Chapter Twenty-Six

Zach

The next morning, Zach was up early. He’d spent most of the night thinking about Irene, and where he’d gone wrong; how he did not realize she was right under his nose. But most of all, he thought about how to go from here.

He couldn’t just barge into the office, tell her she’s his destined, and pledge then and there. For one, she was an outsider. She wouldn’t let something like that just happen. She would want to be able to decide for herself.

Second, their worlds were way too different. And on top of that, he had the feeling she was a strong woman who didn’t take boss bullshit just like that.

If he didn’t handle this well, he could lose her before he even had her. He really needed to think this through.

When he arrived at the hall for breakfast, he saw Ethan with his destined already sitting at the table. “Good morning, Boss.” Ethan looked at him. “Had a rough night? You look like crap, Zach.”

“Morning,” Zach grumbled as he cut a baguette in half. “Didn’t sleep much.”

“Still feeling your back?” Ethan asked.

“Nah, that was alright. Did a lot of thinking. My mind wouldn’t stop thinking.”

“How come?”

“Seriously, don’t interrogate me. I’m not in the mood. Do you know how Julian is doing?”

“Yes. He still hasn’t woken up, and his situation is deteriorating. He is in a critical state. There’s not much they can do; his body has to fight this.” Ethan looked concerned.

“Are they keeping him in a coma?”

“No, but they will do that if he doesn’t get any better.”

“I will make sure to pay him a visit later.”

“You should. Maybe it’ll give him the strength he needs to fight for his life.”

“Or it will give him the courage to give up.”

Ethan’s head jolted up to look at him with anger. “Are you serious right now?”

“I am only stating a fact, Ethan. He is heavily injured. The longer it takes for him to wake up and heal, the slimmer his chances that he will fully return to his healthy self.

“You know Julian. He is a soldier; it’s what he lives for. What do you think will happen if he isn’t able to function the way he was before?

“You have to be honest with yourself, Daniel. He’ll never be the same. He’ll never be happy again. He’ll be depressed. He will want to die.”

Ethan looked at Zach with wide eyes. His sadness was obvious. “You’re right, I know. But still.”

“I know it’s hard. I don’t know who could ever replace him. No one can. Julian leaves big shoes to fill.”

Lara walked by with a big pot of coffee.

“Lara, please pour me some,” Zach said.

She took his cup and poured in the steamy black liquid. “Do you need anything else, Boss?”

“No, just coffee. Thank you, Lara.”

When Lara was out of hearing range, Ethan looked at Zach. “How is Lara doing, by the way? Is she adjusting well?”

“I think she is doing fine. The things she has to do for me, she does well. For the rest, I don’t know, you have to ask Ron about that. He follows up with the chores and stuff.”

“Hmm, I will. Because she has asked to leave the family grounds at night a lot recently. Like remarkably often.” A frown appeared on Ethan’s face.

“That’s strange. Do you think she has a destined outside the family or something?” Zach wiped his mouth with his napkin. He was done eating.

“She told me she lost her destined years ago, so I don’t think so.” Ethan shrugged.

“Then why does she want to leave the family grounds that often?” Now Zach frowned too.

“You tell me. I have no idea,” Ethan finished his breakfast as well.

“Hmm, strange. Something smells fishy. We need to sort this out. What is she hiding?”

They both got up from their chairs.

“I’d like to continue our conversation. Do you mind walking with me to my office?”

“I’ll come with you.” Ethan kissed Joanna goodbye, and he and Zach walked out and went up the stairs to Zach’s office. Once there, they dropped down into the chairs.

“Usually, I would ask Julian to look into it when he is on his rounds at the border,” Zach continued. “But that’s out of the question right now.”

“Maybe you could get a temporary replacement?”

Zach thought about that suggestion. “That’s not a bad idea, actually. There’s still a threat lurking just outside our borders, so we need someone to keep the soldiers in line.”

“What about Jackson? He was looking for a purpose within the family, wasn’t he? You can immediately show him that you trust him. He’ll feel important.”

Zach frowned. “I don’t know. He’s so immature lately.”

“Maybe this will give him a push in the right direction? He’ll need to learn to be responsible and all.”

“I’ll think about it.” Zach got up and walked behind his desk. He had a lot of paperwork to do. He sat back down on his big leather chair.

“There’s actually something else I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Shoot.” Zach looked up for a moment, then moved around some stacks of paper to make some space.

“I was thinking about reintroducing family training. And not only for males, but also for females. Everyone should be able to defend themselves. Especially with the threats lately.”

“You should make that proposition at a meeting with the council.” Zach leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk. “It’s a major decision that involves everyone in this family. That’s not only up to me to decide.”

Ethan sighed. “But that will take way too long. Before we get them all together, the intruders will waltz over us.”

“I understand, and I support you fully, but still, it’s not just up to me, you know. The council represents the people in our family—they do have a say.”

Ethan sighed again and got up from his chair. “Alright then, I’ll make sure that we’ll have a meeting soon.”

When Zach was done working through the piles of paperwork that were on his desk, he got up and left the compound. It was time to visit Julian.

Once at Julian’s bed, he was shocked by what he saw. Julian’s face was bruised, wires ran from his chest to machines, and tubes ran from his arm to IV bags. He even had a tube for oxygen under his nose.

This really looked bad. Zach sat down on the chair next to Julian’s bed and thought about his conversation with Ethan earlier. His face saddened.

He wouldn’t give up on his best soldier, but he couldn’t help but feel that Julian would never be alright again.

He couldn’t help but feel responsible, even though the intruders were responsible for Julian’s situation. He should have protected him better one way or another.

Then and there, Zach decided. No one else would get hurt again. He would do everything to protect the people here. He’d start by appointing someone who’d take over Julian’s position as long as needed.

That person would have to investigate Lara. What she was doing smelled fishy, and it needed to be sorted out. Then he would ask Adrian to contact his boss to get him here.

He needed to talk to the boss himself to discuss what was going on with the intruders and join teams—it would make them stronger. He wouldn’t wait for the next attack—no, he would find them and destroy them.

He got up. That’s what he was going to do. “I’ll make this right, Julian,” he said and touched the soldier’s hand briefly. “I’ll make sure your sacrifice was not for nothing. I promise.”

Then he turned and left, taking big strides. There was a lot of work to do.