Page 43 of Bullied Mate

Wind beat down on my head as Galanthia returned to the ground. She pointed to the right. “He went this way.”

I didn’t argue. I darted after her, ignoring the feeling in my gut that we had always been meant to find my son together.

Chapter 14 - Galanthia

Similarly to Xavier, I wasn’t excited about being assigned to his group. Sadie was a good buffer for us, and yet Sadie was also unfairly and squarely situated in the middle. It would have been far more thrilling for her to be locked in a perpetual staring battle with Izdor. That was if she even knew that Izdor existed—and that he liked her so much he talked about her all the time.

The child’s safety was more important than my nonsensical emotions. Three days had passed since I’d told Xavier I didn’t want to see him again. Emergencies were always the exception, though I was disappointed that it hadn’t been much longer. I had barely gotten him out of my system. Now I was being forced to be around him.

It seemed like Raven had done it on purpose.

Gossip had spread around the neighborhood like weeds. Everybody had an opinion about my coupling with Xavier—Raven and Claire included. Though I felt much safer being around Claire than I did anyone else when it came to the matter.

At least she was sweet about her jabs. Never did a bitter word pass her lips about the whole thing. She spoke highly of her son, called him an idiot, and praised me for putting up with so much.

“You should be rewarded,” she’d told me last time I was there. “You should get a medal for dealing with that trainwreck.”

I had laughed so much that my sides ended up hurting. When asked why she considered her son both a triumph and a trainwreck, she’d replied coolly that she had never seen him so upside down about a woman.

That bond was sacred to me. With Claire, of course, it would always be sacred. She was a phenomenal woman with a lot to say, and very little time to express it. It made me feel better to ease her pain, and it seemed to erase some of the irritation left behind by her son. I made sure to visit her early in the morning and later in the afternoon than when Xavier typically showed up.

Bethany helped me time my visits. There had been a couple of close calls when I’d had to sneak out the back door, but the nurse knew just how to get Xavier talking. Last I was there, I’d been stuck in the yard while staring through the living room window, engrossed by her forward flirtations.

Heat bubbled in my solar plexus while my fists curled. “Damn her.”

Sadie widened her eyes. She had been squinting at the ground. “What’s that?”

“Nothing, dear,” I replied gently. “I was just thinking about where I would go if I were a child.”

“He’s a little boy, so he might try to find a place to hide.”

Xavier hopped between us, unfortunately reminding me of the fact that he was there. “Where would you hide?”

He was looking at me while asking Sadie the question.

Odd, but I allowed him to be odd because his son was missing.

Sadie motioned around. “I don’t know. A hole? A trunk? A hole in a trunk?”

I halted. “That’s a brilliant idea.”

Power radiated through me as my wings appeared. I flapped them once, launching into the sky with ease and grace. Below my feet, I heard Sadie swoon with amazement while Xavier tried to downplay my accomplishment.

Flying was second nature to Elderlings. We were equipped to handle any terrain so long as we had our wings and our lifeforce intact. Sunlight provided plenty of lifeforce, but I preferred the moon and all the wondrous things that sprouted to life in the night. Lakes and rivers offered much lifeforce for me to take without feeling guilty.

Worry creased my features. Even as I looked around, I couldn’t stop checking in on Xavier. His aura was utterly daunting at this point, a rush of color practically turning him into a prism. So much color, in fact, blew in every direction that it was impossible to deny his influence.

And the pain—dear Goddess, thepainwas phenomenal.

I had felt it when Leo went missing. I’d felt the lead-up to it, the terror of both parties straining to understand each other. And losing. What a horror it was for Xavier to lose, and for Leo to feel it as well. It should have occurred to me that things would go awry today, but I was full of myself, completely lost in the fact that I didn’t want to be near Xavier.

This price was too high. Since I’d left his side, he had been floundering. And I had to admit I was doing the same. Claire had pointed it out enough times to make me think about it. Yet on the other hand, I was resolute in my promise to never lay eyes on him again.

Until now. Until I experienced his wretched pain.

To lose a child would be the ultimate grief. Never once had I considered what that might feel like until I was faced with the possibility. Though it wasn’t on purpose, I had bonded with Leo as well. He was torn from me when I rejected Xavier, and now he was torn from me again.

Ridiculous as it seemed for me to feel anything at all, the emotions presented themselves, and it inspired me to search for Leo harder. I kept pace with the two on the ground, listening when Xavier grew so nervous that he had to shift into his wolf form just to shake off the extra jitters.

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