She wouldn’t be happy with him, Lance thought as he drove through the city in the police car he’d taken from Landreau Corp. Derek and Rob said they would return to the bar to check on George.

Lance had tried to think of a way to apologize for the officers he’d killed, but Rotoya only blamed herself, and Rachel had glared at her from across the room.

“They all hate me,” Rotoya had said. “I don’t blame them, either.”

Lance let out a nervous breath. The beast made an unrecognizable sound, but it was comforting, all the same.

At least he didn’t have to spend all night in that horrid building, with those bright lights bearing down on him and the dozens of confused men and women freshly released from Caleb’s control. All that confusion, all those people… He shuddered at the thought.

He shuddered once more at what Eric had told him. He’d worn that wicked smile when he told Lance he was staying.

“I want to explore. There’s no telling what information I can get from this place.”

“In the basement,” Lance said. “On the first level of cells, at the end of the hall, there’s a journal. Caleb gave it to me. If it’s still there, you’ll want to read it.”

Eric winked and sauntered off.

Lance didn’t bother to follow him, especially with the call of those dark cells below the floor. And after Kaela walked off with Amari in her arms, something had told him to follow her. Not the beast but something else. Something more than a voice in the back of his head.

He’d waited for as long as he could stand it, sitting on a bench in the lobby as Rotoya gathered her officers to explain what had happened. She didn’t have to explain much. They all knew what they’d done. They’d all felt Caleb was doing the right thing until the nanobots left them. Their faces were haunted with guilt—Rachel’s too.

Once the sun began to rise, Lance deemed that he had given Kaela enough time and stole a police car to follow her.

He could think of only one place to find her. When she started down the street with Amari, he’d run down the stairs to call to her, to at least offer to drive her there. But Eric had been out there with him just as quickly, shaking his head.

Now here he was, driving down the empty, sun-painted streets of Arachna. They would be full again, Lance thought, once everything was back to normal, once it was announced that the threat was over and their innocence was explained. Lance groaned. How would they even be able to do that? He shook the thought from his head. Rotoya said she would handle it. He chose to trust her. After all the help she’d already offered, he allowed himself to leave it in her hands.

Right now, he focused on Kaela. On the nanobots flooding through her veins. She couldn’t have had them for long, yet she’d fixed everyone under Caleb’s control by… doing whatever the hell she’d done.

Derek had said something about her taking out the beta strain but not all of it?

Caleb, Malcolm, and Daniel had all lost their minds because of the drug; how would Kaela be any different? Would she become crazed by the nanobots and turn into another Caleb? Will I follow behind her?

The beast whimpered, as if offended at the thought.

Lance reached the hilltop, where the sun was casting a peaceful orange glow over the clearing.

Kaela sat patiently on the bench, under the shade of the tree. A wooden cross was stuck in the ground, near a freshly packed mound of dirt. A makeshift grave, right near the tree.

Kaela’s hands were folded in front of her, and she watched as he parked the car next to hers. She’d been waiting for him, Lance thought, and the beast purred in agreement.

The beast had been so quiet these past few hours, still resting from the explosion of power both it and Lance had experienced when he escaped his cell. That surge of power had felt so good—too good. And when the beast ultimately urged him to give in, to give it more room, he’d done it. He’d given in to the temptation.

It frightened him. The feeling was all too similar to when he’d given in to other temptations, to pop another pill or down another shot. He swallowed the lump in his throat.

Somehow, he hid that feeling from the beast, or maybe it just didn’t acknowledge it—chose to withhold the fact that it knew until the right time. That fear kept Lance on the defensive, but as he left the car and neared Kaela, he wondered if he would ever finally give in and allow the beast as much room as it desired.

What would happen then?

Kaela stared at him for a moment, then her eyes shifted to the two broken pieces of wood tied together in the shape of a cross. “It was the best I could do,” she said. “It’s not great, but at least it’s something.”

Lance looked down at the makeshift grave, and the words came out without him thinking. “I think it’s beautiful.”

She looked at him with those purple eyes, a sad smile on her face. “Thank you.”

Lance sat next to her on the bench. He eyed the veins on her neck, her arms. She noticed, as if calculating his every action. Could she sense what he was doing because of the nanobots?

She opened her mouth to speak, but Lance beat her to it. “So… about Caleb…”

“Dead.”

“I figured that, but…”

She didn’t seem to hear him as she said, “Amari was there. She was injected with the nanobots. He ordered her to kill me… She almost did.”

Lance gaped at her. She didn’t look at him.

“Somehow, I managed to kill Caleb, and… I’m pretty sure I died.” Her eyes watered. “I felt it. It was so… peaceful. And serene. But then Amari injected me with the drug to save me. Caleb’s death released her from his control.” She swallowed hard.

Lance reached a hand out to touch her shoulder, to offer some form of comfort. But he stopped himself.

“When she did, I… I snapped. I saw her as a threat, and… it’s my fault she’s dead.”

Lance opened his mouth then closed it. The words swirled around in his head, in different orders, different tones. None of them seemed an appropriate response.

“And now, I’m a monster.” Kaela looked at her hands. “Covered with these nasty-looking veins.”

Monster… “Yeah… I know the feeling.” The silence between them lingered. “Are you going to take them out like you did the others?”

After a long pause then a deep breath, she said, “I removed the beta strain, but… no. No, I don’t think I even can. Caleb could control his own alpha strain, but… if I can, I don’t know how yet.” She looked at him. “I’d remove yours if I could, but I can only sense them.” She smiled. “You might be able to remove them, but you don’t seem to have that much control over them yet. I’d just wait for the cure if I was you.”

The beast growled, and Lance swore Kaela could hear it too. The prospect of a cure tempted him. A life without the constant growls and purrs and hisses. Being able to think clearly, not having a beast inside to urge him in one direction or the other.

“Did you… hear anything when you got the drug? Or do you hear anything now?” Lance asked.

Kaela smiled at him. A gentle, light smile. “How’d you know?”

“You did?”

“Yeah… it was like a living thing inside of me. It whispered these horrible things. I got so angry I just… I killed it.”

The beast whined, and Lance cocked his head to the side. “How?”

A rough growl rumbled from the beast.

“That’s like asking me how I took the nanobots out of all those officers. I have absolutely no idea. It just came naturally. It was like Malcolm said… The drug affects everyone differently.”

“I have one too,” Lance said, his voice breathy.

“I know,” Kaela responded. “I can feel it sometimes. When it growls or moves around a lot. It’s there.”

“Could you…” There was no right way to word the question, and the beast was already snarling at him as if to say, How dare you even consider it? “Could you kill my beast if I asked?”

Kaela hummed. “The beast, as you call it, I think is different than your nanobots. I don’t know how to explain it—I just… feel it. It would be hard to kill it without accidentally snuffing you out instead.” She looked out at the sunset for a moment then returned her stare to Lance. “But I could certainly give it a try.” An invisible hand wrapped around Lance’s insides, around the beast. It snarled and snapped and struggled against the force. She looked at him. “Just say the word, and I’ll do it.” Her eyes glowed a bright violet.

Lance almost said yes. The word even reached his lips, but he didn’t let it escape. The beast whined and whined, and something else told Lance that it was a bad idea. Not the beast itself, but something deeper, more powerful. His instincts. They’d never led him wrong so far, and they urged him to say no. So he did, and Kaela let go.

As the beast caught its breath, so too did Lance find himself suddenly taking deeper breaths.

“So… since you killed your beast… does that mean you won’t go crazy like Caleb and the rest?” He almost punched himself for asking.

She stared down at Amari’s grave. “I… I don’t think so. If I start showing any signs, slip a cure into my wine to get rid of my nanobots.” She laughed, but it was hollow.

Lance went quiet at that word. Cure. Was it even possible? It was a nice idea, but with Malcolm gone… But after what he told Eric to look for in his old cell, maybe they had a chance. That was, if Caleb even bothered to keep it there. “Wait…” Lance said as the words processed in his head. “Aren’t you going to get the cure as soon as you can?”

Kaela swallowed, not breaking her stare from Amari’s grave. She spoke quietly. “No.”

“Why the hell not?”

Kaela shook her head. “Amari gave me this drug to save me… and I killed her.” Her voice cracked, and tears welled in her eyes. “God… what am I going to tell her parents?” She shut her eyes tightly, the tears falling down her cheeks. A sob escaped her, and she covered her mouth. She tried to speak but couldn’t. She gasped then sobbed more.

Lance reached his hand out again, inches from her back. Part of him wanted to withdraw, but he pushed forward. She didn’t pull away from his touch, and he rubbed small circles on her upper back.

They stayed like that until she settled down.

“You don’t think she would want you to take the cure?” Lance asked.

Kaela wiped her face, sniffling and coughing. “If I get rid of this drug, it’s like… getting rid of her… of the last thing she did. It’s… all I have left of her… I know it doesn’t make sense.”

“No… no, it does.” Lance scooted closer. “You know… I’ve always known I got my eyes from my mom… I don’t know how I knew, but I did. My whole life, I’ve been so obsessed with them. I’d stare at them in the mirror, I’d draw pictures of them… They always made me feel closer to her in some way.” He picked at his nails. “I know it sounds really freakin’ weird, but… Yeah, now you know.”

Kaela nodded slowly. “That is pretty weird.”

They shared a look for a lingering moment before both broke out into laughter.

When they stopped, Kaela looked down at her purple-veined hands. “Although,” she said, “I’m not very fond of this color. Maybe…” Her lips formed a thin line, and she closed her eyes. Within seconds, her purple veins slowly turned blue. When she opened her eyes again, her yellow eyes, Lance’s breath caught in his throat. “How do I look?”

Lance gulped. A word came to his mind, but he swallowed it and chose something else. “Normal.”

She sniffled and wiped away the remainder of the tears. “Never had a man tell me that before. I’m almost insulted.”

Lance made to apologize, but when she laughed, he just laughed with her. If he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn the beast rolled its eyes. Did it even have eyes? “So I guess you can control your nanobots, then?”

Kaela furrowed her brows. “I guess I can, yet… when I reach for them like I did the betas, they don’t listen. I try to order them out of me, but nothing happens.”

“What did you tell them to do just now?”

“I—” Kaela blinked then scoffed. “I just didn’t want my veins to look like that anymore, so I ordered them to… stop doing that. And they did.” She clenched then unclenched her fists as if testing them. “I can still feel them inside me, but quieter. I don’t feel as strong, either. And I guess whenever I need them, I can call on them.”

“Caleb seemed to have trouble doing that… making his nanobots return his veins to normal like that. He only did it once, and that was with Malcolm’s help.”

“It wasn’t hard for me.” Kaela shrugged.

“I don’t understand how you have so much power with those nanobots. How you have so much control. Even Caleb couldn’t do what you’re doing.”

Kaela frowned. “No… but he could do things I can’t.” She glanced at Lance. Her eyes narrowed. “Keep an eye on that beast of yours, Lance. Mine manipulated me into… ugh, what’d it say? Giving it more room?”

A shock went down Lance’s spine, and the beast was quiet. “Oh?”

“It knew I was vulnerable and preyed on that. I let it in without a second thought. Next thing I knew, Amari looked like Caleb, and—” She choked.

“By all means,” Lance said. “Kill my beast if it starts getting out of control. Or slip me a cure if you can.”

Oddly enough, the beast didn’t growl. Now that it knew it would be killed if given more room, maybe it would stop pestering him about it.

It was certainly a nice thought.

“Well,” Lance said finally, his eyes getting heavy the higher the sun rose, “I think I’m going to head back. You want a ride?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Kaela looked down at Amari’s grave one last time, smiled at it, then nodded. “Yeah… I’m ready.” She walked in step with Lance to the police car. “I need a drink.”

* * *

When they returned to the bar, Derek, George, and Rob were inside, talking quietly. All eyes shot to Kaela when they walked in, her eyes and veins perfectly normal.

She smiled at them and waved away the questions about why her veins looked normal. Even Lance, watching her sit on the nearest barstool with feline grace, nearly forgot that those nanobots were still swimming around inside her.

“Since you’ve effectively removed everyone’s nanobots, do we even need a cure?” George asked.

Kaela frowned. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but those soldiers still have beta bots in them, just very few. They’ll still need that cure if they want those veins to go back to normal.”

“I thought that was just scarring left by the drug, maybe a permanent stain of the veins themselves.”

“Speaking of cures,” Eric said, strutting in, his black eyes wild. He reached into his coat, and his expression fell. He frowned as he retracted his hand, purple liquid and bits of glass dripping from his palm. “No…”

The room fell into silence.

“Wait.” Derek reached into his pocket and took out a syringe. “Rob tried to inject me with this when he was infected.”

A look of guilt crossed Rob’s face.

“Maybe you can make something of it instead?”

George took the syringe. His eyes sparkled. “Is this the drug? The nanobots?”

“Yeah.”

George grinned. “This is better than a blood sample. Malcolm was going to try to figure out how to separate the blood cells from the nanobots, and he didn’t have the equipment for that.”

“It’s a mix,” Kaela said. “It was the one Caleb had given to me… It’s an alpha strain with betas inside.”

“Well, damn, I need to put the spotlight back on me somehow.” Eric winked at Lance and reached into his other coat pocket, pulling out a small book bound in leather. “Malcolm’s journal. Lance told me Caleb put it in his cell, and the old geezer completely forgot to take it back out.” With a laugh, he tossed the journal to George, who fumbled to catch it and ended up watching the journal fall flat on the floor. “I also did some digging in Caleb’s office and found a couple of ripped-out pages with a bunch of formula crap on it. They’re folded in the back of the book.”

“Thank you,” George said, already opening it and scanning a page. “This should help… with this and the syringe.” He smiled widely. “We might just have a cure on our hands.” The smile waned. “Except… I’m no chemist like Malcolm. I only understand what he explained to me.”

“You let me take care of that,” Eric said. “With Landreau Corp not hunting us anymore, I can reach out and find some chemists. Maybe even from Landreau Corp itself.”

There wasn’t a celebration as Lance expected. More a collective sigh of relief.

Eric, however, appeared elated. “You downers need to turn those frowns upside down because there’s more news.”

As if on cue, Rotoya and Rachel grunted as they stepped in, carrying a massive safe. Derek sent a glare at Rotoya, and Rob held fear in his eyes.

“Why are you making us carry this?” Rotoya groaned as she held the safe on one side while Rachel helped with the other. Rotoya’s veins glowed slightly as she strained. “Rachel doesn’t have the strength she used to, with her nanobots gone.”

Eric gave them a knowing look and pointed to the corner of the room. “Put it over there.”

Rotoya groaned. “Yes, Your Highness, is there anything else you need?”

“Another safe would be great.”

“And if you find one, you’re welcome to carry the damned thing yourself.”

The sight drew a smile from Lance. Eric noticed, and his own smile grew wide, still as wicked as ever.

“Kaela, Derek, Lance—aw hell, everyone,” Eric started. “Oh, and you too, Bob.”

“Rob.”

“That’s what I said.” Eric’s chest puffed with pride. “You are now looking at the owner of his own private army.”

The room went quiet, and most of their jaws dropped, except for Rotoya’s and Rachel’s.

I knew he was up to something, Lance thought. The beast purred in agreement.

“What?” Derek asked.

Rob frowned.

“Not the whole army, of course,” Eric added, his smile showing no signs of narrowing. “But a tiny portion of it. As it turns out, being brainwashed and forced to do terrible things against their will is a deal breaker. The ones that aren’t retiring or spending the rest of their lives in therapy are thankful for our daring rescue; they’ve decided they want to work with us.” Eric glanced at the safe. “And the best part? Our dear late friend Caleb Landreau will be paying for their salary for the rest of this year… and the next.”

Lance raised his eyebrows. “How much is in there?”

Eric’s expression lit up as he raised a finger to speak, but both dropped as he turned toward the safe. “I’m not sure, actually.” He smiled at Rotoya. “If you would.”

Rotoya crossed her arms. “The hell do you expect me to do?”

“Blow the door open with your blood.”

“Eric, I can’t do that. Only Caleb could.”

Lance turned toward Kaela, and several others in the room did the same.

She squirmed under their stares then muttered a swear. “Is there not a better way to do this? I don’t even know if I can make my blood explode.”

Eric drew his cane blade. “You could make that big purple ball of blood explode. I don’t see how you couldn’t do the same with a smear of your own.” He tossed the blade to Kaela.

She heaved a frustrated sigh and shut her eyes. Her veins turned purple again, and she let out a small, relaxed gasp. How much power flowed through her when she did that, Lance wondered. She cut her palm, squeezing until violet blood spilled from her hand. She marched to the safe and smeared her hand against its door then stepped away, closing her eyes again.

“Derek, do you have a first-aid kit?” George asked.

“Yeah, just over here.”

Derek led George away as Kaela scrunched her face.

Lance found himself clenching his own fists, and the beast let out a low growl—not of anger or rage, but of intrigue.

“I don’t think I can do this,” Kaela said, opening her eyes.

George returned and rushed to Kaela. He made to wrap her hand in the bandage, but the wound was already healing.

“Just try harder,” Eric said.

“I told you I can’t—” She stopped. “Wait… you know I couldn’t take all of the beta strain out of everyone. Just enough so they couldn’t be controlled.”

“Your point?”

She looked at Rotoya. “If you can spread some blood over the lock of that safe, there may be just enough beta strain to blow it up. It won’t be more than a pop, but maybe it will be powerful enough to get that lock off.” She glanced at Rachel. “I can’t take any more out of Rachel without hurting her… or worse.”

Lance furrowed his brows. “How do you know?”

Kaela shrugged. “I feel it.”

“It’s not going to hurt me, is it?” Rotoya asked.

Kaela shook her head. “You have the alpha strain mixed in there, just like me. I was fine. You’ll probably be fine too.”

“Probably?” Rotoya sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Kaela shut her eyes and extended her now-healed hand toward Rotoya. Just like the soldiers and officers back at Landreau Corp, she stiffened, paralyzed. Her eyes widened, and she made gagging sounds.

Moments later, several drops of blood left her mouth, and she gasped for air, dropping to her knees. Rachel made a move like she was going to help her up then walked away instead.

Kaela floated the blood to the lock of the safe, and her veins flashed brighter. The blood began to glow, then seconds later, a pop snapped through the room.

Lance flinched, grateful that nobody seemed to notice. Goosebumps ran along his skin. The beast… chuckled? Or was it a growl?

Eric waved away the small cloud of smoke and looked into the safe. He smiled back at them a few seconds later, reaching in and rifling through the contents, counting the money within. “This might take a few minutes. Derek, come help me count this.”

Rotoya caught her breath and returned to her feet. “I need some air.” She let out something like a cough and rushed out of the building.

Rachel glared out the window for a long time then followed her.

* * *

Rotoya’s insides ached, as if she’d just had a bad flu. She rubbed at her sore neck as she breathed in the fresh night air. Footsteps tapped behind her.

She shut her eyes. “I know you’re raring to kill me, but you’ll need to wait until I’ve pard—”

It wasn’t Derek. It was Rachel. “I’m certainly tempted.”

“Sa—” She cleared her throat. “Rachel…”

Rachel stared at her for one moment then another, as if she didn’t recognize the woman before her. Maybe she didn’t. Rotoya wasn’t sure she recognized herself anymore.

“I… I don’t know what to say,” Rachel said. “I look at you, and I just hate you.”

“What I did was wrong.”

“Thanks for making me aware.”

“I thought what I was doing was right.”

“And now look at what happened.” She scoffed. “I used to think you’d do anything to protect us.”

“That’s why I had us take the drug. I didn’t know Caleb would end up brainwashing all of us!” Now Rotoya scoffed. “Jesus, Rachel, how was I supposed to predict nanobots that would take over our bodies and minds? How was I supposed to predict that Caleb Landreau was plotting world domination?!”

Rachel looked down as if considering what she’d said. “I want you to leave the police station after pardoning those people in there.”

“I was already planning on doing exactly that. And I want you to be chief of police when I’m gone.”

Rachel paused, caught off guard by the words. She crossed her arms, her voice turning gentler. “Are you going to stay in Arachna?”

“Facing my officers was hard enough the first time… Facing you was the hardest.” Rotoya shook her head. “No, I’m not going to stay in Arachna. I’ll find somewhere to go, lay low for a while, figure out what I’m going to do next.”

“I don’t think I can forgive you for what you did.”

“I know…” Rotoya wished she could reach over and pull Rachel into one last hug, one last show of friendship before it shattered forever. “Neither can I… but I really am sorry. I don’t know if that counts for anything.”

Rachel uncrossed her arms and made to walk back into the bar. “Maybe it would if my friends weren’t dead.”

* * *

Lance leaned his head against the table as Eric and Derek silently counted the money. Exhaustion nipped at him. His store might’ve been ruined, but maybe he could still go back and sleep in his own bed.

Rachel walked in with a look of rage on her face. Rotoya meandered in moments later. They stayed on opposite sides of the room, avoiding eye contact with each other.

Eric chuckled, and Lance lifted his head up. “Don’t get too excited, Lance. It’s not a fortune… but a couple million dollars should allow us to hire our part of the private army for quite some time.”

“How are you going to get the headquarters rebuilt?” Lance asked. He narrowed his eyes. “And my store.”

“And the Rose,” Kaela said quietly.

Eric chuckled and waved a hand at him. “Don’t worry—I have the money to rebuild all three. But this money is for our protection.” He then looked at Derek and Rob. “And Bob, I figure you wouldn’t mind having control over this little military group. I have other much more important things to do, you see, and—”

“Of course,” Rob said, his voice filled with excitement. Then he cleared his throat, and his tone shifted to a more formal one. “Sir.”

Eric and Derek placed the money back in the safe while Kaela scanned the bar for spirits.

A heavy silence filled the room—not a silence of anger, sadness, or tension, but a silence of relief. They’d won. Won. The word was foreign in Lance’s head. They’d come out of this alive, and everything was finally starting to click together for them, despite their losses. The silence turned into quiet chattering. They shared conversation, but Lance just listened, too tired to contribute anything.

Eric was silent, too, though when he made eye contact with Lance, he nodded toward the front door. Lance took the silent message and stood with a groan.

Lance stepped outside the bar, shutting the door behind him. Eric joined him seconds later, stepping over the still-shattered window.

They walked down the street until they were out of earshot.

They sat in silence on a set of stairs. The sun had risen above the horizon. Lance savored its warmth.

Lance wondered what was going through the heads of the citizens of Arachna, especially with the explosions and gunfire last night. Not a soul was roaming the streets and likely wouldn’t until the curfew was called off and the citizens were promised that everything was back to normal.

“It was getting a bit hectic in there,” Eric finally said. “Too many little conversations going on at once. I don’t like that.”

Lance shrugged. “I just like to listen to them.”

Eric snorted. “So do I, but I try to listen to all of them at the same time. To get as—”

“As much information as possible,” Lance finished for him. “Why am I not surprised?” He sighed, and a question burned in his mind. “Why do you want to hire a private army, anyway? You already have Derek’s agents.”

Eric looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “I assumed it was obvious. I don’t want anyone to be able to storm in on us like Daniel did that day. We’ll have soldiers guarding us. Notice that Derek ordered his agents to go into hiding when everything went down? They’re scouts, information gatherers, not fighters.” He shrugged. “I mean, they can take care of themselves, but… an armed force to help us fight if anything like this goes down again?” Eric smiled. “Gotta learn from my mistakes.”

“How many soldiers are you planning on hiring?”

Eric pursed his lips then said, “As many as will come aboard, which, admittedly, is only a small portion. I’ll have enough money to pay them for a while, and by then, I’ll have built some money back up to keep them employed. It won’t be much, but it will be something for them to live on.”

He ran a thumb over the wolf’s snarling mouth on his cane, and Lance couldn’t help but think of the beast. It even snarled a little in response, as if mocking the wolf. Or saying that it was one. That was how Lance pictured it, anyway.

“We’ll still keep records on the ones not joining so we can summon them back when the cure is ready. Wherever they go, I think it’s safe to say none of them will be returning for work at Landreau Corp—that is, if there is anyone left to inherit the business.”

Lance stared down at his hands. “What happened in that bathroom?”

Eric blinked, and suddenly, he couldn’t seem to meet Lance’s eyes. “I can’t seem to do the right thing when it comes to my family… no matter what I do.”

“I thought you were having a mental breakdown.”

Eric laughed. “No, I just… I don’t know. I just didn’t want you to put yourself in any more danger. If you died, I mean, I don’t know what I’d do.”

“You let me go on a high-speed chase through the city with the chief of police tailing me.”

Eric rolled his eyes. “Come on, Lance, are you seriously going to keep bringing that up?”

Lance crossed his arms. “Whatever.”

Silence formed between them, and suddenly the sun didn’t feel so warm as cold air brushed against Lance’s face.

“You know,” Eric said, his voice low, “I don’t ever expect you to forgive me for what I did, the decisions I made… But I want to be a father to you, even if I wasn’t at first.”

Lance didn’t respond.

“Look, I’m obviously not good at… family and relationships and making people not hate me, but I want to try. At least with you.” He sighed. “I meant what I said. I wish I had spent those nine months with Carrie, but I didn’t. I can’t go back and change it, as much as I want to, but I will never regret getting in that car with her, even if those were the last moments we had together.” He ran a hand through his hair and released a frustrated groan. “I did the same thing with you. I left you, but… I want to come back into your life and be a father while I still can.”

Lance rubbed his chin and closed his eyes as they watered. They weren’t tears, he told himself—the brutally cold wind was the culprit. “I…” His voice shook, and he cleared his throat. “I don’t hate you… not entirely.” He expected to see Eric’s smile when he turned his head, but even his dark eyes were sincere. “Truth is, I’ve made some stupid decisions too… Maybe it’s genetic.”

Now Eric chuckled, and Lance found himself doing the same though it made no sense. The beast chirped as if confused about why they were laughing.

When their laughter died down, Lance continued, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to call you a father. And I don’t think I’ll ever not wish Mom was here instead of you…” They were sour words, but the truth was the truth. “But I’m… willing to give this a try. Whatever this is.” Lance fumbled with his hands. “After all of this, maybe a new start is for the best.”

Eric smiled, and something like relief shone in his eyes. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

“We have some building to do.”

Eric nodded then smiled at his son. “We? Am I hearing that you’ve changed your mind about taking over the business?”

“No,” Lance said flatly. “No, I have no intention of taking over.” Eric opened his mouth to counter, but Lance was faster. The beast growled, knowing what he was about to say. Even Lance held second thoughts about the words coming out of his mouth, but he said them anyway. “However… I do think you are at least partially responsible for all of this. So maybe I should stay for a while… you know, just to keep you in line. Like someone you’ll have to answer to before you make a decision.”

Eric furrowed his brow and frowned.

“Like you said, you’ve botched multiple deals lately. And you rarely listen to Kaela and Derek. Don’t you think if anyone should be listened to, it’s your own son?” Lance added, waiting for the frown to go away.

It didn’t.

“If anyone else had said that to me,” Eric whispered, “I would have completely laughed them off. But having my own son to tell me when I’m doing something stupid… maybe not such a bad idea. And it could be a good way to learn how to lead for when I get a little too stupid… as far off as that is, I’m sure.” He laughed. “Should you ever decide you want to take over, of course.”

“So is that a yes?”

Eric smiled. “A resounding yes.”

He held his hand out, and Lance stared down at it. With a sigh, he grabbed Eric’s hand, his palm burning at the touch.

“You start today.”

Lance chuckled. “Sure thing.”

“So, my consultant, my first decision is to go back into the bar and see if Derek can cook us some food.”

Lance hummed. “Decision approved.”

* * *

Derek and Rob pushed the kitchen doors open, carrying platters of burgers and fries. The smell alone had Lance’s stomach growling. He was mostly sure it wasn’t the beast.

The burger was juicy and tender, the fries crispy and salty. Every bite was better than the last. The burger was gone within a minute, and Lance munched on his fries, trying to slow down but failing miserably. Kaela finished hers shortly after he did.

Derek carried out a barrel of wine, and everyone poured themselves a glass except for Eric and Lance.

Lance glanced back at the bar door, half expecting Caleb or one of his soldiers to burst through. But every time he looked, they weren’t there.

“Damn,” Kaela said, finishing off her glass. “I never thought I’d eat a meal like that again.”

“Neither did I,” Lance said. “I could get used to it.”

“Mm-hmm. Well,” Kaela finally said, swirling the last bit of wine in her glass, “everyone seems to have drinks, and I feel just tipsy enough to do this, so…” She drained the rest of her wine, her eyes glazed over. She refilled her glass and held it up high. “To Derek’s badass cellar wine!”

Laughter stirred throughout the room.

George took a long swig of his own and said, “To hopefully making a cure.”

“To friends,” Derek said as he looked at Rob and raised his glass.

Rob took a longer sip than even Kaela and said, “Also to friends. And, um… having my own private army, I guess.” He smirked at Derek and looked toward Eric. “Lord knows how that’s going to go.”

More laughter.

“To finally killing Caleb. And to Kaela, for doing the killing,” Eric said.

Despite the small room with not many people, it erupted with clapping and shouting that sent a spike of adrenaline into Lance’s chest. He shifted in his seat, swallowing the panic. She nodded with a tight-lipped smile and took a long swallow of her wine.

Rotoya was leaned against the wall. She stole a long look at Rachel then averted her gaze and said, “To the men and women who’ve served under me for all these years.” She cleared her throat. “And to the ones we lost.”

Silence settled over the room.

Rachel looked around then raised her glass. “To Rotoya… May she find a path to redemption.”

Everyone looked at Lance, and Derek was behind the bar in an instant.

Derek poured something into a glass and slid it over. “It’s lemonade.”

Lance nodded a thank-you, and all eyes were on him, all smiles.

Lance cleared his throat, feeling small with all the attention on him. “To…” He looked at Kaela and Derek and Eric. The beast seemed to perk up its ears, if it had them. A smile crawled across Lance’s face, the words finally coming to him. “To second chances.” No, that’s not it. “And…” Lance bit his lip, but as he looked at Eric one last time, at the genuine smile on his face and the watery glaze in his eyes, the words felt more comfortable as they rose to his mouth. “To family.”