Chapter 0062
(Lily POV)
“Brady, you cannot be serious! Do you really want me to meet with James?!?!”
“I do not WANT you to meet with James, Lily. But… I think that you should.”
“Why? What possible reason could there be for me to meet with him? That chapter of my life is closed. I
do not want to see James or anyone else from that pack ever again!”
Brady looked at me sympathetically. 1 know that you do not want to see him, Lily. I cannot blame you for that; I would feel the same way if I were in your shoes. But he is feeling desperate. If you do not agree to meet with him, he is going to try to find you anyway. And that is going to bring attention that we do not want right now. It is unsafe.”
“Unsafe how?”
Brady took a deep breath, obviously debating his next sentence. “Please, just trust me on this, Lily.”
I groaned. I trust Brady and Dr. Hyder completely, but I do not like that they keep secrets from me. Why I am in danger and who I am in danger from are chief amongst the secrets.
“Look, Lily. Consider this an opportunity to get some closure.”
“I do not need closure, Brady.”
Brady gently cupped my right cheek with his hand. “Are you sure about that? I saw how upset you got when my dad said his name.”
I pulled away from Brady and went to look out the window. “Just because it still hurts does not mean that we have unfinished business. I rejected him; he accepted; I rejected the pack; I left… somehow. It is over and done.”
Brady shook his head sadly. “It does not work that way, Lily. Until you mark and mate someone else, the bond between the two of you is still there. It is damaged and badly broken, but not gone.”
“So if I find some other wolf to mark and mate me, can I skip the meeting?” I asked, only half–kidding.
“You are not going to mark and mate anyone else,” Brady growled. I glanced at him over my shoulder. From the look on his face, I think we were both surprised by the amount of possessiveness in his tone.
Brady seemed to take a moment to collect himself.
“Look… even if there was not a bond between the two of you, from what my father told me, James would one of the only ones able to help him get the answers that he needs. Do not do it for him; do it for the
pack members. You have told me before that there are at least a few good wolves there; I know that you
still care about them.”
“It is actually perfect. We can go to the island of Kauai. Not that many people live there, and tourists are largely limited to just a few areas of the island. The airport is really tiny, and so it will be easy to control security in and out. We will fly in and out of the island on a private plane, so it will be impossible for anyone to follow us without us knowing about it. Plus, no one will think twice about James or us being there; they will just assume we are going for a vacation.”
“How is Lily doing with the idea?”
“She is not happy. She cried,// She trusts us, but she is worried about seeing James. She also does not understand why we will not tell her about the dangers that she is facing. At some point, we are going to have to tell her.”
“Yes, but not yet.”
I sighed. As much as Lily wants to know what the dangers are, I desperately want to tell her. My father, however, has remained adamant that we not overwhelm her with it until she is ready.
“I told her that we could treat the trip as a vacation. That is how the possibility of Hawaii came up. But, really, Dad… I do think it is perfect for what we need. There are not any packs on the island, either, so it is the definition of neutral territory.”
“Fine. I will call James and make the arrangements. In the meantime, while I am using the office, why don’t you go ahead and see if Lily and Rose will go on a run with you.”
“In wolf form?” I ask, surprised.
“Yes. She needs to re–build her strength. The exercise will help with that. I also think that it is time that
she see that she is not the only one.”
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