“But Gidgit is fine Duncan… we all are.”
Heavy footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching from down the hall only moments before Bruce appeared in the doorway. Doing a quick assessment of the situation, he rushed to his wife’s side. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. It’s him I’m worried about. He didn’t react well to finding out Gidgit was still alive this time.”
Eyeing him sadly Bruce shook his head. “Duncan, everything Vincent told you in there was a lie. He only wanted to screw with your head.”
“Well he fucking succeeded.”
Running his hands through his hair repeatedly, Duncan resumed pacing, desperate to make sense of everything his mind was trying to show him. But other than the misery and pain associated with them, Duncan couldn’t make heads or tails of the jumbled up mess. “I think I am losing my mind.”
“Then let me help you find it.”
“Senka?”
Halting mid-stride, Duncan spun to face the door. Standing just inside the room, looking every bit as beautiful as the last time he had seen her, Senka greeted him with a sad smile. “Hey old man.”
He should have been overjoyed to see her alive and well, but her presence only made the pain worse. Recalling the hurt in her eyes after learning the truth of who he was, Duncan was overcome with heart crushing regret. Combined with the panic and guilt already tearing away at his soul, it quickly became too much for his weakened state, and he collapsed to his knees.
“Senka I’m so sorry.” He exhaled watching as she slowly approached him. “I didn’t want you to find out the truth that way. I wanted to tell you myself, I swear. But every time I built up the nerve, something would happen that made the timing seem wrong. ”
Hesitating as she stopped in front of him, her expression impassive, he dropped his gaze to floor. “I didn’t mean to deceive you and I damn sure didn’t mean to hurt you. If you never want to see me again, I will understand…”
“Duncan…” Her hands gently holding each side of his face, Senka tipped his head back so that he was forced to look at her. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Finding it hard to believe she could have possibly forgiven him for his crimes against her people, Duncan furrowed his brow. His gaze locked with hers, he stared up into her breathtaking amber eyes, and searched for any signs she was being anything but truthful. But there was no anger or hate in the soft expression that stared back at him. Instead his fear was met only with warmth and compassion.
“You’re not angry with me?”
“I was…”
Upon hearing those words, he tried to pull his head free of her hold. But Senka was not having it. Tightening her grip, she held him in place, forcing him to look at her.
“Let me finish.” She gently commanded.
Surrendering his struggle, Duncan watched out of the corner of his eye as Bruce, realizing they were no longer needed, nudged Andria toward the door. Hand in hand they exited the room, giving them the space and privacy they needed to work out their grievances.
“Duncan…” She called, pulling his gaze back to her.
Satisfied she had his undivided attention once again, Senka continued. “As I was saying, I was angry. So much so I considered leaving you to Vincent’s wrath. But then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no right to be angry with you.” Heaving a heavy sigh, she reached down and took his hands, pulling him to his feet. “What you did to protect Andria and your family is no different than what I did to take care of my sister when my father left. And while I’m not proud of that fact, I will not deny, given the same circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. Just as I am sure you wouldn’t either.”
He sighed, knowing she was right. “Still I shouldn’t have kept my past a secret from you. By bringing you here and not telling you up front what we were walking into I put your life in danger, and for that I cannot forgive myself.”
“We all have secrets Duncan…” Senka hesitated, biting her lip nervously. “Some just a bit more ummmm… impactful than others.”
Swallowing hard, it was Senka’s turn to look away. Eyes on the floor, he watched as she randomly picked at some invisible object on the front of her shirt. Concerned by her sudden change in demeanor, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. “Are you ok?”
Returning his embrace, she pulled him close, shaking her head. “I have something I need to confess. But I am afraid if I tell you, you won’t want me anymore.”
Tightening his hold on her small body, Duncan shook his head. “Senka, I love you. Have for a long time, if I am going to be honest. And there is absolutely nothing you can say that is going to change that.”
“I found my father.” She blurted out before biting her lip again. “And it seems the two of you have met…”
Duncan blinked. That definitely wasn’t something he had expected her to say. “I’ve met your father?”
Again she nodded. “About twenty years ago.”
Duncan frowned not liking the direction this conversation had turned. “I was still a bounty hunter twenty years ago.”
“Yes, and he was your prey.”
Duncan cringed. Unsure of how to respond to that tidbit of information, he elected to remain silent.
“You might even remember him. His name is Criston Le Blanc.” Senka hesitated, staring up at him. “But you’ll probably know him better by his code name… ‘Marchand de Mort’
At the mention of the assassin legend’s name, Duncan’s brow furrowed. The one and only time he had encountered Marchand was the day he had planned to kill him. However after hiding in the forest for days, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself, he ended up blowing his cover at the last minute in order to save the man’s child from drowning in the river.
The child…
Eyes wide Duncan dropped his gaze to Senka’s dark brown hair and amber eyes. “No… it’s not possible.”
Having remained silent up to this point, giving him the time he needed to work the truth out on his own, Senka sniffed. “You saved me that day Duncan. You gave up your chance to kill a legend and become one yourself, in order to save your enemy’s child.”
“And you protected me from your father.” He breathed out. Moving away from her Duncan shook his head. “Damn Senka, this…” he paused gesturing between them. “…this is messed up. You… you were just a tiny thing… a child…”
“But now I am an adult… and semi-immortal.” She challenged closing the gap he had made. “I will look the way I do right now for the rest of my life. So what difference does it make if I am twenty-six or two hundred and six? Me personally, I believe fate brought us together again because they knew we would need each other’s help once more.” Still reeling from the shock of it all, Duncan remained still as Senka wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “And I for one would hate to go against the stars plans for us.”
Before he could argue, Senka rose up on her toes and pressed her lips against his. Passion ignited his veins, instantly obliterating any arguments he had once had.
When they finally broke their kiss, Duncan pressed his forehead against Senka’s and released a heavy sigh. “You know …that day changed my life. You changed my life.”
“Duncan…”
“No Senka, it’s true. I went into that forest fully expecting to die. But instead I walked out a completely new man. And do you know why?” Running a hand through her hair, he laid a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Because you called me your guardian. It was the first time in a long time anyone had seen me as something other than the killer I had chosen to become. And it gave me a purpose. I decided then and there, that if that cute little girl in pigtails could see good in me, then maybe, just maybe, there was hope for my dark soul after all.”
“The goodness was inside you all along Duncan… otherwise you would have let me drown.” Rising up on her toes as if to kiss him, she hesitated, “You just needed a little help finding it.”
Pressing her lips to his, she ran her hands through his shaggy hair. A low growl rumbled free from his chest as he snaked his arms around her waist, and he held her close; her small body molding to his as if they were made for one another.
They remained that way, locked in each other’s arms for how long he had no idea. This time it was Senka who broke it off first. Her eyes half hooded, she looked up at him with a need that mirrored his own. Not wanting to deny either of them what they both so obviously wanted, Duncan scooped her up in his arms and set her gently down on the bed.
Gazing up at him, Senka smiled mischievously. “I love you old man.”
Leaning down, Duncan pulled up the bottom of her tank, pressing a gentle kiss on the skin underneath. “I love you, too.” he breathed, loving the way she groaned when his whiskers tickled her skin. Slowly working his way up to her shoulder, Duncan licked and nipped at the sensitive flesh as she fisted her hand tightly into his hair, encouraging him to continue. Before long her breathing got heavy and her heart rate increased. But still he taunted her.
Finally when she was on the edge of going mad, he leaned over and whispered softly into her ear. “I plan to spend every minute of every day for the rest of my life proving to you just how much I love you… that is if you will allow me.”
She gasped. Pulling back slightly he stared into her shocked expression. “So will you?” he asked again, watching as tears welled in her eyes. “Will you have me as your mate Senka?”
A loan tear escaped as she nodded her head. “Now and forever.”
THE END
If you enjoyed this book and would like to read more stories about this fantastical world, please check out my series The Shadow Chronicles.
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K.R. FAJARDO (Kelli) is a married mother of 3 beautiful children who lives deep in the piney woods of East Texas. She loves chocolate, Dr. Pepper, 80's music, and anything paranormal. Her favorite way to unwind after a long, hard day is to kick up her feet and immerse herself into the fantastical world of a good book. It is this passion for reading that eventually lead Kelli to pursue her longtime dream of writing and in 2013, after a year of hard work, she self-published her first book K: The Awakening. The following year its sequel Linked was released by Anchor Group Publishing. Spurred on by the out pouring of support she has received from friends, family, and complete strangers, Kelli looks forward to continuing to share her fantastical stories with readers around the world.
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