AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’s had it; I’ve been there constantly,” Chance defended himself.
Phoe held a hand up.
“Clio done counselling for three weeks, told you she was fine, and blew it off. Three weeks isn’t enough to scrape the surface. Clio went through hell, and I’m betting she stopped therapy because she thought it showed weakness. Chance, Clio’s still in her twenties and lost her ability to have children. She wanted to give you a whole herd of them. Everything has to be hitting her at once. After the attack by the cult, none of us got a breather before the Fangs began making moves. Clio’s overloaded,” Phoe said.
“What do I do?” Chane whispered, holding her gaze.
“Call a doctor, get her diagnosed. I bet she has PTSD, guilt, and an overwhelming fear. Clio wants to be strong, but she has not healed from the events last year. She’s shoved everything aside to continue being the head old lady instead of licking her wounds and letting them heal,” Phoe answered.
“Chance, take Clio upstairs. She would be mortified that everyone is witnessing this,” Tati ordered.
Phoe and Tati exchanged worried glances, but Chance was already moving. They were right. Clio would die if she realised she’d been surrounded by Hellfire when she broke down.
???
Chance lay Clio down on their bed. Clio lay as still as the dead, and Chance found himself checking for a pulse. Reassured it was there and steady, Chance brushed the hair away from her face.
Had he been so caught up with rebuilding Hellfire he’d not noticed Clio spiralling?
“No, we all missed this, not just you,” Phoe said from his side.
“You didn’t,” Chance grunted.
“To a degree, I did. I knew she was holding things back, but not to the extent of this. Damn, Chance, I thought Clio was happy with two children. But it sounds like she wanted more. I can only imagine her sense of failure.”
“She did not fail me. I have a daughter and a son. Clio never failed me!” Chance bit out angrily.
“But in her head, she did. Did Clio ever speak about family?” Phoe pried.
Chance’s anger was swelling.
“She once mentioned having a large family, lots of babies, and some dogs,” Chance said slowly.
“And that’s what’s eating her. Chance, I lay you my fortune that Clio wanted to give you a brood of kids. And because of the hysterectomy, she feels a failure. You and Drake grew up with just each other. And now, she wanted a herd of kids to give you more. Bless her heart. She wanted to give you a huge family so you’d never be alone again,” Phoe said and patted him on his shoulder.
Chance felt stunned. Was that the reason behind Clio’s nerves and breakdown? Shit, how had he missed that? Was his woman stressing that she thought because of her operation, she’d failed him? Fuck, Chance didn’t give a fuck how many kids they had, as long as Clio was alright. That’s all that mattered to him. Clio surviving and being happy.
He’d tear the world apart just to make her smile. Maybe it was time he reminded her how important she was to him.
Levi
Levi watched the sunrise, a ball of golden and blush colours. The sky pinked and then began to slowly blue as the sun continued to lift. Laid back on a log bench, he watched, allowing peace to seep into his soul. This was what he needed to contain the monster inside. In light of this beauty, the animal he barely constrained subsided and hid. It only liked ugliness and cruelty, and this tamed it like no other.
It was time to return to Hellfire. He’d painted himself into a fury during the day, while at night, he danced to burn his excess energy. Once more, Levi felt balanced, but who knew how long it would last? The times between sessions seemed to be getting shorter. Levi didn’t want to consider his tight control becoming loose, but it was a possibility. One that made him shudder.
Despite the fact that no one talked about it, Levi was well aware of Pyro’s alter ego, Justice. Pyro controlled Justice with an iron fist, but what Levi controlled was nothing short of a raving lunatic of a serial killer. Levi had never let it loose, but should he, the world would bleed. It was an aspect of his character nobody had ever seen or knew existed. His time in the mountains held the demon he carried, and that was all that mattered.
The sun touched his skin, warming him, and Levi shut his eyes. This sense of peace couldn’t be bought or faked.
Around him, the world lit up in all its beautiful colours; a sight Levi had witnessed time and time again but never failed to admire. He wasn’t religious, but when faced with a sunrise like that, God was hard to dismiss. Even with his lids closed, Levi knew the colours around him off by heart.
Checking his breathing, Levi opened his eyes and let the beauty sink into him. Killing the darkness one sunbeam at a time.
???
“You’re back,” Chance grunted as Levi rolled into the compound. Levi offered his own grunt. A little bit of the anger at how his brothers had reacted to Madisen returned. Not enough to rile the beast, but enough for Levi to remember he was pissed at all of them.
“Always come back,” Levi replied as Chance continued to wait. Levi sat on his bike and stared at his president. He was more than ready to ride out again should he need to.
