The shock has me lost for words for a moment. She’s always been blunt, but she’s never really been an outright dick.
“She’s not defective, she’s a better person than any of us. I’m scared because it means that she doesn’t have that extra line of defense, and in this world, people are cruel far more often than they’re kind. They look for any source of light and goodness, determined to snuff it out, and Risa’s a dang beacon. We can’t be around her every second of her life, and it scares the shit out of me thinking something might happen to her.”
Gigi winks. “You think it’s bad now, wait until she’s pregnant. And when you actually have a kid?” She clucks her tongue. “Lords have mercy, you’ll never sleep again. Things you never even considered to be dangerous suddenly seem like death traps.” We start walking again, following the trail to the koi pond near the tree line.
“You can’t control everything, my love, and you will drive yourself mad trying,” she continues. “Don’t waste all of the time that could be spent being happy by making yourself miserable, searching for ghosts that aren’t there.” Reaching the bench, I help ease her onto it to get off of her feet. “Teach her some basic self-defense, it’ll have you sleeping much easier; you always struggle with that when you’re upset.”
Watching the fish circle each other beneath the crystal clear water, I sit beside her, soaking up the tranquility, the wide open space and fresh air. “So, spill it. Why bring me out of earshot from the others?” I glance at her in my peripherals with half a smile. “Finally decided it was time to off me and didn’t want any witnesses?” But she doesn’t smile back. If anything, she looks like she might cry, and the sheer and utter panic that floods my system has my skin crawling. “Shit, Gigi, I didn’t mean it! I-“
“I’m thrilled that you found that girl, but she’s going to get you killed.”
My heart skips a beat. “We learned after that incident in the woods. We just need to keep her away from other shifters, make sure one of us is with her when she leaves the house in case something happens so we can protect her.”
Eyes wet with unshed tears look at me, breaking my heart. In all of the years I’ve known her, I’ve never once seen her cry. Nothing has ever shaken her up this much; the woman lives and breathes fire. She doesn’t back down from anything, let alone accept defeat.
“You admitted how addicting her blood was, and you’ve only fed from her once. Without the bond inspiring people to protect her... the scent of it drove that wolf wild?” She shakes her head, sighing heavily. “I would bet my life savings that it was her parents that had her kidnapped.”
“But why?”
“Because Risa’s incorruptible.” At my look of confusion, she drops her voice to barely more than a whisper. “You know that the change doesn’t always take; some humans just can’t be turned. When we attempt it, either they become like us, or they die.”
She fiddles with her cane, looking nervous. “But there are also stories of those that survive death without our venom tainting them, a breed in their own right. And as soon as their blood touches our lips, we’re hooked. They become our obsession, because unlike feeding from other shifters, an incorruptible’s blood gives us so much more. Strength, drive, and rumor has it, extends our lifespans.”
She glances up at the bright blue sky, following the few clouds slowly creeping by on the breeze. “Our very own living legend, the fountain of youth.” After a lengthy pause, she adds, “I’d bet everything I have that it was her parents that had her abducted right before you found her. Cash cow like that? No way they’d simply let her go when she ran off, and people that would do that to a child, will do far worse to an adult.”
Facing me, her eyes are full of a bone-deep weariness that comes from living long enough to witness how cruel people really are. “If it wasn’t for that accident, when they got her back, she’d have been in for so much more hell than what she endured before. They might have been selling her blood as a kid, but she has more uses to pimp her out for now. Can you imagine how much the people paying for a vial of her blood would spend to get it fresh, buy an hour alone with her?”
Absolute fury at the prospect makes it hard to think of anything else. Between the sire bond flaring to life alongside my own feelings, it’s a battle not to go storming into the house, to set eyes on her and assure myself that the horrific images in my mind stay just that; fears, not memories.
“Why bring me out here for this? You love smacking people in the face with revelations, and Risa deserves to know.”
“That girl has been through too much, too quickly, Stryker. Within, what, a month? She’s found out that she’s not only no longer human, but not a shifter either. Forced to navigate the sire bond, and then took the three of you as mates. That’s a hell of a lot for anyone to handle, and I couldn’t live with myself if I was the person that piled on the last straw and broke your mate when she has such a long fight ahead of her. It’d be better coming from you, when the timing is better. Take a few days, relax and regroup. But that girl will be in danger for the rest of her life, and you all need to be prepared for a life of staying on the move. Just don’t spend every waking moment terrified about what could happen and forget how lucky you are to have her in your life.”
I take a few minutes to let her words sink in, trying to sift through them all. “Gigi,” I tentatively bring up. “Does that mean if I get you some of her blood... you’ll be able to stick around longer?”
She pats my hand, looking out over the massive garden separating us from the house. “I wouldn’t take it even if you did. I’m tired, baby. While some people might find the thought of living forever appealing, I’m not one of them. And truth be told, I don’t want you here when I go, either. You’ve been through so much already, and I don’t want you to remember me like that.”
My eyes burn, but I compose myself before speaking, knowing that if I break, she might as well. I’ve idolized this woman my entire life; being the thing that broke her would be something I’d never be able to forgive myself for. It’s an image that would brand itself in my head, torturing me until the day I died. Now that I’m realizing that this might very well be my last visit with the woman I owe everything to, I especially don’t want to sully the memory with tears, so I channel my raging emotions in a different direction.
“I’m not subjecting Risa to a life on the run. She deserves a family, a home, and I’ll be damned if I don’t find a way to give her that.” I rise to my feet, offering Gigi my hand. “The only logical conclusion is to kill everyone that knows about her. The people in the clearing are handled, so that only leaves her parents, and possibly the ex. Her secret can die with them, and we’ll set up our new home somewhere remote, away from prying eyes. They won’t know her well enough to know that she can’t shift, and even if she were to slice her hand open, there won’t be anyone close enough to send into a frenzy.
“We’ll buy a farm or something, take precautions and have a backup plan in place, but I refuse to lock her up in some tower where she’s forced to watch everyone else live out their lives. I’m not going to suffocate her in a gilded cage and watch the fire in her eyes disappear with every passing day, and consider that a job well done. She deserves to live, not just survive.”
We start ambling along the winding path, and I feel a bit better with each step. “We aren’t going to hide like she’s done something wrong by existing. She’s aperson,not a thing, and I’ll be damned before I let her feel like she has to cower in fear for the rest of her life. ”
Gigi smiles, her cane clacking on the stones at our feet. “Now there’s that fire I know and love. You’ve always needed a purpose, Stryker; you drift without one. But now you have her.” We pause at the same lily as before, but this time, she plucks it from the ground, clasping the stem in the hand clutching my arm for support. “You’re going to be more than fine. You’re going to see what it’s like to actually be happy for the first time in your life, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
I frown. “What are you talking about? I’ve been happy.”
She winks, patting my arm and gazing at the second floor of the house, eyes glazed over like she can see something that I can’t. “But not as happy as you’ll be when you realize that you’re not alone in the dark anymore.”
