We had left Aurora two days later and driven back to Hartwell. We arrived late at night but Mary-Joe had cooked for us and she and Simon had waited up. Their were hugs and some tears, especially from Mary-Joe and Nova, as we stepped back into our house.“It’s good to be back,” I said as Simon and I shook hands.“It’s been too long Mr Ryder,” Simon said.“We’re not leaving again any time soon,” Nova said.After a very late dinner we all retreated to our bedrooms and I knew that nobody would be up early the next day. The air smelled different in Georgia and I felt a sense of calm when I drove into Hartwell. We were home.I was up early the next morning, my internal clock always woke me up before five am. It was summer holidays and I left the house at seven am after a jog and a shower. I was going to surprise everyone with breakfast from the bakery. A little family celebration that was well deserved.I also planned on talking to the boys about their future during this breakfast. They’d b
The door of my bedroom opened after two knocks and a young girl with a shy smile peeked inside the room. She looked down when I turned around where I’d been standing in front of the windows and she reminded me of Ally, innocent, with an aura of hidden magic.“There are clothes of your size in the cupboard Sir. Mr. Reese has asked that you freshen up and he will escort you to meet with the King in half an hour,” she said with her head still lowered.“Thank you, I’ll be ready,” I said and she smiled again and closed the door.The suit in the cupboard fit me perfectly and I looked at myself in the mirror. Abeloth was strangely quiet, he wanted us to fight our way out, die a warrior’s death if it came to that. It was the first time in our lives that we disagreed about something so important.“We can take them,” he had hissed on the plane.“No more bloodshed Abeloth,” I said and blocked him off.Another knock came at the door and Mr Reese, I presumed, opened the door and nodded. I followed
It had been three months since Megan left me and I still couldn’t understand why. I had a void in my chest, a void that Megan used to fill, but now it was just empty. I hadn’t lashed out or broken anything. I had gone home and packed all her clothes and stored it in the basement.Her phone had gone straight to voicemail and after that day I didnt call her again. I was done begging and trying. Abeloth was quiet too, he was fuming and confused and his emotions ranged from hot to cold.Over the course of that first week I had gotten rid of every trace of her in my life. It wasn’t just the humiliation of being stood up in front of my lair, my family and friends. It was the fact that she couldn’t even be bothered to tell me to my face. She had chosen the easy way out, packed some of her clothes and just left, again.I had thought that we were fine, we rarely fought, I’d declined two assignments from Wentworth and focused on Megan and our future together. I had placed her ring in my persona
“Who’s idea was it again to come here?” I asked as I dried the excess water off and sat down on the lounger.“Elio’s,” Marlo and Basil said at the same time.“Are you seriously complaining?” Elio asked.“I’m not,” Basil said as he sat up straight and surveyed the beach in front of us.“Of course you’re not,” Marlo said.We were in Bermuda, our yearly get away as a group disguised as a holiday to cheer me up. We always rented a house since hotels were so impersonal and with our eccentric lifestyles we needed the privacy. Explaining blood bags in the freezer might not go down so well for Elio and Basil.The view was pretty spectacular, pristine beaches, clear waters and women in bikini’s wherever you looked. Two weeks of fun in the sun as Elio called it. Tank and Jack where off somewhere snorkeling and doing couply things.Basil was a self-proclaimed bachelor and I was newly left at the altar. I watched Elio as he glared at the male population as Marlo made her way from the sun chairs d
Ava and Selma had ended up spending the weekend, they hadn’t checked into their hotel by the time we had met and their bags were still in their rental car. The weekend turned into the next week and before we knew it, our holiday was coming to an end.“This was the best reunion ever,” Basil said as he stretched out on the lounger next to the house’s pool.“Bermuda has left its mark on us,” Marlo said as she intertwined her fingers with Elio’s.“Sadly though real life waits for all of us,” Ava said.“And real life is where exactly?” Jack asked her.“Back to Los Angeles,” Selma answered.“Talking about real life, I’m moving in with Jack,” Tank said.“What did your dad say?” I asked him.“His daddy ain’t telling us a thing, since Tank’s not taking over the family business, he can’t say anything,” Jack said and I had to smile at the code he was using.“I’m actually surprised Link hasn’t called me yet,” I said.“Who’s Link?” Ava asked.“My business manager,” I said as Marlo smiled secretly.
The door wasn’t locked and I opened it to find my father and Stella in the foyer. Rylee came rushing forward, wiping tears from her eyes as she hugged me. Chase and Melissa stood in the doorway of the living room and the look he gave me was one of worry.“What the hell’s going on?” I asked.“Come with me,” Stella said.I followed Stella out of the house with Lucas close on my heels. She opened the door on the west side and then went down the hall towards the infirmary. Something really wasn’t right. Stella stopped in front of the recovery room and turned towards me.“She’s stable now but we don’t know much,” she said.“Who is she?” I asked and Stella looked at Lucas.“Megan,” he said softly and Stella opened the door.I stopped breathing at that exact moment when the door opened and I looked at Megan in that hospital bed. Her eyes were closed, the right side of her face swollen and bruised. Dried blood matted her blonde hair and her left arm was in a cast.“What the fuck happened to h
My lair had gathered around our small ceremony hall and people bowed their heads as I walked through the crowd, carrying Megan to the stone slab. I didn’t want anyone else touching her. She had been my responsibility, practically my wife, the woman I loved and lost.My family stood to one side with my friends and Megan’s family stood on the other side at the head of the slab. Kurt’s eyes held contempt for me but Mary had been graceful even in her sorrow. I didn’t mind Kurt blaming me, I blamed me.I laid Megan down gently on the stone slab and wiped a stray hair from her face. She looked peaceful, almost serene if you looked at her from the left, her skin untouched by the violence that had ultimately claimed her.“Dragonkin of the Grey lair, tonight we gather together to bid farewell to Megan Greer,” Elder Michael began.“I call upon Sire Ryder to join the deceased and leave his parting gift to follow her into the afterlife,” Elder Victor said.“I hand you this knife, made of dragon s
I didn’t need to pick the lock on the front door. I had a key to his house and I let myself in quietly. The living room was dark, quiet and everything in its place. I walked down the hall towards his bedroom where he lay snoring in the darkness.“Time to wake up Kurt,” I said as I pulled him out of his bed.“What the …”I yanked him upwards by his t-shirt and shoved him forwards where he fell on his hands and knees. I pulled him upright again and pushed him towards the kitchen where I pulled out one of the wooden chairs from the kitchen table and pushed him down onto it and tied him to the chair.“Have you completely lost your mind?” Kurt asked me angrily.“We need to have a little talk,” I said as I leaned against the kitchen counter behind me.“I’ll have you arrested for this little stunt,” he said snidely.“Who do you owe money to?”“What?” he asked me.“You wanted money from me as retribution, who do you owe?” I asked him again.“Money won’t bring Megan back but at least it’ll mak