE MONTHS AFTER

It might have worked.

I haven't seen him since, and there was a chance I'd never see him again. Now that the bond was broken, he didn't have that need to linger around us, so I assume he wouldn't. All was done, but the longing feeling for him hadn't completely disappeared. I thought of him, day and night. I would wake up in the morning and tell myself I did the right thing.

I did the right thing, right?

I did it for Arjun. My son deserved to live in peace, and that man would only bring chaos. My family would never approve of it, and if Dad sees him, I am quite sure he would try to kill him on the spot. I couldn't live with everyone around me trying to kill each other.

They had all passed out, so they didn't know it was Alban who saved their ass. Rowen was the only one that knew, but she didn't know he was my mate. I begged her not to tell my family. She was sweet enough to understand it was a sensitive topic and agreed without asking many questions.

That day, after the stupid mistake I made at the pond, I ran back to my family. Once things had settled and we felt everyone was safe, I rushed back to Bloodstone and took a morning after pill.

I mind linked grandma on the way to meet her at the place she was hiding with Arjun, but she told me she'd meet me back at my parents' house. I insisted, but she didn't want to tell me where she had taken Arjun to. Apparently, the person who helped her asked her not to reveal their identity in exchange for their help, and grandma had agreed to it.

Honestly, I didn't know where they went, but the moment I saw them walk back from in between our home's nearby woods, my heart was filled with joy. I saw my son safe in my grandmother's arms and it was as if a huge weight was lifted from me. Running to them, I squeezed the living hell out of Arjun. As I hugged him, my hands shook. I was so nervous that I couldn't let him go for hours.

Their hideout was a fucking mystery, and it was eating me up. I tried to get the information out of grandpa John, but he said grandma Sage would have his ass if he opened his mouth, so he kept it shut. Arjun wouldn't tell me either. Each time I took him aside and asked him, he gave me a vague answer. If I asked him, "where did Grandma take you?", he would answer, "the house in the woods". If I asked, "who was he with?", he would answer, "with Grandma". There was no use in trying to get something out of him.

We were all on high alert. Security had quadrupled, and we all acted paranoid. We had to. Someone had definitely been after us, and they had the balls to come out to the light. There have been meetings after meetings and hundreds of phone calls conferences. Some call it the act of a few outlaws, others thought it was something way bigger.

All we knew about it for sure came from one of the attackers. One of them survived. He was missing two limbs and had lost a lot of blood, but they found a way to keep him alive and make him talk. Alpha Troy, alone side with Arden and Emmett, interrogated him. The main question was, why not kill them? They had already killed Marcus, why sedate them? Why lure us all to the same place. The answer they got was disturbing.

In one of those many meetings, Grandpa Than said he believed it was way bigger than we all thought it was. A huge organized scheme with a complicated network of loyal members looking to kill us all or some shit like that. Many Alphas in the room thought he was delusional. Grandma Tempest and Dad thought he was right. I stood on the side of my family and assumed the worst.

During that meeting, I sat next to Grandma Tempest, and she shily held my hand in hers for most of it, but avoided my eyes. Grandma had grown quiet for the last few years. We all assume she had spent most of her time alone in her house. I should have visited her more often with Arjun, but life has kept me busy.