Orionâs POV~
We have walked every inch of this mall! My little mate looks exhausted.. I turned and asked the group if they wanted to grab dinner in town..since it was after 5 already â¦everyone agreed! We headed to this little roadhouse steak place..not fancy at all! They let their customers throw peanut shells on the floors!!
We were seated and orders taken in good time and that alone..impressed me. Renata saw people dropping their peanut husks on the floor and she looked at us âWhy are they doing that? That needs to stop! Itâs not fair to the servers. Have to work double time to clean that! Iâm going to say something!â And I look desperately at Aaron..and he reaches over and pats her hand saying âItâs part of the ambience hereâ¦management encourages itâ and she mumbles âwellâ¦thatâs just stupid!â Crisis avoided!
The steaks arrived and they were melt in your mouth good! It was such a great time! Reconnecting with my brothers..Renata is getting along with Melody and Beccaâ¦judging by the giggles. I couldnât stop the smile on my face. Everything I had ever been told was a lie. Everything I was told I would never haveâ¦I have nowâ¦And more!
A man started to pass our tableâ¦then stopped to turn back..and I watch as my little mate slipped from beside meâ¦under the table..and crawled up under Brianâs hoodie. And he just wrapped his arm around her and whispered âquiet â as the man reached the table.
I looked him up and downâ¦âWhat do you want?â âIs that any way to greet your brother?â he asked..I sneered âNo! I greet my brothers with manhugs and forearm presses! Feel free to ask them..theyâre right thereâ Then he acts like itâs old home week and itâs time to catch upâ¦he asks âWhy havenât you called our dad? Heâs been trying to get ahold of you for two years!â I laughed and replied âI call MY dad once a weekâ¦without fail. He worries â¦.otherwise!â He scoffed âAlways a prick! Why are you here thenâ¦if not to see him?â I shrugged and said âMy dad was ill. I came to see him! Why are You here!? Itâs an awful long way from homeâ He smiled weirdly and said âDad and I have a mutual interest in something and are working to resolve it!â I said âLook Robertâ¦I am not here to see your fatherâ¦or any of your brothers. I am enjoying a quiet time with my family so step away from our tableâ¦and go on about your business!â And he left..and itâs raining!
Brian pulls his hoodie up and releases Renataâ¦he wipes her face and kisses the top of her head. He said âLetâs get her home! We need to figure this out! Sooner than later!â And he handed my little fairy to me and I made a mad dash for the car. Once we were seated, I straddled my lap with her legs and kissed her face, all over. I looked at her with a question in my eyes but she shook her head so I just cradled her to me. Soon, she was asleep. Abraham remarked the rain had stopped and I answered with âsheâs asleepâ and everyone had an Ahh! moment!
We made it home in less than an hour and we all hurried into the conference room. Charles was waitingâ¦.he asked âWhat happened?â I said âI really donât know. Robert stopped at our table at the restaurant..but Renata was hiddenâ¦she crawled under the table and literally climbed into Brian. Robert asked why I hadnât contacted our father. I explained I call My father every week. Then it was just a bunch of nonsenseâ¦trying to act all tough..throw his weight around. But something about him scared Renataâ¦really scared her and I wonât allow anyone to do that!â
We hear a very low voice say âheâs Lukeâ I said âno babyâ¦his name is Robert and he is Eldenâs fourth son. Heâs alpha to a pack in upstate New Yorkâ¦â She shook her headâ¦over and overâ¦âWhere did I escape from? What did I tell you I remember? What about his scar??â And I sat there dumbfounded..in shockâ¦and then it dawned on meâ¦..âOh Goddess. Baby..please donât hate me. I donât claim him at all. I am so fucking sorry!â I looked at everybody at that table and said âThat manâs name is Robert LUCAS Demeter! AND WE WanT HIM DEAD!â Aaron looks at Abraham âYepâ¦still scary as fuck!â
Charles says âI think itâs time to tell us a story son!â And I beganâ¦âfrom the time I found her and subsequently, lost her. I searched every day..for two years. In all the time I searched..Elden called me..almost every day..almost like he knew what I was doing. Nearly 2 years ago..Renata was abducted by a man named Luke. He beat..whipped..burned and stabbed her daily. Every day was a fresh hell. A serving girl helped her escape and she ran all the way to Cedar Springs..where I found her again almost two weeks ago. She is my true mate! She even has a birthmark that matches the one on Heracles head. She says it glows on a full moonâ
Charles sat straight up in his chairâ¦he asked âCan I see it?â And Renada pulled her shirt to the side and showed himâ¦. He gasped and said âLet me tell you a story now. 32 years agoâ¦I went to school for the first time. I was homeschooled my whole life⦠and my father decided I needed interaction with other young men my age. I met one such young man. He was such a wholesome person..good naturedâ¦kindhearted.. we pulled pranks together..skipped school together. We were hiding in the library one day â¦we had set the principalâs office on fireâ¦here nor there.. We were bored and started browsing book titles.. He found one that read âMyths and Legends of the Three Fatesâ¦the Moirae. We read that book..three times..front to backâ¦comparing notes on our interpretationâ¦like high school girls do over smutty romances⦠Then, one day..the book was gone. Just disappeared. It was such an old bookâ¦the librarian was so distraught. They fired her for it. That boy..my friendâ¦was Elden Demeter. He changed that day..the day the book went missing. He became obsessed. He was crazed that these legends were real⦠He set out to find and kill the fate decreed mates. To prevent that much power to be achieved by their mating. I thought it was all hogwash. But apparently, Iâm looking at itâ
I jumped up and started pacingâ¦I am going to destroy him! I sat and pulling Renata into my lap and breathing her in. Not moving my face I said âAbraham! I want you to see if thereâs any other copy of that bookâ¦anywhere in the world. We will fly to read it..I donât care where it is! Brianâ¦hack Eldenâs security. Aaron..call 300 of our best warriors. We need them here!â I looked over at my dadâ¦âIâm going to destroy them allâ¦if I find out that is why Renata was abducted..tortured..if itâs as simple as an obsession about some legend..and he actively kept her from meâ¦I will burn them to the ground!â Dad nodded and said â Not without us by your side!â
Brian looks up laughing..âno firewallsâ¦no spyware to monitor. Either he is supremely stupidâ¦or an expert strategist. Doesnât matter. I have encrypted this hack.. so wellâ¦that they will never know weâre watching! Iâm in!â
He connects his laptop to the huge screen TV and we all start listening. Elden was yelling at Robertâ¦telling him how stupid he was! Then Robert said âDo you think he knows about the girl?â Elden mutters âIâm surrounded by idiots! Of Course..he knows about the girl! Heâs searched for two years now!â âNo dad! I mean..do you think heâs found her?â Robert asked. Elden slapped him and said âWe havenât even found her yet! He certainly hasnât!â Robert sneered âWell..when he does..and he finds out you ordered her taken..He will come for you!â Elden barked back âI ordered her takenâ¦I didnât order her tortured! He will kill you, Nimrod!â Robert screamed âI had to have her consent Daddd! I couldnât mark her without it or we would both dieââ and Elden said âThe legend wouldnât be coming true..if you had marked her! At least, you would have gotten one thing right!â
I saidâ¦.âI want to know how long heâs known Renata was my mate! That fucker tried to force mate her to Robert! I need information NOW