NecessaryDecision by A.D. Christopher Page A

believe
nothing else.”
    Kylar paused, and some of the bitterness seeped away in the
silence. “Maybe,” he finally whispered. “But he loves you more.”
    “He’s loved me longer,” Gable said, “but he doesn’t love
like that. There’s no pecking order. When Varek does something, he does it all
the way. He loves you, and I know you two could be happy together.”
    Somewhere, deep inside, Kylar felt Gable’s words ignite a
spark of hope inside him. Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe he really was
here to sacrifice himself so that the people he loved could be happy. Maybe Gable
was as good a soul as he’d believed from the first. Maybe…
    “Your happiness and Varek’s…they’re the only things that
really matter to me.” Gable took a step back toward the window and Kylar’s
heart screamed in protest. Could he really let Gable go, just let him walk out
of here and never see his face again? The thought was…unthinkable. “And maybe…”
Gable took another horrible step. “Well…maybe your father won’t be as angry
about a traditional warrior mating.”
    “Fuck my father.”
    “Not if he were the last man on earth,” Gable said.
    And then Kylar did something even more shocking than the
hope. He smiled, a faint curl of his lips that made a laugh rumble through his
chest. “Gable, I—”
    “He can’t take you up on your offer.” The voice came from
outside the window just seconds before Varek vaulted up and over the ledge,
squeezing through with a bit more difficulty than the slight Gable.
    “Varek!” Gable’s eyes went wide. “What are you—”
    “I can’t let you do this for me. Or for Kylar.” Varek’s eyes
met Kylar’s, asking silently for his help. “You’d never survive alone, Gable.
It would be suicide.”
    “No it wouldn’t,” Gable said.
    “Yes, it would.” Varek lifted his hands, pleading with Kylar
to protect the man they both loved. Loved. He still loved Gable and his
good heart, he still loved Varek and his fierce, protective spirit. They were
still the people he’d come to care for so much. He’d seen through to the core
of them where lies could never survive. Gable’s attempt to right the wrong he’d
done wasn’t a lie, and neither was their love.
    “Please, Kylar,” Varek begged. “Don’t let him go.”
    Kylar took a long, hard look at Varek’s face, but found
nothing manipulative or selfish in the other man’s expression. All he saw was
care and concern and regret. Varek didn’t want them to end this way. This
wasn’t about who was Free and Unfree, it was about three people who were meant
to be together.
    Kylar suddenly didn’t care how the three of them had begun,
just so long as they ended up a family.
    “I’m going,” Gable said. “I’m a big boy and—”
    “You’re not.” Kylar stood up from his chair, new life
coursing through his veins. It felt like he was seeing clearly for the first
time since he sat down in his father’s study. “You’re a runt and the gentlest
person I’ve ever met. You’d probably be eaten alive before you made it to
Seattle. But…those are two of the things I love about you.”
    “They are?” Gable asked, looking at Kylar with eyes that
still feared to hope.
    “They are. And I don’t think you should go anywhere.”
    “You do?” A shy smile curved Gable’s lips. “You don’t?”
    “I do,” Kylar said, turning to Varek. “And I’ll say ‘I do’
to both of you whenever you’re ready. I’ll fucking say it tomorrow if we can
get the Elders to perform the ceremony. Screw my father and everything else.”
    “Really?” Tears rose in Gable’s eyes as a real smile broke
across his face. His grin lit up the room, set fire to the last shred of doubt
inside Kylar and burned it to ash.
    “Really.” Kylar smiled back. “I love you. Both of you. We
might have started with a lie, but the way we feel about each other is real.”
    “It’s the most real thing I’ve ever known.” Varek reached