Page 134 of Covenant

Right then and there, I vow my father’s life will be shorter than he anticipates.

He may have the control now, but it won’t always be that way.

Turning sharply, I step out of the office, closing the door behind me. My feet come to an abrupt halt at the figure leaning against the wall.

Cade pushes away, stepping toward me cautiously. His gaze drops to the dagger in my hand and his shoulders slump. “Shit. I fucking told Wylder this was coming.”

I can’t speak, can’t breathe. In less than twelve hours, everything I’ve ever hoped for has been ripped away from me.

“Come on.” Cade puts his arm around my shoulder, his voice gentler than I’ve ever heard before. “Samson and Wylder are waiting. There’s more for you to know.”

I let him lead me away, and as I do, I bury everything deep inside me. I lock it in a box, weighing it down with the only thing that offers me any relief.

Wyatt will be safe. He will be protected. He will go to college and have enough money to get by.

I’m not going to get the life I’d planned, but that’s okay.

Wyatt is.

Even if I’ll never be a part of it.

Today is more than letting go of Wyatt. It’s the death of my childhood. My dreams. My future.

Father’s right, I’m a fool. But not for loving Wyatt. I’m a fool for believing I had a chance at happiness, at forging something for myself.

But my path was set out for me long before I was born.

I’m part of The Firm.

There’s no getting away from that.

30

WYATT

The darkness has returned.

It’s more jarring this time. Like I’ve spent so long living in the light that my eyes just won’t adjust. They don’t want to.

They crave what we had before.

I knew learning the truth would either make or break us, but I don’t think I ever accepted it could be the latter.

I didn’t want to.

I move in a fog, not knowing which way is forward and which is back. Anything I manage is done on autopilot. My heart isn’t in it—it’s back in Matthias’s office, bleeding and dying on his wooden floor.

I’d gone straight from there to Jackson’s room. I packed up his stuff and without a word, drove us to a hotel. I didn’t even pack my own bag. I didn’t think about it. I only wanted to leave.

Matthias didn’t make an appearance, just shut himself in his office and remained silent.

It’s tempting to go back, to pin him to a wall and fucking demand he explain himself. To insist he tell me why he told me to leave if he loves me.

And hedoeslove me. There’s no other explanation for why he’s behaved this way. It’s the only rationale I have for why he insisted on this marriage.

So why thefuckdid he make me leave?

Jackson didn’t say anything as we left, just went along with it. I don’t know if he could sense how close I’d been to breaking. The fine stitching that held me together was unraveling with every step I took away from Matthias.

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