Chapter 11

11

Raelynn

T he following afternoon, two of my suitcases are sitting in the hallway. Kael told me to bring anything I wanted. He even offered to hire a van. But the truth is, I want to bring as little from my old life as possible. I packed my toiletries, all my "comfy" clothes—jeans, T-shirts sweatshirts; an album of photos of my mom and me, and that's all.

I pace up and down the hallway irritably. I'm dying to get going, back to the cabin. Our home , as Kael calls it. It belongs to us equally he says. I can't wait to be back in that cozy place, with nowhere I'm supposed to be, just Kael and me. A fire roaring in the hearth, a bunch of books and board games, and a big soft bed to make love in for hours and hours.

The doorbell sounds and we both dash toward it. Kael is even more desperate to get out of here than I am. He admitted to me that being in the human world makes him feel like his skin is on fire. I promised that I'd try to never put him through it again.

There's my dad, flanked by two of his bodyguards, all puffed up with self-importance, as usual. Well, I told him I had something he'd really want to hear, so I can almost see the dollar signs in his eyes.

"Raelynn, my dear." He grabs me by the shoulders and plants kisses on both my cheeks, as usual. "Please tell me you've given up on this craziness once and for all?"

Then Kael steps out of the shadows and his face turns ashen.

"You!" he snarls. "I thought we'd seen the last of you. Raelynn, what the hell is he doing here?"

"Come sit down, Dad." I stride towards the dining room table, without looking to see if he's following. How things have changed. I used to hang on his every word.

"What's this about?" He drags out a chair, which squeals across the hard floor.

Silently, I lay out the documentary evidence piece by piece. Then Kael plays the recording.

My father's face gets redder and redder. "Turn that shit off!" he bawls.

"No, Dad, you can listen to all the way through. Just in case you've forgotten how shameful you truly are."

By the time the recording is finished, he's not just pale; he looks like a Halloween waxwork.

"I've known what you've been up to for a long time, Dad," I say. "I just didn't want to accept that my own father was exploiting me and stealing all my money."

"I wasn't stealing it, Raelynn. It's all in trust. You've seen the documents. You signed the contract yourself."

"Because you forced me to!" I slap my hand on the table.

His eyes widen. He's never seen me like this before. I turn my head and my eyes lock onto Kael's. The glowing eyes of the man I love. My heart is still breaking for what my father did to us, but I gain the strength I need to continue.

"You forced me to sign it when I was still a kid! It's my money. I've been an adult for a long time, and I want it now."

"Everything I did was for you, Raelynn. To help grow your career."

"You paid to have someone shot, dad!"

"What's the big deal? He's fine. I knew he would be."

"If he'd been shot in the heart, he would have died. Or I could have been shot instead. How could you take such a risk?" Tears spring to my eyes, and I wipe them away savagely.

"It was all in your best interests, Raelynn. Please believe that."

"In your best interests, you mean!" Kael cuts in. He was only going to observe, but he can't contain himself in the face of my father's treachery.

My father closes his eyes for a long time. At last, he opens them and adjusts the cuffs of his shirt. "Okay, what do you want?"

"I want my money released from the trust fund. And, of course, I'm firing you as my manager. You'll never have anything to do with my business again."

"But Raelynn, we're such a good team?—"

"Stop!" Kael roars. My father shrinks back like the coward he is. "I will not hear another manipulative word coming out of your mouth."

I push a pen and some documents at my father. I just had them drawn up. They set out all my requirements.

"In return," Kael continues. "You will do as she says, and we'll agree not to pass this recording to the cops."

My father picks up the pen and, with a trembling hand, signs his signature.

"Now, go," I tell him. "I don't want to see or hear from you in a long, long time."

He gets up and trails toward the door. At the last moment, he turns. "You're making a big, big mistake, Raelynn. How can you throw all of this away?"

I take hold of Kael's hand and that familiar current of electricity runs through me. I close my eyes for a beat, savoring the mate bond between us.

"Oh, I'm not throwing anything away," I tell my father.

The moment the door shuts, Kael draws me into his arms and holds me tenderly. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that, baby. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I tell him. "It was actually real cathartic. I've had this anger bottled up inside me for so long."

"I can see that." He strokes my face gently with his callused thumb. "And your energy is different now, do you know that?"

"Well, I feel a heck of a lot lighter. Like my stomach isn't trying to eat itself anymore."

"We'll be eating a lot of good honest bear food, don't you worry," he says. "Now, you about ready to go?"

"Never readier," I say.

Kael grabs the heavy suitcases. I pick up a small holdall and take one last look around this apartment that never felt like my home, and I skip out of the door and into the future with my incredible, sexy mate.