42. Lazarus
Lazarus
The bond didn’t take.
I cannot feel her, I cannot hear her. Not like with Ruth Mary.
She bit me in the same place my bond had been cut from before, and maybe that is part of the divine’s will. Maybe there is something to do with it being in the same place. Or, worse, maybe I truly can’t take another omega. I am punished for life.
My shadow went to her though. She took him inside, and I know the mark on her shoulder is there. I saw it, the silvery scar prominent in the column of her neck. Though it’s hidden behind her hair now.
All of this swirls in my head as I wait to be told we don’t have to be here anymore.
Seeing Clement, calling himself a prophet of God, has me clenching my fist that isn’t glued to Honey’s body. If my shadow wasn’t busy holding her to me, then I would be battling it to keep it from strangling him.
“It’s within our rights to see their mating marks, is it not?” MP St. Pierre crosses his arms, and my stomach drops.
I’ve kept my shadow from healing me. I know if I let it heal, it’ll disappear. Just like the bond, it’ll show how broken this mating is. But will the fresh mark be enough to keep us together? To keep her away from them?
“It is within their legal right.” Chief Winslow lets out an exasperated sigh.
Whose side is he really on?
“That’ll clear this up.” Clement smiles, but it’s sickly looking. His eyes flick over to MP St. Pierre.
Xavier said they were visiting together. This whole scenario feels like a fabrication between MP St. Pierre and Clement. Neither of them is less guilty than the other when it comes to Honey’s treatment.
Proving it, however, would be impossible.
Xavier clears his throat, and Abraham turns to look at him. A whole silent conversation passes between them in small eye movements and twitches of facial expressions.
“My clients were here seeking medical guidance involved with their mating marks.” Abraham starts off strong. “Due to the severity of these accusations and the sensitive subject matter, you need to take this before a judge to get a ruling.”
“In the interim, we’re just supposed to let him, this criminal, take my daughter?” MP St. Pierre gestures to me from shoulder to knee as if my appearance was proof of some ill intent or crime.
“Mr. Bellamy is not a criminal. He has never been charged with or convicted of any crime.” Abraham defends me.
“The law is clear, sorry, Lazarus.” Chief Winslow shakes his head.
“Without proof of a matching mating mark, the omega remains property of the family. No matter how the omega feels about it. Though, you have the legal right to stay with her, given I can see your mark on her neck. Maybe that’s something you and MP St. Pierre can work out. ”
Abraham goes to object, but Chief Winslow isn’t done. “You all can file the proper paperwork, but for now, since this is no longer a missing person’s case, we gotta get to another call.”
The police are barely through the vestibule doors when Clement opens his mouth. “So, Asa, seems like you’re returning after all. Unless you’re willing to forfeit this omega?”
I shake my head with a low growl. “You won’t take her from me.”
Clement smirks. “Do you remember what I promised you if you came back?”
“I’m not the pacifist I used to be.” My voice hums low with a growl. “And if you think about laying even a finger on her, I’ll cut off your whole hand. It only escalates from there.”
“Jerome won’t be able to protect you anymore.” Clement wrings his hands. “Maybe you’d like to stay where you’re more comfortable, with your new . . . club.”
“God have mercy on you, Clement. But it’s not me who needs protection.” When Abraham clears his throat, I cut off a threat that rivaled something Mayhem would say.
Change, wanted or not, expected or otherwise, is evident in me. There was a time I saw Clement as a potential mate, as someone I could confide in, and now all I see is the corruption I feared in the people I loved.
“He goes where she goes. You may have the right to keep her in your custody, for now, but you cannot rid him of access to her.” Abraham clarifies the terms of what is happening, and I put Honey’s hand in mine.
I want to squeeze it tight so she knows I’m keeping her safe, but she beats me to it. Her little fingers squeeze probably as hard as they can against my hand.
“Fine. They can come with us while we get the legal proceedings underway.” MP St. Pierre straightens his tie. “My daughter and I have much catching up to do.”
Honey’s hand stops squeezing for just a second before a whole new wave of tight grip hits.
The need to reassure her irks my nerves on every level, but I am caught between showing a weakness in comforting her and staying strictly menacing toward them. With a gentle flex of my hand, I try to do both.
“I guess it’s back to your accommodations, then.” MP St. Pierre kind of smiles.
Your accommodations sticks in my head. We’re within traveling distance to wherever Clement is staying. The new community, maybe?
There has been so much information in this meeting that I need to get back to Revenant. But simply pulling out my phone and messaging him would set off suspicion.
Xavier, however, already has his phone in hand. And this cause, saving omegas, is just as much his as it is Revenant’s. More in many ways, less in some.