NecessaryDecision (8 page)

Varek took a deep breath. Yes, Kylar had them now and they
would try to soften whatever blows his father might throw. But would it be
enough? Would he and Gable really be able to make up for the loss of Kylar’s
family? No matter how optimistic Gable might be, Varek knew there was a damn
good chance that Kylar’s family would shun him for his decision. “I really love
him, Gable,” Varek whispered. “I never thought I would, at least not like this.
But I do. The thought of him hurting…”

“Makes you want to Change and rip whoever hurt him to
shreds?” Gable finished, a smile in his voice.

“Yeah. That’s it. Rip them up, pull out their insides and
use their intestines to play jump rope.”

Gable chuckled. “You’re disgusting.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I know. Me too. We’re very lucky to have found him.”

He was right. Varek knew that. He just wished he could shake
the feeling that something awful was about to happen. He just wished Kylar
would come home so they could touch him again.

But it would be at least an hour or so before that happened.
There was no way Kylar could be done with his family so quickly, was there?

Suddenly, the sound of heavy breathing and feet on the tidy
gravel drive outside the house drew their attention. Varek rose to his feet
with Gable close behind him. It couldn’t be Kylar, could it? Varek looked at
Gable and saw the same question in his eyes. They started toward the door just
as it opened and Kylar walked in. They froze.

Kylar looked awful. His hair was a mess, his dress shirt
dripping with sweat and his face pink from exertion.

But all of that was nothing compared to the wrecked look on
his face, the mixture of pain, shock and anger mixing in his eyes. “Is it
true?”

Gable took a step forward but stopped when Kylar lifted a
shaking hand. “Kylar, what happened? Do you want me to get you some water or—”

“Is it true?”

Varek looked at Gable, but Gable looked just as confused as
he felt. “Is—”

“Don’t do that! Don’t look at each other like that, trying
to get your damn stories straight! Just tell me if it’s true or not. Just tell
me.” Kylar’s voice was so raw, so thick with pain that it made Varek’s eyes
sting. His meeting with his father must have been even worse than Varek had
feared.

“Come sit down,” Gable said again, reaching out to take
Kylar’s hand. “We’ve been worried about you—”

“Worried about me? Or worried that I would find out you were
using me to gain your freedom? That you plotted to seduce me so you could be
together and free?”

Oh. Fuck
. The blood seemed to drain from Varek’s
body. He was suddenly icy cold, his eyes blurry, his legs weak. How had Kylar
found out about that? How? When they’d never said a word to anyone but each
other? Had Gable…

Varek glanced at the shorter man but knew immediately that
Gable had said nothing. Gable wanted this so much, even more than Varek had. At
first. He never would have said anything to put their future—or Kylar’s
heart—at risk. Gable loved Kylar, and so did Varek. But how to convince him of
that now?

The silence stretched on forever, so cold and scary Varek
had to wrap his arms across his chest to keep from shaking. Kylar’s gaze went
from Varek to Gable and back again, but no one said a word. Varek knew he was
waiting for them to deny what he’d just said. But he also knew they couldn’t
give him that denial. If nothing else, the man they both loved deserved the
truth.

After a few seconds that felt like hours, Gable spoke.
“Kylar, it’s not like that. We love you, we really—”

“You didn’t deny it.”

“We love you,” Gable repeated.

“
You didn’t deny it
.”

Varek took a step forward. He wanted to take Kylar’s hand but
somehow knew that if he tried Kylar would probably punch him in the face. So
instead he just raised his own hands quietly into the air. “Come sit down,
Kylar. Let us explain. Please.”

Kylar shook his head and took a step back. “You used me. You
were using me.”

“No!” Gable’s voice echoed Varek’s. They spoke at almost the
exact same time, then turned to look at each other in silent debate. Before
they could decide who should go first Kylar’s voice cut in again.

“See? Look at what you’re doing! You talk at the same time,
you finish each other’s sentences! You love each other. You’re a couple. And
you’ll never care about anyone the way you care about each other. It’s not
possible. I wish I—”

“What about Caleb, Kerrick and Mercy?” Varek asked.
“Remember how happy they are, and how hopeful that made you? Triple matings—”

“Caleb, Kerrick and Mercy are different,” Kylar spat. “Two
men and a woman. At least there’s a relationship that has a biological point.”
The words made Varek wince. He knew Kylar didn’t mean them. That was the sort
of thing Kylar’s father would say. Kylar’s father… Varek winced. If he and
Gable were responsible for turning Kylar into a junior version of Baron the
Bastard, Varek knew he would never forgive himself.

“And Mercy wasn’t using Caleb and Kerrick to gain her
freedom,” Kylar continued. “She wasn’t pretending to love them so she could
move out of the slave cabins!”

“We didn’t pretend. We
do
love you. Please, can’t you
see that? Don’t you love us too?” The pleading tone in Gable’s voice was almost
too much for Varek. The pain on both of these beloved faces, the pain in their
voices…he couldn’t stand it. How could this have happened?

All he wanted to do was hold them both tight. All he wanted
to do was take them both to bed. But that would probably never happen again.
Just as that chilling realization sunk in Kylar spoke.

“I think you two should leave.”

“Kylar,” Gable said. “Please listen to us. Yes, we started
out wanting a Pride-born warrior-mate to gain our freedom. But it was never
about using anyone. We wanted a third to fall in love with, we wanted—”

Kylar’s face went even redder. Varek had to force himself
not to take a step back. Showing fear when Kylar was in this state would
probably be a bad idea. “Just leave. Just get out. I never want to see you two
again.”

“Kylar, we love you,” Varek started, but he could see it was
too late.

“Get out!” Kylar yelled. “Get out or I’ll throw you out! Get
the hell out of my house and my life.”

Varek took one last glance around the living room, the room
where the three of them had had such fun, such passion, such love. Would he
ever see this room again? The painting above the fireplace was new, chosen by
the three of them together. A symbol of their new life together. Now that would
never happen. Tears filled his eyes. He’d probably cried more today than in the
past ten years combined. He was a warrior, a fighter, but he was also a man
who—until today—had believed that love could be as powerful as hate. The death
of that belief, and knowing that Kylar’s bitter waste of a father had won the
day, made him more vulnerable than he’d ever been before.

“Come on, Gable,” he said, putting a hand on Gable’s
shoulder. “We have to do what we’re told.”

“I don’t want to! I want to stay.” Gable pulled in a deep
breath that came out as a sob. “Please, Kylar, let me stay. Let me explain it
to you, all of it, and how much we love and need you and—”

Kylar gave a short, ugly laugh. “Yes, you certainly do need
me. But you won’t have me. Go find some other Pride-born to use. I’m sure
you’ll manage to seduce someone before the year’s out. Now
get out of my
house
.”

Before either of them could reply, Kylar stalked down the
hallway to the bedroom and slammed the door shut. The sound of it echoed in
Varek’s head like the pounding of a hammer, a hammer smashing his hopes and
dreams and the love they’d shared into pieces.

* * * * *

The slave quarters had never seemed so small, so dingy and
smelly and downright depressing. Gable felt like he could barely walk. His body
was so heavy, his legs so weary. Varek seemed to feel the same way. They
trudged down the long row between the bunks holding hands. Varek’s was cold,
but his was even colder. Gable felt as if he’d never be warm or happy again.

How could this have happened? How could they have lost
Kylar?

By unspoken agreement he and Varek walked to Gable’s bed and
collapsed on it together. Varek lay down and pulled Gable’s back to his front,
spooning him from behind. Gable clutched at Varek’s arms, holding on tight, and
entwined his legs with Varek’s. They lay still for what felt like hours. The
entire time, there was only one thought that kept running through Gable’s head.

“We hurt him,” Gable whispered. “Oh God, Varek, we hurt him
so much. And we can’t help him because it’s our fault…” He bit his lip and
tried his best not to start crying. If he started, he was afraid he’d never
stop. “We didn’t want him to be alone and now he’s more alone than ever.”

“I know.” Varek sounded choked. Gable imagined he had a lump
in his throat too. “It’s not just that we lost him. It’s how… it’s how much we
hurt him.”

The truth was too much to hold inside him with a stiff upper
lip. Gable started to cry, silent tears that flowed down his cheeks. His whole
body ached. Kylar felt betrayed and alone and it was his fault. This whole
thing had been his idea. Varek would never have tried something like this on
his own.

“I’m sorry.”

Through his tears Gable saw a familiar figure standing near
the bed. It was Job, who bunked across from him. Gable sniffed and swiped at
his nose. “Job, can you give us a few minutes? This isn’t really a good time.”

“I know.” Job sat down on his bunk. “I know it isn’t, and
that’s my fault. I’m so sorry. He made me tell him. I couldn’t say no. But he
didn’t let me explain it right, he didn’t—”

“What?” Gable lay very still, even as dread crept quickly
beneath his skin. “What are you talking about?”

“Baron Grossman,” Job said. “He came here asking questions.
He said if we didn’t tell the truth he’d have us killed. I told him what I’d
heard, about you and Varek planning to seduce Kylar so you could be free.”
Job’s anguished face broke Gable’s heart even more. “But he didn’t let me tell
him the rest, about how many times you’ve both said you loved Kylar. He made me
stop, and Kylar looked so…sick. He obviously loved you both…very much.”

Behind Gable, Varek sat up. “Wait. You told Baron? You told
Kylar?”

“He made me,” Job said, shrinking away. Varek could be
pretty terrifying when he was angry. “He said he’d have me killed if I didn’t
tell. Me and Hendricks both.”

Gable sat and slid his feet to the floor. So that was it.
That was how Kylar had found out. That was what Baron had done to his own
child, fed him half truths just to break Kylar’s heart. He’d probably laughed
afterward. Anything that hurt others seemed to make Sire Baron very, very
happy. It was part of the reason Gable had been so certain Kylar would be
better off with him and Varek. Screw Kylar’s family. They might be his by
blood, but he and Varek were Kylar’s by heart, by choice, by love.

A love Gable wasn’t about to give up on so easily.

He stood, but stopped Varek from standing beside him with a
hand on his shoulder. “I’m going to go back to him and force him to hear the
truth,” Gable said.

“Let me go with you.” Varek tried to rise again, but Gable
stopped him again. This time with a kiss, a gentle kiss on his full lips that
was as bitter as it was sweet. What if this was the last time he ever kissed
Varek? What if the only way to right the wrong he’d done was to give up both of
the men he loved?

Gable swallowed and ran an affectionate hand over Varek’s
bald head. It would be worth it. If he had to go so that Varek and Kylar could
both be happy, then that’s exactly what he would do. “I love you,” he
whispered.

“I love you too,” Varek said, his eyes narrower than usual.
He obviously suspected Gable was up to something. Hopefully, by the time
suspicion turned to action Gable would have convinced Kylar of Varek’s love and
he himself would be gone. Gable turned and started back down the row of bunks.

“Be careful,” Varek called after him.

“I will,” Gable whispered to himself. For the first time in
weeks of carefree enjoyment of his two loves, he was going to be very careful
indeed.

Chapter Seven

Kylar didn’t hear a sound. There was no crunch of gravel, no
footfalls outside the house. Gable was simply not there one minute, and
crouched on the sill of his open window the next.

“Get out,” Kylar mumbled from the chair in the corner of the
bedroom, the place where he’d collapsed when Gable and Varek had left. He
didn’t know how long he’d been there. Maybe hours. All he knew is that the pain
wasn’t getting any better. If anything, it hurt more now to look into Gable’s
soft brown eyes than it did before.

How could he still be so breathtaking? Even now that Kylar
knew for a fact that all that innocent goodness he’d thought he saw inside
Gable was only an act?

“No. You’re going to listen to me first.” Gable jumped
lightly from the windowsill. He was in his bare feet, but still…he should have
made some sound. But he didn’t. He was silent as a ghost, a phantom.

That’s all he was to Kylar now, something terrible come to
haunt him.

“I don’t listen to dead people,” he said, his voice smooth
and even. He had to stay cold and emotionless, it was the only way to survive
whatever lies Gable had come here to tell.

“Are you threatening to kill me?” Gable asked, the feigned
devastation in his expression cutting Kylar straight through to the heart.

“No,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I’m saying that you
are dead to me. You were dead to me from the second my father told me the
truth.”

“The truth.” Gable shook his head, his fear turning to
disgust. “As if your father has ever told you the truth. Was it the truth that
you were weaker than the other boys when you were young?”