had escaped her ponytail, but Kaya ignored it. When she finally spoke, she kept her eyes on the horizon.
“One day in the not-so-distant future, Sebastian will be King. Everything important he learns will come from you. Frey will teach him to fight. Julian or Henry will teach him about technology. I will do my best to teach him how to love. But the most important things about being a good leader will come from you.” Kaya turned her face toward him. “Before we know it, he will learn to walk. He’s going to fall down. Are you going to scoop him up and carry him or pick him up and encourage him to try again? He’s going to face adversity. There will be those who try to take him down the same way Alistair and Drago did with you. Will you teach him to trust in the Clan, in our family, to stick together? Or will you tell him to run when things get tough?” Kaya searched his eyes before turning her gaze back to the sea.
“I don’t know what it’s like to lead a Clan,” she continued. “But I do know about being in charge. As Chief of Police, I had to make hard decisions. I had to delegate responsibilities to my officers and detectives. I had to trust that those who were under my direction would do their best to keep our city safe. It didn’t always work. Crime didn’t cease. People still died. Was that my fault? Could I have done more to ensure the evil in the world suddenly became good? Stopped killing, stopped selling drugs, stopped robbing and causing chaos? I became a cop because of my father. I wanted to follow in his footsteps to try and make a difference. I’m not sure I succeeded, but at least I tried. That is the lesson I want our son to learn. To try his best. To lean on those around him to help. To know that when he fails – because he will – that he has a Clan surrounding him who won’t blame him for failing, but will be there to pick him up, dust off his backside, and push him forward. I want Bas to know it’s okay to not have all the answers all the time. I want him to be the best King for our future Clan. Are you going to teach him how? Or are we going to stay hidden away while his cousins learn those lessons from their parents?”
Rafael touched Kaya’s chin and turned her face toward him. “Please forgive me. For trying to shelter you too long. For not listening when you asked to go home.” Rafe leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. “I’m not sorry for bringing you here to recuperate, but I am sorry for making you stay after you requested we return. I have been feeling sorry for myself. I failed to keep the Clan safe, but more than that, I failed to keep you safe. I thought by bringing you here I could shelter you and Sebastian from further attacks. I thought I could outrun the guilt, or at least hide from it if I wasn’t around to see the destruction. But while I’ve been here having a pity party, our family has been hard at work rebuilding our homes. I should have been there for them. I helped rebuild New Atlanta after the world fell, but when my family needed me most, I let them down. Not because we were attacked, but because I ran.
“You are absolutely right in everything you said, and that’s why you are the perfect Queen. It is your place to keep me in line and tell me when I’m fucking up. It is my place to teach our son, and I’m not setting a good example by staying here while the world continues to spin. So again, please forgive me.”
Kaya cupped his cheek with her free hand and kissed him softly. “You’re forgiven,” she mouthed against his lips.
“Let’s go home.”
Epilogue
New Atlanta 2053
Family day was in full swing at the manor, and Rafael smiled at the chaos. Coming back from Italy had been the right decision. When they first returned, Rafael drove straight to Frey and Abbi’s. After a couple weeks, Frey encouraged Rafe to take his family home, but Rafael used Kaya’s trauma as an excuse for not doing so. The mates kept Kaya busy, visiting almost daily. Sophia brought Lydia over for play dates even though