Page 41 of Monster

“Too bad Cutler couldn’t go.I could tell it was killing him not to volunteer.”

Cutler was pregnant with Cyprian’s child and just barely starting to show. New life surrounded them. Both Kye and Lachlan’s other mate, Sky, were pregnant. Deacon’s mate Glenn was pregnant. The word children was brought up in the meeting. It was like they couldn’t escape the haunting fact they’d remain childless.“Knowing I can’t ever give that to you… it kills me.”

“My future’s with you, and that’s enough for me,” Samuel said. “You’ve brought me more joy than I ever thought possible.”

He cupped Sam’s chin and pressed a soft kiss on his mate’s lips. “How did I get so lucky to have you?”

Samuel leaned into him.“I think I’m the lucky one.”

As they walked away, he sensed the something gnawing at him again, but he couldn’t figure it out. He glanced down at the love of his life and tried to let it go… he needed to live in the moment.

He needed to revel in the joy that was Samuel.

* * * *

In need of a honky tonk…

The conference room quickly emptied, leaving Malachi and Deacon alone with Bull. He finished up the sketches of the map and piled all their notes together to draft the plan.

“I expected you to bring up news of the new creature,” Deacon said.“How’s that going?”

Bull lowered the stack of papers to the conference table.“Drake has made some progress, we believe. But the dragon seems to think he’s in danger… locked in his own mind.”

“Has he found news of who the creature is?” Malachi asked.

Bull nodded.“It’s my father.Killian and Finn struggled to get enough human DNA for a test, but they were fairly sure. What Drake has come up with from the creature’s mind… I’m fairly positive it’s my father.Luca.”

“That’s good news,” Malachi said.

“Is it?” Bull asked.“He’s not responding to the serum and locked inside his own mind.”

“But he’s no longer trapped by Lore.No more experiments… he’ll have some peace,” Deacon said.

“You sound like the docs.They told me to keep my expectations low. That he might not come out of this.”

Malachi and Deacon were silent a moment.

“At least you’ll have closure,” Deacon said. “You came into this halfway expecting him to be gone.Now, he’s with you, his family… and if he doesn’t make it, he’ll have some peace before he goes.”

Bull knew the words were the truth, even if they cut like jagged glass. “Doesn’t make it any easier, knowing I was too late to save him.”

“You did save him,” Malachi said. “You did.”

“No, Deacon did.”

“Had you not pushed for this… and gave up hope… I wouldn’t have been there to find him.Don’t minimize your impact on him… and not just him.All the beasts we’ve saved so far. And all the ones we plan to save in the future,” Deacon said.

Bull swallowed thickly, his mouth and throat suddenly dry. “I could say the same for you. You dragged a caged beast across horrible terrain… I can’t believe you did that… and I can’t thank you enough.”

Deacon eyed Bull. “That’s what family does for one another.We’re not an army… we’re a brotherhood.Your father is a part of that, and I would’ve laid down my life to save him, too.”

“You almost did,” Bull said.

“The shit’s getting deep in here,” Malachi said, lightening the mood.

All three of them laughed.

“I need a beer,” Malachi said.“You know, have you noticed there’s no bar in Bear Mountain?”

“There’s the inn,” Deacon said.

“It’s a restaurant.Not a bar.I’d give my eye teeth for a damned good dive bar right about now and a jukebox full of country music.”

“Well, if you want that beer, you know where we need to go,” Bull said.

“To the inn,” Malachi said, pouting slightly.

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