Chapter Thirty-Seven #3
“Your mother is a piece of work. I shadowed her for a few weeks before I approached her, and she was constantly hitting on rich and influential men, even ones who had partners. All it took was me flashing around a bit of wealth, and she was attached to my hip like a barnacle. It was like shooting fish in a barrel,” he admits reluctantly, looking at me with worried eyes.
That sounds familiar, but I don’t feel sorry for my dad. There were obviously no feelings involved, and although he gave my mom and grandparents a different narrative to remember, my mother has never been one to be loyal to a man.
“I’m sorry. I know what I did is unforgivable, but I hope that someday, we might have a normal father daughter relationship.
It’s my greatest wish for all my daughters.
” He glares at where the goddess had been standing.
I have a feeling their relationship might be a little dented since his discovery of his blocked mate bond and his other child he knew nothing about.
“I’ll show them to their suite,” Titus offers, seeing that I’ve lost my appetite now that the crowning is imminent, and my nerves are wreaking havoc with my stomach.
“If you need anything or get hungry in the middle of the night, there is always someone on duty in the kitchen. Call down, and they can bring anything up,” my dad tells the guys as we push back from the table.
“And there’s a fully stocked bar, but again, anything you need can be requested.
” He sounds kind of frantic, like he needs to please us.
“Loki, they will be fine. I’ve got them,” Titus assures my father, and I wonder about their relationship.
It kind of feels close. Hell, Titus has a room in the palace.
If I had to hazard a guess, they are more than just employer and employee.
It kind of feels familial. I wonder what his relationship is like with his own family.
“Thank you, my boy. Have you seen your brothers? I wanted to fill them in on everything that is happening.”
Titus shakes his head. “None of them are in residence at the moment. Each are in their respective kingdoms, and Luka is chasing down a lead in one of the gambling dens in the city. He’s trying to figure out who put the hit out on Colbie.”
“The what?” I ask, snapping my head around to look at my fairy mate.
“My assassin guild was offered a job to remove you,” Loki explains. “Of course we turned it down, but it didn’t mean others didn’t.”
“I guess that explains the attack on the way to Zalfari,” Liam grumbles, rubbing his chest where the arrow pierced him.
“You were attacked?” Titus growls. “By who?”
Micah and Hunter take turns explaining what happened, and by the end, the assassin, as well as my father and Nox, are looking at me with wide-eyed awe.
“Holy shit. Challenge day certainly wouldn’t be a problem, even if the goddess wasn’t going to put a stop to it,” Nox says admirably.
“Yeah, I’m not so sure about that. I’m still not particularly coordinated in hydra form,” I admit, and Titus snorts with amusement.
“I noticed. We will work on that tomorrow morning before we leave. The goddess can wait a few extra hours. You need to gain control of every one of your shifts. You never know when you might need them. Even with the crown on your head, those factions are still creating an army, and despite my and my brothers’ attempts, we still haven’t worked out who is behind it all.
They have been very successful in hiding themselves. ”
“Hopefully when Lena tracks down the missing children, we’ll find more clues,” Gem points out.
“My mother is very good at her job. She will have the location for the children before you know it,” Nox assures me.
I didn’t share her hostility when we first met with him because she quickly came around to the idea of helping us, even if it was just for the children.
I have hope going forward that our relationship won’t be so rocky.
We take our leave, and Titus directs us to my new suite.
We don’t do much there but get ready for bed, our conversation avoiding any of the serious topics and just sticking to getting to know you kind of stuff.
The others grill Titus and Nox, and the two are good sports and allow the interrogation.
I think the guys realize I have reached my limit for the day, so they keep the focus off me.
The bed in this suite is huge, big enough for all of us to climb in together.
A sneaky goddess definitely had a hand in creating something this big.
It’s basically one big mattress built into a sunken base in the floor, kind of like Hunter’s dragon nest. His smile stretches wide when he sees it, and he quickly shucks off all his clothes except for his boxers and throws himself into it.
I blink, stunned to see him roll around in it.
“Ah, what is he doing?” I ask Liam.
“He’s covering the bed in his scent. The others will do it too, watch.” He’s right. Gem, Gryffin, Brodie, and Nox all strip down to their underwear and join Hunter on the bed. Liam follows them down, leaving Titus, Micah, and me on the side.
“Animal shifters,” Titus scoffs. “Ruled by their baser instincts. To be honest, mer and fairy shifters are most definitely the higher beings of the shifter race. We aren’t reduced to animal instincts and retain our logic when we shift,” he whispers quietly.
“Shh, don’t let them hear you,” Micah hisses, and I giggle. I think they are messing around, but I’m not entirely sure.
“Come, our queen. Let’s join the riffraff. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” Micah holds out his hand, and I strip out of my pants, then he helps me step down into the bed.
My animals poke their heads up for the first time since we left Titus’s room, and I get the sudden urge to roll around on the bed too, but I grit my teeth and clench my fists, trying to control it.
“Just go with it, baby.” Brodie tugs me down into the pile of bodies. “Despite what those two assholes say, there is nothing wrong with giving into your baser instincts.”
I give in and throw myself onto the puppy pile, a feeling of contentment and pure happiness replacing all my worries. For now, I’m going to enjoy this. I’ll save the worries for tomorrow.