The Moment I Let You Go Chapter 06
Killian grabbed my shoulders, his voice cracking into a shout.
“Who did you give me to?
Where am I supposed to go without you?
“Adelyn, you can’t do this to me.
“How could you actually adopt someone else?”
He stood close to my face, and I could clearly see the thick, bloodshot veins spidering through the whites of his eyes.
I shoved his hands off me.
“Don’t look at me like that.
“Nadia really likes you and wants to adopt you.
“If you go with her, you won’t have to worry about being humiliated in public anymore.
Your living conditions are going to improve significantly!”
Killian looked right through me.
“You used to hold on to me so tight, and now you’re trying to spin this like it’s a favor.
You just found a new werebeast and decided I was in the way!”
“Yes,” I said.
“So why are you still bothering me?”
Killian went dead silent.
He just stood there, staring at me with those red-rimmed eyes, looking like I’d just gravely wounded him.
Right on cue, Nadia walked in, waving the bonding pact.
“You were in such a rush to take off after the movie!
Ada texted me that she’d pawned the bonding pact.
“I was so focused on buying it back that I didn’t even get a chance to tell you!”
She grabbed Killian’s hand.
“Come on.
I’m taking you home.”
From his corner of the tub, Daniel peeked up, still cowering anxiously.
“Ms. Lexington… did you really sell your werebeast just to bring me home?
“I… I will love you for the rest of my life.”
Killian’s jaw locked.
The veins in his forehead bulged with sheer fury.
He pointed a shaking finger at me.
“You pawned me for him.
“You actually did it, Adelyn.
“Don’t you dare regret this.”
He shot one last venomous glare at Daniel, grabbed Nadia’s arm, and stormed out the door.
Would I regret this?
After graduation, I moved to Chicago to work as a vet.
Looking for some companionship, I decided to adopt a werebeast.
Killian had been forced into retirement after watching his squad die right in front of him.
Unable to handle missions anymore, he spent his days locked in a cage at the facility, refusing to speak.
Nobody else wanted him.
The Werebeast Administration was at its wits’ end by the time I showed up and, as luck would have it, picked him.
It took a ton of time and patience to finally earn his trust, but eventually, we settled into a quiet, comfortable routine.
Then, one day, I came home to find a few of Killian’s old squadmates hanging out in our living room.
“Lieutenant Dawney,” they teased, “where’s your owner?
“A decorated, S-class werebeast like you must’ve landed someone gorgeous.
“Come on, don’t hide her.
Let us meet her.”
That was the exact moment I walked through the front door.
I’d just finished delivering a calf; my bangs were plastered to my forehead in greasy strips, and I reeked of fresh cow manure.
Mortified, I forced a smile and gave a little wave.
“Hi, everyone.
I’m Killian’s owner.”
They exchanged glances, their smiles freezing in place.
The conversation died instantly.
I knew I wasn’t what they’d pictured.
After they left, Killian gave me the silent treatment for two straight weeks.
When I finally tried to coax him into eating, he swiped his dinner plate across the room – ruining a meal I’d spent all afternoon prepping.
“Is it really that humiliating to have me as your owner?” I asked, completely exhausted.
The word “owner” seemed to snap something inside him.
His voice raw, he started shouting.
“I’m one of a kind – the best of the best.
“And you?
You’re plain, unremarkable, and your job is a joke.
“You spend your days elbow-deep in cow dung.
“The thought that you’re the human who decided I was ‘good enough’ makes my skin crawl.”
I cried in private for a long time after that fight.
But what hurt even more was watching him stare at our neighbor, Nadia, whenever she hung out in her yard.
They’d first met when the wind blew away Nadia’s favorite hat.
She showed up at my door, looking close to tears, and asked if I’d seen it.
Killian had jumped to his feet immediately.
“If you don’t mind, give me something you’ve worn.
I can track your scent!”
“Really?”
She hesitated before pulling off her lace glove and handing it over.
He returned her hat the very next day.
It made me sick to my stomach.
Later on, when I asked him to help me find a pearl earring I’d dropped in the living room, he snapped, “What, you think just because I’m retired, I’m here to do your menial chores?”
I dug my heels in.
“And helping Nadia with her hat – was that somehow noble and meaningful?”
“You think you’re in the same league as her?” He pointed coldly at the hallway mirror.
“Take a look at yourself.
I think the answer’s obvious!”
I was actually wearing a new outfit that day.
But looking into his cold, golden eyes, I finally saw exactly what he thought of me.
Ever since he met Nadia, he’d grown to resent just how ordinary I was.
People spent their whole lives regretting a lot of things, but I’d learned that kindness was rarely something people regretted.
I wouldn’t regret this.
Daniel moved in.
We bought a bunch of new gear for the room – a circulating aquarium big enough for him to fit comfortably, deep-sea fish, corals, the works.
Space was tight, so Daniel and I tossed everything Killian had left behind.
All the heavy lifting left me completely winded.
Daniel leaned down, his face brushing softly against my neck.
“Ms. Lexington, let me carry you on my shoulders.
It’ll save you the stairs.”
“Are you sure that’s okay?”
The room tilted as Daniel hoisted me up effortlessly, settling me onto his left shoulder.
My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck.
Glancing down at the top of his head, a real, undeniable surge of joy washed over me.
At least, until I felt someone glaring at me.
I glanced over and spotted Killian standing on the second-floor balcony of the villa.
His mouth was set in a tight, silent line as he stared us down.
