16. Seymour

Chapter 16

Seymour

Work had been long, not in length but in how everything that could go wrong managed to do just that. I was dead tired by the time I was getting ready to leave. When the notification sound on my phone went off, I smiled. "They must sense I'm coming home." I pulled the phone from my pocket and discovered how wrong I was.

I glanced down at my phone to see a message from Dante: We need to talk.

That was never good. All the horrors of what it might mean flashed through my head as I fumbled to try and message Dante back: Something happened to Albie… they changed their mind about me living there full-time… I made them angry. So many possibilities, and the more I tried to type a response, the less I was able to form a thought.

"I'll just call." I let out a long breath.

When I hit the call button, he texted back: Meet us where Albie was born. My stomach was in knots. We, not me. Whatever I did that upset them, because my brain had decided that was the most logical answer, had to both be awful and impact most if not all of them. Great. Just great.

I agreed and drove down there, surprised to find both him and Gideon were already waiting for me. Had they been there when they messaged me?

"What's going on?" I asked, hoping desperately that they weren't kicking me out or worse.

Before the text, everything felt like it was going perfectly. We had a routine, and the only complaint any of us could have—or at least that I thought any of us could have—was not getting enough sleep because we couldn't keep our hands off each other. But this didn't feel like a minor thing. There was a heaviness in the air. This wasn't about bed sizes or sleeping. This was more serious, and I wasn't sure how to handle it.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Whatever it was, I could handle it.

"I found this," Dante said, holding up a piece of paper, one I didn't recognize.

"You're gonna have to help me. I don't know what that is," I replied.

Then he went on to explain where he found it and how it mentioned going home . Discovering Kai's past had been a mind fuck to me, but even knowing all that I did, I didn't pretend to understand how Kai got here.

When I learned that his television show had been his real life, it had been a complete shock to me. There wasn't a camera crew or a script—it had been his actual life. And he had been hit by that train. But I guess it never crossed my mind that maybe that life —the one he'd been leading—was actually the one he wanted to return to. Beyond that, I didn't know it was a possibility that he could.

"What do we do?" I asked, my voice low. I didn't want him to go, obviously, but I didn't think there was a way we could go with him, which also brought up the question of Albie. But one huge ordeal at a time.

I would go with him, though. If it were on the table, I'd jump at the opportunity. Beginning completely over again in a new world was a bazillion times better than trying to rebuild my life here without him. I'd give up everything for him, but giving him up? That was going to be nearly impossible. Please don't let it come to that.

"I don't know what to do," Dante said, taking my hand. "That's why Gideon and I decided we needed to meet first. The three of us needed to come up with a plan, one that would give Kai the life he deserved, one that will protect Albie, and one we can all live with."

It was a tall-ass order. That was for sure.

"We need to support him," Gideon added, his voice cracking. "But what if that means our hearts break?"

Dante's eyes fell to the ground. He'd been with our mate the longest; their bond was the strongest. This had to be difficult on a level even greater than mine, and mine was about to crush me.

"Did you ask him about it?" I questioned. "The paper, I mean?"

They both shook their heads.

"I think that's what we need to do first," I suggested. "And what if he says he needs to go home?"

Gideon's voice wavered. "Then I think we need to let him go."

"Agreed." As much as I hated it, it was the only solution. The only one.

My dragon did not like that. He didn't like that one bit. Shit, he didn't like any of this, and he was making it known. If I didn't get undressed for the shift that was about to tear through me, I was going to lose all of my clothing, something I hadn't done since I first gained control over my beast.

I barely got my shoes off before he forced my shift, my clothing left in tatters on the ground. He took to the air circling the clearing and going to a burn pile I'd built for us to use. At the time I'd built it for fun. Who knew it would be a necessity.

When I circled around again, I noticed both Gideon and Dante had taken their beast forms too. All of us were on edge. This thing with Kai had the potential to break us all, but it was the right thing to do.

Our mate deserved everything. And my plan—our plan—was to give it to him, even if we were left the casualties.

Please don't let us be the casualties.