51. Goodbye Raiden
AURELIA
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I perceived his presence before opening the door to seethe at him.
Did I expect him to show up? Yes.
Was I willing to talk to him about anything? Hell no!
"You should have gotten tired of trying to talk to me, Alpha Raiden." I snapped under my breath, considering my kids and Hazel's presence in the room. "We've nothing to talk about. Please leave."
"I won't leave until you listen to me and give me a chance." He ran his fingers through his hair as he retorted.
"Then you can stay here and talk to yourself-"
Raiden countered, "If you refuse to talk to me, I won't just stand here. Remember you're in my pack. I can start by telling everyone that your kids are mine and tell your beloved Black Fur family that you've fooled them. Tristan might understand but his members will never accept you to be their Luna-"
"Are you threatening me?" I asked, unable to believe his nerves.
Maybe I dread what he would actually do and what would happen to my relationship with the people of Black Fur... to Hazel and me if the truth was publicly announced. However, I couldn't let Raiden see through me.
"That's not all," Raiden said stiffly, his eyes void of emotions. "I'll also keep you and the kids here even if it's against your will. I'll go to war with your beloved Black Fur and-"
"Enough, Raiden!" I gritted. "You claim to have changed but look at you! I hate you!"
"I hate you too!" He snarled at me, kicking me into shock. How could he hate me? Why would he hate me? I asked myself but Raiden soon provided answers, "You kept my kids from me for more than five years of their lives and you still want to take them away. How much more would you punish me?"
His words tugged at my emotions but Inara was quick to remind me that I had every reason to punish him even more than I already have.
"You haven't even punished him," Inara muttered angrily into my head.
I stepped closer to Raiden, closing the bedroom door behind me. "Punish you? I-"
"I'm not here to argue with you, Aurelia. I just need to know that I can have a life with the kids and you-"
"If you are asking me if I'd consider staying in your pack full of bullies and haters with my kids just because you threatened to expose me, the answer remains the same, Raiden." I paused and took another step closer to him as I uttered, "Never."
Raiden's face fell and his lips parted only to close again. He was short on words and before he could find the right words to say, Hazel opened the door with Katie in her arms and Kyle beside her. Hazel looked at us suspiciously but she didn't ask any questions. "Alpha Tristan and everyone else are waiting outside. It's time to leave, Lia." Hazel announced to me.
I forced a smile, "I'm right behind you guys."
Hazel nodded while Katie offered Raiden a bright smile before they walked down the corridor. Again, Kyle didn't react despite knowing more than he should.
"Don't make me do the worse, Aurelia-" Raiden begged as soon as the kids disappeared.
I cut in, "You did your worst six years ago, Raiden. I'm leaving and I'm not scared of you. Goodbye, Raiden."
I didn't wait for him to say another
word. I went back into the room, checked if the kids had forgotten
any of hack i
r properties, and picket
up the last bag on the bed.
Confidently, I walked out of the room
again and Raiden was still there.
I walked past him and didn't stop walking. Not even when he said, "Whatever happens next is as a result of your stubbornness, Aurelia. Don't blame me for fighting for our family in the best way I know." Inara cursed within me, "Fuck you, asswipe."
Alpha Tristan was waiting outside his car when I exited the apartment. He smiled at me and held the door open for me. "You're riding with me, Lia."
"With pleasure, Tristan." I smiled, looking forward to building a new life with him or maybe we wouldn't be a thing by the time we arrived home because I planned to tell him about my past and secrets during this trip.
If all Raiden cared about was claiming the kids instead of finding the bullies that almost killed Katie last night, then he wasn't fit to be known by the kids as their father.
I entered Tristan's car and found Katie already sitting in the back seat. My brows furrowed and I blurted, "Where is Kyle?"
Katie shrugged, "He wanted to ride with Auntie Hazel."
That was strange. Kyle doesn't like being away from Katie and me for longer than five hours and the trip we were about to embark on was longer than that.
"He probably needs some alone time." Inara etched.
Perhaps my wolf was right.
It pained me that my son felt he needed to be away from me and I could only hope that he wouldn't hate me for separating him from his biological father as the car began to move down the road.
Katie was snuggled between Tristan and me in the back seat, as peacefully as she could until we were close to the Dark Moon border.
I was relieved to be leaving but my daughter cried out, "My chest hurt, Mom."
I was about to ask her if she was
tga
feeling pain from last night's incident but the question died in my throat when I felt a sharp pain in my chest too. The closer we got to the border, the pain intensified and Katie began to cry.
"What's going on?" I asked Inara, avoiding Tristan's questioning gaze.
Inara took a second to examine the pain in my chest before she responded, "It's the bond you share with Kyle." Why was my bond with my son stretching? Inara chimed, fear in her voice, "I don't think Kyle is
in Hazel's car, Relia."
"What?" I gasped out loud.
Tristan queried, "Is something wrong?"
Horrified, I answered, "Kyle is missing. We can't cross the border without him or the pain will become unbearable for both Katie and I."
"Stop the car!" Tristan ordered ferociously because he could already tell that Kyle's disappearance was Raiden's way of proving that he could keep me in this damn pack.
We checked all the cars for Kyle but he wasn't in any and Hazel confirmed that he wanted to ride with Katie and me.
To my greatest dismay, I uttered, "We've to go back."
Never had I wanted to kill someone as bad as I wanted to kill Raiden right now.