Page 86 of Her Sweet Surrender
Rytsar chuckled. “I would forfeit my life without hesitation to protect the Wolf Pup.” He looked around the room. “Now that we are in agreement, I will speak with the boy when he returns.”
Faelan arrived hours later. Rytsar met him outside and took him on a long walk with Little Sparrow following gleefully behind them.
Upon their return, Faelan surprised everyone with his announcement. “I feel it’s best I leave for Russia, the sooner the better.”
“You should think on this more,” Marquis insisted. “You don’t have the luxury of making rash decisions now that you are a father, especially in your current state.”
Faelan seemed offended by his assertion but mulled it over before answering. “You are right, Asher. I have been crazy with grief—in a literal sense. You and I both know it. I need a purpose I can focus on. Helping with Lilly gives me that. It will provide me with purpose while I work through the pain of Kylie’s death.”
“What about your baby? She needs you!” Celestia cried.
Faelan sounded remorseful when he answered. “I do not have the capacity to care for anyone right now. I’m asking for a grace period, Celestia. Will you continue to look after my daughter?”
Celestia looked distraught. “I would be happy to care for her, but I worry about the separation for her—and for you.”
Faelan shook his head. “It is better she is in the arms of someone who can give her the love and attention she needs.”
“If you are truly leaving, can you give me a name I can call her?” she begged.
Faelan sighed, looking in the direction of the baby’s room. “Call her Grace for the time being. God knows she and I could use plenty of it.”
“You are coming back, I hope?” Celestia asked with concern.
“I am not abandoning my child,” he assured her. “But I hope to be a better man…a better father on my return.”
She bowed her head. “Then I will pray for you to return safe and whole.”
“I will never be whole again.”
Celestia looked at him, her eyes filled with sympathy.
“I need to get far, far away from here,” he told everyone. “But joining Kylie is not an honorable option.”
He looked at Brie. “Being able to protect you from that creature? That gives me both purpose and distance.”
It was the first time she had seen a spark of determination from Faelan since Kylie’s death. It gave her hope for his future.
Marquis must have sensed it too, because he said, “If that is how you honestly feel, I will respect your decision.”
“Thank you, Asher.”
“It’s settled then.” Rytsar slapped Faelan on the shoulder. “Get packing. It’s cold in Russia.”
Brie left with Rytsar and Sir. She had a much lighter heart on the drive home, but now she had to face the idea of Rytsar leaving again.
“It seems like fate is determined to keep pulling you back to Russia,” she complained softly.
Rytsar smirked, wrapping his arm around her. “Are you going to miss me,radost moya?”
“Of course.”
Looking at Sir, he grinned. “Then I must give you a going-away present.”
Cuffed
Before Rytsar left for his extended trip, he invited them over for dinner. He’d informed them that it was a formal event and requested they dress for it.
Knowing it would be the last night they saw him before he left for Russia, Brie asked if he would like her parents to babysit Hope.
