Chapter 15 Hektor
Hektor
“Thank you again for your most generous offer, sir,” Hektor said as Zara’s father ushered him into a guest room.
“Please, Hektor, like we said earlier, you can call me Roberto and Zara’s mom Pam.”
“As you wish, Roberto.”
The name sounded foreign on his tongue, as was the concept of calling Zara’s father by his given name.
Then again, the very idea of coming to the Upperworld itself was outlandish, something he’d never in his life thought would ever happen.
But here he was.
A beat of awkward silence passed before Hektor cleared his throat. “Your den, er, home is beautiful, but the way.”
“Thank you for the compliments, but it’s all my wife’s work, I’m afraid,” he said. “Some people think I was the visionary behind it because I’m the artist, but no, this was all Pam. I was happy to defer to her preferences.”
“Of course.” Drakkon were very much the same once they mated. The home was the mate’s domain.
“I hope this room is adequate?” Roberto asked as he gestured around them.
Hektor glanced around the sumptuously-furnished room.
While he had no eye for design, he could tell all the furnishings and fixtures, from the large bed filled with pillows to the plush rug under his feet, were well-made and expensive.
The main feature of the room, however, had to be the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that took up an entire section of the room and showed off the vast blue skies outside like it was a painting.
“It is more than just adequate.” He padded toward the windows and gazed out into the seemingly endless blue horizon. “It is much more than I need, much better than I deserved.”
“What do you mean?”
“I do not deserve your hospitality.” Hektor massaged his temple with his claws.
“Now, Hektor—”
“Drekhar, I have made a mess of things. I don’t even know why you allowed me to stay here.”
“There’s no need for that.”
Despite the shame in his heart, Hektor forced himself to meet Roberto’s gaze. “Are you not angry that I broke your daughter’s heart? Do you not want to challenge me or chase me away?”
Roberto silently strode over to him, not saying anything at first, and just gazed out of the window.
However, there was a thoughtful quality to Roberto’s silence, and sure enough, the weight of the words he was about to utter would forever be etched in Hektor’s mind.
“You would think that, but I don’t believe in coddling my children.” He turned to face Hektor. “Sure, the urge to protect them from everything that could hurt them is there, but that’s not realistic; it’s also not good for their growth as people.”
True, Hektor agreed silently.
Roberto continued, lips pursing. “And I don’t know, I have this feeling about you. That you’re sincere and genuine.”
“Perhaps you also have some magical talent.”
“Me?”
“The geryon bloodline comes from your side. And you can see through Aphrodite’s glamor.”
Roberto chuckled. “I suppose it’s not impossible. Some people have told me I have good instincts, and they’ve never let me down.”
A knock at the door interrupted before Hektor could reply.
“Hello, hello,” Pam greeted as she stuck her head inside. “May I come in?”
“Of course, mada—er, Pam. It is your home, after all. And a beautiful one, as I was telling your mate.”
“Thank you, Hektor.” It was obvious where Zara and Liora got their looks, as Pam was a slightly older version of them with lighter hair and eyes.
Eyes that now turned serious as she drew closer to him.
“Now,” Pam began. “Tell me, what’s your plan to win my daughter back?”
Roberto chuckled. “You must excuse my wife, she doesn’t like to waste time and goes straight to the point and does not waste time. It’s one of the reasons why she’s the CEO of Santa Fe’s most successful real estate company.”
“And why you love me,” she added, her expression turning soft for just her mate. “Well, Hektor?”
Hektor was glad to dispense with the formalities and pleasantries.
“To be honest, I did not prepare a plan as I wasn’t even sure I would be able to come here.
All I know is that hurting your daughter is the biggest mistake of my life and if she were to forgive me and agree to be my mate, I will spend every minute of every day making it up to her.
I promise you, until my dying breath, Zara’s well-being and happiness will be my priority. ”
“My, my,” Roberto began. “You are, as the kids today say, extra.” He clapped him on the back. “I like it. I knew my instincts were correct.”
“Words are good. Knowing your mistakes are good.” Pam harrumphed. “But, you still need a plan. Zara’s not just going to listen to you because you realized you were wrong. Your words have already hurt her once.”
“I wish I knew what to do.” He blew out a breath. “How would you do it, here, on the Upperworld?”
“I mean it can’t be much different for you in Vale Crossing, right?” Roberto said. “Love is love. It’s universal.”
“You need to take action,” Pam added. “And do something that shows her you are serious and no one else matters. I mean, if this was a normal situation, meaning normal for you back home, what would you do?”
Hektor thought for a moment, searching for words to explain.
“First, you must understand, these are not normal circumstances. A Drakkon would not have hurt a female he was courting.” It would be something he would always regret for the rest of his life.
“If Zara were a human female from Vale Crossing and we were already in the later stages of our mating ritual, I would complete the Final Tasks.”
Pam’s eyebrows drew together. “The Final Tasks?”
“Yes. They are the tasks Drakkon must do to prove himself worthy of his mate.” If Lord Eros hadn’t meddled that day, Hektor would have reached the stage where he would perform the Final Tasks for Elea—
“That’s it,” he breathed, clarity washing over him like a wave.
Pam cocked her head to the side. “What’s ‘it’?”
“I know what I must do.”
He didn’t do the Final Tasks for Eleanora.
And so, he would do it for Zara.
It would be something that would just be hers alone.
Something that proved he loved her above all else.
But how to begin?
“Tell me, Pam, Roberto, where is the nearest enchanted forest?”
“I beg your pardon?” Roberto sputtered out. “Enchanted forest?”
“Yes. I need a phoenix.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have phoenixes in the Upperworld,” Roberto said with a chuckle. “However, we do have something here called zoos.”
“Zoos?”
“It’s a place where they have all kinds of animals in one place. Do you think that will do?”
“Hmm.” He rubbed at his chin with his claws. “I suppose it might, but I won’t know until I see it.”
“Alright, then.” Roberto stood up. “I’ll drive.”
Clang!
Hektor winced as the sound of metal crashing on metal reverberated across the tiny cell.
Roberto, who sat beside him on the cold concrete bench, was about to open his mouth to speak, but Hektor held up a hand to stop him.
“Roberto, first, allow me to apologize for causing us to be in this situation. This is not only deeply humiliating, but also distressing. I’m sorry for the shame it brings on you and your mate.”
To his complete and utter surprise, Roberto let out a laugh. “What, you think I’ve never seen the inside of a jail cell? This isn’t my first rodeo.”
“I do not know of this rodeo you speak of, but do you mean to say you have been incarcerated before?”
He sounded rather proud when he said, “I didn’t go to federal prison or anything.
Minor stuff, mostly bar fights or football rioting, things you get in trouble with when you’re a kid.
Got locked up for a couple of hours until my mamá or one of my friends bailed me out. We’ll get a misdemeanor at best.”
“You are not angry with me?”
“No, because I should have known better. You’re the foreigner here, after all. When I first came to this country, I did many things wrong.” He chuckled. “Although I never got arrested for climbing into the zoo’s aviary and chasing down the birds.”
Hektor’s heart sank.
I’m supposed to mend things with Zara and I only made it worse.
Getting Zara’s father thrown into prison certainly would not help his case.
“Roberto Chura! Hektor Jones!” came the guard’s booming voice as he approached the thick metal bars. His face was like granite, eyes steely as his gaze flickered over them.
Hektor waited, his gut twisting into knots at what was to come.
Then he uttered the words that Hektor would never have expected.
“You’re free to go.” With a flick of his hand, the key strapped to his side slid into the hole and the bars swung open.
“We are being released?” Hektor asked, confused.
“I guess so.” Roberto got to his feet. “C’mon.”
“But—”
“Let’s not question the big mean police officer, Hektor,” he urged, pulling him to his feet. “Just smile and walk away.”
Shrugging, he followed Roberto out of the cell, walking behind him as they made their way out toward the main room.
However, when he saw what, or rather who, was waiting for them, Hektor wished they had stayed inside the jail.
Zara stood right by the doorway, hands on her hips, her face a mask of fury directed straight at him.
“Hey, mija, how—oomph!” Roberto staggered back in surprise as Zara tackled him in a hug.
“Papá!” Her arms wound around him like a snake. “Are you okay? Did anyone hurt you?”
“What? No, mija.” He pulled away from her. “I’m fine. We were inside the cell for five minutes. The ride to the station from the zoo and the booking process took much longer.”
“So, you’re fine?”
“Not a scratch.”
“Good.” Her head snapped toward Hektor. “How could you?”
His insides withered, and perhaps for the first time in his life, he felt true fear. “Zara, I can explain—”
“Mom’s at the zoo right now, fixing everything. Thank the gods my mom’s an excellent negotiator because she convinced them not to press charges against you which is why you guys were released.”
“Your mother can do anything,” Roberto said proudly.
“I must thank her,” Hektor said. “How did she manage to secure our freedom?”