"You know that I love you, right?" He asked, resting our hands back down onto the bed and opening his eyes. A sort of grim determination had settled there, making every single
one of my nerves stand on end.
Before I could open my mouth to answer, he spoke again, his voice growing stronger by the second and yet still keeping that sweet, calming quality it had to it. "You know that I
would do whatever it takes to keep you safe, no matter the cost."
"Ash, what is this about?" I asked, a nervous edge creeping into my voice. I didn't like the way he was looking at me, with inevitable sadness. It reminded me too much of the look
he'd had when he left six months ago.
"MaryLynnette, before I met you I was a monster. That isn't even an exaggeration, I wish it was, but it isn't. I was this plague that ruined lives, damaging and destroying
everything I touched, and Poppy and James can back me up on that. And do you know what the worst part was? I knew I was doing it. I lived for the knowledge that I could hurt
people, no matter who they were, revelled in the fact that I was powerful enough to butcher their lives, taking from them everything they loved and crushing it. And I didn't want to
change. I liked the person I was."
"Ash," I tried to interrupt, not catching on to where he was taking this. He carried on as if I hadn't said anything, a faraway look in his eyes. "But then I met you, and everything
changed. It was like for my entire life I was living in darkness, and then there you were, this shining beacon of light showing me the way home. And I cannot tell you how thankful I
am for that. You were the first person to ever call me out on my shit, forced me to realise that what I was doing was not okay. At first I hated you for it, but then I realised that it
wasn't you I hated at all, but myself. I loathed what I'd become."
'Ash," I tried again, my voice wobbling for a second. "You were the first person whose opinion I actually cared about, and you seemed to be the only person who expected me to be
better than myself. Not even my sisters believed that I could change, but you did. And that made me want to be a better person, you made want to live up to your expectations, not
because I wanted to impress you, but because it felt right. You inspire me in everything you do, every act, every word, every glance. You have no idea how amazing you are, or
how brightly you burn. And for that reason, I can't be selfish with you."
"Ash, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's going on." It wasn't the words themselves that kindled the spark of fear inside, but the finality in which he said them. Thankfully this
time, my words were enough to capture his attention, his eyes focusing in on mine before he lowered them back down to where our hands were still joined.
"You know that Thierry wants to send away the wild powers, for their own safety," he began, not looking up at me, his long golden lashes shielding his eyes from my view. I nodded my head hesitantly, not liking where the conversation seemed to be going. "Well, we've decided that it's also not safe for you to stay here either. We think it would best if you went
with the wild powers to the safe house."
At last his eyes flicked up to mine in order to gage my reaction. I just sat there stunned, opening my mouth and then closing it again like a fish. Had I heard him right? Was he
sending me away, right when we'd just been reunited?
"Mare?" he asked nervously after several minutes of silence had passed. I finally built up the willpower to say something, but my voice still only came out as barely more than a
whisper. "Please tell me you're kidding," I said, meeting his gaze. "That this is one of those jokes you sometimes play on Rowan that everyone else always finds hilarious but I
never get." The words came out weaker and more desperate than I'd intended them to, but I couldn't help it as panic began to set in.
From the sad look on his face, along with the way he kept silent, told me that he wasn't kidding. But then again, I never really believed he had been. I shook my head, wishing more than anything that he would take his words back, swallow them back down so that we could carry on being together. How could I leave him again, knowing the torment I'd
gone through last time? I couldn't. I wouldn't.
Abruptly making up my mind, I stood up, ignoring the wave of dizziness that passed over me. Surprise registered on Ash's face at my sudden movement. "No," I said simply, my
voice hard and strong. Ash may have thought that he owed me something, or that this was the only way he could protect me, but this wasn't his decision to make. I'd already set
plans into action with Rashel, and I'd be damned if he was going to just screw them up.
"No," I repeated, beginning to find my feet. "You can't force me to go. The safest place for me is here, by your side, surrounded by the people I care about." Ash sighed, rubbing a
hand over his eyes, clearly expecting this line of argument. "Mare," he began, looking up to where I now towered over him, but whatever he was going to say was lost as I mowed
on.
"Do you really think we can just run from this? Do you think that by sitting in a house however many miles away, I'll just be safe? Ash, I know you're scared, I am too, but this is
not the solution." I'd grabbed his hands again, holding them between us, showing him that we would always be stronger together. Indecision warred across his features but after a
couple of moments of thought he shook his head, squeezing my hands in his.
He sighed before speaking, picking his words carefully. "Whoever this witch is, she's already proven that she can get to us here. She plucked Jez out from right beneath our noses; I
won't let the same happen to you. The safe house is the best and only option. I'm sorry, but you're going."
That was when my anger finally flared up, overpowering any feelings of sadness or confusion. This decision involved me, and Ash had no right to make it for me. "No, Ash, I'm not,
because after everything we have been through I refuse to just hide. Together we can handle whatever this witch throws at us, I don't know how, but we will. And don't you dare tell me where I'll be the safest. You have absolutely no right to make these sort of decisions for me, to pack me up and send me away." He opened his mouth to protest, but I was just
getting started. "My family is here! My entire life is here! You cannot just expect me to leave it all behind at the drop of a hat just because it might be safer somewhere else. Did
you even think this through? Did you even consider the effect this would have on other people besides the two of us?"
"Of course I did, but you know what? None of that matters to me," he yelled, matching the level of volume I'd slowly risen to. Jumping to his feet, I saw that his face held an angry
flush that was probably mirrored on mine. "The only thing I care about is you being safe."
At any other moment I might have found his comment sweet and heartwarming, but right now I was too riled up. "But this isn't just about me, Ash! I can't just uproot my entire life
and leave everyone else to patch up the hole I've left behind. Don't you think I'll be missed if I suddenly just drop off the face of the earth? Christ, did you think that my Dad just
wouldn't notice that his daughter went on a trip to Vegas and never came home? And what about Claudine, and school, did you think that they wouldn't care if I didn't return? And
how do you expect Mark to go back to Briar Creek without me, left to explain to everyone I know that actually his sister isn't with him and that he doesn't know where the hell I
am?!"
"MaryLynnette," Ash said whilst I gasped trying to get my breath back. At least he had the decency to look a tiny bit ashamed. "I didn't think."
"Didn't think what?" I cried, cutting him off mid sentence. "Didn't think that people would ask questions about the disappearance of a teenage girl? Didn't think that maybe my da
d
and Claudine would be worried sick, and might actually call the police? Or were you seriously assuming that Mark could explain it all away? Does he even know what you're
planning? Do the sisters?" I couldn't imagine that Rowan, Kestrel or Jade would be fine with this. They knew that I could never leave it all behind, that I could never leave my
brother behind. He'd already lost his mother; he wasn't about to lose his sister too.
A guilty look passed across Ash's face as I asked the last couple of questions, his eyes dropping to the floor, avoiding my angry glare. Realisation hit me like a bucket of icecold
water, and I covered my mouth with my hands as I felt my eyes widen in shock. "You weren't going to tell them, were you?" I asked, my level of volume going down considerably
in disbelief.
Ash squeezed his eyes shut, looking as if he wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him whole. I knew I was right without him having to answer me. His
silence spoke legions.
I let out a low humourless laugh that made my soulmate flinch. "You were just going to pack me up, send me off and hope they wouldn't notice until it was already too late." I
laughed again, but this time I had to fight to keep it from turning into a sob. The back of my eyes began to burn with the sting of tears, despite how determined I was that I wasn't
going to cry.
I had to stare at the light on the ceiling in order to force back the tears before I could speak again. "I think they might have actually killed you, you know? Rowan might have
eventually been talked around into forgiving you some day. Jade would probably have given you the silent treatment, only after trying to rip your head off first of course. But
Kestrel, she might have actually tried to kill you." My voice was eerily calm as I spoke in such away that had even me shivering. No matter what Ash did, or how many mistakes he made, I would never want to see him abandoned by his family, but just for the tiniest of seconds, the scenario I'd just created pleased me.
"If you think Kestrel would give a damn, you're deluded," he replied after a long time with a dark chuckle. I wasn't surprised at what he'd said, as I'd always known that him and
Kestrel didn't get on, never had done. But the Kestrel he saw and the Kestrel I saw were two totally different people.
"She would," I defended her, knowing without a doubt that my words were true. "She'd do it because I'm family. She'd do it for the ones she loves." I knew it was a low blow and
regretted it the moment the words left my mouth. Reminding him that I was more of a family to his sisters that he was, was a cheap shot and we both knew it. Sure his sisters all
loved him, but when I'd first met them they'd all been terrified of him, and whilst that fear had evaporated, he hadn't exactly been around to build up a loving relationship with
them. But that was more my fault than his.
"I'm sorry," I said guiltily, looking down at the carpet beneath my feat. I didn't know though whether I was apologising for what I'd said, or because it was true.
"It's okay," he said, his voice taking on a softness that made me look up. What I saw wasn't the anger I'd been expecting, but a gentle affection that made my heart want to break.
He opened his arms out towards me and I collapsed into them, burying my face in his shoulder. I don't why, but after all the yelling I'd done, I needed the comfort.
He placed a warm hand on the back of my head, his other arm wrapping around my waist. "Are we okay?" I asked, the sound muffled against his tshirt. Tilting my head, I looked
up at him, meeting his stormy blue eyes that were just now settling down to the colour of a calm blue sea. A small smile twisted up the corners of his mouth. "We're okay," he said,
and I knew we would be. We'd fought, just as every couple does, but we'd make it through. We still had our differences, and things were far from being settled, but for right now,
everything was okay.
"Can you please just think about it, though? Maybe you'll change your mind," he said, pressing his face into my hair so that his warm breath tickled my scalp. "Will you?" I asked
quietly, knowing that no matter how long I thought about this decision, the answer would remain the same.
There was a long pause before I felt the movement of him shaking his head: no. "There's nothing in this world that I want more than for you to be safe, and for as long as you're
here, you never will be. I don't know what if I'd do if I lost you. Thierry has set up the best security money can buy and then some, with this safe house. Whichever way you look at
it, it's the best option."
"Then I won't change my mind either," I said, pressing my face closer against his chest so that he wouldn't see the tears glistening in my eyes. I knew it was stupid, but I couldn't
help but feel hurt that he wanted me to leave, no matter how good his intentions were.
From somewhere downstairs I could hear some kind of commotion, not the yelling I'd heard earlier but something was definitely going on down there. With his vampire hearing, Ash
knew exactly what all the fuss was about, and I felt his heartbeat pick up a notch. "The cars just arrived," he said morosely.
I took a step back from him but kept my arms looped around him, unwilling to break the contact just yet. "I'm not going," I said firmly, seeing his face fall. "I'm sorry but I won't
leave everything behind."
"Please," he said, his voice more desperate than I'd ever heard it, causing my heart to break just a little bit. I shook my head, biting my lip to keep it from wobbling. I didn't want
to upset him, or worry him, but me leaving wasn't going to happen.
"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," he pleaded. I just kept shaking my head, taking another step back and unlooping my arms. "I I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can
say that will make me do this. I love you, Ash and I'd do anything for you, but not this," I stumbled out, wrapping my arms around myself for fear that I may actually break apart
then and there. A piece of me seemed to die inside at the way his body completely deflated at my words, a look of utter defeat on his face.
For a moment I had thought I'd won, but there was no triumph, not with this. It turned out I was wrong anyway. He looked up towards me for a second, his headtilting forward in a
small nod. Confusion filled me at the gesture, what did it mean? I realised too late that his eyes were actually not looking towards me at all, but to the person behind me.
"I love you too," Ash said in a wretched voice that was full of guilt and sadness and anger. "Which is why I have to do this." His eyes were glistening with tears, making fear run
down my spine. But before I could ask any questions or try to comfort him in any way, I felt a sharp sting in my neck.
It took a long time before I would actually let them take her. MaryLynnette's words were just spinning around and around in my head, all the reasons she wanted to stay. And I was
sending her off anyway.
I knew she'd hate me when she woke up, and I was ready for the abuse I'd receive down the soul mate link. But no matter how hard this was, or how much of a bad person doing
this made me feel like, I knew it would pay off in the long run. MaryLynnette may hate me for the rest of her life, but at least she'd actually be alive. That was all I could ask for.
I don't know how Jez had acquired the needle and drug that had knocked Mare out, but I suspected that she'd stolen it from Winnie who had no shortage of magical remedies. Jez
had been all too willing to help, and I think it was because now she was tasked with keeping MaryLynnette safe, she felt as if she had a purpose for going to the safe house. So in
the end everything had worked out for the best.
I'd waited until the last possible second to let them load her up into the car, which actually turned out to be a minivan with stickers on the side reading 'Sa
l's scuba diving company'.
Her limp form reminded me too much of the time I'd rescued her from the back of the club, and another bout of anxiety rushed through me. Seeing my look, Jez had looked me
square in the eyes with a set look of determination. "I'll look after her, Ash. I promise." I trusted Jez, and I trusted her word, so eventually I let go of Mare's hand, letting them
close the door.
I watched as the minivan slowly drove down the long driveway, the headlights getting gradually smaller until they disappeared through the gate. But even when I could no longer
see the van, I continued to look out the window, watching as the sky darkened shade by shade.
Barely ten minutes had passed from the time it took to haul MaryLynnette downstairs to now, and luckily we hadn't been spotted by anyone. Thierry had made sure the send off
was small, not wanting to attract the attention of anyone who could possibly be watching the house. I was glad he'd made that decision, as Mare's words about Kestrel were still
clear in my mind.
"Hey." I spun around at the voice, my nerves making me jumpy. Mark stood a couple of feet away, hands in his pockets and a concerned look on his face. It suddenly hit me how much he and MaryLynnette looked alike, their bright blue eyes, and their dark brown hair was just the start of the resemblances.
Mark frowned at my sudden movement, and I wondered if he could sense my guilt. My heart pounded in my chest as my tongue turned to cardboard. I'd thought I'd have more time
to prepare an explanation. "Hey," I choked out, taking a step towards him.
"Uh, do you know where Mare is?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. "I said I'd check in on her earlier, but she's not in her room."
"Check in on her?" I asked warily. Why would Mark need to check in on her? She seemed fine earlier, albeit a little angry. "Yeah," Mark replied, unaware on my internal turmoil.
"She wasn't feeling too good. I was worried about her so I told her I'd check in later, you know, to se if she was feeling better." Mark trailed off at my look of panic.
"You didn't think to tell me any of this?" I half yelled in alarm. If there was something wrong with Mare, I could have possibly just separated her from any form of help. I didn't
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