Mending the Beast (Awakening Pride #10) - Lacey Thorn Page 0,28

through her when I spoke them. I don’t want to die, but I’ll never truly live without her.”

“What are you saying?” Tah crossed his arms over his chest as he stared Daniel down.

“If she chooses to walk away this time. If she doesn’t want to give us a chance.” He paused, taking a deep breath before finishing. “I won’t be back.”

“Not acceptable,” Tah growled.

“I’m not asking. I’m telling you.”

“Gabriel will go after you. Laura, too. Do you want to risk her, now? With the pregnancy?”

Daniel knew sadness showed on his face. He didn’t even try to hide it. “I trust Finn to see to his mate. Laura will be fine. Besides, they’ll know where to find me. I said I wouldn’t be back, not that I was going into hiding.”

“You’re a member of this pride, Daniel. We need you.”

“And I’ll always be willing to help. Just not here. We’ve talked about sending people out to hunt for lone shifters unaware of who and what they are. I can do that. I can help give them a fighting chance against the hunters, who go out to do that same.” He shook his head. “I can’t spill enough blood to make up for what they did to her. But maybe, I can prevent what was done to her from happening to another female shifter. Maybe, that’s what I should have been doing all along. All I know is I can’t keep going on the way I have been. Putting both Murphy and I in danger with my sheer recklessness. I can’t be that man anymore.”

“And if you and Ariel find your way? What then?”

“I think we’ll make a great team in the field. Finding and saving shifters. Sending them to a place they can call home. Where they can find family and a sense of belonging. Unless, she feels differently. But I don’t think she will. I feel it in my gut, with my animal instinct. That’s the path we need to take. Together.”

Tah looked thoughtful for a long moment before slowly nodding his head. “I won’t let you go. Either of you. You’re family. You and Ariel. This will always be your home.”

Daniel reached for Tah’s hand and found himself pulled into a hard hug instead. Tah slapped him on the back then squeezed before stepping back.

“I’ll call Gideon and let him know you’re heading out. I’m sure they’ll keep on going. Especially, if Gabriel suspects you might not come back.”

Daniel laughed. “I’m sure he will. My brother seems to think he always knows what’s best for me.”

“He loves you,” Tah stated.

“He does. Despite the wedge my father tried to drive between us.” He gave thanks to Laura for still having a good relationship with Gabriel. She’d stepped in, become family, and kept the two of them from drifting too far apart. Somehow, she’d made herself the younger sister Daniel and Gabriel had never had and saved them in the process. “I love him, too.”

Tah glanced behind them toward the door where Laura had appeared with a pack held in her hands. Daniel knew without asking that it was for him. Tah or Abby must have let her know he was leaving, and she’d put his stuff together for him.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Tah reached out and squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “Call me when you get there.”

“Will do,” Daniel vowed then held his arms open. Laura dropped the bag and barreled into him. Pregnancy was definitely affecting her emotions. She seemed to cry at the drop of a hat. Or maybe, that was merely Daniel’s experience.

“I seem to always make you cry,” he whispered as he held her close.

“I can’t do this again, Daniel. I keep watching you leave, wondering if you’ll be coming back. Wondering if it’ll be the last time I see you.” She shuddered in his embrace before glancing up at him. “Don’t make me grieve you. We may not be related by blood, but you’re my brother in every way that matters. I need you. My baby needs to know their Uncle Daniel.”

He smiled. “Already using the kid to get your way, huh?”

She gave a watery laugh that might have ended on a choked sob. “If it works.”

“Do you remember how you felt when you thought Finn had died? That you’d lost him forever?”

She nodded. “Of course. I wanted to…” Her words trickled off as her eyes lit up. “I wanted to die, too. Daniel.”

“I’m not running away this time, Laura. I’m not diving into a dangerous