NecessaryDecision by A.D. Christopher

how long he’d been there. Maybe hours. All he knew is that the pain
wasn’t getting any better. If anything, it hurt more now to look into Gable’s
soft brown eyes than it did before.
    How could he still be so breathtaking? Even now that Kylar
knew for a fact that all that innocent goodness he’d thought he saw inside
Gable was only an act?
    “No. You’re going to listen to me first.” Gable jumped
lightly from the windowsill. He was in his bare feet, but still…he should have
made some sound. But he didn’t. He was silent as a ghost, a phantom.
    That’s all he was to Kylar now, something terrible come to
haunt him.
    “I don’t listen to dead people,” he said, his voice smooth
and even. He had to stay cold and emotionless, it was the only way to survive
whatever lies Gable had come here to tell.
    “Are you threatening to kill me?” Gable asked, the feigned
devastation in his expression cutting Kylar straight through to the heart.
    “No,” he said, through gritted teeth. “I’m saying that you
are dead to me. You were dead to me from the second my father told me the
truth.”
    “The truth.” Gable shook his head, his fear turning to
disgust. “As if your father has ever told you the truth. Was it the truth that
you were weaker than the other boys when you were young?”
    “I was small for my age.”
    “But you weren’t weak.” Gable moved closer, the intensity in
his eyes making Kylar hold his tongue. “You were strong and you’ve only gotten
stronger in spite of how hard that man has worked to keep you down. You’re one
of the best trackers I’ve ever seen, and so much braver than I thought you were
when we first met. Your bravery is… Well, it’s one of the things I’ve come to
love most about you. So please…don’t turn into a coward on me now.”
    “Get out of my house.”
    “Your father has never told you the truth. He’s played on
your insecurities and your fears and used them to manipulate you. He doesn’t
love you the way you deserve to be loved.” Gable swallowed and his hands fisted
at his sides. “The way that Varek and I love you. We still want to be your
family. Love doesn’t just give up because things get hard. I know you’re scared
and hurt, but—”
    “Get out,” Kylar said, refusing to soften. He wanted to
believe Gable was as sincere as he looked, but he couldn’t. Gable was a gifted
liar. “Get out or I’ll have you whipped tomorrow. In front of the entire
Pride.”
    “You wouldn’t.”
    “Try me.”
    Gable nodded slowly, a new sadness tightening his face.
“Maybe you would.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t
matter. I won’t be here tomorrow.”
    “What?”
    “I’m leaving. Tonight. Right now.”
    The thought made a fresh wave of pain roll through Kylar’s
heart. Gable and Varek were running away together. As a Free member of the
Pride he was obligated to stop them, but he wasn’t going to. Let them go. After
all, he believed all slaves deserved their freedom…just not at the price of his
heart. “Wonderful,” he said. “Good luck to you both.”
    “Varek isn’t coming with me,” Gable said. “He doesn’t even
know.”
    “What? But—”
    “This is my fault. It was my idea to try to love you, and
now…” Gable shook his head. “I couldn’t live with myself knowing I’d taken all
the love in your life away from you and made Varek miserable. I want you both
to be happy.”
    “I’ll be happy when you’re out of my house,” Kylar said, but
his voice broke on the last word. A house. This was just a house now because
only Gable and Varek had made it feel like a home.
    “I love you,” Gable said, nothing but care in his eyes. “I
want you to be that man who dreamed with me and hoped for a future filled with
love. I don’t want your father to take that from you. You deserve to be loved.”
    Kylar laughed, but it was a mean sound. “You think so?”
    “I know so. And Varek loves you. Believe that if you