Bearing Armen - Book Three

by Brenna Lyons

  “But...he’s my grandson,” he pleaded.

  “And he’s only alive now, because Alyssa chose it. When I learned of Tom’s crimes, she was given the choice of aborting.”

  Tim stared at him, his skin going a sickly gray color.

  “She chose to carry him. She chose it, believing he’d be taken from her somehow. Give Alyssa this. It’s right.” Corwyn didn’t wait for his response. Something like this wouldn’t come easily. He stood and left with a nod to Brandon.

  * * * *

  Daniel strode through the doors to El Oso Oro, feeling on top of the world. He’d had a successful hunt, a hot shower, and a meal, but that wasn’t the lion’s share of his elation.

  Corwyn had called earlier, letting him know that the matter of Tim Armen had been settled. The Armens had been informed of Tom’s crimes against Alyssa, and they didn’t argue her position.

  Speaking of the lady, she looked up, smiling weakly. She set her tray on the bar, then hoisted herself onto a stool.

  The bar was empty and the work nearly done. From the looks of things, Jessica had closing. That was good; Daniel would hate to make a scene by insisting Alyssa leave with him to rest.

  He planted a kiss on her forehead, narrowly stopping himself from laughing out loud. “Ready to go?” he asked.

  “Oh, boy, yeah.”

  Daniel helped her down, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leading her to the door.

  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Was there any trouble?”

  “About?”

  She darkened.

  “No, and there won’t be.”

  Alyssa stopped five feet from his car, turning to him. “What do you mean?”

  “The Lords Hunter and Armen have been informed of Tom’s crimes. Bear also filled in his family. No one will forcibly remove you from Hunter range...ever.”

  She took two more steps toward the car, fisting her hands in her shirt. “Until he’s fifteen, you mean.”

  “That remains to be seen.” It was the one thing Armen hadn’t agreed to...yet. He hoped they’d be reasonable about it, but Daniel doubted König and the Council of Lords would allow Armen custody, even at fifteen.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Bear has requested that your son be permitted to train and serve Hunter. I can’t make any promises, but it’s likely that—”

  The rest was knocked out of him when Alyssa dove into his arms, a sob echoing against the buildings.

  “It’s okay,” he soothed her. Daniel laid a kiss in her hair, rocking from side to side slightly.

  Alyssa nodded, her grip easing and her breathing slowing. She backed away, revealing a single track of tears.

  Daniel stroked it away on his fingertips. “I promised to protect you.”

  He laid a kiss over the streak, and Alyssa turned her mouth to his, trembling. It was a solemn kiss, a vow, his oath unspoken.

  When it ended, Daniel looked toward his car, freezing at the sight of Tim Armen. Tom’s father hesitated, then nodded and turned away, moving silently toward the alley.

  “Is something wrong?” Alyssa asked. She turned to look a heartbeat after Tim turned the corner and disappeared from view.

  “Nothing,” he assured her. “Nothing at all.”

  Chapter Forty-one

  April 13, 2050

  Alyssa laughed heartily, setting a beer on the bar in front of Corwyn. “You are all nuts,” she accused.

  He smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  She smoothed Daniel’s button-down shirt over her son, then rubbed the ache in her lower back.

  Corwyn’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe Jessica should relieve you for a while,” he mused.

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I can—”

  Alyssa stopped speaking at the look on Corwyn’s face. It made her blood run cold. She took a step back, watching his hand tighten around the beer, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. The glass shattered, and beer rained down over the bar. He was little more than a breathing statue, his face cold and eyes hard.

  But he wasn’t looking at her. He didn’t appear to be looking at anything in particular.

  She glanced from one Warrior to another, noting the rising tension in sick disbelief, dizzy, her stomach rolling. “No,” she pleaded. “Not again.”

  Corwyn’s eyes snapped to her, and he stood, shaking his head. “No. It’s not like that, Alyssa.”

  “It is,” she insisted, forcing back near-hysteria. Visions of Daniel... No, don’t go there!

  “No one is dead, except a beast. No one is dying,” he reasoned in a whisper across the bar. “It’s nothing—”

  “I’ve seen ‘nothing serious’ and I’ve seen... This isn’t a scratch that requires a dozen stitches. Is it?”

  He ground his teeth, a sure sign that he’d like to lie to her. “No. It’s not fatal, but it’s not minor, either,” he admitted. “But, no one—”

  “Is it Daniel?” The question was out before she could stop herself. Alyssa didn’t want the answer to that; she was terrified of what answer she might get. She clapped her hand over her mouth, shaking her head as if to plead with him to disregard it.

  Corwyn pulled out his cell phone and started dialing, seemingly pained.

  “Alyssa?” Jessica asked. She pushed Alyssa’s hair back from her forehead. “What is it?”

  “Daniel,” Corwyn grumbled. “Are you free?”

  Alyssa held her breath, hardly daring to trust that it was really Daniel on the other end, well enough to talk, maybe without a scratch on him.

  “What’s going on? You’re shaking like a leaf.”

  Several Warriors started to speak, but Corwyn motioned them to silence.

  “That can wait. I need you at El Oso.”

  “Alyssa?” Jessica called again. “You’re scaring me, hon.”

  “The highest priority.

  “No. Nothing like that.

  “You’re wasting time. Just get in the damned car and leave him to Charlie.

  “Yes, you can do that. I’m ordering you to.

  “Not now, Daniel.

  “Okay. See you in a few.”

  He disconnected and raised the phone to her, then dropped it in his jacket pocket.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jessica demanded.

  Alyssa didn’t answer. She realized that she still had her hand pressed to her mouth and forced it down, fisting it in Daniel’s shirt, staring at the door, her heart pounding and her head following suit.

  He’s okay. Corwyn said he’s okay, and no matter what Tom did, Königs don’t make empty promises.

  Corwyn appeared at her side, his hands closing on her shoulders and turning her toward the pass-through. “Come sit down, Alyssa,” he whispered, guiding her out to a stool. “Ice water, please, Jessica.”

  Alyssa looked back toward the door, straining her neck to keep it in her line of sight, bobbing her head to see around the wall of concerned Warriors. Corwyn lifted her onto a bar stool, and Jessica pressed a glass into her hand.

  “Now, what the hell—”

  Corwyn pulled her a few feet away from Alyssa, dropping his voice slightly. “One of the Warriors got hurt...Cole.”

  “And?”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “Oh!” She wrapped her arms around Alyssa. “He’s okay, baby. You’ll see. Drink the water and relax. He’s just fine.”

  Alyssa managed a mouthful. Her stomach clenched on that, threatening to bring it and dinner back up. She settled the glass on the beer-splattered bar, giving up on the thought of more.

  No one spoke. Jessica served up drinks to Brad, who took on the part of barmaid with surprising ease, though few customers remained at the tables. Corwyn stood at her side, looking every inch the prince he was.

  The door opened, and Alyssa looked around, closing her eyes to the sight of Daniel crossing the room. He was alive and seemingly uninjured.

  “Thanks for coming out,” Corwyn stated.
<
br />   “Alyssa?” Daniel touched her cheek.

  She buried her face in his chest, too exhausted to do more than sob.

  “I’ll take her home.”

  * * * *

  Daniel glanced at Alyssa, then turned his attention back to the road. She’d given in to sleep within a few minutes of settling into his car, curling in on herself in the passenger seat.

  Gods, she’d scared the shit out of him! When Corwyn called and ordered him to leave a downed Warrior to someone else and high-tail it to the bar, Daniel had been sure there was some problem with Alyssa, that she’d collapsed or been hurt. Bear’s reassurances had only calmed him until the answers had stopped flowing. The drive to El Oso Oro had been nerve wracking, but feeding elders couldn’t have driven him there faster.

  And then he’d seen her. Daniel hadn’t questioned why Bear had called him in. Alyssa had been pale, jittery, a bundle of raw nerves and little more. She knew Warriors well enough, it seemed, to guess that someone was down.

  “It must have been a living nightmare for her,” he breathed. “A repeat of Tom.”

  His hands fisted on the wheel. Daniel wasn’t Tom. Corwyn Lord Hunter, Bear’s great-grandfather, had been reported as saying sealing printing with the right woman made a Warrior determined to survive the night for her alone. That was printing as it should be, printing as Daniel was experiencing it. He was faster, more alert... He’d do anything to come back to Alyssa.

  At her house, he parked, retrieved the key from his pocket, and carried her inside. Alyssa woke as he locked the door behind them, stiffening on the curve of his arm so that he had to shift abruptly to hold onto her. Her breathing caught at the move.

  “What—” he started to ask.

  “Let me down,” she whispered hoarsely.

  “It’s me, Alyssa...Daniel.” Was she thinking about Tom now? He certainly didn’t want her to be.

  “I...I know.” She didn’t meet his eyes.

  Daniel crossed to the couch and put her down, confused by her withdrawl. Had Cole’s injury shaken her that much? She liked Cole, but they weren’t that close. Or maybe... “It’s okay,” he soothed her. “I’m okay.”

  “This time. What about next time?”

  He floundered, at a loss to give her assurances. Chances were, he would die at a beast’s hand someday. He knew it, and she knew it. Anything else he said would be a lie. Finally, he settled on the only assurance he could give her.

  “I love you.”

  Alyssa didn’t answer.

  “I will always do my best to come back to you.” That was all he could offer, all any Warrior could.

  Tears pooled in her eyes. “Like Tom did?”

  Daniel fought the urge to scream in fury. “I’m not Tom, and Tom’s best was pretty shitty...in every conceivable department.”

  She didn’t seem to know what to say to that. The tears escaped, pinking her pale face.

  Daniel sighed. “You’re tired. I shouldn’t...shouldn’t snap at you that way. Maybe we should discuss this tomorrow.”

  “You’ll still be a Warrior tomorrow,” she managed. “You can’t stop being a Warrior.”

  “Did you expect me to?”

  Alyssa closed her eyes, laying her head back. Her voice was thick in near-sleep. “Being a Warrior means someone bringing me a blade...tomorrow or next week or next year.”

  Daniel’s heart ached. “My best isn’t enough,” he choked. It’s never going to be enough, because of Tom. Damn him for this! He could hardly force himself to ask the question that needed asked. “Do you want me to leave?”

  For a handful of heartbeats, he was sure she wasn’t going to answer him.

  “Yes.”

  He stood, taking one last look at her. Daniel marched to the door, hesitating with the key in his hand.

  I can’t stop being a Warrior.

  And, you can’t accept a Warrior after that bastard, Tom. I have no right to stay here. I have no right to hurt you again.

  The laws of sanction stated it clearly and repeatedly. Nearly everything was the lady’s choice. There was no force and no convincing them—not to bed, not to sealing printing, not to children. The fact that Tom had done all of that had ruined Alyssa for any decent Warrior.

  Do you want me to leave?

  She’d said ‘yes’ to that. As always, her choice was law. Daniel placed the key on the table and let himself out quietly.

  He was a block away, before he gave in to the urge to scream out loud. Alyssa was the only thing in his life that mattered, and he was losing her thanks to the poorest excuse for a Warrior to walk the Earth since Veriel had gone beast. If Tom was still alive, Daniel would kill him with his bare hands.

  * * * *

  Corwyn groaned at the sight of Daniel heading across the manor foyer, red-faced, his Blutjagd burning merrily. He’d been afraid of this. There was only one thing to do now. He intercepted Daniel and prepared for the argument to come.

  “I’m not in the mood, Bear,” he growled, his hands fisting.

  Oh, hell! He’s further gone than I realized. That would complicate things. “What are you doing?”

  “Your mother and sister know everything. Get on the cell phone and call them. Ask them how screwed I am, all because I was born to this shit.”

  Brandon came from upstairs at a run, seemingly ready to take his older son down.

  Corwyn waved him off. He didn’t need anyone’s protection, and he had to take Daniel head-on. It was the only way. “So, you’re giving up on her? She has one bad night, and you’re—”

  “She told me to leave.”

  He winced at that. “Did she tell you she wouldn’t marry you?”

  “She told me she didn’t want to get handed another blade. Not tomorrow. Not next week or month or year.” His voice rose steadily and his rage with it. “I’m a Warrior. Someday...” He swallowed hard, probably a scream of loss.

  “Someday a beast will take you.”

  Daniel nodded, a tense jerk of his head.

  “She’s upset, Daniel. Alyssa loves you; she’ll reconsider when she calms down.”

  He ground his teeth, shaking his head.

  Brandon pushed a hand through his hair, pained because his son was suffering, no doubt.

  It was time to lay it out. “You love her. You’d do anything for her.”

  “Which is why I will never hurt her. If someone offering her the blade...” He looked away, suddenly weary. “It’s her choice. You know that.”

  “I know that choices made in anger or fear aren’t choices.”

  Daniel started to protest, and Corwyn cut him off cleanly.

  “People change their minds once they think things through. Scott—”

  “Anecdotes aren’t going to cut it,” he shouted.

  “Scott couldn’t break printing, you know. My mother believes it was because Kates never chose to leave him.”

  “Alyssa chose.”

  “No. Alyssa is running scared.”

  “And what am I supposed to do to change that?” he snapped.

  “Nothing.”

  “Then what the hell are you doing this for? Let me go to the cabin and...” His face screwed up, and he swallowed again, definitely a scream of loss this time. “Damn you!”

  “You don’t want to do that,” Corwyn stated confidently.

  “Of course, I don’t, but it’s not my choice.”

  Corwyn glanced at Brandon, taking his calculating expression to mean that he’d caught up, at least. “Your son doesn’t listen worth a damn. You know that, don’t you?”

  Brandon nodded wearily.

  “Oh, this makes sense to you?” Daniel shouted at his father.

  “Yes,” Brandon answered, “but I’m thinking with the right head.”

  Corwyn motioned to Daniel, inviting Brandon to give it a try.

  The lord took a deep breath. “Give her time to make a calm, rational decision. What if... Just consider this.”

  Daniel looked at the ceiling, seeming
ly seeking patience.

  “Don’t make me take you to trial.”

  “As you wish,” he grumbled.

  “What if you go to the cabin and get over this—”

  “That’s the general plan.”

  “But, what if she does want you? What will it do to Alyssa, if she comes to her senses, and you’re not there for her, as you promised you would be? What if breaking printing means you can’t be there for her ever again? What if it kills that part of you?”

  Daniel’s expression shifted from pain to horror and back again. Now, he was thinking. “But, what happens next time someone gets hurt? Next time someone gets killed? If she’s not sure, and I do commit to her...”

  Corwyn forced his hands not to fist. If he made a fist, he wouldn’t be able to stop until Daniel was unconscious. At least. “I think you need trial with me,” he warned.

  Brandon nodded. “Count me in.”

  “There won’t be enough left for you.”

  “Then I get him first.”

  “It is your range and your son,” Corwyn conceded.

  “Maybe I should have done this sooner.”

  Corwyn shrugged.

  Daniel paled, stammering out something that made no sense.

  Brandon took an aggressive step toward his son, his ‘lord face’ firmly in place. “Either you’re serious about printing, and you’re willing to give her that chance...”

  Corwyn took over there. “Or you’re not, and you need to slink off to that cabin like a kicked dog before you hurt her any more. But, if she’s willing to chance everything on your sorry hide after Tom, you’re no cousin of mine if you won’t do the same for her.”

  Daniel took several deep breaths, regaining some semblance of calm. He nodded. “I won’t rush her,” he vowed.

  Brandon sighed, releasing the tension in his shoulders. “Then we’ll help you survive it however we can.”

  Chapter Forty-two

  April 14, 2050

  Alyssa groaned, her muscles protesting movement. Realization that she’d slept on the couch came abruptly, at about the time she tried to roll over and landed on her knees on the floor, emitting a squeak of surprise.