Page 60 of Finding Closure

“Yeah, now you’re where I am, cream puff,” Lucca said with a snort, my reaction clearly the same he’d had. “And it’s like most of the sloth.”

“How many is that? I mean it wasn’t a big sloth, right? But I thought they were all reclusive, racist assholes like Mason’s dad?” I asked, my mind racing.

“It seems the younger generation wants out,” Juan answered. “Mason’s dad is a bit older—they didn’t start their family until later.” He frowned. “No, his first mating match fell through. Yeah, Mason told me that and that no one with a brain wanted to be mated into such a cult-like sloth. So his dad is actually like sixty or so.”

“Right, or is that just an excuse?” I worried.

“Exactly what Mother is struggling with, but like who are we going to ask, and we can’t just talk to the council about thisbecause they’dloveto stick their noses in everything, especially because our relationship is confirmed,” Lucca blurted in panic.

But there was someone they could ask and interrogate.

And I had him in custody.

“It would be a good training exercise,” Neldor muttered, obviously on the same page already. “There’s not much the Guardians have really had to use to try different interrogation tactics. I’ve put everything he did to you off limits. Even if we do nothing about it, getting secrets to that sloth we could verify is a good avenue to exhaust.”

“And we realized we want to see him again and settle with it all,” Juan muttered, gesturing between himself and Lucca. “Now that we know the truth, and—I just want to put it behind me. If possible.”

I nodded, fully understanding that. I was ready to tell them whatever they needed, but Neldor spoke first.

“You need to understand that he’s not—he doesn’t look like Mason physically anymore,” Neldor warned. “We have not been abusing him.”

“He gave up all hope after we learned the truth,” I sighed. “He probably doesn’t eat and—has he tried to kill himself?”

“Yes.” Neldor sighed when that clearly wasn’t enough. “He will never be free. He’s not sorry, and he’s certifiably nuts. The guards report that sometimes he still rants he will be king, and—he will probably go feral within a decade and have to be put down. Maybe humans can be functioning psychos or have DID, but shifters cannot.”

“So we need to prepare for that and not let him use it,” Juan muttered. “Maybe this won’t help.”

“There’s no right answer here,” Hudson said gently. “I hate myself for not being strong enough to go with Tams the last time she had to deal with that asshole. I can’t not go anymore andyeah, I want to put it behind us too.” He shot Lucca a worried look.

So clearly, he still had something bugging him about Mason and what had all happened. Or maybe not even concerning me.

Either way, we agreed to all go. Julian was very quiet about it all, but I listened to his thoughts and heard he was pretty neutral on it all. He was there to be supportive and help if he could. Maybe have the closure because Mason had been his student.

Darby was apparently the one to worry about. I had only listened in because Julian had tapped his temple giving me the cue, but then I picked up Darby’s thoughts and they were full of blood and Mason’s death.

I couldn’t hide my shock, and he winced but then explained.

“I will always want him dead,agra. How many nights did I hold you while you cried in your sleep or screamed in terror after what he did to you? How many nights could you not sleep at all you were so scared?” He let out a slow breath. “I will cheer when he’s dead, and I don’t care if that makes me evil.”

Fair enough. I would probably feel the same if anyone had done something so horrible to him.

Yeah, I definitely would.

I moved around my schedule a bit so I could join them. I shut down the objections that I was going.

“I’m not leaving you guys alone to deal with this any more than you want me to deal with him alone. I’m fine. I’ve made my peace with what happened. I can’t even remember the last time I had a nightmare about him or what he did.” I frowned. “I don’t think I have since he confessed he has DID.”

They let it go after that, especially since we were all busy and had other things going on.

Especially Neldor and me. We were so overloaded with my coronation coming up that it was ridiculous. Everyone wanted tohave a quick meeting with me about something before I put my government into effect and changed laws.

Geez, I wonder what those meetings were going to be about?

All the help a lot of them hadn’t been giving when they should have been?

Assholes.

“Just when I think this can’t get any worse, I have to deal with your stupid ass?” Mason said to Lucca. “Why would the prince bastard even allow—” He did a double take when he saw me. His eyes filled with a gross sparkle, but then rage, before he launched himself at the bars. “No!No!You two aren’t together! You’re lying to torture me and—”

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