Page 70 of The Secret of Pain

She eyes my ring and waves her hands, grabbing for mine. "It was a gift."

She eyes the ring on my index finger. I'm just glad the other men in my life haven't paid any attention to it. "Is that iridium? Oh my freaking fates, is this from Kain?"

She gasps as her gaze whips up to meet mine and I nod. "Girl, I need me a Dracul King—this is beautiful." She fans her face, making me laugh more.

"I mean, you can't have him, he's mine." I stick my tongue out at her and she laughs right back at me.

"Territorial already, I see," she says, and I sigh.

"Honestly, I don't know. When I'm here, like this, no not really. But when I'm with him, with any of them, I don't even really want to test the theory."

"I can imagine. But getting real, if Creek knew once, maybe he'd be more open to helping you than you think? And Colt is more open-minded than people realize too," she says, and her skin almost glows at his name.

"What on earth does that mean?" I ask. "I'm not the only one who has been keeping secrets."

"It doesn't mean much." She says. "Honestly, I don't know what any of it is, but when things make more sense, I swear I'll explain."

"Just not in too much detail." I laugh and she rolls her eyes.

"With the amount of dick in your future, I can keep that to myself. Where are all of your many men anyway?"

"No idea. Roman left begrudgingly after he carried me here."

"He carried you here? Oh damn." She practically swoons, but I continue.

"Kain is holed up somewhere, said he'd come for me when it was safe, and Creek… Well he's probably off with my brothers somewhere up to Fates only knows what."

"Honestly, I don't know whether to be jealous of you or feel sorry for you." She smiles sadly. "Whatever you choose, someone is likely to get hurt, and I know that's the last thing you want. Just follow your heart, Remy. It's never steered you wrong yet. Jack being the exception of course."

"Jack was…" I take a breath. "Jack would have been good for me if I was human. If I was human, my family probably wouldn't have disliked him as much either. Things would have been easier, that's for sure. And yet, as much as I want to throttle past Remy, I can't find it in myself to regret my actions in my previous lives. My heart is so full. I just wish Mom were here. She'd know what to do, what to say."

Fallon nods at my words.

"Yeah, your mom would have been on board, and on your side to the end." She smiles sadly at me. "You could speak to my mom? She's always felt the same as you, that love is love regardless of your faction. She hates the racism and bigoted nature of our kinds. I'm pretty sure she plays with the other factions as a big fuck you to those who look down their nose sometimes. It’s just the way she is. It’s why I was always surprised that she and your dad worked together so well, but I guess because she was so close to your mom, it makes sense." She shrugs and I shake my head.

"Thanks, but I don't think even Marie would be able to help me out of the mess I seem to have created for myself. One advantage to the swell of Lycans and Dracul, plus everything with my dad, is that people seem to have forgotten about my Leviathan mark." I shrug, trying to see the silver linings where I can.

"Small wins." She smiles.

"I've just tried to keep it covered as much as I can. I think it’s stopped growing now, but I don't understand the symbols intertwined with it."

"Maybe ask one of your lovers. Creek obviously doesn't know much, otherwise he would have said, but one of the others might." She shrugs and my eyes widen. I hadn't thought of that.

"Fallon, you're a genius."

"Oh, girl, I know, people just underestimate me at every turn." She winks at me and finishes her glass. "Right, I better head back, Mom will be waiting up for me. You'd think I was twelve, not twenty." She rolls her eyes and stands. "If you need me, I'm here. For anything. Even facing off against your family.”

"Thank you, Fal." I hug her tight. "You're the best."

"Don't you forget it," she says with a wink before releasing me. "You lock this door behind me. You might have a harem of protectors out there, but there's also way too many beasties out there that you seem to be able to piss off or attract without even trying."

"I will. You going to be okay getting home?"

"Yeah, I ordered an Uber. It'll be here any minute."

"Okay, stay safe, Fallon. Call me if you need me."

"Ditto, girl. Ditto."

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