Page 61 of Wanderer

“Oh, there are a couple of notes here. I’ll start with the general one.” He set one aside, took a deep breath, and read out in his soothing voice. “If you have this letter, I will be gone. Please look after my boy for me. He’s my whole world. His magic is unstable and requires constant monitoring. He likes to shift all the time and will eat meals as a dog if you’ll let him. Corbin is a sweet, loving boy who deserves to be loved. Please care for him and tell him his mama is watching over him. I love you always, Corbin.”

Gareth spread out the papers. There were vaccine records, medical information, what he liked and didn’t, his usual routine, then a separate, smaller envelope addressed to me.

“I know what she did to you was awful Riley, I just hope you can look past it for Corbin’s sake. All she ever did was tell the boy how great his daddy was. He’s asked for you every day.” Mom’s eyes were filled with tears.

My mother knew I had a soft heart. Yeah, I was disgusted by what Mira had done to me. That was going to stick with me a long time, still I would never blame a child. “Gar?”

Like I knew he would, my mate answered my unspoken question. “He’s our son now. He’ll stay with us. Molly, Pax, and Eason will go to Westhaven. Corbin stays with us.” I squeezed his hand.

Mom slumped in her seat in relief. “Thank goodness. I love the child, but I feel so weak, and his magic…”

“What’s wrong with his magic?” Pax asked. He leaned against the wall, studying us.

“Maybe she said in her letter to Riley.” Gareth picked up the much smaller envelope. “Do you want me to read this one too?”

“Please,” I muttered.

“Okay.” He carefully withdrew a sheet of folded paper. “Dear Riley. First things first: I’m sorry. It’s not enough, I know. What I did to you is unforgivable. I just hope you’ll forgive me enough to love our son.” Gareth’s eyes met mine over the paper. “Boyce demanded I sleep with you and get pregnant. I didn’t want to do it that way. He wanted me to use magic, and I thought it was kindest if you were asleep for most of it. You didn’t deserve to be treated like breeding stock. I hated what my uncle was forcing me to do. He vowed to hurt you if I didn’t. You probably won’t believe me, but I always had a crush on you. Would you have given me the time of day if I’d asked? I didn’t think so. I think I used that excuse to pretend I was protecting you by drugging you and having sex with you without your consent.”

“Oh, fuck,” I heard someone mutter.

Gareth continued. “As soon as you left, I ran away from my uncle. I’d been planning on leaving and wanted to take you with me. Not sure if you would have trusted me enough to come, though. When I learned I was pregnant, I wanted to find you. That would have been a mistake. Boyce always knew where you were, and you were safer without me and our baby. As Corbin grew inside me, I used all my magic to hide us from the world. He was born on Halloween. A whole eight pounds! From the start, things were difficult. I didn’t regret it at all. He’s my everything. He grew normally. Then his magic manifested at three. It took so much to keep it under wraps. He had seizures when the power got to be too much. I had to pull from him, which put me under more pressure.”

Mom sniffled. Pax handed her a tissue from the mayor’s desk.

“I fell sick and knew it was only a matter of time before my uncle found us. When he did, I knew he’d kill me if I wasn’t already dead. I wrote these letters and instructions in the hope that you’ll care for our son, even if he was born from the horrible thing I did to you. Just know I regret it. I wish I’d told you what he wanted and let you choose. More than anything, I wish I was there to see Corbin grow up. I know he’s in safe hands with you, Riley. Please forgive me for his sake. Mira.”

We sat in silence for what felt like minutes, though it couldn’t have been. There was too much to process.

“Help!” Debra cried. “Corbin has collapsed!”

I was at Corbin’s side in an instant. He was lying on the tile floor with his coat under his head. His tiny frame shook with a seizure. Debra stood by helplessly, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I didn’t—”

“It’s fine,” I cut in, going to my knees next to him. “He’s got a health condition,” I added, worrying I’d been too sharp. Debra deserved my kindness since it was all she had ever given me.

“Oh, the poor dear! Is there anything I can do?”

“No. I don’t know what to do for him.”

Minutes passed as Corbin lay there, his body convulsing. Gareth and Keeley had their heads together, whispering frantically.

“It’s dark magic, Gareth! You can’t! It could damage your core.”

“I’m willing to risk it,” Gareth muttered stubbornly.

“Even if it leeches through your bond and steals your mate’s ability to shift? You’re bonded now, you have to think of both of you.”

Gareth made a frustrated noise. “I can’t let the boy die! There has to be something!”

“Move!” barked a figure in the doorway. A man in a hospital gown and slippers strode into City Hall. He joined me on the floor next to Corbin’s head.

“Oh, my!” Debra gasped. The man’s gown flared open, exposing his back covered in old scars and his bare ass.

“Riku, for fuck’s sake!” Another man followed and draped a blanket over the hospital gown, covering him from sight.

As soon as Riku’s fingers touched Corbin’s forehead, my little boy calmed. Riku sat back with a gasp. “Once he wakes up, someone get him to the nearest ward stone. He can fill the gaps before the next attack.

Who the fuck was this man, and what had he just done to my son? As if sensing my questions, he sat back on his ass with a grin. “Hi, I’m Riku. I think I’ve been out for a while.” He looked helplessly at the man who had covered him with the blanket. “Hello, sweetheart. Miss me?”