Page 40 of Saber's Surrender

We still don’t have the full story on why that is, I’m hoping one day he’s comfortable enough with one of us to share the reason he feels this way.

Half an hour later, on the dot, I’ve been primped and beautified, now, I’m ready to walk down the aisle to the man who is my forever.

CHAPTER

TWENTY-THREE

Saber

Last night,I pronounced the wheelchair man deceased. Not what I wanted to be doing the night before my wedding, but I’m glad Wrecker got some form of vengeance. The man, Gerard McIntosh was just as vile and despicable as Jiovanni was. My cousin was his master and Gerard was in training. His disciple. And the more information he exposed gave us locations and names of those who were involved in the bidding of kidnapped women and children. As soon as I leave for my mini honeymoon this evening, a few of my brothers from Cedar Creek will be riding out. We need to know what happened to the individuals they purchased at the auction.

It’s an entirely different entity and culture than the Fundamentalists Communion pussies we’ve been working on tracking down, but these assholes are just as disgraceful and condemnable as those fucktards are. But that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today, I’m claiming the woman I love with all of my heart and soul in front of my brothers, their women, and our kids.

When I place that ring on her finger, I’ll be letting the world know that she’s a taken woman. To some, it’s only a piece of paper, to me however, it’s a sign of our unshakable commitment. One that’s not as important as placing a ‘property of’ cut over an old lady's shoulders, but it’s what citizens recognize.

Dragon agreed to lead the ceremony, and since he’s legal in the eyes of the government, it’ll all be legit when we present it to the courts and Mrs. Tremain, Canyon and Egypt’s social worker.

Since my wedding attire consists of a new pair of black jeans, a black button down dress shirt, freshly shined boots, and my cut, I’m ready within minutes for one of the biggest days of my life. When I noticed Canyon walking around, kicking rocks, I left my brothers and went over to him to see if I could find out what had him so restless.

“Take a walk with me,” I state, reaching out and tossing my arm over his shoulder as I guide him toward the fishing dock. Not knowing how to begin this conversation seeing as I’ve never been responsible for a teenager's well-being, nor do I have a lot of experience when it comes to getting them to open up, I blurt out the first thing that pops into my head. “It’s a nice day for a wedding, huh?”

I nearly roll my eyes when Billy Idol’sWhite Weddingstarts running on a loop in my head. Hopefully, I remember to tell Foxy later because I know she’ll get a huge kick out of it. I mean, it’s taking everything in me not to burst out laughing because I suspect my son is hurting, and I don’t want my mental musings having him think I don’t give a fuck about him.

“Yeah. Sure,” he replies, looking out at the water, inhaling deeply.

We could stand here all day, taking in the scenery and ignoring the issue that brought us here in the first place, or I could just get the ball rolling by asking the question floating around in my brain.

“What’s on your mind, son?”

“I’ve been thinking,” he says, blowing out a frustrated breath.

If this was Foxy saying this shit to me, I’d be worried because whenever a statement such as that leaves your woman’s mouth, you need to prepare yourself for war. It could mean so many different things, butmostof them mean your world is fixing to tilt on its axis. But when it comes from a teenage boy, I have no idea if I should be running for the hills or taking him out on a camping trip so he can work out his frustrations while traipsing through the wilderness and communing with wild animals.

“What’cha been thinking about?” I ask, pressing him to continue.

“I killed my parents, Saber.” His voice is almost monotone when he says this, and my heart breaks that he feels he has that kind of control. Unless he was driving the car, he was no more responsible than the man on the moon.

“You’ve said this before but you’ve never explained why you think so, Canyon.”

“Something strange happened that day we crashed. I’m a freak, Saber. I need to be locked up and kept away from the general population.”

“I’m going to need you to explain that,” I demand, reigning in my temper. I can’t stand the idea of him blaming himself for the loss of his family. It’s not like he reached out and physically yanked on the steering wheel, veering them off the road, and forcing the car to pummel down the incline where it then met a tree.

His powers awoke,Wrecker advises me, butting into the conversation. But this time, I’m glad he did.Go easy on him, brother, he doesn’t understand our ways or what happened to him.

“Fuck,” I hiss underneath my breath as my heart starts racing. I remember when it happened to me and how confused I was. Hell, I just did tell Roxy about what I’m able to do.

How do I go about explaining his lineage to him in a way he’ll grasp it? Especially when I don’t know it myself. I don’t know my biological parents, and even if I did, I’m not sure I’d reach out to seek any answers from them.

“There’s a lot I need to explain to you, Canyon. But I want to assure you that the accident was in no way your fault. There’s not a lot of time for explanations, but later, before Foxy and I head out for the weekend, you and I will sit down and hash this out, okay?”

Then he goes and knocks my socks off and leaves me speechless when he says, “I think I should sit this wedding out, Saber. It’ll be better for you and Roxy.”

“No,” I deny. “It won’t.”

Wrecker comes strolling down the dock, and states, “I’ve got this, Saber. Why don’t you go over and take your place? The wedding will be starting soon and it can’t happen without the groom.”

I’m conflicted because I don’t want to leave my boy, even in my brother's capable hands, while he’s feeling so damn distraught. I guess I hesitate too long because he irksomely sighs.I’ve got this, brother,Wrecker’s voice says, invading my thoughts.Right now, I’m the only one who can help him shuffle through his confused feelings and prioritize them.

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