Chapter 22

With everything in the ovens,I let out a slow breath. The timers were all set, and all I had to do now was wait. My mind went quiet while I was baking and my lioness seemed content, but now that there was nothing else to do, the nerves came back and I edged closer to Teddy and Leo to settle myself before I panicked. I wanted to get better. I was almost desperate.

"What happened with you and Kai?"

My spine stiffened at Teddy's question. It was innocent enough, he didn't know about pride life, but it wasn't a subject Leo and I talked about. I wasn't proud of the fact that I let the males hurt my son. If I had been braver, I could've snuck him out sooner. He had to suffer because I was a weak mother.

"Nothin'. He's just mad because I ranked higher than he did."

Teddy's brow furrowed tightly. "What's that mean?"

Leo's gaze lifted and locked onto me. I wasn't around when they taught lessons to the male cubs. Women weren't welcome in that. And as the pride pariah, I wasn't allowed to speak to the other women about it. But I overheard one of the males talking about it when they were waiting for Leo to come downstairs. They'd woken him in the middle of the night and it took a minute for him to come down. I hovered in the kitchen, listening to them talk, and I was horrified to hear what they had to say.

"They… They were forced to fight. To see who was strongest," I murmured. "They made them fight all the time."

It still pained me to admit. I should've protected him better. There was a reason I never scolded Leo for being so snarly. It was all he'd ever known. He didn"t get to play with the other cubs. The only reason he wasn't treated like I was by the males was because he was the strongest.

Teddy still looked confused. "Wait. They made cubs fight? Why? What did it matter who was strongest?"

"To see who would be the next alpha," Leo admitted. "I was the strongest, but Kai wasn't far behind me. We fought a lot. He's still mad about it. If you'd let me, I could put him in his place and–"

"No," Teddy interrupted, his voice firm. "You ain't fightin' another cub. It"s messed up that they asked you to do that in the first place. You're in the same crew. You're supposed to be friends."

"We're not in their crew," Leo argued. "Mom didn"t swear fealty to anyone. We're just visiting. And there is no way I'd be friends with Kai. He's a jerk."

I wished I could argue with that, but I wasn't there. I never saw how Kai and Leo interacted besides when we moved here. And being here, they both hated one another. They hadn't tried to fight again, not with Teddy nearby, but they were constantly saying mean things to each other and growling. Carmen had to seat them at two different tables to get them to focus on their work.

"You're a brawler, little cub. You said it yourself. Your instincts are tellin' you to put those weaker than you in their place. That really who you wanna be? You wanna fight all the time? You wanna keep your mom isolated away from the crew? Because if you won't learn to get along with them, she's not gonna want to stay. You both are so eager to take care of each other, you ain't really listenin' to each other."

This was why I couldn't agree with Teddy when he said he wasn't smart. A man who wasn't smart wouldn't be this insightful. He saw right through both of us and pointed out the things we were ignoring. And he was right. If Leo stayed unhappy here, I wouldn't want to stay. I didn't want him to be unhappy forever just because living in the forest under the protection of the dragon made me feel safer. I'd give that up for him.

Teddy pointed at me. "See? She's already thinkin' about leavin'. Not all that's your fault. Some of it is her and her own journey to get better. But you gotta be a team. You gotta look out for each other. You do better in school, Talia tries better to make you feel secure that she's not goin' anywhere."

Frowning, I looked at Teddy. He pressed his lips together, giving Leo a significant look. "You wanna tell her why you ain't been sleepin' or should I?"

That surprised me. I didn"t know Leo hadn't been sleeping. He was asleep when I got up every morning. Not always in his bed. Sometimes I found him on the couch. But he was always sleeping. I figured he moved to somewhere more comfortable to get back to sleep.

Leo wouldn't look at me. He frowned down at his hands, a little wrinkle between his eyebrows. Kneeling in front of him, I tipped my head so I could see his face.

"Leo?"

I reached for him, but the second I touched his hands, he ripped them away. His head whipped up, and he snarled at me, his anger directed at me for the first time ever.

"Why did you bring us here? Why did you listen to Aunt Kiara? You ran because of her! Now my lion keeps waiting for you to do it again! He gets up all night to look for you and make sure you're still there! And now you wanna go to work and leave me again! If you wanna give me up so bad, then do it!"

"Wha– I don't–"

He launched to his feet, pinning us both with a dark glare. "I don't believe you! You never cared about what I want! You came out here, you forced me to go to school! You only ever listen to Kiara or Teddy! You like them better and I'm in the way! So just send me back! I don't care!"

Real pain slashed across Talia's face and she shut down, her whole body curling in on itself. Leo said he didn't care, but I could tell that was a lie. He was hurting bad. I knew he was uncomfortable with all this. Since I got here, he's been frustrated. But I thought he was getting better. I thought he'd want his mom to get better. I didn't think I was making things worse for him. I didn't want that.

The timer went off for the stuff in the oven, but Talia didn't move to take things out. She didn't move at all until Frank stuck his head into the kitchen with a frown.

"Everythin' okay back here?"

Talia and Leo stayed silent. I forced out a smile that felt more like a grimace, nodding to Frank.

"Yeah, we're good. Uh, Talia? Which stuff is supposed to come out now?"

She got up to handle it herself, but she didn't look like she was fully there. Her face was blank, and she moved like a robot. She took a few trays out, set another timer and put the baked goods on cooling racks. The whole time she didn't look up or speak or even acknowledge anyone around her. Not even Frank, who was closest to her. She just… wasn't there.

Leo watched her, his breath coming out in pants. He looked close to panic and a whole host of emotions flashed over his face before he lost it. He snarled and bolted out the back door without warning. Talia barely even noticed. I wouldn't have thought she noticed at all, except I saw her face twitch, like she was fighting back her emotions. I looked between her and the door. I couldn't let a cub just run around, but I didn't want to leave her alone either.

"Go. I'll watch out for her," Frank urged.

"Call Rhea. She's an officer at the station. They're friends. I–" I pointed at the door, waiting only long enough for him to nod before I took off after Leo. He was fast, but I'd been around him long enough to know his scent. I followed it down the street and towards the market. Smart cub. There were lots of smells there. It'd be hard to track him. I wasn't going to give up, though. I didn't care how long it took me. I found Talia when she ran. I'd find him too.

And then I'd go home. I wasn't helping anymore. If Talia lost her connection to Leo, she wouldn't ever get better. And he blamed me for coming between them. I made a mistake. I shouldn't have helped. It wasn't like with Mama. And I wasn't smart enough to notice the difference.

Dodging through the crowds, I looked around wildly. I hoped he didn't shift. There was no way to explain a lion cub running around a small town in the middle of nowhere. The secret could get out. Especially if he shifted in front of people.

I was getting towards the edge of the market when I noticed Carmen waving me down. I thought about ignoring her, I wasn't here to visit, but maybe she saw where Leo went.

"I can't chat, I need to find–"

"He's not far. Malcolm stopped him, but he was really upset, so he and Javi took him to the lake to cool down. I figured you wouldn't be far behind. Where's Talia?"

"At the cafe down the road. I had to leave her. I couldn't just let a cub run away. I asked Frank to call Rhea, but–"

Carmen's phone rang, and when she pulled it out, I saw Rhea's name on the screen. She answered it, humming a few yes's before speaking.

"He's with me. The cubs are with Malcolm. You'll keep an eye on Talia? Alright. We'll be back in a bit."

She hung up, tipping her head towards the end of the market. "Fastest way is this way. Follow me."

I did, but she wasn't quick. And I couldn't rush her. Not when she was that pregnant. My heart thundered in my ears all the way to the trail that led to the lake. Malcolm and the cubs weren't far, on a dock not far from the trail entrance. They heard me coming, and when Leo looked over his shoulder, he glared hard at me.

This was my fault. I thought I was smart enough to help. And I ruined everything.