Rissa didn’t flinch as he ranted on. She stared straight ahead at the middle of his forehead, as his hot breath brushed the bangs of her blond hair. She remained still, but her blood was boiling, and her fangs were about ready to punch through. The sound that came from her lips was a hiss, low and soft
"A change. That would be different. You making a change instead of me. Your point is very clear, master. This is a game. Your whole life with me has been a game, and I’m just a piece on the game board you use to get whatever you need. Your point is made. If this game piece doesn’t play by your rules, a new game piece will replace her."
Alec swiped his hand across the top of the dresser, knocking bottles and glasses to the floor. Mateo heard the crash and quickly teleported inside the room, seeing only the three of them. He stood still and waited for direction. Braden was pacing, clearly agitated and Alec looked like he was ready to kill.
"Don't make me do this, Rissa. That isn’t what I want. I want you beside me. I picked you for my mate. And I’ve been honest with you about my plans. You know what I want, and I want you beside me when I get there. But don’t stand in my way."
Braden continued pacing as he talked, "Okay, let's just calm down. This doesn't solve anything. We know what we need to do. This is fixable. We just need full cooperation going forward."
Rissa remained defiant, standing stiffly and looking straight ahead. She was aware of Mateo entering the room, and wondered where her warrior was. But she knew Hyde would never interfere or come between a master and his mate. She listened to Alec’s words, as the sound of his voice vibrated through her bones, and she heard the words speak to her soul...he picked her for his mate, he wanted her beside him.
She let out a gasping, ragged breath, as if someone had punched her in the stomach. Closing her eyes, a small blood tear ran down her cheek, and she knew somewhere in all this chaos, he still loved her. He still needed her and she had to oblige him.
Alec saw the tears but was too angry to comfort her right now. He sat down on the side of the bed and put his head in his hands. In a calmer voice, he spoke to her, "Rissa, I know you can do this. I’ve seen you manipulate people when there was something you wanted. All I’m asking now is you manipulate people for what I want. Listen to Braden. This is his job. He does this for a living. He knows what the public will respond to, and what they’ll reject. Have you changed your mind? Do you want me to release you? I need to know if you can do this."
Rissa could feel his defeat and disappointment in her. But she also felt his belief that she could do this, if she’d just try. When he spoke of releasing her, the blood drained from her face, leaving her pale and she caught her breath. She rushed to him. Her heart was breaking as she stood before him. He was giving her a choice to remain with him or walk away forever and never look back. She had this choice once before with Max, and she chose Alec. Nothing had changed for her.
Dropping to her knees in front of him, she sobbed as she tried to speak. He sat before her with his head still in his hands. She removed his hands and took his face into hers. She stared into eyes that were tired and frustrated. "I don’t want to be released from my master. I want you." Her lip quivered as her voice cracked. "I’ll do this because you want me to, but only because you want me to, no other reason. I’m sorry, master, I love you."
Sliding her hands from his face, she bowed her head as she remained on her knees before him.
Braden watched the dynamics of their relationship play out before him. He had no doubt Rissa was sincere in her love for her master. But he’d seen this before. Rissa believed what she said when she spoke to him, she believed she could change. But Braden had his doubts. He moved across the room to Mateo and placed his hand on the warrior’s elbow. "Come on. Let's give them some privacy."
Braden led the warrior from the room, closing the door behind them. "Stand guard, I'm going back to my room.”
Leaving the massive warrior at their door, Braden walked back down the hall to his own room. They’d either work this out, or they wouldn’t. He knew it was out of his hands.
60
The camp was a little quieter this evening as half of the warriors were out on a night expedition under Marcello’s supervision. Shade noticed the light on in Cory's workshop and decided to walk over and see how things were going with Madison. Cory had been quiet in the last weeks since Madison had found out the truth of what they were. He’d kept a warrior on watch over Madison’s apartment, and knew she posed no risk, but he was curious as to how their relationship was going.
Cory was carefully unrolling a bolt of the finest black Italian leather when he heard the door of the shop open and in walked his dad. He was grateful for the visit as there was something on his mind, and he hadn’t found the right time to approach Shade with it. Madison had asked him about seeing his shop and she couldn’t understand why he always refused, but now that the proverbial vampire was out of the coffin, so to speak, he could think of no reason she couldn’t come here. Cory knew better than to just waltz her into camp, though. He needed to get his dad's permission to bring a mortal into this space.
Shade breathed deep and closed his eyes as he entered the workshop. He loved the smell of the leather. Walking to the large table, he slid his hand over the leather and nodded at this son. "Italian leather, the best, si? I love the smell of this place every time I come in here. Brings out the warrior in me. Any special plans for this?"
Cory grinned at his dad. "Just some pants for Rebecca. Why, did you want me to make something?"
His dad sat on the stool next to the table and kept sliding his hand over the leather. "Just thinking about something for Kate. Something unique for her, a skirt, perhaps, for after the baby is born. You have enough leather for that?"
Cory nodded. "I have plenty and if I don’t, there’s more I can order. Are you busy, Dad? I mean, like, right now? I wanted to talk to you about something."
Shade slid his hands through his hair. "Cory, I always have time for you. You know that, so talk."
Cory took a seat across the table from his dad and fiddled with the edge of the leather material. "Well, it’s like this, you know Maddie has known for a while now about us, she’s been to the house a few times, and she wants to see my shop. She’s an artist like me, we both work with our hands, and I see her stuff all the time. So, I was wondering..."
Shade chuckled as Cory struggled with his request. "Wondering what, son?"
Cory raised his eyes to his father. "Can she come here and see my shop? I can bring her in the daytime when there are fewer warriors around, and I won’t take her anyplace but here and I won’t let her out of my sight, I promise."
Shade liked that Cory looked him straight in the eyes when he asked. "Cory, I know everything about this girl. I know every detail of her life since that night she walked into my office. So, yes, I know she hasn’t revealed anything about us. I like Madison, and I think you should bring her here at night when the warriors are out."
He watched as Cory's eyes got wide with surprise and Shade laughed out loud. "Relax. She might as well see the rest of it. Better to know now if she can handle this life. Besides, I learned the hard way with Kate, keeping secrets only creates more questions."