Betrayed By You

Ch.28 - Blood is Not Thicker than Water

When I woke up I was in my own bed and Angeline was curled up next to me, holding me tight. I rubbed her cheek and she stirred, looking up at me. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"I feel alright. Wondering if I missed something big though. Last thing I remember was learning how to fly."

"Your brother broke your agreement and started shifting. He ended up throwing you into the bleachers and saying if you ever went there again that he'd kill you and anyone who wanted to stay with you had to leave and whatever else he said. I wasn't paying much attention to him. I was more concerned about you and if you were going to be okay."

"Well, I guess we can all say good-bye to my brother then."

"Why?" She looked at me, confused.

"We'll discuss that soon. Is anyone else here?"

"Yeah, Sam and Luke both are. Sam called his sister and told her they were going to be staying here for a little while."

"Okay. Are they awake?"

"I don't know. I think so. I stayed in here with you. Refused to leave your side after they said they knew where things were."

I smiled at her. "They stay here pretty often at times. Is that alright with you?"

"Having a writer and a guard?" She laughed. "I could get used to it. They're nice."

I started moving, trying to get up. She held me down. "Not yet?"

I laid back down, wrapping my arms around her. "Five more minutes can't hurt, right?" She giggled and kissed my cheek. "I'm a very lucky man. I've got a beautiful woman, amazing friends, and I'm alive."

"That you are. I'm thankful you're alive. More thankful than I might be able to say." I leaned up and kissed her when she finished talking. I kissed her shoulder and worked my way up along her neck and nuzzled her ear when there was a knock on the door.

"You two decent in there?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, go ahead and open the door."

Luke and Sam walked into my room and sat on the floor. "What's the plan for today?" Luke asked.

I sat up, Angeline sat leaning against the wall. "First things first. Thank you all for sticking by my side. None of you had to, but you did and that means a lot to me. I know you're probably wondering what's going to be done about my brother cheating, but I'm not going to do anything. Neither are any of you."

"Why? He cheated, he threatened to kill you, and he disgraced you!" Luke exclaimed.

I held up a hand and he sighed. "I understand why you want revenge sought, but I already took care of things."

"How? The only one left with him is Flint and none of the rest of us can go back there."

"Trust me, it's taken care of. Before Devlin and I started fighting I spoke with Flint. I asked him how Devlin treated him and what he thought of my brother. I told him of a better way of life and he liked it more. My brother does nothing but abuse Flint and Flint has a breaking point. He respects Demeter, but my brother just commands him around without regard for anything. Fling has been with Demeter from the beginning and he doesn't like how my brother treats him. He warned me that Devlin was probably going to do something nasty. I made an agreement with him. If he caught my brother doing something he shouldn't that he'd take care of my brother and I'd show him how to keep things in order so he's not relying on Demeter for everything. My brother cheated, so he sealed his fate. If he doesn't have enough respect for me to fight fair like we agreed and if he wants to say he'll kill me, then I'm not going to feel bad for him having signed his own fate."

Ange put her hand over mine and spoke up, "They say that blood is thicker than water, and while that might be true in physics, it's not true in life. You have a family. You have us."

"I will always respect you, Duval." Sam said. "If it wasn't for you I'd be a lot worse off."

"And if it wasn't for you I would still be roaming from city to city searching for a place to call home. Or I'd be dead from a hunter or a pack or something."

"And if it wasn't for you I don't know that I'd be where I am."

"No one has to stay, but you can if you want. You know how to reach me if something happens and you need me. I can organize a safe place for you to shift if you want, I want to make sure you're able to defend yourselves, and I want you to know that this will always be a safe place for you. Wherever I am will always be a safe place for you."

"And if something happens to Duval, wherever I am will be safe for you as well. I might not be as stronger as Duval is, but I love him and you guys are obviously willing to do whatever it takes to help him and I admire that. I respect that."

"And if you two decide to reproduce and give this world more people like you then know that they will always be watched over and protected."

"And well read!" Sam piped up, wanting to add to the conversation.