14. Finley
Finley
“Are you alright?” Lane asked once we were all in the elevator heading down.
“You know, for once, I think I’m going to be honest with myself and say no. No, I’m not okay,” I answered, my hands shaking. “But I’m going to hold it together and make it back to the penthouse where I can safely have my meltdown.”
“How about when we get back, I draw you a nice hot bath, you can soak, relax, and just be for a moment. Things have been so crazy since the zoo it would do you good. All those late nights and work on this mission, it’s taking a toll,” Noah reasoned as he ran a hand up and down my back.
“You’re right,” I said, looking at him with a quivering smile. “A bath sounds incredible and I wouldn’t mind sharing it with anyone who can fit along with me.”
They all looked at Zander since he’s stayed at the penthouse before. “Just to be clear, I’ve never had the occasion to figure this out, but someone told me there were four of them in the tub. So Three of us plus Finley should be a safe bet.”
“Well, it’s not gonna be you since you got your knot wrung yesterday,” Mason pointed out, then quickly turned to me.
“Not that I am expecting you to do anything you’re not feeling up for.
I know I asked earlier in the night, but that would make me an ass after what’s happened.
You need some good cuddles tonight, not someone poking you…
unless that’s what you want,” Mason babbled on like he was worried he’d make me upset.
I just reached out a hand and placed it on his arm. “It’s fine, Mason. I know what you meant. Let’s just get back and we’ll figure everything else out once I’m not on display anymore.”
The elevator doors opened and we all filtered out.
They kept me in the middle with Lane’s arm around me as we passed through the crowd of reporters still outside.
The limo was waiting, and I ducked inside first, taking a seat.
Elias had other plans, though, as he scooped me up and settled us both in the corner.
He wrapped his jacket that he’d taken off before entering around my shoulders, tucked me close against him, and held me tight.
He didn’t say a word, just cradled me in his arms, allowing me to soak in his presence.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He didn’t answer, just kissed my temple and tucked my head under his chin.
All of my men had suffered loss or hardship when it came to family in one way or another.
It allowed them to understand how I was feeling without me having to say a thing.
While it was slightly different from having a parent you believe didn’t exist appear in your life, it came with its own hurricane of emotions to sort through.
When we reached the building where the penthouse was, Elias refused to put me down and instead handed me over to Noah, my Companion.
Seeing a nos functioning as a perfect unit, I didn’t understand why more people didn’t see the value.
Granted, this was slightly different due to the fact that they were innately wired to act in this capacity, and my magic knew it, which was why it chose them.
Still, to have a man in your life that took care of you on an emotional level was invaluable, but Noah was one cog in the nos that kept things turning.
Noah paused just inside the door and nodded to my feet. “Go ahead and kick them off. I know you’ve been dying to get rid of them all night.”
“Seriously though, who likes to wear high heels? They are like torture devices,” I complained as I toed them off and they plopped to the floor.
“I don’t have an answer for you, babe. I myself have never worn them,” he teased as he headed into the back bedroom with the master bathroom.
Mason was already at the tub with the water filling, adding the bath soak they’d provided for us.
It had a lovely scent of roses, already making me relax as Noah set me down on my feet.
His hands on my waist held me steady for a moment until I got my bearings, then he unzipped me, sliding the dress down my body.
Naked and ready to relax, I climbed into the bath and moaned.
The hot water felt so good on my body as I slipped in.
Then, spreading out and taking up the whole space of the tub, I just let myself shut my brain off from anything I didn’t need to focus on right away.
The job had gone well. I’d saved a life and managed to light the fuse in the destruction of the Dark Ring.
I heard someone enter and I cracked an eye to find Derven holding a glass of something red in his hands. “I don’t know if you enjoy wine, but I always found it helped me relax when I wasn’t having the best of days.”
“To be honest, I haven’t had much experience with drinking since it wasn’t something they recommended for assassins,” I shared, sitting up. “Meaning to say, I don’t know if it will help, but I’m happy to try something you find comforting.”
He handed over the glass and crouched by the tub, resting his arms on the edge. “Have I or Rathal ever told you anything about my father?”
I shook my head as I lifted the glass and took a small sip testing the wine. It was sweet but not so much that it was like dessert, more so fruity. I liked it. “No, you’ve never talked about your father, and I didn’t want to pry, so I figured if you wanted me to know, you’d tell me.”
“He’s a bastard, and if he wasn’t my maker, I would have washed my hands of him long ago, but there are some ties that bind you in ways I never expected.
My father was a decent man when he was human, but when he was bitten by one of the first vampires created from dark magic and God knows what else, he morphed into something I couldn’t recognize.
He became paranoid that someone was going to kill him, like he had his maker, to steal his power and wealth.
The madman’s plan was to change his own children because there was no way they could turn on him.
He was their father, and they loved him, but when your father hides away in a castle surrounded by guards believing anyone at any time could be after him, it changes things.
“After a hundred years of being proverbially trapped in his castle, manipulated by his words, I decided I wanted to see the world, live life to the fullest like he’d promised.
So that’s exactly what I did for about twenty years, then I returned home to check in and see how things were going.
When I arrived, I didn’t get the welcome I assumed I would receive and was thrown in jail for betraying the king.
My father had taken me leaving as a personal offense, so I was being punished like the child he still believed I was.
It took me thirty years to get him to understand that I wasn’t trying to take the throne from him.
After that, I stayed for another hundred years working on a plan to get him to put himself in hiding, leaving others to run things for him.
He would direct the way the covens he ruled over through a proxy.
Which is still how he does it to this day,” Derven finished with a sigh, resting his head on his arms. “The day he was turned, I lost my father, the man who calls himself that isn’t even a shadow of who he once was.
It makes me sad, but we make the best out of what we are dealt. ”
I rested my head next to his, on his arm. “How did you get to the point where you can do as you please now?”
“I had four older siblings and none of them survived the changes in the world as easily as I did. They couldn’t adjust to a different way of thinking every hundred years.
The evolution of technology or the enlightenment of people’s minds.
They were like my father, choosing to believe the world was out to get them.
Now in some cases, that was true, witch hunts, the Spanish inquisition, and not to mention, thanks to those vampires who told our secrets, monster hunters.
Each of my siblings died in a different way, but for the same reason, now I am the only one left besides my father.
So I run the American branch of our coven and report back to him when I need to, but being his only living son, I’m his heir.
Everything that is his will be mine if the time comes someone manages to find and kill him,” Derven explained.
“Cheerful story, isn’t it?” he added with a deprecating chuckle.
“Seems that no family is perfect,” I reasoned, lifting my head to take another sip of wine. “This stuff is really good.”
“Be careful how fast you drink it. I put a few drops of my blood in it. Doing that can give you the same high feeling as when I drink from you,” Derven warned. “It’s how vampires spike drinks to help get supers drunk or feeling like they are.”
“Does it affect me the same way, being your Blood Bond?” I questioned, looking at the glass differently.
“I suppose we will find out, won’t we,” he said, kissing me on the cheek and standing. “I’ll leave you to it unless you’d like me to send someone in?”
Taking a moment, I paused to consider that, checking in with my wolf to ensure we were good. When she voiced her request, I agreed completely. “Would you mind asking Elias to join me?”
“Not at all, sangele meu,” Derven assured as he headed out to find him.
Cautiously, I took another sip of the wine and hummed with delight as it slid down my throat. I wonder if I would like it as much if it didn’t have the blood or if that’s why I like it?
“My heart, is everything okay?” Elias asked, walking in.
He looked much more relaxed in pajama pants and a T-shirt, his curly hair once again wild and free from the product holding it in place.
“It would be better if you joined me,” I answered.
A slow smile tugged at his lips as he grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked it off. Quickly he shucked off his pants and climbed in without any other encouragement. He sat across from me, but I didn’t like that at all, so I got on my knees and made my way over to him.