We Shall Rise (37 page)

Reysa looked at her daughter who was on the verge of a tantrum. She knew she shouldn’t give in to her, but it was her birthday and this was such a mundane request. Well it should have been mundane, but for Reysa, it felt like a defeat. She was surrendering all the strength and determination she had mustered to fend off this desperate longing for Kaden.

She told herself it was just one dance. The song was half way over anyway so it would just be an uncomfortable two minutes. She could do this. She was strong enough for this. She turned to Kaden and rested her right hand on his shoulder while he pulled her close to his heat with his left hand squeezing her waist tightly. Kaden winked at Tatiana who had grabbed a terrified looking Caleb. Clearly, the boy was not a dancer, but he was smart enough not to argue with a determined Tatiana. Caleb was smarter than most men. He knew when to let the woman win.

Kaden reveled in the feeling of Reysa in his arms again. By the gods he missed holding her, touching her skin. Just like the words of the song, he had burned for her touch. He gently stroked her lower back easing the initial tenseness. Eventually, her shoulders relaxed and she rested her head on his shoulder.

This moment would have been ideal if not for the sudden wetness on his shoulder. He knew she was crying. The last thing he wanted was her sadness. He brushed her hair to the side and whispered in her ear, “I’m so sorry, Reysa. You’ll never know how much I regret what I’ve done.”

She pulled away from him. He could see the struggle in her eyes as her heart debated with her head whether to forgive him or leave him forever. “I can’t do this here,” she said as she ran into the house. Kaden followed but a hand in his chest forced him to step back.

“Get out of my way, birdman!” Kaden demanded. “Unless you want me to turn you into extra crispy fried chicken, you’ll let me go.”

Falcon’s grip did not ease. He quirked his head to the side as if measuring the seriousness of this potential threat. Apparently he was not too worried as he focused his narrow brown eyes on Kaden’s. “She does not want you to follow her. Leave her be.”

“This is none of your business,” Kaden warned.

“Reysa is my business. Your relationship with her has everything to do with me.”

Kaden took a step back as an unwanted understanding washed over him. Falcon’s possessory hold on Reysa earlier, and his protectiveness now left no doubt that he was the friend with benefits Reysa had sought comfort from all these years. Great. First he had to contend with Christian and their bond and now here’s the guy she has been sharing her body with for decades. Another obstacle in an endless stream of hurdles keeping them apart.

“Let him pass, Falcon.” Kaden turned to see Christian standing behind him. “You can’t keep them apart. You’ll just hurt her if you do. If I can accept this, then you should be able to as well. No one loves her more than I.”

Falcon glanced at Christian before stepping aside.

Kaden wanted to challenge that comment, but now was not the time. He hadn’t proven his love for Reysa yet. He was in no position to question Christian. He faced the half-breed lycan and quietly thanked him before racing inside to find Reysa.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to go far. She was standing in parlor room near the door. He knew she must have heard the exchange with Falcon.

She stood there with that challenging look in her eyes as she waited for him to say something. She expected his typical jealous tirade but he would not oblige her. There was no room for jealousy anymore. She was his. He just needed to prove to her that he was hers as well if she would accept him and his many imperfections.

Kaden wanted to turn out the bright lights shining on him like a spotlight. He preferred the darkness where he could confess his secrets, hiding in the blackness. But there could be no hiding this time. She needed to see him—to see the sincerity and love he felt with every breath he took, with every beat of his heart. He would never hide from her again.

“For all my life, I heard that I was just like my father. Everyone who saw me saw him in me. No matter how hard I tried to brush aside those words they damaged me. I believed them. My mother tried to convince me otherwise, but I couldn’t hear her. I just heard the others taunting me and reminding me of my genetic flaws. To some extent I became the man they told me I was destined to be. I became the angry SOB set on a path to hurt anyone and everyone. Poor Julian got the brunt of it, but he wasn’t the only person I hurt.”

Kaden sat down on one of the chairs across from her. His legs felt like titanium weights. He hated opening himself up like this and letting Reysa see him in all his weakened frailty, but there was no other choice. He recalled Lucian’s words and knew that the truth was his only hope with her. Hopefully, she would have enough mercy in her heart to forgive him and take him back.

“I decided a long time ago that my tainted bloodline would die with me. I would never burden a child with this evil. Then I heard you were carrying my child and I let my fear crush me into pieces and I ran away as I always do when a situation is more than I can handle. Part of me believed that you and the child were better off without me. That maybe there was some hope that the child would not be infected with the same maliciousness that my father had, that I have, if it grew up with someone like Christian as a father. To be honest, part of me still believes that, but I’m not my father. I may have some of his darkness, but I’m not him. I could never do the things he did. I could never hurt you the way he hurt my mother, the way he hurt me. I know that with you by my side, with your love, we can overcome anything, even me and my twisted DNA.”

Kaden knelt in front of her, clutching her hands tightly in his. “I’m asking you, begging you to love me more than I deserve. To forgive me for all the pain and disappointment I’ve caused and will likely cause in the future. I promise you that I’ll spend every moment of my life trying to be worthy of you. I can’t tell you that I’ll never hurt you. With my track record, odds are I’ll screw up again, but I won’t run away. I’ll fight for you, I’ll fight for us. And I’ll always love you and cherish you above all. My heart, soul, body and mind. All that I am is yours if you’ll have me. You’re my happiness, my life. You’re my present, my future. There’s no Kaden, if there’s no Reysa by my side.”

Kaden didn’t try to hide the tears that he shed. He would not be ashamed of this emotion, not this time. He kissed her palms gently and strengthened his hold on her hands fearing that she might pull away. He now understood how badly it must have hurt when she opened her heart to him and he so coldly rejected her. That kind of vulnerability did not come easy to either of them, but she had taken the first brave step while he ran like the coward she accused him of being. It would serve him right if she treated him in the same painful manner. He deserved no less.

He knew it was selfish asking her to take such a chance on him when he didn’t know how to be the man she deserved. He would try, but she deserved more than him. There was just no way he could let her go. Even without the bond between them, he would have loved her just as much. She was everything he had ever feared to hope for.

Reysa’s heart was aching as she listened to his words—the words she had longed for him to say. She wanted to believe him, believe in him, but now she was the one who was afraid. Now she finally understood what Christian had been trying to tell her about fear. She had been so angry at first thinking that Christian was defending Kaden’s actions, but after she calmed down she realized that maybe there was more truth to those words than she had wanted to accept. At this moment, there was no doubt about it. Fear was paralyzing her. When everything you want, but never imagined getting, was right there in front of you, it was hard to accept it was real. That it could truly be yours after a lifetime of disappointment.

She would not let fear guide her. Not this time. She knelt in front of him and faced his glassy jade eyes. “I have always accepted you, flaws and all. I love you, Kaden. All of you. There is so much goodness in you, so much more than the darkness you seek to escape. I want to help you see what I see when I look at you. What my daughter sees when she looks at you.” Taking his hand and resting it on her stomach, “what our child will see when he or she looks at you. All you will ever see in our eyes is love for you. Please don’t fight it or us anymore. Let us love you. All we need from you is your love in return.”

“You have it, always.” Kaden cupped her face and kissed her harder than he intended, but the need was too strong for restraint. He finally released her pressing his forehead against hers. “You’ve always had it. I was too afraid to show you. I knew I loved you the moment you dematerialized into my cell. My warrior woman.”

Reysa reached for him this time kissing away his tears. “We mated in the way of the sirens, but not in the way of the vampires. I want to mate with you in every way possible. Will you accept me as your mate, Kaden?”

“I think I was supposed to ask you that question,” Kaden teased.

“Well, what took you so long? I had to take the lead since you weren’t doing it. Someone has to wear the pants in this relationship.”

“You can wear the pants, babe, as long as I get to bite them off,” Kaden eased her backwards resting his body on top of hers.

“We can’t do this now. It’s Tatiana’s party.”

“She’ll understand,” Kaden tried to convince her as he licked her jaw grazing her neck with his teeth.

Reysa was so tempted to stay in his arms and satisfy this craving that had been driving her to madness these last few weeks. “It’s time for her presents and the cake. She may adore you, but not more than she loves getting presents.”

Kaden growled as he rolled off her, already missing her. Considering all of Tatiana’s help, he owed her and making a five-year-old wait for cake and presents was the ultimate torture.

He stood up and helped Reysa to her feet. “We will pick up where we left off, babe.”

“I’m counting on it,” Reysa said as she winked.

Kaden followed to the kitchen to retrieve the cake. He opened the door and almost smacked into his mother. Her violet eyes shining brightly and looking quite guilty. Kaden studied her closely and noticed bits of strawberry in her hair and her blouse was only partly buttoned. He looked past her to a disheveled Lucian who had a spot of whip cream on his cheek.

“Hey, sweetheart. It’s so good to see you,” Olivia greeted.

“Hey, Mom,” Kaden responded with a tone of voice that made it clear he knew what was going on here. “I tried calling you and Lucian earlier but there was no answer. I guess your phones were dead or maybe you were still having lunch.” Kaden plucked a piece of strawberry out of his mother’s hair and motioned to Lucian to wipe his cheek.

Olivia blushed. “Sorry about that. We were just…going back to the party now. Great to see you,” Olivia rushed as she hurried past them with Lucian a step behind her.

Kaden grabbed Lucian’s arm. “Lucian, I…thank you. Thank you for helping me and most importantly, thank you for making her smile again. Thank you for bringing my mother back. I should have said it months ago, but I’m saying it now. I’m glad you found each other despite the mortification you just caused me with this strawberry and cream incident.”

“You’re welcome. I recommend you give the strawberry and cream a try. It’s a particularly savory flavor,” Lucian winked as we walked out the door.

Kaden looked back at Reysa and realized that the only taste he craved was Reysa’s special blend of chocolate mousse with an ample serving of caramel.

III

Tatiana nearly exhausted herself from jumping up and down after opening each present. Her favorite gift was no doubt the handcrafted doll house Kaden had built for her. Everyone marveled at his carpentry skills. Most probably just surprised that a ruffian like him had enough gentleness to create beauty rather than destroying it. Reysa was not among the surprised, having firsthand knowledge of how gentle his hands could be.

After putting most of the gifts in the house, they indulged in a three-layered princess cake that Reysa had made. Kaden was pleasantly surprised to learn about her exceptional baking skills and how much fun they could have in the kitchen together. He grabbed hold of her and found a secluded spot where they could eat their cake in privacy.

The music was blasting again and everyone else was on the dance floor. A perfect distraction, Kaden thought. It was too much of a distraction.

Tatiana and Caleb were playing with her new soccer ball on the other side of the pool. Caleb kicked the ball just past Tatiana who raced to get it. Caleb waited for her return, but she didn’t come back. He could scent her, but something felt wrong. Caleb crept towards where she had run off and saw Tatiana standing next to the ball, staring aimlessly into the woods behind the gate. He followed her eyes, but could not see anything or smell anything unusual. Caleb could not shake the eerie feeling that something was amiss.

He walked over to Tatiana and touched her shoulder, but she continued to stare into the same spot. Caleb looked closely, but all he could see was darkness. Then a pair of cold blue eyes flashed and he jumped back taking Tatiana with him. She continued to stare at those eyes. Caleb tried to shake her and yell her name, but she didn’t respond. He unleashed his tiny claws and dug them into her arm. The pain snapped her out of the haze.

The blue eyes moved closer to them pushing through security gate. It reached for Tatiana until it finally grabbed her. It was a woman with silver hair and hauntingly light blue eyes. The woman reached for Caleb, but he ducked digging his claws into her leg. Another silver haired being grabbed him as he clawed at it to be free. He let out a roar, but the being forced him into silence as he covered Caleb’s mouth with his large pale hand.