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Nyla
“Okay, hear me out.” Not exactly the most promising way to start the afternoon, but after yesterday’s disastrous judging where neither of us were awarded a single point, I was ready for anything El was about to offer us.
“I’m listening,” Zathrian said, sitting up and dropping a handful of silver trinkets in his pocket so that the raccoon had his full attention.
“This whole thing is a shitshow and I have no desire to give that bitch the attention of causing a scene. So, I vote we skip this bullshit ceremony and head for the closest forest. Give our soul-bonded a chance to meet.”
We’d been so cooped up here in the hotel and dealing with one mess after another that we hadn’t even had the chance to really get to know each other. But the moment he mentioned it, my horse was whinnying excitedly and pressuring me to answer.
“I’m in,” I said.
“Definitely,” Riven growled with a gravelly laugh. He shook out his limbs as he tried to fight the creature back for just a little longer. “Let’s take the SUV.”
“Wait,” Zathrian said, giving me a pointed look. “Are we just going to pretend the elephant in the room doesn’t exist or are you going to invite Lance along? It’s been days.”
I closed my eyes in defeat. Leave it to Zathrian to call my ass right out. He didn’t hold back on me. That wasn’t his style.
“Do you think I should?” I asked the others.
“That’s not up to us,” El said as gently as possible. I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to step in, but I still needed them on this one.
“It’s not, but if you were me?” There was empathy on their faces and I was afraid they’d try and spare my feelings. “Guys, I can take it.”
“If I were in your place, and just learned what I learned, I think I’d take a chance and see if being around him helped to let go of the baggage or made it worse,” Riven said.
“He went through hell, but so did you,” Zath said evenly. “Give it a shot but don’t force yourself to move too quickly. It’s okay for things to take time. He acknowledged that it wouldn’t be easy for you to move on, but an olive branch goes a long way.”
The more they spoke, the more I knew they were right. Even as I thought of my ex there was no more fury. The pain was still there, it couldn't be erased that easily. I’d lived with it for so long it was going to take longer than a day to fix, but they were right, this could help me start to heal.
Lance’s dad had given me a business card a while ago, so I pulled it out of my pocket. I texted the number on there. It was less than thirty seconds of waiting before an unknown number was calling.
“Hey, Lance,” I said quietly. “Do you have a second?”
“Of course,” he responded without hesitation. “Is everything alright?”
I wanted to say no. Just hearing him talk so sweetly to me was bringing back so many memories. The ones I thought I’d never get a chance to truly feel again. They had once been tainted but right now, it felt a little easier to hear. Maybe the guys were onto something.
“My mates and I are going for a run. Do you want to join us? We’re giving our soul-bonded animals a chance to meet. Just to be clear, I’m not making promises, but I’m willing to see how we get along now that the truth is out there,” I said in a long ramble, barely taking a breath.
“I’d love to join you. The fact that you thought of me is enough.” I wasn’t trying to take credit for the idea but I wasn’t about to correct him at this point. He hadn’t been far from my mind in the last few days, despite not bringing it up to the others. It was hard to put into words. I was feeling so many conflicting things at once and it wasn’t entirely Lance that caused it.
The entire competition had turned into this huge dumpster fire but it brought me my mates, so I couldn’t think too poorly of it. More than that, it somehow brought Lance back into my life. It was the one thing I dreaded but now that I knew the truth, part of me was glad we came, and that I’d heard him out.
We both deserved to give it a second chance.
“Meet us in the parking lot?” I questioned.
“I’ll be there,” he promised. The determination in his voice hit me with nostalgia. It was one I heard often. For an antelope, he was more strong willed than expected.
We gathered everything we needed and headed back down to the lobby. This time, no whispers followed us as we made our way outside. Apparently, people were starting to move onto other things or were too busy talking about the upcoming banquet. I wasn’t a bit sad about not being in heels and a formal dress like the other women right now. Though it would have been fun to tease my mates a bit.
When we stepped outside, Lance was already waiting for us with his security guys flanking him. It was a stark reminder of everything he’d handled. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes; kidnapped, tortured, and not able to tell the person you cared about what was going on. Especially knowing that it broke their heart. Now that I was forced to face it, I couldn’t hide from the reality anymore.
I missed him, too.
“Is there room for me? They can just follow behind us and keep their distance out there.” I had a feeling he wasn’t asking for permission to allow them to come, but after all we knew, we weren't going to play around with his safety, either. This was going to be a private moment for our group, especially being a fledgling group of mates, but we weren’t going to lose out on anything by having some protection on stand by.
“Of course,” Riven said. “Why don’t you pick your seat first, Nyla.” He was giving me a chance to call shotgun but that would just drive this damn wedge in even further. It was the opposite of what we needed to accomplish.
