Page 235 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“With Tessa now the Arius Lady, we can go back to Arius House,” Theon said. “You and Kat can come home.”
Axel stared at him, his brow furrowed. “I can’t go to Arius House, Theon. Not right now anyway.”
“Father is in hiding here in the Underground, trying to take your son. Cressida is taken care of for now. It’s safe there for the three of you.”
“Yeah, but that’s not my place anymore.”
“What do you mean, it’s not your place? It’s our home, Axel,” Theon argued.
“Don’t be stupid. Arius House never felt like a home, Theon,” he said. “But that’s not why. I’ve built alliances here. Relationships with the leaders. I can’t just leave. Not when Bree is still a threat to the Underground.”
“She’s a threat toyou. Kat. Your son,” Theon emphasized, motioning to Maddox. “Staying here puts you all at risk.”
“And others just risked their lives for us,” Axel shot back. “Cade and Rayell turned on her. The Shifters solidified their alliance by sheltering us here. Cienna has taken over the Apothecary District and leads the Witches. I cannot just abandon them after all that. I’m one of them.”
“He makes good points, Theon,” Luka said. “From a strategy side, he needs to stay. He’s built something here.”
“It’s not safe,” Theon argued.
Axel scoffed. “It’s never been safe anywhere.”
“Axel—”
“We’re staying here, Theon,” he said, cutting him off. “I cannot leave the very people I’ve spent months convincing we care. Besides, I have a score to settle with Bree. I’m not saying it’s forever, but I am saying I need to stay here for now. Starting a war with Bree and then leaving before it’s finished is not an option.”
Maddox started fussing then, and Axel scooped him up from Luka’s arms and took him back to Kat. The three of them were somehow already this synchronized unit. His entire life he’d been protecting Axel, and now he was a husband and a father. A leader of the Underground.
“If we’re sticking to the plan, you have to let him do this,” Luka said in a low voice as Tessa came closer. “We need him and the Underground.”
“Yeah,” Theon said quietly, watching his younger brother. Because he could still see the child, eyes wide with fear when Theon told him to go find his best earbuds. The brother he’d taken the blame for so many times to keep their father’s wrath from him for as long as he could. The one who’d somehow kept his sense of humor throughout their sordid childhood. The one who’d somehow,despitethat sordid childhood, become one of the most noble people he knew while he had nearly become his father.
“We should go speak with the Shifters,” Tessa said, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Tessa, are you all right?” Luka asked, eyeing her.
“Of course,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“You’re acting uncomfortable.”
“We’re in the Underground,” she said dryly.
“Right. That’s it,” Luka said, conveying just how much he didn’t believe that.
“We should go speak with Kylian and Giselle,” she said again, clasping her hands in front of her. “Corbin is anxious.”
“He’s not the only one anxious right now,” Luka muttered.
“Luka, drop it,” she snapped, her power flaring slightly.
Theon’s brows rose in surprise, and he glanced at Luka, a mutual understanding passing between them. They’d drop it for now, but they’d be bringing this up again later.
She turned away from them, clearly done with the conversation when she said, “Corbin, are you ready?”
The male was standing near the bed, and he pulled at the back of his neck. “I mean, can you ever really be ready for something like this?”
Lange was climbing off the bed. “It’s going to be fine. If you’re not comfortable, we say fuck ‘em and leave.”
“Saying ‘fuck ‘em’ to the Alpha and Beta is not advisable,” Theon said.
