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“Shut up. How are you going to climb up the steps? If you’re coming, you have to let me help!” Thane snaps at him. “And you’ll stay with us until your time comes. Your daughter doesn’t need to look after you. We will help,” Thane tells him.
“No. My daughter isn’t going to watch me deteriorate. I won’t let that be the last memory she has of me, Thane. I am simply going back to say goodbye, and then you’re going to end me,” Leo tells him. Thane stops walking. I glance over at Leo as Raidon steals me from Rhen, who growls at him.
“She doesn’t need to watch me die like that. You know well enough how traumatic it is for a child to watch their parents wither away from a lost mate bond. Don’t subject my daughter to that,” Leo pleads.
“I’ll do it,” Rhen offers.
Thane looks back at him, his eyes flickering to black. I worry about the impact that will have on Rhen. Rhen isn’t usually one who harbors hatred. Sure, he did with me, when he thought I killed Thane’s mom, but it isn’t in his nature to just kill, despite being Alpha. I can feel he doesn’t want to kill Leo. He even likes Leo now.
“No, I’ll do it. It’s fine,” Thane answers, and I peek over at Rhen. He seems relieved, but I have no doubt he would do it, if only to save Thane from it.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Raidon
We go home to my mom’s, and we’re all exhausted by the time we get there. Harlow beelines for Scarlett and refuses to put her down. We watch her sob for hours when she realizes all her milk has dried up because of the torment she faced over the last couple days and the amount of Leon’s blood she had to drink. She still needs time to process the trauma, but Mom and Rhen are finally able to calm her down after soothing her for a good two hours.
I watch as Harlow gives Scarlett a bottle, having finally calmed down enough. Harlow believes she’s lost a bonding experience with our daughter. Leon feels guilty and keeps apologizing, even though she reminds him it isn’t his fault. Scarlett, however, doesn’t seem to care if the milk comes from a boob or a bottle. The girl is just hungry. Thane could probably flop his nipple in her mouth, and she would try to draw milk from it.
Harlow refuses to put Scarlett in the crib my father set up, so she and Scarlett take up the middle of the bed. The rest of us spend the entire night sleeping as still as statues, afraid of rolling over and crushing them. We understand it, but it doesn’t make for restful sleep.
My eyes feel like sandpaper when I wake up. Thane wandered out for a drink a few minutes ago, unable to sleep, and still hasn’t returned. I carefully slip off the bed. When I leave the room, Leon and Rhen are curled up and clinging to the edge of the mattress, while Harlow’s body is curled around Scarlett's.
The sun is beginning to come up, so there is no point in going back to bed now. I spent the vast majority of the night staring at the shadows on the ceiling, anyway. I wander down the hall, hearing arguing, before I stop at the living room door.
Emily is asleep on the couch, holding her father’s hand while he lays next to her. He’s been there since we got home. He is in too much pain to move. I watch for a few seconds as Emily whimpers in her sleep. Leo’s barely awake, brushing his fingers through his daughter’s hair.
I spot Thane leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. He is also watching Leo with his daughter. He nods toward the kitchen and my head turns to the giant, half-closed roller doors that Mom uses to block the kitchen light from filtering into the living room. That’s when I figure out where the arguing is coming from.
I quietly move across the room. Thane pushes off the wall to follow, and we slip inside the kitchen. My mother and father stop arguing the moment we step inside. They rarely argue, and this looks like a big one. My mother has tears streaking down her face, and my father looks furious.
“What’s going on?” I demand. I don’t like seeing my mother cry.
“Nothing, dear. Go back to bed,” she says, dismissing me.
“After everything, Elaine. Everything he has done. Just fucking ask him!” my father snaps at her, motioning to Thane. My brows furrow as Thane leans on the counter. He braces his arms on it while he stares at them expectantly, also trying to figure out what’s going on.
“Well?” I ask her, but she shakes her head, and I turn my attention to my father.
“Elaine?” Thane presses. She glances at him before snatching a tea towel off the counter to wipe her eyes.
“She doesn’t deserve to lose her father like that,” my mother whispers. Her eyes dart past us to look at Emily. Leo coughs, startling her awake. She fusses over him while he tries to reassure her that he’s fine. My mother moves to help, but I motion for her to stay. I take the tea towel and the glass of water she grabbed from her. Moving back to the living room, I help Emily sit her father up and help him drink some of the water.
“Have you got any painkillers?” Emily asks, and my mother rushes into the room with a bottle, fumbling with the lid. I take it from her and open it. Mom then fiddles with his IV fluids and tucks him back in with the blankets.
Emily just stares at him. Leo cracks a half smile at her, trying not to scare her, but nothing he does will console her. She knows she is about to lose him. My eyes flick to Thane who watches with a haunted look on his face.
“You would think they’d have a cure for this by now,” Emily murmurs. She looks to my mother like she’s hoping there’s some miracle cure that she just hasn’t heard about yet.
My mother smiles sadly. “Maybe one day, sweetie,” she tells her, and Emily nods, tears brimming in her eyes.
“It’s okay, Bub. It’s for the best. Karma has come for me, and even if there was a cure, I would spend the rest of my life in prison for what I’ve done.”
Emily’s lip quivers at his words. She’s unable to meet her father’s gaze as she grabs his hand. Leo sighs, turning his head, trying to look out the window.
“Is the sun up yet?” Leo asks, and I glance toward the huge doors. “I’d like to see another sunrise if that is okay.”
I look to my mother, who nods her head and reaches down, unhooking his drip.
