Page 119 of Enchanting Her Monsters
I glance around. By the magic in the air and the unique colors of the foliage, I deduce we’re in a remote location within the fae realm.
“Come. We need to throw off any tracking.”
Maxum snarls. “I know the drill.”
We run a quarter mile, then pop through into a closed clothing store in a strip mall. The new guy grabs a couple pairs of sweatpants and two t-shirts off some racks and tosses them at Maxum and me.
Maxum doesn’t protest, and we quickly put them on. I see a fixture with some flip-flops. Not the best gear, but I tuck my feet into them to protect myself from whatever running we have left to do.
The male tosses some cash on the sales counter and shrugs when we give him a questioning look. “Karma is a bitch. Don’t want to test her right now.”
“Whoareyou?” I ask.
“Don’t you know already?” His face is strained, like he’s in pain. “Sense it?”
“Are you… my father?”
He nods slowly.
“Are you Erwald Krathion?” Maxum steps closer, studying his face.
My father gives him a sad grin. “It’s been a long time, Maxumus.” His skin color darkens to a reddish hue and there’s a subtle change in his appearance, but his red is not as deep as Maxum’s crimson. His eyes become the palest green I’ve ever seen. His silver hair remains the same and I realize it’s the same as mine.
My jaw drops open. “You two know each other?”
“I suspected Erwald was your father,” Maxum confesses. “But didn’t think he was still alive. When you mentioned you didn’t want to drag him into our problems, I planned on hunting down what happened to him, but only after we eliminated Galiana and Rob.”
“I’ve been incognito since your birth,” my flippingfathersays to me.
“The last time I remember seeing you was almost three hundred years ago,” Maxum adds.
I’m still in a daze when my father opens a portal for us to keep moving. Maxum clasps my hand and guides me through.
We rush through the protocol I’ve become familiar with when portal jumping and finally we end up outside a simple house in the mortal realm.
Erwald (it’s too weird to think of him as my dad) ushers us inside the quaint cottage. The outside reminds me of a gingerbread house. The inside is painted dark reds, grays, and black and has gothic style furniture and artwork.
I realize he’s brought me to his actual home. Although if he’s a double spy, he likely has many hidden safe houses.
“I’m sure you have a myriad of questions for me.” Erwald stands rigid as if he’s facing a firing squad, waiting for what he expects to be a brutal interrogation.
I don’t really have questions, not right now. I give him a once over now that we’ve stopped moving. He’s handsome, but that’s a common trait in the supernatural realm from what I’veseen. If I were to guess his age by appearance alone, I’d guess he was younger than I am, perhaps thirty, but with a blend of confidence and weariness that reveals his true age, which apparently is hundreds of years old.
When I look for similarities to confirm that he’s my bio daddy, I find little, except for our silver hair. Even his eyes are a different shade of green. I’m definitely my mother’s daughter in appearance.
“How did you find me?” I ask instead of the thousand other things I could inquire about.
“I was able to pinpoint your location through your mate bond with a demon. I was already on alert after I sensed your concealment spell was broken recently. I have been searching, but I couldn’t get a reading on where you were located. I assume some powerful magic was hiding you.”
My mind swings back to what I’ve been worrying about since my pack split up. Sure, it’s fine and dandy to meet my father, but I need to address what’s really important.
“We need to find the others,” I say to Maxum.
“That is unwise.” Erwald steps closer, as if to prevent me from leaving.
I glare at him with the force of forty years of abandonment. “I’m sorry. But areyoutelling me how to treatmymates?” I ask with a snarky tone, making up for him missing my angsty teenage years. He left his own mate andme, his daughter, so no, I’m not taking his fucking advice.
“Mates?” His eyes dart to Maxum, then back to me. “You have more?”
