Page 40 of Dragon's Midlife Secret Baby
“You heard all of that?” Griffin cringed. “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, Beck. I was in a bad place. I needed help, and I turned to the wrong person for it. You and Kendrick are the people I should’ve trusted more than anyone, but I saw you as enemies. I know it won’t make any difference, not after everything I’ve done, but I’m truly sorry.”
“I did hear it,” Beck confirmed, “and that’s how I know I can believe you.” He’d heard the frustration and hopelessness in Griffin’s voice when he and Chelsea had snuck into the house. “I’m glad that at least you knew using Corbin was a step too far.”
“That’s a small concession, all things considered,” Griffin said miserably. “I knew about this place out here that Sol had. I heard you telling Kendrick and the others about Corbin being kidnapped, and I left immediately before anyone had the chance to find me. I could’ve pretended I didn’t know and come out here to help, but I was done playing this game. It wasn’t worth the price.”
Griffin gulped and swallowed as he tried to choke back tears. “That’s pretty much all of it. You know the rest. I really am sorry, Beck, from theabsolute bottom of my heart. I don’t expect you to forgive me, though, and you don’t have to worry. When we go back, I’ll get my things from the clanhouse and then I’ll be gone. You won’t ever see me again. None of you will.”
Beck considered this. He stepped forward and sat on the rock next to Griffin, bracing his elbows on his thighs and threading his fingers together between his knees. “Is that really what you want?”
“I don’t see a choice.”
It was starting to get cold. Beck noticed lights coming on in the house as the witches entered. He wondered what they might be doing in there, perhaps checking that they weren’t leaving anything behind that was powerful enough to be used against them by some other mage in the future. It could also be Lucille, wanting to pilfer through Sol’s books. Even with lights on, the house looked cold and lonely with nothing but the sky behind it.
“I know what it feels like to be cut off from everything you know and love,” he said after a minute. “That spell made it so I didn’t remember who I was or where I should be. Even so, I knew that I was missing something very special. I have a deep connection with Chelsea because she’s my mate, but we make other connections in our lives as well.They’re just as crucial to our existence. My mind—or maybe my soul—wouldn’t let me forget everything completely. It was the most miserable thing I’ve ever been through.”
“I’ll never stop being sorry,” Griffin began, but Beck held up a hand.
“Let me finish. It was horrible, and that’s why I don’t want the same for you. What you’re proposing is a life of isolation, away from the people you’ve spent the last couple of hundred years with, away from those who love and care about you. I can understand punishment and discipline, but how can a person ever change and recover in that sort of environment?” he asked.
Griffin’s mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t find any words. There was only pure disbelief on his face. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t have all the answers, either,” Beck acknowledged. “I like to think we can figure something out together. I won’t stop you if you truly want to leave, but I want you to know you don’t have to.”
“Thank you,” Griffin whispered. “I don’t deserve it, but thank you.”
Slapping his hands on his thighs, Beck stood. “You’re welcome. For now, I think it’s about time we all got out of here andwent home.”
The Artemis Eclipse Sisterhood and the Alexander clan converged in the grass not far from where they’d first landed when they’d come to rescue Corbin.
Ewan pointed out over the ocean. “Lilith and I just saw the last of Sol’s groupies. They’ve got a rickety little rowboat. I don’t know if they climbed down the cliffs or what, but they’re leaving. Do you think we should do anything about them?”
Maeve considered this as everyone looked at her for her opinion. “No. They weren’t bold enough to stand next to Sol there at the end and try to defend him from us. Once their master was defeated, they tucked tail and ran. I have a feeling that Sol only taught them enough to make them feel powerful without actually giving them a chance to rival him.”
“That sounds familiar,” Griffin said quietly.
“Let’s all just go home,” Chelsea suggested.
The Alexander clan shifted back into their dragon forms, and Beck watched closely as the witches assembled to get their rides back to the mainland. Though he’d seen plenty of wary glances in Griffin’s direction, the fact that Beck had his cousin at his side must have made a difference. Erin and Jace rejoined Ewan. Kristy, Amanda, and Jamie strode confidently over to Lilith, laughing andchatting with her as they mounted up. Maeve and Lucille, however, chose to ride with Griffin.
That left only Chelsea and Corbin to ride with Beck. “Do you think they’re safe with him?” she asked Beck.
“They’re probably safer than he is. I imagine Griffin is going to get an earful from those two all the way back to Salem.” He could feel that Chelsea was still cutting herself off from him. She hadn’t forgiven Beck yet. There were a lot of hurt feelings between them, and so much had happened. At the very least, she still trusted him enough to carry her and their son back home. He would take what he could get for the moment.
They rose into the air. Beck was grateful that his body healed so quickly, or else he wouldn’t have ever had the energy for this flight. He caught an updraft which brought him out over the clifftops and then circled back over the island. Beck was careful to avoid the area where Sol’s body lay. He wanted to leave all of that behind him.
And as he took in this island, he knew that he wanted to leave all of it behind. Though it may have been a grand vacation home at one time, Sol and his wicked mission of control and abuse had certainly changed that. The man himself would never comeback to hurt another person, but that didn’t feel final enough for him.
Instead of flying up and taking his place alongside Ewan, Lilith, and Griffin, he circled back once more. “There’s something I need to do. Hang on.”
He swooped back down over the house that’d been his prison. Beck had to do very little to call forth his fire. It was already there waiting for him, knowing this needed to be done. He let his flames consume the roof of the main house. As his flight took him over the top of the secondary house, he set it ablaze as well. Even the storage buildings couldn’t escape his wrath. The island itself was just rock and dirt, but anything humans had created there needed to go. Beck let one more blast go to ensure that it would burn until there was nothing left, and then he tipped his wings and flew high above the island.
“Mallow?” Corbin asked.
“I’m sorry, honey.” There was a hint of humor in Chelsea’s voice as she replied. “I don’t have any marshmallows right now. Maybe sometime soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
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