Chapter 29
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Ebony’s voice pulled me from my nap. We had gone swimming for a bit and then settled onto the beach under the cabana. She was on one and I had collapsed on the other. I definitely was out of shape. It was bad. All too easy with the waves lulling me to sleep.
“No, this time it seems to be taking.”
She was quiet again, the person on the other end probably talking.
“I mean, this is the fourth time since coming here. I think we’ve finally found a balance, but I want to do a check-in later. I want to ride this one out as long as I can.”
Slowly, I sat up and looked over at her. “Are you talking to the doctor?”
Her eyes widened, and then she nodded. “I am. If we are going to stay here longer, we need to work out how to get the medication here for both of us.”
I nodded and stretched, my back cracking. She smiled and turned her attention back to the call.
“I think we can work something out within the next couple of days.”
She agreed with something they were saying.
“I know. I have the information. We already covered it. It doesn’t matter.”
Getting up, I walked over to her and kissed her forehead. “I’m grabbing us some drinks.”
“A sparkling water, please!” She smiled up at me.
“With some orange syrup?”
Ebony nodded, and I walked back into the villa. It was quiet, but we’d opened the house completely before stepping out onto the beach. The wind blew through, and it felt fresh. I could breathe fully. Getting the drinks, I walked back over to the cabana.
She had already finished the call and leaned back with her eyes closed. As soon as she heard me, Ebony took the glass from me. I sat on the edge of her chair, taking a sip of my Diet Coke with a splash of whiskey. After a moment of staring down the beach, she touched my arm and pulled me out.
“You okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, just thinking.”
“About?”
“What it would take to hide away here for a long time.”
Laughing, Ebony shook her head. “You’re so silly, Marcus.”
“I’m not. You’re the one who wants to stay. I’m just thinking about the logistics behind that.”
“Don’t worry. We have time. Just relax and enjoy it for now. We will deal with the big stuff later. Right now, it’s just a vacation for you and me.”
Putting my drink on the table, I leaned forward and kissed her. She wasn’t expecting it and struggled to put her drink down before I covered her body completely. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and she deepened the kiss.
“My mate. Take me.”
I hummed, my hand sliding down under her bikini top. “Yes, ma’am.”
She laughed, but it turned into a gasp as I pinched her nipple. Her body arched up into mine, and I took the opportunity to hold her against my front. As I continued, the same pain from earlier came back. With every beat of my heart, it felt like a knife was stabbing into my chest.
Growling, I pushed it down. No, I would not let the terrors tear me from my mate. Not anymore. She was with me and I was with her. She stuck by my side through all of this, and I would not let some stupid pain ruin it.
“Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
Shaking my head, I moved my head down, my lips pressing against her skin on her neck, shoulder and chest. “It’s nothing. I will love my mate. Nothing will stop me.”
“If it becomes too much, tell me. It’s alright. I don’t want you to push yourself.”
“No. I want this, Eb. I’ve wanted you the moment I saw you. We planned a family together. You’re still here despite me being broken. Despite everything. I will, at the very least, love you the way I want.”
She laced her fingers through my hair before taking an almost painful hold. Except that it helped take away from the pain in my heart. Moving her top aside, I kissed her breasts.
“Take me, Marcus. I’m all yours and you’re finally all mine.”
I leaned against the payphone just outside of town.
Sighing, I put a few coins into the slot and dialed the number I had been dreading to call.
Now that Ebony and I were looking into actually buying a villa here, I needed to speak with at least one of my family members.
Dad seemed like the safest, but you never knew with him.
“Hello?” His voice sounded more tired than I remembered.
“Hey, Dad.”
There was a long silence before he spoke again. “Marcus?”
“Yeah.” I turned, leaning against the side of the payphone. “I just wanted to call to check in.”
“Son.”
The way he said it had my hair standing up. I stood up from my lean and I stared into the sidewalk like I was trying to work out what his tone meant. It sounded so…sad.
“Sorry I haven’t checked in. There is a lot going on right now and I needed a break.”
“A break…from…teaching?”
I sighed. “Teaching, losing my dragon, the night terrors. All of it. I’m with Ebony right now. We…we are trying to heal.”
The silence was so long on the other side that I got the notification to put more coins in. I deposited a few more before Dad finally spoke.
“Where are you calling from?”
“We went on vacation in Fiji. We rented out a villa, but I think we might stay a little longer.”
He was doing something on his side; the sound of shuffling or moving papers filled the line for a moment. “Your mother has been worried sick about you, Marcus. You haven’t checked in and we didn’t know where you were.”
“I know. I’m sorry. You guys just…you haven’t been supportive of Ebony and me. It becomes too much. All of you ganging up on us.”
“Right.” I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. “Are you…coming out for your mother’s birthday?”
I blinked, trying to remember when her birthday was. “I could. I would want to bring Ebony, though.”
“That’s fine. Your mother would see that as a present all on its own. It’s far enough away that you would have time to plan for it.”
“I’ll talk to Ebony about it.”
He let out a sigh. “Are you…doing alright?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I had a night terrors the first week I was here, and I was in a lot of pain, but it has eased up now. It’s been nice. I feel like I can finally breathe fully.”
“Well, if you need anything from us, you know where to call. Do you not have your phone?”
I pursed my lips. “I don’t. Ebony has one, but we don’t really use it. She’s shopping right now and I stepped out to the only payphone in town.”
“Alright. Well, can you try to keep in touch? I know it’s been…a while. We miss you, though, son. We miss you a lot. Even if it’s with Ebony. We understand.”
Smiling, I nodded to myself. “Yeah, I’d like that. I miss you guys too. It’s been hard being so estranged from the family for so long.”
“Our door is always open to you. You know that. We will always welcome you with open arms.”
“I know, Dad.”
The issue wasn’t me. It was with Ebony. I looked over at the small grocery store. Ebony stepped out, her hands full of the bags. Her blue sundress moved with the wind, and she had a wide-brimmed hat to shield herself from the sun. Smiling, I waved, and she crossed the street to me.
“I’ll talk to you later. I’ll try to keep up more regular calls and I’ll see about Mom’s birthday. We can talk about it.”
“Thank you. I’ll talk to you later.”
Hanging up the phone, I reached in and grabbed the change. Ebony frowned, not happy that I had called. I told her I would, but she hadn’t really been on board. Taking the bags from her, we walked back to the villa.
“So, how did it go?” Her eyes were boring into the side of my face.
“Fine. Dad sounded relieved that I called? I don’t know. It was weird. There was an emotion in his voice I don’t think I had heard before. He said the family misses me.”
She snorted. “Well, they could have reached out themselves.”
I shrugged. “It seems like the time and space have softened them, at least. I think they realized they would rather be supportive of both of us than not have me at all. Dad invited us to Mom’s birthday.”
Ebony stopped walking, and I took a couple of steps before I turned to her. “I don’t know, Marcus.”
“I would like us to reconcile with them. They are a big part of my life. They always have been. You’re bigger, but I want to see if we can’t work out at least everyone being civil.”
“Yeah, but…”
I shook my head. “We don’t need to decide now. We can talk about more in depth as we get closer.”
“Maybe,” Ebony started walking again, bumping into my side every so often.
The past couple of weeks felt like a blur.
My entire being felt lighter, and I felt like I was finally on the right track mentally.
Physically, Ebony was trying to stuff me like a turkey, and it was showing.
There wasn’t a gym over here, but I tried to do some running in the mornings before Ebony woke up.
Lately, though, she’d wake up with me and pull me back into bed.
If I didn’t know any better, it was like she was trying to sabotage my workout, but I didn’t mind.
As long as she loved me, that’s all I cared about.
Reaching out, I wrapped my arm around her and tucked her to my side.
She didn’t quite fit, and it was awkward, but we laughed.
“Did you want to take a look at that other villa today?”
“We could. I didn’t really have any other plans than making dinner.”
Nodding, she slipped out from under my arm and raced ahead, turning around. “I think it would be fun! Especially if we are going to stay for a while.”
“Did you talk to your parents?”
Her nose wrinkled. “Yes.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “What is it now?”
“Grandkids. It’s always grandkids.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course.”
“I get it, but like, my sister has been pumping out kids. I don’t know why they are so focused on me.”
Reaching her, I kissed her nose. “Because ours will be far cuter.”
“I guess. Still. They could back off a little.” A blush covered her face. “We are trying.”
Barking out a laugh, I nodded. “That we are. Speaking of, did you hear from the doctor? They have the new drug ready, right?”
“Almost. We will need to go back to the States to administer it, though.”
“How many doses?”
She frowned. “Five doses over five days.”
I kissed her lips this time. “Don’t worry. If this helps, I’ll do it for us. For our future.”
“For our future.” Ebony chewed on the words before smiling up at me. “You’re right. It’s finally time. I think…I think this one will work.”
“You think?”
Ebony nodded. “I do. I think it’s going to be amazing. We can truly start our family together. Come back and stay for a while until something forces us to reveal ourselves. Maybe I can take online classes and you can teach online? Or even make this our home?”
“Maybe. For now, though, we need to start with the steps.”
“Right.”
Going back to the States, to my family, felt wrong.
After everything that had happened, I knew I would not get the same welcome as before.
Especially as a broken Alpha-10. Perhaps a decade spent here would be to our benefit.
We had time. Hundreds of years of it. We could figure it out along the way.