Chapter 51
Veylor
The stranger stood a head taller than me, his lean frame wrapped in nothing but a hastily tied sheet that clung low around his narrow hips. His eyebrows were a pale blue, the same shade as his fingertips.
He arched backward, spine curving with impossible elasticity, like a cat waking from a nap. A groan escaped his lips as he raked fingers through his hair. "Never again," he muttered, "I'd rather die than spend another day trapped as a damned feline."
Oryx tilted his head and tapped the side of his face. “You meant to do that?” He pointed to his chest. “To be a feline?”
The male nodded. "Yes. Someone who looks like me tends to draw attention in the human realm," he said, flexing his blue-tipped fingers.
"Shape shifting lets me blend in when necessary.
Physical fighting isn't exactly my strength.
" His lips curved into a slight smile. "I prefer taking the form of a white fox, but a common housecat seemed less conspicuous in a funeral home. "
I crossed my arms, doubly impressed. If he was a shapeshifter, then that was a whole other category than a plain shifter. It was a subject I would want to discuss later.
Plates dropped in the open doorway of the lab. Pyrrah stood with her mouth agape and no intention of cleaning up the mess. “I was bringing you lunch, but it appears you made me some.”
Oryx huffed in annoyance.
I cleared my throat and waved my hand toward the male, “This is Vesper’s father.” There was no reason to doubt it. There was a striking resemblance from the hair, the eyes, even his lips. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” I asked him.
“Thackery,” he held out his hand to me. “And you two are the barbarians manhandling my precious snowflake for all to see.” He ran his hand down his face.
“From now on, you put her in a bedroom, I swear to the shadows, just because she fucks this animal,” he pointed to Oryx, “doesn’t mean she has to act like one in public. ”
Oryx lowered his head and kicked his hoof on the ground.
I shook my head. “How have you not turned back earlier? What took so long?”
Thackery growled and ran his hand through his hair.
“Wait, no.” I shook my head. “We need to leave, we need to get Vesper. Pyrrah, stop drooling and get our father-in-law some clothes!”
Pyrahh wiggled her eyebrows and winked before running off down the hallway.
Thackery's fingers closed around my forearm, his touch cool against my skin. "Slow down," he said, his voice level. "Sylvaine won't harm a hair on her head. You two need to collect yourselves before we proceed."
Oryx snarled and whipped his tail back and forth. “He has our pet, I will not stand by and wait for that beast to take her from us! We have yet to bond with her!”
Thackery's posture stiffened, his spine straightening like a rod of ice.
Frost crystallized along the tips of his pointed ears, glittering in the light.
"My power hasn't fully returned," he explained, voice tight with frustration.
"My mana was completely depleted when I was in the Earth Realm. That realm doesn’t have the mana, the energy my kind needs.
After following Vesper through the portal, I wandered aimlessly until my reserves began to replenish.
Once I had enough magik flowing through me again, I caught her scent on the wind and tracked it here. "
I hummed in response. “If you were completely drained, it would have taken much longer for you to replace your magik to return to your true form.”
Thackery nodded and smirked devilishly. “Only one thing that can shock the mana system so quickly.”
My eyes widened. “You have a mate somewhere and you were close enough?”
"Sylvaine has no intention of harming Vesper," Thackery said, his voice softening. "He discovered the truth—she carries my bloodline, born of the union between myself and the third member of our bond, our female mate. This is why he claimed her from your protection."
Oryx snarled. “Why take her if we are her fated? We can best protect her!”
Thackery frowned. “That would be best explained while we traveled, and I know where they would be going.”
We each had our gifts to speed our journey—my command of shadows, Oryx's powerful strides, and Thackery's frostwhisper abilities. He manipulated the mist around him, transforming it into a gliding path that carried him effortlessly as he guided us toward the mountains.
As dawn approached, Thackery's movements grew increasingly fluid. The fog seemed to dance around him as we ascended the mountain, each gesture more precise and elegant than the last. Snowflakes spiraled in his wake, catching in his hair as it whipped against the current of the wind.
Oryx sneezed, the snow blowing out of his nose as he dug the snow from his eyeholes.
While I was absolutely livid that Vesper was taken from us, I was relieved that she was in no danger.
Oryx felt the same, but he would not be as forgiving of Sylvain as me.
He was in predator mode, his animal instincts were on high alert and Thackery could sense it.
The journey stretched across hundreds of miles, forcing us to pause at intervals. Though Thackery and I could have pressed on more quickly, we dared not offer to help Oryx. We watched him silently, knowing better than to suggest he couldn't keep our pace.
Oryx had pride.
We ascended the mountain where Alicia had formed her bond with both Sylvaine and Thackery. Their triad had barely lasted six years when Thackery and Alicia vanished, leaving Sylvaine alone with his grief.
Once we reached the cliff side, Thackery and I shifted into our more physical form.
Where frost clung to his pale skin like a second nature, shadows pooled beneath mine.
He embodied winter's season while Oryx and I wore night like a cloak.
Without a glance back, he squared his shoulders and strode into the cave, leaving us to follow.
We understood what needed to be done: escort Vesper to her childhood nursery deep within the cave and remain there with her while Thackery and Sylvaine settled their long-overdue confrontation.
I couldn’t imagine how Vesper was feeling. Did she know that Sylvaine was her father, part of the triad? Does Sylvaine think that Thackery is dead? What about her mother?
My pulse quickens as we cross the threshold, but Oryx's tail coils around my wrist—a silent promise of protection. The cave's entrance showers us with snowflakes, drawing an irritated rumble from deep in Oryx's chest.
We enter to find Vesper positioned behind Sylvain, her face tilted upward with furrowed brows as she studies the towering figure before her. I probe her thoughts but encounter only silence. No trace of fear radiates from her presence.
I hear nothing from her.
“Is she shocked?” Oryx asked me.
“Wouldn’t you be? She has two fathers.”
Thackery stared down at Sylvaine, the tension so thick you could cut it with a sword. “Sylvaine.” Thackeray’s voice came out much more tender than I thought it would be.
Oryx’s hooves echoed in the cave, his anticipation growing to get his hands on our pet.
Sylvaine took a tentative step forward. “Is it really you?” His lip wobbled. “Is it truly?”
Thackery lunged across the space between them, his arms outstretched toward Sylvaine.
In the same moment, Oryx sprang sideways, dropping to all fours with predatory grace.
Vesper's lips curved upward in anticipation just before Oryx pounced, pinning her beneath him and pressing his muzzle against the hollow of her throat.
“Hi big guy,” she cooed.
“Mine.” He ground his hips into her and she gasped, shaking her head. “That’s my dad, right there. Is that my other dad? That’s Thackery?”
I walked toward her and kneeled. “It is, but I think they would like their own reunion.” We all glanced over to see long passionate kisses being shared.
And groping.
“Thackery was George.” Oryx said suddenly.
Vesper scrunched up her face in confusion. “What?”
Oryx's reply was cut short by the sound of shattering pottery. Across the cave, Thackery had upended the table in his haste, backing Sylvain against the rough stone wall. Their hands moved frantically between them, fumbling with laces and belts, desperate for contact after their long separation.
"Time for us to make our exit with our little pet," I murmured, exchanging a knowing glance with Oryx, whose rumbling purr vibrated through the cave air.