“What do you want?”
“What I want? I can’t have what I want, Meg. Life doesn’t work out for everyone. For every happy couple out there, there’s a poor, miserable wretch. Two actually.”
“You can’t believe that.”
“Let her.” Liam stood and crossed his arms over his chest. “If she wants to be miserable, that’s her choice.”
His tone irritated her. “You think I want this, Liam? You think I wanted any of this?”
“You must have. Your choices up until this point have led you here.”
“That’s not fair.” The words came out hollow, even to her own ears. Liam was right. Lawrence’s choices had stripped her of some of hers, but not all. “I want to be with Michael. I always have, from the very beginning. But how can I do that? If I go to him now, I put him in danger. I can’t do that to him. I won’t.”
“I find your lack of respect for the man you claim to love astounding.” Liam looked as calm and collected as always, but his words held a heat Amaia had never witnessed from him.
“Excuse me?” Amaia couldn’t hide the anger in her voice. How dare Liam question her relationship with Michael?
“Who are you to make this decision for him?” Liam’s domineering voice filled the room.
“Liam—”
“No, Meg. This is ridiculous. He’s a grown man. He can make his own decisions.”
Amaia’s anger imbued her words with a strength she didn’t feel. “And how do you propose that would work, Liam? Do you really think there is any way he can comprehend the threat to his life?”
“Then you protect him. If he’s your mate, then you protect him at all costs. You’re being childish if you think you’ll be able to stay away. No matter what you do, he’s a target. You can protect him, go to him, and make decisions together, or you can stay here and try to fight a battle with yourself that you know you’ll lose. And when you do lose it, you’ll take him down with you.”
Liam was right. If she were to run to Michael in a fit of passion, having lost her self-control, it would be disastrous. “I don’t want to see him hurt. If you were me and this was Meg we were talking about, can you honestly say that you wouldn’t stay away to keep her safe?”
“Yes, I can. I know myself well enough to know I would always stay near, which would endanger her more than going to her.”
Amaia could see herself doing just that. There was no way she would be able to keep her distance. In her efforts to keep Michael safe and watch over him, she would do as she had done during his first few lives. She would return to being the eyes watching in the shadows. Only, he would never let it rest at that. He would sense her and search for her. Now that he knew she existed and wasn’t a figment of his imagination, he would seek her out, endangering himself.
She needed to go to him.
“You’re right, Liam. I must at least talk to him. If he doesn’t want me, I can stay away for his protection, but there’s no way I can’t consult him. I’m afraid that means we’ll have to part ways. It endangers us all to stay together.” Amaia stood.
“But we can help you.” Meg’s eyes were earnest.
“No, it’s too dangerous.”
“It might be better for us to stick together, strength in numbers.”
Amaia didn’t want to leave Meg any more than Meg wanted to be left. There was no way around it. “I’ll have to try to keep myself hidden. If that fails, and Zenas is really as mad as I think he may be, then no number of vampires will be able to protect me. You’d only end up getting killed.”
“She’s right, Meg. We have to let her do this on her own.”
Meg whirled and beat her fists against Liam’s chest. “No, you’re only saying that because you’ve never liked her.”
“That’s not true, and you know it, Meg.” Amaia placed her hand on Meg’s back and draw her into a hug. “He only wants to protect you, the same as I do with Michael. I can’t risk you. You have to promise me you won’t try to follow. I can’t be worried about you, too. It will only break my concentration when I need to focus on keeping Michael safe. Do you understand?”
Meg nodded against Amaia’s shoulder.
“Promise?”
“I promise.” It came out weak, but Amaia knew Meg meant it. She never made a promise lightly.
Amaia pulled away. “When things settle down, I’ll figure out a way to contact you. Don’t come looking for me. I’ll find you when I can.”
“Keep yourself and that boy of yours safe. If you need us, you know we’ll be there.” Liam stepped forward and gave Amaia a perfunctory hug. It was the most affection he had ever shown her.
***