Page 14 of Allegiance

And he knew it.

A little part of him knew that he wished she came back for him. A little sliver of his soul wished that one day, she’d come to the new house, knock on the door, and tell him she loved him.

Only, was that fair to her as she had a new life and a second chance with Violet?

No.

Chance.

So now, he was trapped in the dream, running for his life not because he was in danger of dying. Because he was in danger of living.

A happy Dakota was an impossible thing.

A broken Dakota was the rule of thumb.

He was the punchline to the joke. He was forced to watch his friends and brothers find happiness, and he was never going to get it.

Rogue lost Cordelia, but he found his true love, Jinx.

Boone had Merry and was happy as can be.

Zayn had never had sex in his entire life, and when he saw Stella, he fell hard. Then, he wifed her up fast.

Jagger had served countless years with the Major, and then, when his wife, Roxy, and Maura’s husband, Luke, passed ON THE SAME DAY, they found love.

But here he was…

Alone.

Life hated him, and if something was going to go to shit, he would be at the epicenter of it.

That was a constant.

Now, as he ran around a tree, he stopped to catch his breath. Fifty-year-old dream Dakota was NOT in as good a shape as fifty-year-old awake Dakota.

That was crystal clear.

Or maybe…

He wanted to be caught.

As he leaned against the tree, his heart was thundering in his chest, and he knew who was lurking.

An Adder.

He heard her laughter, like he normally did, but again, this time, he couldn’t pull himself from sleep.

He couldn’t wake up no matter how hard he tried.

He.

Was.

Trapped.

As he felt a warm sensation on his arm, he stared down to see the beads Boone had given him were glowing.

They burned, but before he could pull them off to stop that heat, she was there.