Primal Kill - Page 155

He crossed to the banks and pulled off his blood-soaked shirt, welcoming the frigid cold. “I’m done with the past.” He plunged his shirt into the water and it clouded like mud. “I don’t care anymore—about any of them.”

Let her run off with some fucking dog. He hoped they were happy. She deserved everything she got.

“Dane, no one judges a broken heart.”

His heart broke long before today. She just finished it off. Wringing out his shirt, he stood. “They’re not my family. I’ll get over it.”

“What about Juniper? She needs you. She told us so.”

“Look, Juniper has Adriel now, and Adriel hasyou guys. I’ll be fine. I’ll figure out a place to live and start a new life. It’ll be good.”

“What if that new life was in Greece?” Lazarus asked, glancing at his mate.

Dane stilled and Lilias stepped forward. “Juniper will not go back to the farm where Adriel lived. We plan on helping them start over. In Argos. We would like it if you joined them.”

He blinked, unable to process what they were offering. “You want me to live there?”

“We own plenty of land. You could have your own place and the freedom to live your life as you please,” Lazarus explained.

Lilias smiled and took her mate’s hand. “Adriel is our family. We want to be close to her.”

“Not just Adriel, all of you. Families should stay together.”

“What about all thedraugr?—”

“We don’t care that Cerberus was your father. There’s good in you, Dane. We only see the good.”

He lowered his stare, unsure what to do. In one breath, he wanted to reject them, but when he looked up and saw nothing but sincerity in their eyes, his resolve shattered. They didn’t care that he was different or half-mortal. They accepted all of him. Saw him as family.

Throat tight, he nodded, as the pain in his chest slightly retreated. Unable to voice his acceptance, Lazarus read it in his mind thanks to their earlier blood exchange.

“Then it’s settled, son.” Lazarus held out his arm. “I offer you my blood and protection.”

The boulder in his throat crushed his words, but he managed to force his gratitude out. “Thank you.”

A shaky smile crossed Lilias’s lips. “Thankyoufor finding us and giving us a family again.”

CHAPTER 36

Adriel awoke to the sound of cracking trees and the low buzz of insects chirruping. Her brow pinched at the unfamiliar scent of jasmine in the air.

She wiggled her fingers. No pain.

Opening her eyes, her vision was crisp, but her location was completely foreign. A four-poster bed draped in white gossamer. White walls. A mirror. Juniper.

Her heart instantly settled at the sight of her love sleeping peacefully by her side. What was this place?

A vase of pink flowers sat on the bedside table next to a glass of water. “June?” She touched her beautiful face, and her heart fluttered with joy. This wasn’t a dream. “Juniper, wake up.”

Dark lashes twitched, then revealed violet eyes. She smiled and sighed. “Hi.”

“Are you well?”

She shifted, drawing her arm under her head and reaching for Adriel. “I feel good. How do you feel?”

“I feel…perfect.” She glanced over her shoulder and whispered, “I don’t know where we are.”

Juniper hitched herself up on her elbows and chuckled. “We’re at your parents’ house.”