Chapter 303
Chapter 303
There was a knock on the door a moment later.
“Tristan?” Athena’s voice came through, softer now. “Can I come in p>
“I want to be alone,” I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended.
“Please,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I was just joking around p>
“I said I want to be alone,” I repeated.
There was silence for a moment and I thought maybe she’d left, but then I heard her voice again and it was different this time,
quieter, almost hurt.
“Are you really going to leave me standing out here with our children p>
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The emphasis on our children hit me like a physical blow and I immediately opened the door.
She was standing there looking up at me with those big eyes and I could see she was actually upset now, not playing around anymore.
I didn’t say anything, just scooped her up in my arms and carried her into the room, using my foot to close the door behind us.
I set her down on the bed but I couldn’t bring myself to look at her, couldn’t shake the fear that was still coursing through me.
“Tristan,” she said softly. “I was joking, everyone knew I was joking except apparently you p>
“It’s not funny,” I said, my voice tight.
“I know it’s not funny to you,” she said. “But it was meant to be light, a joke between friends, I would never actually race while pregnant, you have to know that p>
I sat down on the edge of the bed, my back to her, and felt her hand on my shoulder.
“Talk to me,” she said. “Tell me what you’re really feeling because this seems like it’s about more than just a joke about racing p>
I took a breath and tried to find the words for what I was feeling, for the terror that had gripped me the moment she’d started talking
about racing.
“I’m scared,” I finally admitted. “I’m terrified that I won’t be able to protect you, that something will happen to you or the babies and I’ll be powerless to stop it, that I’ll fail you the way I failed Jess. ”
The room went quiet and I felt Athena move behind me, then her arms were wrapping around me from behind, her cheek pressing
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Chapter 303
against my back.
“Is that what this is really about?” she asked softly. “Jess p>
“I couldn’t protect her,” I said, and the words came out broken. “She was my mate and I couldn’t keep her safe, Daxon killed her and our baby and I wasn’t there, I couldn’t stop it p>
“Tristan, Jess’s death wasn’t your fault,” Athena said firmly. “Daxon killed her, not you, he’s the one who failed her, not you p>
“I should have been there,” I said. “I should have known something was wrong, should have protected her better p>
“You couldn’t have known,” she argued. “Daxon was a monster who hid what he was, even I didn’t know the full extent of what he was capable of until it was too late, you can’t blame yourself for not seeing what he didn’t want anyone to see p>
I turned to look at her and saw tears in her eyes.
“I can’t lose you,” I said, my voice breaking. “I can’t lose you or those babies, I won’t survive it, Athena, I can’t go through that again p>
She moved so she was sitting in front of me, taking my face in her hands and forcing me to look at her.
“Listen to me,” she said, her voice strong despite the tears. “I am not Jess, and Daxon is dead, he can’t hurt us anymore, no one can
hurt us because we won’t let them p>
“But what if,” I started.
“No,” she interrupted. “Let me finish, this pregnancy, these twins, this is the moon goddess giving us back what we lost, you lost Jess and your baby, I lost my baby with Daxon, and now we’re being given two children to heal those wounds, to fill those empty spaces in our
hearts p>
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