Filed to story: Reclaimed Book by Roxie Ray
“Seven years,” I repeated, stunned.
He nodded.
We stared at each other.
Was this a dream? A long, detailed, bad dream? Somehow, this felt even worse than thinking Stephan had chosen Blakely over me. Instead, the reality was that he still considered me his fated mate-something I admittedly didn’t completely understand-but he could’ve never been a good father to Dylan because he’d spent seven years in prison. For drugs. How could I expect a convicted drug dealer to help Dylan with his shift?
But what other option did I have?
Stephan turned away from me and paced into the kitchen. He muttered to himself as he rummaged through the fridge, then pulled out a bottle, cracked it open, and took a long swig.
Then he went back to muttering. The sound was oddly familiar, awakening memories from that summer a lifetime ago. I’d forgotten this habit of his. I propped one arm on the back of the couch and turned to peer back at him.
“Are you talking to your dragon?” I asked.
He glanced over at me in surprise. “Yeah. This hasn’t been easy for either of us.”
I pressed my lips together. I was about to ask him to help with Dylan’s shift, but Stephan spoke before I could find the words.
“What’s his name?” he asked. “Your son.”
Our son, I thought, but didn’t say. “Dylan.”
“Dylan.” He nodded. “Good name. Strong name. Is he about to have his first shift?”
“I think so. A shifter friend of mine has been helping, but it’s not enough. It’s been really tough for him.”
“And his dragon’s being a dick?”
I snorted a surprised laugh. “Yeah, that’s a good way of putting it. How did you know?”
Stephan patted his chest. It was the same gesture Dylan made when his dragon was communicating with him. Seeing it made my heart clench painfully. “We can sense it. We know our own blood. His dragon is losing its shit because he needs… us.” He didn’t meet my eyes as he said it. “Both of us.”
“That’s why we’re here,” I said. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You made the right decision. I know things between us are”-he grimaced-“complicated. But this is the right thing for Dylan. I’ll help him with his shift.”
I exhaled in relief. “Thank you, Stephan. I mean that.”
Stephan nodded. His gaze went to middle distance as he took another swig of his drink. Then he shook his head and barked out a disbelieving laugh. “Jesus, Harley. I’m a fuckin’ dad.”
“Steph-“
“Not now, Harley.” He raked both hands through his hair, then looked at me.
Under his gaze, I felt like I was twenty again. A crazy part of me longed to rush forward, wrap my arms around his neck, and soothe the hurt expression on his face with a kiss. God, I wanted to feel his lips on mine again. But I wasn’t that naïve girl anymore, and he wasn’t the same young man. This couldn’t be fixed so simply. Not anymore.
Sighing, Stephan turned away and strode out the front door. He slammed the door behind him, and I didn’t bother calling after him.
Hawk came in a minute later. “Yeah, I thought I heard the door.”
“He stormed out.” I moved into the kitchen, like I could capture the lingering remnants of his presence. I didn’t have enhanced senses like dragons did, though. Instead, I emptied out his abandoned beer and left the bottle in the sink.
“He’s been known to do that,” Hawk said. “He needs some time to process. This is kind of a huge bomb to drop.”
“I know.”
“He’ll reach out to you soon. Here, let me give you my number so we can keep in touch.” Hawk joined me in the kitchen, then tapped his number into my phone and handed it back.
“I never wanted to keep Dylan a secret,” I said. “I never knew?-“
“I know.”
Mia stepped back inside with Bella on her hip. Dylan followed her, his attention still on Zoey as she yapped and jumped around him. “Sorry,” Mia said. She pointed at her ears. “Didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but can’t turn the shit off.” She narrowed her eyes at Hawk. “I told you Blakely was trouble. That bed-jumper has always been no good.”
I laughed at the vitriol in Mia’s voice. “Seriously? She’s caused problems before?”
“Something like that,” Hawk muttered.
Mia stepped closer, and Hawk put his hands over Bella’s ears. “That woman has fucked most of the dragons in this clan,” Mia muttered. Even with her voice lowered to keep Dylan from hearing, it was obvious she was pissed. “And she’s delusional. She was always talking about how Ace would choose her one day, even though Ace barely put up with her.”
“You done?” Hawk asked.
“With that part, yes,” Mia said.
Hawk removed his hands from Bella’s ears. The girl blinked up at her mom, then tugged at her ear. Mia chuckled. They were cute together-and Bella really looked like Dylan’s sister.
“It’s a shame it happened this way,” Mia continued, “but now we all have a chance to fix things, right?”
I wasn’t so sure about that. “I’m just glad Stephan is going to help Dylan with his shift.” I glanced into the living room, where Dylan was wrestling with the puppy.
“Well, I’m glad Bella has a big cousin to look out for her,” Mia said. “God knows I’m not having any more kids.” She elbowed Hawk. “You better be happy with a daughter and a nephew.”
Hawk rolled his eyes. “Babe, you know I’m happy with whatever you want.”
“Good answer.” Mia winked at me.
“Thank you,” I said to both of them. “Really. This is… This is a lot. And you’ve both been really kind to me.”
“Of course we have,” Mia said. “You’re family.”
I closed my eyes and turned my face away to hide my tears. This was too much-the combination of Hawk and Mia being so warm to me, and Stephan being so cold. I didn’t know how to feel. I hardly knew what was real. Hawk squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.
“Mom?” Dylan asked. I looked at him sitting on the floor with Zoey on his lap. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, Dyl, I’m fine.” I cleared my throat. “It’s getting late, you ready to head home?”
“Can Zoey come too?”
I laughed and shook my head. “No way, kid, but you’ll see her again soon.”
We left Hawk’s house after sunset. He’d set us up with one of the clan vehicles and a promise to get the rental fixed and back to us in a day or so. I pulled the sedan out of the gravel driveway and onto the narrow road that would take us back to Mom’s house.
Overhead, a silhouette crossed over the full moon.