“So everyone says.”
“Linc, you need to remember this about Bennett’s father. You didn’t hear him on the phone. He was in shock, but he was happy. The king has no heirs. I guess, after Bennett’s mom, he didn’t want to try again to have a family. We might be enemies with the fae, but when it comes to his people, they adore him. He’s a just ruler.”
“And ruthless. One of the most ruthless warriors in the war.”
“Weren’t we all? We can’t fault any man for doing what’s necessary during battle. We’ve killed just as ruthlessly.”
Linc growled. Dammit. He didn’t want logic. He just wanted to keep Bennett safe.
“I’ve got to get back upstairs before Casey wakes up and finds me gone. I promise you, brother. We’ve got this.” He patted Linc’s shoulder and then left.
Nick had better be right. They’d known peace for two hundred years, but Linc would wage an all-out war to protect Bennett and their child.
Bennett was his, and no one, not even her father, would come between them. Treaty be damned.
Chapter Twelve
“I’m going to throw up,” Bennett whispered to Casey, who stood next to her in the most formal ballroom she’d ever been in. Not that she’d been in that many. The room was elegant, from the enormous gold and crystal chandeliers to the polished teak floors. A reception area had been arranged at the head of the room. Later, there’d be a party to welcome her father officially to Dallas, but for now, it was Linc, Casey, Nick, and her.
Oh, and about twenty of Nick’s security team stationed around the room. That was a deal breaker for Linc.
Casey squeezed her hand. “You’re pregs. You can’t say that unless you mean it.”
“True. Linc will come running with a bucket.”
Casey chuckled. “He does like to take care of you. Never thought Mr. Playboy would fall to his knees for any woman, but you have him wrapped around your pinkie. You should have seen him barking orders earlier.”
“He’s just worried about the baby.”
Casey smiled. “You keep telling yourself that. He watches you like a hawk, trying to anticipate your every move. And then he has the most adoring look when you’re talking. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Bennett rolled her eyes. “You’ve had romance on the brain ever since you and Nick hooked up. I know he loves his son, but I’m just the vessel. He’s fond of me, and I feel the same way about him. We make a good team. But there’s no romance.”
Casey gave an unladylike snort. “You’re so clueless. You think he’s so protective of you because there’s no romance?”
Bennett started to say something but was interrupted by the opening of the double doors.
Linc moved behind her and rubbed her lower back, soothing her.
A handsome, dark-haired man entered. He was tall and wore a fancy blue suit. She’d guess Armani. Looked to be in his mid-thirties. Probably one of her father’s flunkies.
He paused in the middle of the room as if he were taking it all in, and then his found her. He cocked his head and stared at her with penetrating blue eyes.
What the fuck?
He strode to her, pausing a few feet away. “Bennett?”
This couldn’t be her father. He was too young. Too handsome.
She nodded. Her stomach crawled up her throat, making it impossible to speak.
“I’m Alex Thorngood, your father.”
And then Bennett did the only thing she could. She puked all over his very shiny shoes.
Half an hour later, Bennett and her father were seated at the far end of the ballroom. She’d had to force Linc to move across the room. He’d refused to leave her side, but she wanted time alone with this man who claimed to be her father.
He’d changed clothes, as had she. And the cleaning crew had already made her little mishap disappear. Thank God the floors had been wooden.
“That wasn’t exactly how I wanted to say hello,” she said. Mortified, she tried to smile.
“Ah lass, they didn’t tell me you were with child. We could have made this all a bit less stressful for you. I apologize.” His Irish brogue was even heavier than Linc’s.
“I don’t think there was a way to make it less stressful for any of us. I think this was just nerves. I didn’t know you existed.”
He glanced at the table. “That makes two of us. I had no idea I had a daughter.” Then his eyes met hers again. “But I’m beyond happy to find out I do.”
“It’s weird. I’m not going to lie. I’ve lived my entire life believing—” Her throat caught. Tears burned the back of her eyes.
Not now. You’ve already lost it once.
“Why? Why did my mother leave?”
His eyebrows drew together. “I have no idea. She disappeared the week before we were to wed. We were bringing together two very powerful clans to form an alliance. She’d never liked the idea of being involved in politics. But we’d known each other since we were children.”
“Wow,” Bennett said. “You were in love even that young?”
Her father smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in the expression. “The match had been made by our parents, but we’d grown to love one another. We’d demanded that we be allowed to plan our wedding and follow through on our own timeline. And then a week before the wedding, she just disappeared. We thought she’d been kidnapped. It very nearly launched another war.”
Her mother had to have been mistreated in some way. She was a kind woman and responsible by nature. She wouldn’t leave her family behind without a good reason. At least, Bennett didn’t think so. Her stomach tightened with worry.
“But she was pregnant with me then. She had to have been. So why would she just leave?” The question had plagued her since she’d found out she had a father. “Was it anything you did?”
“No!” Everyone who was discretely eavesdropping at a table forty feet away looked at them. He waved a hand. “Sorry. For years, I went through every moment with her. She was nervous about the wedding. She didn’t like the idea of being a queen. The responsibility weighed on her, but I thought she had come to terms with it. The truth is, I can’t tell you why she left. And since she didn’t tell you, and she bound your magic, I can only guess she hoped you’d never discover your heritage.”
A headache formed behind her right eye.
Mom. You couldn’t leave a note?
But the one thing her mother had given her was a fierce independence. Her mother had been trying to protect her in the only way she knew how. Sucked, but that was the truth of it.
“So what happens now?”
Her father clasped his hands on the table. “I’d like to have a chance to know you. I realize traveling in your state might be ill-advised, and I can only be away for a few days. But now that I’m here—now that we’re reunited—I’d like for you to come home. To take your rightful place by my side. No matter what the council decides, I can keep you and the babe safe.”
She thought she heard a groan from the other table. She glanced over as Nick put a hand on Linc’s arm. He wouldn’t be happy about her taking their child anywhere, especially if he couldn’t come with her. And it wouldn’t be fair to him.
“About that. Uh. Like mom, I’m not really the royalty type. We lived paycheck to paycheck. And I’m about as common and regular as a person can get. I mean, I’d like to get to know you to understand my heritage. But I just found out about this whole other world, and I won’t take the baby away from his father.”
Her father glanced over at Linc, a sudden tension in his expression and his voice. “The wolf is the father?”
“How did you guess?”
“He hasn’t let you out of his sight since I entered the room.”
Right. And Linc was a wolf. And her father was fae.
“I know your kind and the wolves have had some…difficulties in the past.”
Her father didn’t immediately respond. Which said it all, didn’t it? He was choosing his words caref
ully, as cautious about saying the wrong thing to her as he was about saying the wrong thing where others could hear.
“It’s not a question about what happened between us in the past. It’s a question of where you’ll be safest. It’s a question of what’s right for you and the baby. The wolves… Their world… You don’t know them the way I do.”
“You’re right, I don’t know them well. But I do know Linc. He’s an honorable as they come. While I wasn’t exactly looking to become a mom, my kid couldn’t have a better dad. So you need to back off any talk about taking us away. I just met you. Father or not, I don’t know you.”
Her father’s lips formed a thin line.
Whatever. She wasn’t backing down.
“I do ask, before you make any major decisions, that you give me the opportunity to show you my world. To introduce you to what it means to be fae.”
She wasn’t making any commitments. A buzzing had begun in her brain, and her limbs were fatigued. A wet noodle had more energy than she did.
Who knew meeting your pops would wipe you out?
“We just met, and you’re my father, so I’m going to be honest. I won’t make any promises I can’t keep. As curious as I am, I have more than myself to think about now.” She placed her hand on her growing belly. “But I promise to consider what you’ve said.”
“I can’t ask for more than that.” He stood up as though to leave, but then he turned back to her. “This wolf. Do you love him?”
“I care about him.”
Her father seemed to consider that. “You know the history of our people and the wolves?”
“Yes. Not so great.”
“So you know that our clan is responsible for the death of his pack?”
Bennett’s stomach churned as her heart slammed hard against her chest. “What?”
He took her hands in his. “I’m sorry. I thought he told you and that’s why you were reluctant to come home with me.”
Her breath caught. “Why would you kill his people?”
“It was done without official orders, by a madman who very nearly caused the end to the peace talks. The fates have an odd sense of humor. You’re carrying the wolf’s baby. His new pack. I suppose there’s a bit of life’s circle at work there.”
Her people had killed Linc’s family. It had been hundreds of years ago, but she couldn’t help but feel responsible in some way.
A very tall and thin man who reminded Bennett of a stick bug walked up. “Sir, the Council would like to meet with you before the reception.”
Her father frowned at her. “Unfortunately, I must go. I would much prefer to use this time to get to know you, but it’s been many years since I’ve traveled to America. And I cannot, no matter how much I want to, forsake my duties.”
As much as she didn’t want their chat to end quite yet, she needed a break. A nap. Her headache wasn’t getting any better.
“Will it hurt your feelings if I don’t stay for the reception? I’m not feeling so great.”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “Has all of this been too much?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes. But it’s good. I’m glad we have this chance to get to know one another. I promise I don’t want to leave. Just the idea of standing around with so many people wondering who I am and why I’m here—that’s kind of my idea of hell.”
His smile disappeared. “Your mother was the same way. She didn’t like crowds or…” For a moment, he seemed lost in the memory of her mom. “You should rest. Will you allow me to see you later? Perhaps in the morning? Will you have breakfast with me?”
“I’d like that.” And she meant it. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but he wasn’t it. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.” He kept his hand on her shoulder as if he were reluctant to let go.
“Why aren’t you old? You’ve been around a couple hundred years. Is it magic?”
He chuckled. “One of the beauties of your heritage, lass. We age very slowly. I’m eleven hundred years old. And with the wards and iron, which are like handcuffs to our kind, I couldn’t glamor myself a spell even if I wanted to. You rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
As he strode through the door, the power emanated from him. Every eye in the room followed him.
Casey ran up and nudged her shoulder. “Your dad’s kind of hawt.”
“Shut up.”
“It seemed to go okay. I mean, you’re still here. And you both smiled a couple of times.”
Bennett smirked, as she nudged her friend toward the door. “You were sitting at a table with a wolf and a vampire who have supersonic hearing, don’t pretend you don’t know every word that was said.”
“Not every word. But we got the gist.” Cassie looped her arm in Bennett’s as they headed into the hallway. The place was a gothic masterpiece down to its ornate sconces on the wall.
“Why would my mom leave him? When he was talking about her, I could see the hurt in his eyes. He wasn’t angry, he was sad. He still misses her.” Her mother had chosen a life of hardship as a single mom. She had no education, so she worked as a waitress and housekeeper. Always with two jobs, sometimes three. On one hand, Bennett understood why she’d make so many sacrifices to keep her independence. But leaving the guy who had to have been the love of her life? It didn’t make sense.
What had been so bad that she’d had no other choice but to leave?
“Maybe he said something and doesn’t remember. She was pregnant, and you know better than anyone that hormones can make you think funny stuff.”
“Yes, but she never tried to contact him. Never went home again. Not only did she abandon him, but she never saw her family again. And I remember her talking about her brothers and sisters and how much she loved them.”
It had been a long time ago that she’d had a conversation with her mother about family. She’d been twelve and had to write a paper about her family tree. “They’re gone, and we can’t see them anymore,” her mother had said. Gone. Not dead.
All these years she’d thought she was alone after her mother died. But she had a family. A father. What was so awful that her mother would deny her the one thing she’d wanted most?
Chapter Thirteen
“I’m calling the doc. You’re too pale,” Linc said as he opened their apartment door. “This has all been very stressful. You’ve been through too much the last few weeks.” He sounded like a mother hen, but he couldn’t help it. As he’d watched her talking to her father, he’d been scared.
Some small part of him had hoped her father would be an asshole she hated. That wasn’t the case. While it had been tense at first, they’d warmed to one another. She liked him.
Dammit.
“It’s not your fault,” she said.
“What?” He hung her jacket in the coat closet.
“Me getting knocked up. And today, me feeling overwhelmed. None of that is your fault.”
She was probably right, but he couldn’t stop blaming himself. He should have realized she was special. He’d been drawn to her from the first time he met her.
Might have something to do with the fact she was fucking fae royalty. Even with her powers bound, she would draw others to her.
“If anyone should feel at fault, it’s me. Why didn’t you tell me what happened to your family?”
“He had no right to tell you about that.”
“He’s my dad. He can pretty much tell me whatever he wants. It was some crazy dude, but still. They took everything from you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “If it makes things weird between us, I’ll understand. I’m sorry. I don’t know my family, but I feel responsible somehow.”
He pulled her tighter to him, breathing in her sweet, cinnamony scent. Her warmth sank into his chest, calming his nerves. “You always smell like apple pie to me.”
She giggled against his shirt. “Smooth way to change the conversation.”
Speaking of… “Let’s get some food into you.”
&nb
sp; She sighed. “Can we finish this first?”
He tugged her gently along behind him and deposited her onto one of the barstools. “If we must. But I’ll say this once, and I don’t want to discuss it again. I came to terms with what happened to my family years ago. And Nick reminded me it wasn’t the actions of your family or clan. It was one man and his army of assholes. So I don’t blame him. What I’m angry about is him wanting to take you away.”
“I’m not so sure I could be as grown-up about it,” she said. “I’d be pretty pissed that one of my dad’s men killed your family. As for the other stuff, you heard what I said. I’m not going anywhere you can’t go.”
Linc arched an eyebrow.
“Pissed isn’t cussing. You say that about people who are drunk.”
He shook his head. “I was thinking more about how he said he could protect you. He’s right. No one could reach you there. But I’ll fight for you, Bennett. On my honor, I will.”
It didn’t matter whether he trusted the fae. Which, of course, he didn’t. The safest place for Bennett and her baby was here, with him. Wherever she went, he would go. If they wanted to take her from him, they would discover the power of an overprotective werewolf father.
She snorted and then patted his chest. “Down boy.” She giggled. “Stop being so alpha, dude. I meant what I said. Not going anywhere you aren’t welcome. And sure as hell not leaving my friends. Casey needs me.”
He willed the hair along the back of his neck to soften. “Sorry,” he said. “You can’t blame me for being so concerned.”
“My new pops is just as alpha as you. He’s just trying to be all, ‘You’ll do what I say, young lady.’ And he has no rights. Doesn’t matter what my mom did. He has no power over me. No man does.”
She gave him the patent-pending Bennett squinty eye.
He turned away and headed into the kitchen to make her an omelet. God, he loved it when she had her ire up.
She came in and leaned against the counter while he cooked.
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