Free Rising Son (The Juliana Lucio Series) by L.C. DeCarlo

this way.”
    “Yeah, I get it. He’s a slave of the Council, which actually makes sense why he wasn’t afraid. It will also save you from having to be alone with me. Forget it Will, he’s all yours. I’ll be fine. Don’t wait up.”
    I walked out the door and ran up the stairs Ana just had a few minutes before, but instead of heading up to my room I went out the back door and walked outside. I started making my way for the garage. I didn’t really care if I had permission or not, I was taking the first car I found the keys for.
    “Is this your answer for everything? To run and hide!” William was yelling behind me.
    I stopped making my way to the garage and turned to face him, “Excuse me?”
    “You, you do this with everything. You run and hide from everything!” He was walking toward me with a heavy stride that spoke volumes about how angry he was. His posture was stiff, his stride long, his arms moved stiffly along his sides, but what really gave his emotion away was his eyes. His eye s were almost all black, the deep dark brown was almost entirely consumed by the stormy blackness that always declared either his desire or anger.
    “Bullshit!” I yelled back at him. “I was the one that didn’t give up or run when Ana turned me. I didn’t run when I killed that old man, I certainly didn’t run from Nathaniel. How dare you say I’m a runner? I fight William; I fight every damn day for what I love.”
    I wasn’t about to stay here and listen to this, even if he did think it would prove his point. I grabbed the door to the garage and pulled it open seeing the Audi, the Range Rover, and the two BMW motorcycle’s all lined up nice and neat. I just had to find the keys for one on them, and then I was out of there.
    “Exactly, for what you love,” he was saying from behind me, “the rest of us don’t get the time of night if you don’t feel like it. You just run if something isn’t going as you want it. If you don’t get the answer right away --”
    “You are the one who left me, William. I have been fighting for you. I have been trying to talk to you every night. I have apologized over and over. You are the one that wants nothing to do with me, so get off your high-horse before you hurt yourself. You’re the one that can’t stand to be in the room with me, you are the one running away, not me. You have probably held grudges against people for the past 100 years haven’t you! Well, I won’t put up with it. I’ve said I’m sorry for walking out and not giving you a chance to explain when I should have, but I won’t grovel at your feet whether I love you or not.” My hands flew over my mouth as if I could shove the words back in like I’d never said them. We just sort of stared at each other a little wide eyed for half a second before William finally broke the silence.
    “Do you mean that?”
    I still couldn’t speak. I guess it was time I jumped in and just told him the truth finally or at least nodded it, because that’s what I did. I just nodded yes, I did mean it.
    “Yeah,” I was able to croak out. “I do love you, but I won’t grovel after you trying to prove it. I meant it before, I trust you with my life. It’s time you either forgive me and you act like it or you don’t and I’ll leave.”
    We each gave the other a measuring look, and he caught me off guard as he crashed himself into me slamming me against the back of the Range Rover.
    “You’re lucky I’m not breakable,” I muttered between kisses.
    He then turned gentle and held my face in his hands as he looked me in the eyes, “I love you too, Jules, and I do forgive you. I’m sorry for acting like such an ass these past few days.”
    I wrapped my arms around him crushing him in a kiss of my own, “Ok Will, I really, really need to feed. You don’t know what Ana put me through.” I pulled away from him.
    “The feeder is still in the basement. I told him to wait, and he isn’t a slave; not every human that works