Chapter Six
Since Faye had rushed out of the nursery on an urgent Protector matter, Arabella had put aside her laptop and rocked in the glider chair, ready in case one of her babies needed her. She usually tried to sleep when her children did, but even with her eyes closed, her brain kept whirling.
Her search hadn't yet brought up anything about her father, for one. And two, she wondered what was keeping Finn away for so long.
Her dragon spoke up. He won't stay away longer than is absolutely necessary.
I know, but for once, I actually want people around me. Is it wrong to wish for Aunt Lorna to come home as soon as possible? I miss her.
Of course it's not wrong. She is like a mother to us. Merely having her near will help both us and Freya.
She heard the door and instantly opened her eyes. Finn already stood at the crib, staring down at their children.
Standing, she crossed over to her mate. However, when he didn't pull her close and kiss her head, she knew something was wrong. Finn always did that after rushing off for an urgent matter, to let her know he'd missed her. "What happened?"
"Tristan and Melanie are here."
She frowned. "What? Why? Not that I don't want to see my brother and sister-in-law, but they weren't supposed to visit for weeks." With a sigh, Finn met her eyes. At his unreadable expression, her heart skipped a beat and every worst-case scenario ran through her head. "Please tell me that they're okay and the twins are, too."
"They're all fine."
At his monotone answer, irritation flared. Mindful of the babies, she kept her tone low, but firm. "Just tell me what's going on, Finn. You hesitating is only making the situation worse."
Gently taking hold of her bicep, he guided her to the far side of the room before whispering, "Tristan found your father."
Her heart skipped a beat. "That's impossible."
Finn shook his head. "No, he's here. Dr. Sid and Gregor should be with him as we speak."
She was torn between wanting to rush out of the room to find her father and staying put to avoid him.
Her dragon grunted. We shouldn't cower in this situation. You wanted closure. This would be it.
I need more information before I rush to him. We have no idea what he's been up to.
Meeting Finn's gaze, she asked, "Something must be off. Otherwise, you wouldn't be so quiet and restrained."
He sighed. "You know me too well, love."
Placing a hand on his chest, she leaned closer to murmur, "Just tell me, Finn."
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his body. "He's here, but I suspect different than you remember. It's almost as if he's given up, and you never mentioned that about him before."
More than anyone, Arabella understood feeling defeated. If she hadn't met Finn, she might've given up, too. "Do you know where he's been?"
Finn rubbed slow circles on her back. "In hiding." Finn relayed what he knew of her father's hiding and subsequent drug dependency before adding, "Tell me what to do, Ara. If you want him gone, I'll order it. If you want to meet him, I'll arrange that too. But I hope you understand why I met him alone first, before you could."
She nodded. "I do. If you hadn't told me about him, then I'd be bloody upset and shouting when I found out. But you did tell me. And now I can face him without shock clouding my brain."
He kissed her forehead. "My brilliant mate never ceases to amaze me."
Normally, she'd make a quip, but Arabella was exhausted, and it looked as if she need to reserve what strength she did have. "When can I see him?"
Leaning back, he cupped her cheek. "Until I'm positive he's not a threat, I won't allow him near our children. That means leaving them for a short while under someone else's care because I'm going with you."
"I know." She traced Finn's jaw with a finger. Just as she tried to decide who would be the best choice to watch over her babies, the door opened to reveal Aunt Lorna's gray and blonde-haired, slightly plump form.
Lorna rushed over to them. "I came back as soon as I could." She hugged the pair of them. "Is it true? What Faye told me about Freya?"
Arabella answered first. "Yes. She's stable for now, although the doctors are working on a more long-term solution." She looked behind Lorna, but didn't see her mate. "Is Ross with Holly?"
"Aye. Holly's getting closer to giving birth, which means Fraser is driving her crazy. So Ross is acting as peacekeeper."
Despite everything going on, Arabella couldn't help but smile. "Is that wise? Usually, there's only more fighting whenever Ross and Fraser get together."
Lorna clicked her tongue. "Both of them are to be on their best behaviors, as they promised me. But that lot will be fine. Tell me what I can do to help my granddaughter."
Something as simple as Lorna thinking of Freya as her granddaughter instead of great-niece helped Arabella relax a fraction. The one thing that the MacKenzies always had in ample supply was love.
Well, and stubbornness. But their love was more important.
Arabella moved to the crib, and Finn and Aunt Lorna followed. Arabella kept her gaze on the three sleeping babies. "I know you just returned, but could you watch Freya and the boys for a short while? Finn and I have something to do."
Lorna looked at the pair. "I sense it's important, but that you don't want to discuss it right now. As long as you promise to do so when possible, then aye, it's not a hardship to watch the triplets. They're angels compared to when my own children were their age."
"I think you're lying about that, Aunt Lorna. But we can talk about that later." Arabella hugged the older dragonwoman. "Thank you." Releasing her, Arabella glanced at Finn. "Let's go."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to do this now?"
"Yes." Taking Finn's hand, she squeezed it. "I stopped running and hiding when I met you, and I bloody well won't start doing it again now."
Raising their clasped hands, Finn kissed the back of hers. "I love you, Arabella. You're so bloody brilliant."
She resisted blushing. Arabella still had trouble with compliments, no matter how many times Finn gave them. "Some of your grumpiness has faded, which is a good sign. Let's hope it stays that way for this meeting."
He nodded at his aunt, and they exited the room. "I can't promise anything with regards to my grumpiness. But let me know if you need to leave. We could devise a code, or you could simply tell me you want to go."
"Normally, I'd create the worst code word I could think of, but I'm exhausted, worried about Freya, and nervous about meeting my dad." She threaded her arm through his. "Just having you near will be a great help."
After kissing the top of her head, they walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence. Finn at her side gave her the extra bit of courage she'd need for what was to come.
She couldn't imagine her life without him.
Her dragon spoke up. Don't forget about me. I'm here to help, too. Always.
Pushing aside the guilt that flared at the decade Arabella had all but ignored her inner beast, she replied, And I'll never take that for granted again, love. I promise.
Finn finally stopped them in front of a door to a private room. "He's in here."
Taking a deep breath, Arabella opened the door.
A gray-haired male with slumped shoulders sat with his back to her. While he'd always sat tall when she'd been a child, she recognized the form of her father.
Tristan was across the room, with Melanie at her side. Tristan spoke before she could say anything. "Arabella."
She waited for her father to turn his head, but George MacLeod kept his gaze on the ground in front of him.
Despite her rational intentions, she gripped Finn's hand tightly to avoid screaming at her dad. When he'd been at her bedside, during her recovery from the severe burns she'd received from the dragon hunters setting half her body on fire, she'd taken comfort from his strong hand gripping her non-burned one, his gentle voice persuading her to fight.
It had only been when he'd vanished that she'd realized how much her father had kept her grounded and fighting during that critical period of her life.
And now he wouldn't even look at her.
Emotion choked her throat.
Her brother repeated, "Arabella."
At her usually gruff brother's soft voice, she finally looked up. Part of her wanted to run to him. Finn was her mate and she loved him, but Tristan had been the one to fight for her when she'd been younger, in place of her father.
And she'd missed him.
As if reading her thoughts, Tristan closed the distance between them and opened his arms. Without a word, Finn released her hand and Tristan hugged her close. He murmured, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."
Shaking her head against her brother’s chest, she replied, "No, it's okay. I just missed you."
Tristan grunted. "With the twins being older, I'm sure we can visit more often." He leaned back and touched her chin. "Just tell us what you want to do right now and I'm sure we'll all follow it."
She glanced at Finn and he nodded his agreement.
The easiest path would be to say she wanted to leave, go back to her children, and forget about the male who'd abandoned her as a teenager.
And yet, to do so would erase much of the progress she'd made over the last few years.
She'd promised herself that she wouldn't run again, and Arabella was determined to fulfill that vow.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed away from Tristan and took a few steps toward her father.
Standing just behind her dad, she noticed the metal crutches lying next to him. Since he hadn't needed them before, something must've happened to him to.
Despite everything, she wanted to know what.
Mustering her courage, Arabella moved to stand in front of her father. Since he still didn't look up, she spoke. "Dad, look at me."
One beat passed and then another. Just as she debated squatting to see his face, George MacLeod met her gaze.
The guilt and self-hatred in his brown eyes were more than familiar. Arabella had seen it in the mirror every day for years.
She might still be angry and wouldn't forgive him without a lot more discussion and time, but in that moment, she knew she wanted to help him.
Because she sensed that if she didn't, he might not live much longer. And despite everything that had happened, her children deserved to have another grandparent.
Not just because her father's genetics might better help understand what was going on with Freya, but because somewhere deep inside the self-loathing male in front of her was the male she remembered. The one with pieces of her and Tristan's quirks and personalities.
On top of that, he was one of the few links to her mother.
Crouching down, she took her father's hands in hers. He tried to pull them away, but she tightened her grip. "No, I'm not going to let you hide and run away any longer." His gaze shot to the healed burns on her neck. She growled. "Yes, I suffered when I was younger. And of course, I missed my father and wished he would've been around to help. But right now, you're the one who needs support, and I'm going to give it to you."
She barely heard his words, "I'm not worth it."
"Stop. Because if you keep it up, I'll call in a female here by the name of Aunt Lorna. And I assure you, she's a much stronger force to be reckoned with than me. But one way or the other, I'm going to help you, Father. You have five grandchildren so far, and they deserve to know the male I remember, not this half-shadow you've become."
She held her breath and waited. From her own experience, Arabella knew that sometimes a person needed a little time to voice a thought, or even accept someone's offer of help.
The others in the room must've sensed the same, because they remained silent, too.
Her father finally spoke again. "I abandoned you and Tristan, Ara. You should be angry with me."
She raised an eyebrow. "I am, but we can deal with that later, once you stop hating yourself. Because I was once just like you. It took a lot of love from Tristan and his mate, as well as finding my own true mate, to finally move past it. The experience taught me that love can heal many wounds, including the ones you have now." She squeezed his hands in hers. "But I also know that it won't make any sort of difference unless you want to live."
Arabella released her dad's hands and took out her mobile. After finding a picture of her three babies sleeping together, she turned it toward them. "Here are three reasons you should fight, Dad. These are my three babies—Freya, Grayson, and Declan." She changed to another picture of two toddlers. "And here are two more. These are Tristan's twins, Jack and Annabel." Lowering the phone, she whispered, "So the most important question is—do you want to fight for the chance to know your grandbabies? Or do you want to give up, and abandon all of us again?"
Her father's gaze moved to Tristan. "Do you agree with Ara?"
Tristan grunted. "Yes. I've been trying to tell you that for months, but you never listened. However, know that if you walk away this time, I won't follow. This is it, George. Either allow us to help you heal, or you'll never see or hear from us again."
Her brother's words were harsher than Arabella's, but it was Tristan's way. If her father wanted to stay in their lives, he'd have to learn to accept both of them as they were in the present.
Looking back at Arabella, her dad murmured, "Can I see their pictures again?"
She unlocked the phone and found one of the few photos with all the children together and handed it to him.
A minute or more passed before he whispered, "Jocelyn would've loved to spoil them all."
Pushing past the sadness at her mum's absence, she pointed to Freya. "My daughter's full name is Freya Anne Jocelyn Stewart. Finn's mother was killed, too, like Mum. So I thought our daughter should have both of her grandmothers' names as part of her own, to remember where she came from."
A tear rolled down her father's face. He quickly wiped it away and met her gaze. "I want to know them, Ara. If you'll let me."
Emotion choked her throat. Rather than tell him how she felt with words, she hugged her father. It took a second for him to hug her back.
In that moment, the years apart didn't matter. Her father's hug and warm presence were a comfort she thought she'd never have again.
There may be a lot of work to do, but she was happy to have her dad back again. The question was whether he'd keep up the fight or not.
When she finally released her dad, she turned toward Finn and asked with her eyes if they could show him their triplets. Finn nodded, moved to pick up her dad's crutches, and held them out. "Aye, well, you'll be staying here for the foreseeable future. You and I will have our own chat later. But for now, I think we should introduce you to our bairns as well as Aunt Lorna." As her dad took his crutches and stood, Finn added, "But just know that if you do anything to upset my family, you'll deal with me."
Her father nodded, but remained silent. Arabella chimed in. "Right, then let's go." She looked at Tristan and Melanie. "You two should come, too. I know you'll have to return to Stonefire soon enough, but hopefully, you can at least spend the night."
Melanie smiled. "Since the DDA granted my parents a few weeks’ leave to stay on Stonefire, they're watching the twins. I'm sure Jack and Annabel will be spoiled enough to forget they even have parents for a few days."
Humans that weren't mated to a dragon-shifter had to possess a special pass from the UK Home Office before they could stay on a clan's land. Melanie had been instrumental in convincing the Home Office to issue more passes, especially for family members.
"Good," Arabella stated. "Then you can spend a day or two with the triplets. As it is, we have a lot going on right now. And I'll admit, we could use all the help we can get."
Melanie didn't miss a beat. "Ask anytime for our help and we'll give it. You know that, Ara."
Arabella owed much of her recovery to her sister-in-law, both with Melanie's influence on Tristan as well as the Department of Dragon Affairs. Without her sister-in-law's book on dragon-shifters, Bram and Finn may never have reached a foster candidate agreement. Meaning Arabella never would've found and mated Finn.
Yes, she was going to work on seeing her family on Stonefire more often, if she could manage it.
As they all filed out of the room, Arabella waved hello to Brenna Rossi, who had been standing guard, and then kept pace with her father's slower one. She had so many questions, but most of them would have to wait. Not just because of Freya, but also because she wanted to ensure Holly survived the delivery of her twins without a hitch. All signs pointed to routine births, but Arabella never dismissed outliers.
Especially since if anything happened to Holly, she had no idea how her true mate, Fraser, would react.
Her dragon spoke up. Don't think like that. Holly will be fine.
Rather than argue, she merely took the time to steal glances at her dad. He had more wrinkles than before, and grayer hair.
But he was still her father. Him meeting her children was hopefully the first step on his long recovery, both with himself and her family
~~~
Finn watched Arabella as she walked alongside her father. He would normally have Fergus reach out to his contacts to find out everything he could about George MacLeod. However, with his cousin in the throes of a mate-claim frenzy, Finn had asked one of the other Protectors, Brodie, to do so.
His dragon spoke up. You trust Brodie, too.
I know, but this is extremely important. I want to trust Ara's father, but for all we know, he could secretly be working for the rogue dragon-shifters.
Not long after Finn had won control of the clan, a group of disgruntled clan members had put his mate in danger. As a result, he'd exiled them and any others who didn't want to follow his leadership. The rogue pack of dragon-shifters now hid in the wilds somewhere in Scotland, planning who knew what. They had already troubled his family before, when they'd kidnapped Holly. Ever since, he'd vowed that he would do whatever it took to disband them and ensure they received justice for their crimes.
His dragon said, But we have a plan in place. Soon, we'll have a spy inside their ranks.
He and Bram had a long-term strategy, which they could finally enact in the coming months. Aye, I know, but it's not soon enough.
Arabella paused at the door to the nursery and glanced at him. Once he nodded, she entered, her father at her side, Finn and the others close on her heels.
Inside, Aunt Lorna had wee Freya in her arms as she rocked the glider chair. Since Freya loved her honorary grandmother nearly as much as her parents, she slept peacefully in Aunt Lorna's arms. Lorna's low voice filled the room. "Just be careful to keep your voices down, aye? I just got her back to sleep."
Arabella gestured toward her father. "Lorna MacKenzie Anderson, may I present my father, George MacLeod."
Lorna took in Arabella's father. To most, her smile would seem friendly and nothing else. But Finn saw the assessing nature of her gaze, which was quickly replaced with a neutral expression. "Hello, George. I must say, it's hard to believe you're standing here."
"Aunt Lorna," Arabella warned.
The older dragonwoman raised her brows. "I only speak the truth. After all, as long as my children are alive, I won't be far away. I couldn't imagine abandoning them."
Arabella opened her mouth, but George beat her to it. "She's right, Ara."
"Aye, I usually am." Lorna scrutinized George. "But you being here now, when you learned that your granddaughter needed help, speaks volumes. I'll give you one chance, George MacLeod. But hurt anyone I hold dear, and I'll ensure you leave shortly thereafter."
Finn resisted a sigh. Anyone who thought alpha male dragons were overly protective had clearly never met Aunt Lorna; females could be just as bad. "He's been warned already, Auntie. How about we try to avoid issuing threats for at least an hour? This is the first time he's meeting any of his grandchildren, after all."
Lorna cuddled Freya tighter against her body. "This wee lass is staying right here. I don't want to risk her dragon coming out." She motioned toward the crib with the boys. "But the lads have been stirring and probably wish to wake up."
Arabella guided her father to the crib, but Finn moved closer to his aunt. After lightly running a finger down his daughter's soft cheek, he murmured, "Tone down the threats, Aunt Lorna. Ara wants to help him."
"Aye, well, I seem to recall honesty being the way you won the lass. It can't hurt to try it with her father."
He did sigh at that and decided to change the subject. "What happened to Faye and Grant?"
"They went to check on Holly. Apparently, Ross and Fraser are having a wee row."
"I'm surprised you didn't see that coming, considering how well you know the family."
His aunt huffed. "I expected better, considering Holly's in labor. Although given my youngest son's way, he may have orchestrated it all to distract Holly from the pain."
"Aye, that's possible. Although I think you're giving him too much credit."
"Fraser is about to become a father. I believe there are many things he doesn't even know about himself, but will show up soon enough."
"We'll see." Finn took out his mobile and quickly checked his text messages, but there wasn't anything from his family members.
After one more quick look to ensure his daughter was asleep, he moved closer to Arabella and her father. George now sat in one of the chairs, and Arabella settled their more social son, Declan, into his arms.
At the sight of George looking down at wee Declan with awe in his eyes, Finn wanted to believe everything would be all right. More than anyone, Arabella deserved greater happiness in her life.
Hopefully his Protectors would find nothing on George. But he'd just have to wait and see.