His vow
1631 Words
*Leroy POV*
I curse inside as I watch Cali run upstairs. In just seconds, she is running back down and heading towards the door.
“Cali, get back here!”
“Stay away from me!”she snaps and continues running.
“Get back here,”I drag the words, rage taking over. She has no idea what she is doing to me when she chooses to be disobedient.
“You might as well kill me!”
I completely freeze. That’s when it dawned on me that she did not even try to peel my hand off when I strangled her. I can’t seem to control my rage with her. Now I am terrified that I will end up killing her. Is this the sacrifice the prophet spoke of?
I will never forgive myself if I did and I’m certain I will lose Marcus too.
“She is upset. Are you just gonna let her leave like that?” Phoebe asks in disbelief.
I frown at her.
“You can’t be serious! You wanted her gone.”
She is the last person to judge as far as I am concerned.
“Yes I did, but not like this. You strangled her and a she is upset,” she explains while Marcus gets up and leaves the lounge without a word.
“Babe?” Flora calls after Marcus.
“I need flesh air,” he responds without looking back and heads to the balcony.
“I thought you would move her somewhere safe,” Phoebe continues to talk but I can’t concentrate. I must have zoned out because I feel her tagging on my arm.
“Leroy? Are you listening?”
“Cali is in danger out there. That’s the damn reason we bought her from her previous master.”
Her eyes widened.
“You should have said that. You must go after her,” she urges. Women are really confusing.
I shake my head and clench my teeth.
“Leroy!”she cries.
“You came here because you wanted her gone. She is gone. What do you want from me now Phoebe?”I finally snap at her.
“I wanted her gone not in danger!”she snaps back. This is getting out of hand.
“Well, there’s nowhere in this city where she is not in danger. Excuse me, I need to speak to Marcus.”
I leave her in the lounge with Flora who is curled up on the couch and teary.
I am a few feet from the balcony when Marcus comes back running.
“What is it?”
“Cali, her watch sends alerts when her heart rate is abnormal.”
“And?”
“It’s flat. Her heart rate is flat,” he responds, terror evident in his voice but I can’t seem to comprehend what he is telling me.
“What does…”
“Like she’s dead?” Flora asks, sending chills down my spine. I don’t know what our connection is but Cali can never die, ever.
“What?” I ask.
“I have her location. I have to go,” Marcus says, already heading towards the door.
“I am coming with you.”
“Us too,” the women say in unison.
“Please take your own cars. I want to be alone,” Marcus says and leaves without waiting for our response. He is really mad and terrified. I am too. This is all my fault.
Flora is now weeping because Marcus does not want her around him.
“My mate hates me,” she murmurs while Phoebe consoles her.
Our driver follows Marcus who is following the directions of Cali’s watch. That leads us to a secluded section of town. My heart is already pounding by the time the driver parks. The place is already packed with bystanders. The flashing ambulance lights are a tell sign that someone is hurt or worse.
I leave the two women behind and rush towards Marcus who is pushing through the crowd.
The people immediately open up the way when they notice me.
“Cali,” Marcus murmurs the moment we see what everyone is looking at.
The bricked structure that used to be the ATM machine is in crumbles with blood spattered over the rumble. Cali’s leg and arm is sticking out under the bricks.
The emergency workers are frantically trying to remove the bricks when one of the first responders fills me in.
“If sounds like a hit and run, Your Highness. The witnesses say a woman had just entered the ATM when a black SUV drove right into the structure and ran off. Everything happened so fast no one saw the driver, nor the registration number of the vehicle.”
Fuck! Someone must have tailed Cali here and I can bet on my life that Diana or Rose had something to do with it.
It takes over ten minutes for us to get the rumble out of the way to get to the almost unrecognisable woman covered in dust and blood.
Without thinking, I pick her up and rush to my car and drive off.
“Leroy!” Marcus calls behind me.
“Tell Linda to meet us at your mansion.”
Marcus only nods his head and gets into his car.
Phoebe and Flora move to the seat behind the driver while I sit at the back with Cali on my lap.
“Cali… Cali..”
I call her name over and over again before hugging her tightly.
“I am so sorry. I will never lay a hand on you again. I will never let you off my sight again,”I mutter my promise to her and hope I can still mend our relationship.
I carry her to her bedroom when we arrive at Marcus’s mansion and find Linda already inside.
She looks sympathetically at me before focusing all her attention on Cali.
“I will be outside. Shout if you need me.”
She nods and continues checking Cali up.
My eyes meet Phoebe’s the moment I step outside.
“You blame me for driving her away. You hate me,” she says before tears roll down her cheeks. Why are women so fragile?
“That was on me, not you.”
She wipes her tears away and looks worriedly at the Cali’s door.
“Is she gonna be okay?”
I nod my head. Linda said her heart rate was too faint to be picked up by the smartwatch but she was still alive. I am certain that she will be fine because I have seen her heal from a fatal bite before.
“Thank Goodness! I would never forgive myself if she didn’t,” Phoebe beams while I raise my eyebrow at her.
“I wanted her gone not hurt and definitely not dead, Leroy. And I don’t want her gone anymore.”
“Okay?”
“I don’t know what is going between you two but I will be by your side, always,” she says while I look at her, guilt ripping through me. Phoebe is a really kind. I wish I can explain this to her because she does not deserve this. I just don’t know where to start and what to say.
“Flora and I are going to head back home. Please do let me know how she is.”
I nod and hug her before going to find Marcus. He is staring blankly at the balcony and does not move when I join him.
“I love and respect you, Leroy.”
“But?”
“I feel like I now have to protect Cali from you,” he says with a strained voice.
“You do.”
He looks at me, surprised by my response.
“I swore that I will never lay a hand on her again and I will never let her out of my sight. I am taking her to my mansion.”
“No, you are not,”he objects.
Now it’s my turn to look at him. He may be my best friend but he can’t really stop me from taking Cali with me.
“You can’t spend a day without clashing. You can’t take her. There’s also the part of Sky wanting a pup with her,” he reminds me. He has a point but I am terrified. Someone followed Cali. It could not have been a coincidence. It means that person has been lurking in the shadows waiting for a moment to strike.
“I know that Marcus, but she is in danger. Someone tried to kill her.”
“No one has tried here. She is safe here,” he insists. He is right in that too. Cali only got hurt because I drove her out of her home.
“You are right. I am sorry.”
“Cali’s been through a lot, Leroy. If I have to defy you to protect her, I will. If I have to send her to the end of the world to get her away from you, I will.”
Marcus is the most loyal person I know. I know that I really crossed the line for him to say this. I also know that he means it.
“You have my blessing to do that if I ever cross a line again.”
He exhales out loud. “Thanks for acting fast and getting her out of there.”
I nod my head. Anyone finding out about Cali’s unnatural healing process would be a nightmare none of us would be able to control. Her powers make her a threat to our kind. My father and his elders would not hesitate to have her executed to eliminate the unknown threat.
- Writer
