Page 55 of Glass
“Work will wait. This won’t.” I stand up and tug at his hand, willing him to come along with me. I don’t want to have to beg or to do this alone after all the work that’s gone into making today possible. I’ve spent every free moment when Felix was busy putting this plan into motion.
He reluctantly lets me pull him from his chair. I’ve destroyed his mood in one fell swoop, and a dark cloud hangs over us as he lets me lead him from the office. He stops before leaving the room, and it forces me to stop too since I’m holding tightly to him.
“What?” I ask, turning back to look at him.
He grabs me by the hips and pulls me back into the office, pushing me against the wall right inside the door. Instead of speaking, he covers my mouth with his. He never misses a chance to kiss me, but there’s desperation in this kiss, clear as day.
I hate it. I hate that he’s kissing me as if he’s saying goodbye.
I turn my head to break the kiss far more quickly than I usually would, and Felix bites out a curse under his breath. When I meet his eyes, he looks defeated and wild-eyed. I slide away from his touch and out the office door.
He looks pained. “I’m not ready for it to be over.”
He tries to reach for me again, but I dodge this time. I don’t want to do this with him. I move quickly, making him all but chase me to the front door. He catches me when he reaches me this time, pulling me to him. At least this time I’m close enough to yank the front door open.
Felix freezes with his arms around me. I swear his heart stops for a moment before picking up in double-time.
My entire family litters the front yard. And not just the kids, but all of my siblings and the extended families some of them have created for themselves too.
They dropped everything in their own lives to do this for me, and it steals my breath away every time I think about it. I’ve spent the last month working out the specifics after they all agreed. It’s surreal to see us all together again in one place, this time smiling and joyful. Not worried. Not fighting.
There’s only love here.
I bite my lip and shrug at Felix as his eyes dart between me and the rest of the family. He looks overwhelmed, and I can only hope maybe it’s ultimately in a good way.
“It turns out my parents were right when they thought we could be a small army,” I joke hoarsely. “Weare—we’re just not fighting the way they thought. We’re fighting for each other, not against anyone else.” I pull him along with me out the door, down the steps, and out onto the grass. My voice grows small with the fear of rejection that sits heavy and leaden in my gut. “I can be a Glass and still be Lost with you, right?”
“Fuck, Poppy. Shit.” He jerks me up against him and kisses me hard on the mouth, followed by a string of erratic kisses across my face. “You could leave and go anywhere and still be one of The Lost for the rest of your life. Once you’re one of us, you’re always one of us.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Felix—not for anything more than to visit—and neither are the kids.” After everything we’ve been through, I would never take them away from this other side of their family. The Lost is their family as much as the Glass siblings are.
Felix’s voice is shaky as he admits, “I was trying to think if there was any way to convince you to let me leave with you. I’ve been worried for fucking weeks waiting to turn around and find your bags packed or all of you gone. Dammit, Poppy, I’ll give you anything you want so long as I don’t have to survive without you.”
He hugs me tightly against him, and I run my fingers through the hair at the back of my neck.
“Hold onto that thought,” I tell him quietly. “There’s one other thing, and I’m not sure you’re going to like it.” This is the part I’ve been dreading. Telling him I was staying… I hoped that would be easy. This next part, not so much.
Up to this point, my family has watched things unfold quietly, but now Tasha Jarreau steps forward with a thick yellow envelope in her hand. A worry line wrinkling across her forehead only increases my own anxiety.
“What is that?” Felix asks, his voice laced with suspicion as his eyes go immediately to the envelope.
Tasha holds it out to him, and he reluctantly takes it with one hand, while continuing to hold me with the other arm. He makes no move to open it.
I make eye contact with Tasha and nod for her to go ahead. The papers are only a formality, it’s the words coming from her as the Luna Sovereign that will make the decision final. Irreversible and impossible to change even if Felix hates me for it.
I didn’t come to this decision lightly, and neither did Tasha.
“As Luna Sovereign, I formally welcome The Lost as an officially sanctioned pack.” Even nature seems to go silent around us with the building tension. Tasha offers a shaky smile, but I can’t bring myself to look at Felix. I’m too scared of his reaction. “With this decision,” Tasha continues, “you are entitled to all of the protections of the Sovereign Pack as needed. Otherwise, you have full autonomy to continue as usual.”
Felix’s grip on me loosens.
Tasha looks at me to finish. “You are only expected to answer to the Sovereign Pack—or to me—in the event shifter law is broken and your actions are deemed to have put the livelihood of our kind in danger.”
Paxton steps forward to be at her side as the words sink in for everyone. From the corner of my eye, I see Corey whisper to his younger siblings. I explained to Shelby and Corey already what would happen today, but Corey asked to be the one to explain it for the other three. I think he was worried about me changing my mind. It will take a little more time before Corey is able to let go of all his distrust. We’ve bonded a lot, but his loyalty is foremost to Felix and The Lost.
I would never fault him for it. Not when I’m so desperate to join him. I’ve been loyal to this generation of Glass kids; I’m ready to be loyal to my mate now too.
Felix still hasn’t said anything, but the silence feels painfully loud. I can feel myself unraveling at the seams, and I’m torn between running away or staying here to be surrounded by my siblings as he breaks my heart. I shouldn’t have done it. I should have known that this was the one thing that would steal him from me.