Chapter 151: Punching Bag

ARIEL

After some time, we come to a compromise.

Alex will join me to escort the warriors to Crescent Moon.

It's not ideal for both of us to leave the Royal Pack at the same time, but Dom and Helena will stand in for us, need be.

We spend the drive to Crescent Moon in silence, not wanting to discuss last night’s disagreement while there are others in the car with us.

I'm not entirely sure how to handle Alex’s sudden over-protectiveness without causing a fight.

We finally arrive at Crescent Moon in the late afternoon on Friday.

Alpha Blake and Natalia wait for us in front of the pack house, with the Crescent warriors standing off to the side.

I climb out of the car and rush to give Natalia a hug.

“Everything alright, sis?” Natalia asks, frowning. “I can’t remember the last time you were this eager to give me a hug.”

“Yeah, I'll tell you later,” I say. “Just needed to get away from Alex.”

Alex greets Alpha Blake and presents the twenty-five warriors that will be helping them out for the next month.

I scan the crowd that has gathered in front of the pack house, but can’t see my dad anywhere.

“Where’s Dad?” I ask Natalia.

“Probably in the gym again,” she says, shaking her head. “He spends most of the day there and only comes home for dinner before he leaves for patrol.”

“So, he trains all day and then patrols at night? That doesn’t sound healthy, Natalia...”

“I’ve tried talking to him about it, but he won’t listen. He says I don’t understand what it entails to be a warrior. But I remember his routine growing up and he never spent this much time away from our family.”

“I’ll try to get through to him,” I promise her.

“Alpha Blake has invited us to dinner,” Alex says, joining us again.

“Just the two of us or the whole family?” I ask him.

“Just us, Ari.”

~Lovely.~

ALEX

Dinner with Blake and Carol was rather stilted.

Conversation revolved around the warriors and Peter.

Blake shares Ariel’s worry that her father is over-straining himself.

Blake oversees the training of the Crescent warriors but can’t participate as he used to, after an injury that left him with a severe limp.

“Are we going to talk about the vibe between us or just continue to ignore it?” I ask Ariel as we make our way to her old house.

“I honestly don’t know what to say, Alex. I can understand where your worry is coming from but what I can’t understand is why you suddenly want to limit where I go for my own ‘protection’.”

“I just want you safe. That's all I've ever wanted for my mate. But then I lost Olivia and I’ve almost lost you too many times to count. I guess everything is finally catching up with me and I'm struggling to deal with it...” I confess, hating to admit that I'm struggling.

“We’ve both lost so much these last few years, but I truly believed Selene when she said we would finally have peace.”

“We’ve been screwed over by the goddesses before, so excuse me for being a bit skeptical.”

“Careful there, love. You know what happened the last time I wrote off Selene...”

“Sorry,” I mumble.

We reach her house and things feel more settled between us…closer to normal but not completely there yet.

Everyone is spread out in the living room, going through the remaining boxes. Natalia shows Chuck an album filled with childhood photos while Peter keeps Xavi entertained with some old and well-loved toys.

Ariel flips open the first album she finds and sees that it’s filled with photos of her parents’ mating ceremony.

Peter smiles sadly at the sight of it.

“I knew we weren’t fated mates, but I truly loved Dianne. We had so much fun when we were younger, she was so different back then... I don’t know why it changed when we found out she was pregnant with you, Ariel. I thought I knew her, but I guess I didn’t,” Peter says.

It's painfully obvious that Ariel and Natalia have no idea what to say to him, choosing instead to reminisce about the better memories.

***

“What if I turn out to be a bad mom?” Ariel whispers through the darkness, as we lie together in bed that night.

“Got something to tell me, my sunflower?” I ask, running a hand down her body and leaving it to rest on her stomach.

“No,” Ariel says. “I’m just being stupid. Ignore me.”

“Your worries are never stupid, love. You may have had a bad example, but we’ll have more help than we know what to do with when the time comes.”

“When did you get so wise,” Ariel jokes..

“I just have faith in you, Ariel. I have faith in us.”

ARIEL

We wake up early the next morning to the smell of frying bacon.

Alex is out of bed quickly, never one to let anything keep him from his beloved bacon.

I follow shortly after and find Natalia threatening Alex with the spatula as he tries to steal a few strips straight out of the pan.

“Where’s dad?” I ask when I notice he’s the only one missing.

“Three guesses and the first two don’t count,” Natalia says with a roll of her eyes.

“Save two plates for us, please. I'm going to go get him. Enough is enough.”

I run out before anyone can stop me, not at all concerned that I'm still in my pajamas.

The training center is empty except for Dad. Sure enough, he’s beating the shit out of a punching bag.

This seems sadly familiar...

“You’re missing out on some great breakfast, Dad.”

I walk behind the bag when he doesn’t reply and it’s clear that he’s completely focused on his punches and probably doesn’t even realize I'm there.

If he isn’t going to listen, then I might have to try something else... I step in between the bag and his fists, catching them and holding on. He blinks slowly and I see his eyes focus on me.

“You’re missing breakfast, Dad,” I tell him again, hoping he’ll realize for himself that he can’t keep going on this way.

“Move, little warrior. I’m busy.”

He pulls his hands back and turns away from me, walking towards another bag. I intercept him again.

“Throwing yourself into fighting is not healthy, Dad! You just end up hurting yourself.”

“The pain is a welcome relief to the numbness I feel inside every fucking day!” Dad explodes.

Never in my life have I seen him come undone like this.

“Is that what you wanted to hear?” he continues. “That I'm a mess, without any idea how to move on without your mother next to me? That the only time I don’t feel completely and utterly useless is when I'm in here training or out patrolling? Why can’t you just leave me alone!?”

I wrap my arms around him tightly.

“I understand, Dad,” I say. “Believe me when I say that I ~know~ that numbness and confusion. I know what it’s like to have to relearn how to live. And I will never leave you alone to deal with this pain because you have always been there for me. I sure as hell am not abandoning you now.”

For only the second time in my life, I see my dad cry.

It breaks my heart, too.