Page 12 of Fury of Affliction
His throat clogged. “Fuck, baby.”
“I know it’s heavy. I know you can’t forget. I don’t want you to deny the loss, and the grief you feel because of it. Amanda’s a part of you, so honor her by accepting her choice and forgiving yourself for letting her make it. By doing that, you cherish the life you made together. And Simeon deserves that kind of reverence from his father.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “Can’t change it, handsome. Can’t go back, gotta move forward. They’re your family, Sloan. You need to bring them here where you can be close to them.”
He drew a shaky breath. “No one knows. I haven’t told the pack.”
“Time to do that, then. You’re gonna need their help bringing Simeon and Amanda home.”
Another tear tipped over his bottom lashes.
She wiped it away. “All right?”
He nodded.
“Good.” Approval in her eyes, she kissed him softly. Gently. With so much feeling, the heartache that always plagued him lessened. Not a lot. A tiny bit, but the relief gave him hope, along with place to start. “Now…you wanna go help our daughter pick raspberries?”
“She’s awake?”
“Daimler’s in the greenhouse with her.”
One hand in her hair, the other still cupping her bare ass-cheek, he gave her a squeeze. “You going to put on pants?”
“Do you want me to?”
“No, I love your ass. Watching it’s one of my favorite pastimes, but the pack’s stirring,” he murmured, sensing movement in the lair as his brothers rolled out of bed to start the day. “They’ll appreciate you covering up since the instant any of them stare at your legs, I’ll be force to retaliate.”
“How?”
“By ripping their faces off.”
She grinned. “I’ll put on pants.”
“Appreciated.”
“Conjure me some?”
He smiled, enjoying the fact his mate loved when he used magic. Abilities that ranged from end-of-the-world destructive to charmingly innocuous. One of which included conjuring clothes out from thin air. Taking his hand out of her boy shorts, he murmured his wishes. Heat flowed like liquid fire through his veins. Calm settled deep, smoothing over jagged lines of grief as his mental vault opened. A pair of soft sweatpants the color of her eyes appeared in his hand.
She gasped in wonder.
His smile turned into a grin as he stepped back and handed them to her. Delight in her eyes, she accepted the dark green joggers, then hopped into the pair one leg at a time while he enjoyed the show.
With a sharp tug, she tied the drawstring. “All good. I like this brand. They’re super soft.”
“Good,” he said, watching her adjust the waistband. “Ready to go find Vivi?”
“In a minute.” Finished tucking the string under, she glanced up. Her gaze collided with his, making him brace. “One last thing.”
He raised a brow in question.
“I don’t care how ugly it is, your chair stays. You held Simeon for the first and last time in it. Sang him a lullaby in it. We’re never letting it go.”
Sloan closed his eyes. Fucking hell. His mate. She was beyond beautiful. Exactly what he needed, all he’d ever wanted, a gift he didn’t deserve.
Theodora understood without him having to explain. The chair he sat in every day was his only connection to the past. To his son and the female who loved him so much, she gave her life to give Sloan a family. And even though Theodora was right—Amanda had made her own choices, gone in with her eyes wide open—he still should’ve known better.