Author's Note: Sorry this has taken so long. I had it typed up then my phone decided to delete it. I was so mad because chapter 13 is still intact. I don't know why. But here is the chapter. I was so mad that I didn't want to type it.
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"Do you know the trouble you have put me through?"
"That seems to be everyone's favorite saying today."
"Dasha!"
She looked up at the computer sitting on the table before her. She had been writing everything when her Skype had dinged. She had pulled it up and had looked into Shi Yoon's face.
He hadn't been angry when he had talked. He had been more concerned than anything. She had noticed that he had changed his hair color again. Now he was a dark mahogany. She actually liked it more than the blond he had been sporting previously.
They had talked simply about what had happened in Morocco. He had asked if she was okay, to which she had answered yes. Her side still hurt but she was otherwise okay.
If she had gone immediately home, he would have been waiting on her. He would have come to see her and would have stayed until she had gotten better. Things would have settled down and life would have gone on.
But she was in South Korea and he in New York. She had opened her big mouth and had committed to a side. Unfortunately it was a side he couldn't cross into. He was steadfastly aligned with the Hunters and had been since birth. If he wanted to leave, it would be in a body bag.
Since they had met nearly twenty years ago, he had protected her. No matter what was said against her, he went to bat for her. He had pulled so many strings at the top of the pecking order that it was amazing he still had a job. He had put in long days and even longer nights to make sure she had been safe.
To say that Dasha loved this man would be a royal understatement. They had trained so hard together during their academy days that it had shocked everyone when Shi Yoon had gone into management. She had asked him one night why, and he had answered that someone had needed to protect them.
He had done well. Whenever they had gone out on missions, he had always been the one they had called for help. They had known everyone had fought but he had always won. Now she wasn't so sure.
They stared at each other for a long time. Shi Yoon wasn't even fazed at the color change of her eyes. He obviously remembered when her eyes were a simple gold. He seemed to take everything in stride, and that included her eyes.
He sighed and leaned his head on his fist. "Why do you do these things?"
"I didn't do it because it felt good. I did it because it was the right thing to do," she answered. "I'm sorry it's made your life hard. I didn't do it on purpose."
Shi Yoon sighed and rubbed his face. "DC, I'm tired and troubled. Everyone here is pressuring me to cut all ties with you. My father keeps pushing a marriage. He thinks if I marry someone I barely know I can forget all about you. I can't fight a war on two fronts."
She felt instantly horrible. A lump formed in the back of her throat. She looked away from the screen, taking instant interest in the paperwork on the counter. She swirled one finger on the granite, silently hoping her nail wouldn't scratch the surface.
"Dasha." She kept her head down even though the spoke. He changed his tone. "Dash, look at me."
When she finally did, he was very emotional. She couldn't look at him any longer without crying. She looked over the screen at the refrigerator. She could already feel the tears threatening to fall.
"I understand," he said. "I won't put any more pressure on you."
"Shi Yoon," she said. He looked at her. "I'll step down once this blows over. Unless they fire me first, but when I'm done, I'll resign my spot and disappear."
"Do you think that's what I want?" Anger filled his tone now, and the hard look in his eyes matched it.
"Does it even matter in what we want? Ever since I was a kid, I was told what had to be. Now that I'm considered nothing, it won't matter to them anymore. No one cares how we feel. All we have to do is follow orders. I've broken that. No one is going to trust someone who breaks orders regardless of how unfair they are."
Even three thousand miles away, Shi Yoon felt the heartbreak and torture the woman was going through. Out of everyone, she had had the hardest time getting permission to do anything. Even with the Councils' backing, people never wanted to give her work. She had fought hard for her position.
The door behind him opened. "Kang Shi Yoon, they're ready for you."
"Thank you." Shi Yoon looked back at the screen. "I have to go. I'll call you later."
Dasha nodded and the screen went black. Slowly she closed the computer and stared unseeingly at the fridge. She had known what had been at stake when she had decided to break with the code. But she hadn't meant to cause trouble for Shi Yoon. He didn't deserve it.
A hand landed on her back, and Dasha looked over. Expecting Benji, she was pleasantly surprised to see Donghyun and Yi Jeong. They looked sympathetic but it was Baye who surprised her the most. They had barely spoken to each other, and yet here she was.
"Would a drink help?" Yi Jeong asked. Dasha shook her head. "I guess it would make it worse."
"Are they coming to get you?" Baye asked.
"Probably. Unfortunately it could be before the Halflings get here. It could be the end for you," Dasha responded. She sighed and put her head on the counter. "I just want to sleep."
"You can't do that. I want to talk about Leo. What are your plans about him? You two seemed to have formed a bond, and I don't want him to think it's going anywhere when it's not."
Dasha sighed and buried her head in her arms. She didn't want to talk about this right now. Actually she didn't want to talk about it ever. She understood that Leo was under Baye, but his personal life wasn't.
Baye couldn't read the other woman's face. She was closed off from them. She reminded the other woman of Leo in that instant. He was good at hiding his emotions as well. Sometimes they didn't know he was mad until he lashed out.
"If you can't tell me about Leo, tell me who Shi Yoon is," Baye prompted.
"Kang Shi Yoon is the highest ranking Korean wolf," Jenissi said as he closed the kitchen door behind him. "He was trained from an early age to take over his father's position on the Hunter's Council. He's one of the most dominant males, but he's a gentleman."
His face sobered as he looked at Dasha. "No offense but how in the world did he align himself with you?"
"We had the same mentor." Dasha's voice was muffled as she spoke.
She finally got up and began to gather her things. "Rest assured. Once this is all over, I'm gone. Leo won't be affected too badly, and if he is, he will be fine after a while."
"So you don't like him?" Baye asked.
"I didn't say that, but I'm not stupid enough to make plans then break them."
"SO you get his hopes up?"
Dasha felt her temper rising. The hair on the back of her neck stood straight up and she could feel her teeth lengthening. Her blood roared; it was so loud it was all she heard. Once again, her relationship with Leo was hers. No one else needed to know where it was going. Everyone was just being nosy now.
She wasn't going to start a fight so she simply left the kitchen. Yi Jeong scratched his head and sighed. It took a minute for him to get his bearings as he looked between the closed door and Baye.
"Maybe we should face this alone," he muttered. "It's better than imploding as a group."
"We need her expertise. She's the only one who can tell us anything. Let me rephrase. She's the only one willing to tell us anything. I think there's more going on above her head than we realize," Baye acknowledged.
She unlocked her wheels and pushed backwards. "I'm going to talk to her. Don't let anyone anywhere near us.'
Jenissi slid the door open and Baye rolled out into the hallway. She knew exactly where Dasha would go that wasn't the roof. For instant relief from everyone, she would go to the garden. There was a koi pond and plenty of items from Zen Buddhism to make anyone feel at peace, even Roman Catholic Baye.
The garden had been created as an escape on the estate. Anyone could use it, and it was wheel chair friendly so Baye could move about it freely. She had really used it after the whole incident with the Wolves. She had been heavily pregnant and in a weird state. It had been her safe haven.
Baye rolled around one of the bends and saw a riot of curls bouncing in the nonexistent wind. But it was the swirling rocks, gross and shrubs that forced her to stop and understand. All of them had a tell for when they were upset. Donghyun got really quiet, Woo Bin literally had a mini raincloud follow him, and Jeongmin crackled and sparked. Baye's skin changed colors. It was their tell that something was wrong.
Dasha obviously spun things when she was upset. It was the sudden release of power that showed how upset they were, but depending on how sharp the burst depended on what type of hurt was being shown. In this instance, Baye was having a hard time distinguishing what anguish hurt the other woman more.
"Have you ever done something good only to have it backfire?" Dasha wondered aloud. Baye tilted her head as she waited. There was obviously more behind it. "I took the job in New York because I was told it would ease tensions. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted relations between Guardians and Wolves to get better. I was a child when the purge happened. I remember bits and pieces. I remember being scared to leave the house. I don't want anyone else to feel that."
"But you went against orders?" Baye asked. She made a point to show Dasha she had heard everything the woman had said to the computer.
"You've never had to follow orders so you've never had to distinguish between fair and cruel. The orders I had were to exterminate those who were against us, but who's us? Since I can remember the Councils have always looked out for themselves, but the Hunters have looked out for everyone regardless of race or religion. How is it fair to destroy someone who isn't a Hunter?"
"That's not fair." Baye mulled over everything for a couple of moments. "How much do you know?"
"A lot more than the average Hunter."
"Can you share any of it?"
They sat for the next hour as Dasha exposed all of the Hunters' secrets. Baye knew the woman felt detached from everything. Everyone had been telling her she had thrown her life away. This was her last effort to make sure someone knew her information.
As she spoke, the look on her face slowly changed. She became extremely depressed, sighing when her brain worked faster than her mouth. She ran her hands through her hair in agitation.
Somehow, Baye got her to allow her to braid her hair. Dasha spoke as Baye whipped her hair into shape. Dasha finished speaking about the time Baye's fingers tied off her braid.
"You need a hug," Baye commented. "But not from me."
Dasha looked at her. Baye offered a smile then gently pushed her back down the path. She watched the older woman walk slowly back to the house. Then slowly she looked over her shoulder to see Jeongmin.
"Don't say it," she warned.
Jeongmin only smiled and held his hands up.