Atonement - Book Four (Man x Man)

Chapter 5

(Verando's POV)

Of course, more travel would mean more horses. 

Why he would expect anything else baffled him; it wasn't as if they could turn into animals that could move quickly through the woods. Climbing onto the beast's back, it was a mutual feeling that neither was comfortable with this arrangement. Horses were at a premium in these parts, and sparing the few necessary for travel, as well as the small wagon, was deemed excessive.

 But, Loan and Adriam seemed reluctant to take any chances. 

After our encounter in his dream, Verando had made the announcement that he would be striking out on his own to find Acer. Unsurprisingly, he was met with shock, fear, and anger that he would so selfishly leave his people behind once more. This only fueled the memory that the majority of his people were gone, the object of his obsession was missing, and there was nothing left for him here. 

The expression on my face was branded into his mind, a firm reminder of exactly what I was enduring in my captivity. It was no longer an option to wait, he had to find me. 

Loan, on the other hand, seemed unsure of how he was going to keep the peace without the warlord, but sympathy for the faux Prince was hard to come by where the lycan lord was considered. Anything that stood between him and me was a necessary casualty, and Loan's plight meant little to him. 

However, saying his goodbyes to Penelope was much more difficult in that she felt it was a way to get rid of her and their child. 

Between the onslaught of insults and accusations, he could only hope that Penelope would eventually understand. As much as it pained him to be accused, he couldn't argue her claims or that he was truly leaving her side to be with me. It would seem, somewhere in her mind, she truly had fathomed he would remain with her and that I would perish. 

She knew, as well as anyone, that his chances of returning from an encounter with my sister were slim to none. If I was truly converted, if I'd fallen into evil, he would not be spared, and this would leave her and her child without a male provider. The guilt, considering his own upbringing, was overwhelming when he considered the life that Rowan might lead. 

But, at the end of it all, it did not sway him from leaving. 

As quiet as Verando had tried to keep his departure, word spread in a small, tight community.

Reid was the first to come forward with the insistence that he would travel with the gray-haired man. That he was indebted to his leader, and he couldn't imagine leaving the man to face such foes on his own. Much as Reid was ever the hero, the thought of anyone attempting to save him from me was not well received. 

If I decided to turn on him, he wanted no one to get in my way. It was my earned right to conclude him, just as he with any person wronged by another. 

Preparations were made as hastily as possible, and even with his expert planning and near an invisible gathering of supplies, Verando was not quick enough. Tomas was waiting for them outside the stables with a wink and a smile, another patron who could not be persuaded to let the warlord leave by himself. 

Entering the courtyard, disappointed in his apparent failures at stealth, the former Alpha was left with mounting frustration as Tonic stood in wait with Stefan, who was covered in a cloak to protect him from the sun's rays.

 "Does this look like it was an open invitation?" Verando demanded of the growing band. 

With Tomas on Fergus, Tonic riding his own steed, and Reid steering the wagon full of their supplies as well as a slumbering Stefan, this wasn't necessarily the trip he had hoped to make.