Page 169 of Alpha Leo and the Heart of Fire
“Hmm,” I grunt, downing my glass of whiskey and pouring another.
“The weather’s nice,” Dante remarks. Weird shit.
“And? As a werewolf or whatever the fuck you are, does the weather even matter?”
“Let me enjoy the small things in life. I’m still human,” Dante replies. His head tilts up as he looks at the sky.
“Only you’re fucking not,” I reply, but I get what he means. Just because he is different doesn’t mean he can’t live a normal life. In a way, I feel bad for him. It is obvious he is someone who lives far more isolated than the rest of us. Even the pack members find his presence too much… their future Alpha. Iguess I can relate to that…
“It is a good night,” Rayhan agrees. The tension is growing again, and I know I have to fucking make a start somewhere…
“You just got the two kids, right? Or you got more?” I ask him. He looks at me, almost surprised at my question, before smiling and nodding.
“Yeah, Ahren and Sienna,” he replies, taking his phone out and showing me the lock screen. There is Delsanra, her hair as white as it had been since the day it changed. In front of her are his kids. The girl is smiling brightly, whilst the boy has only a hint of a smile on his face.
“They’ve grown,” I say. I haven’t seen them since back then.
“They have. Corrado is a lovely kid, too, and clearly has taken a liking to Azura already,” he replies. I nod.
“He has.”
I remember when I tossed Sienna up in the air years ago to scare Rayhan, only for her to start crying. It had pissed him off, but I get it. Anyone who scared Corrado like that would be fucking dead… but Rayhan had kept his shit together better than I would have.
“So, let’s cut the small talk,” I say, placing my glass down and lighting a cigarette as I look ahead coldly, refusing to look at either. “You know the reason that I fucking hate you all. I still don’t think what went down was right… how you went about that shit affected so many innocent lives. I mean, even your mother hated Delsanra, right? We were all raised to hate witches, but because your sister ended up being a hybrid, your family became more accepting, and because she was your mate, otherwise… no one fucking cared. You dealt me a hand of injustice, and I get it. I get that she’s your mate, and I don’t hold her accountable for any of it because she was a victim, just like us. What you did is not something I’ll ever forget, but I’m going to try to let it go… not just for me, but for Marcel and that fucker of an uncle… and forRafael… because of all you fucking Rossis, he was different.” He really was… A silence falls at the mention of Rafael, and I take a drag on my cigarette before continuing,
“I have a question… when we had that talk after defeating that Djinn years ago, did you even understand the repercussions of your actions?” I ask, now turning to him. He is frowning, a hand to his chin. He sighs heavily and looks at me.
“I did. At the time, all I saw was Delsanra’s pain. But when you put it like that, ten years ago, back then, I realised I was wrong… when we visited your pack, I genuinely meant that apology. I should have looked deeper into it; I shouldn’t have let myself put Marcel in that position. I messed up, and I get it. I’m sorry, Leo, for causing you pain, too. For breaking the trust that you had in us – in Uncle Al,” he says, looking out over the city. “When I saw those memories… when we went into her mind and witnessed everything that she had gone through… from Endora to the hunters, it was too much. I realised I had already failed her, and I wanted to somehow fix things… I went about it wrong, and that is a regret I still hold. In all honesty, it was as if I was doing it for myself to make me feel better because she told me to stop. I’m sorry, and I know you won’t ever be able to forgive me fully, but I do hope that we can move past it, although it isn’t something small or easy to forget. Now, I wish I could go back and do things differently.”
Our eyes meet, and I realise he isn’t the same man he was years ago. There is wisdom there… and regret. I look away first. It makes me feel better knowing that he regrets it.
“I’m letting it go. Not for you, but for me. We all make mistakes… I’d be an even bigger hypocrite if I didn’t admit that I’ve fucked up, too, and only after did I realise the consequences of my actions. Those bullets I made have killed and will probably kill many more…”
“We’ll fix it before it gets out of control. I’ve already got mymen to work with Uncle’s, too. I have connections in the human world as well. If anything comes to light, I’ll let you know.”
“Yeah? Great,” I reply. I have my own eyes and ears in the underworld, and I will probably be able to track them all down faster, but at least they are on it if something happens to me.
There, it is done.
How do I feel? Lighter… it isn’t something I’ll forget, but I am willing to move on, and I will.
I did it,I tell Azura through the link.
I’m proud of you, and I, I… I’m going to go see Atlas soon, too.She was going to say something else… I frown but decide not to push it.
Good luck, you’ll be fine. If anyone, I think he’s the one who needs the good luck,I smirk, drinking my whiskey, almost imagining her pouting.
Hey, I’m not that bad!
You’re as bad as they get,I reply huskily.
Yeah? Well, you like it…
The memory of earlier in the shower comes back to me, and, fuck, just the thought is a damn turn-on…
Without a fucking doubt.
She laughs,See you later. Have fun with your cousins; I’ll be having some girl time with my sister until you get back.That is her way of telling me to talk to these two for longer.
