“Tulip’s mother is Nightshade, a dark fae, but her father is Cedar, a light fae. Her magick is not purely dark or purely light, but a mixture of the two. In addition, she has been claimed by a member of the Ashton Grove pack.”
The shifter looked at Vaughn. “Would that be you?”
“Yes. I claimed Tulip as my mate, and furthermore, she’s carrying our child. I would ask that she be left to live in peace among my pack. They have accepted her.”
“The dark fae tried to wipe out the light fae line. They killed the royals,” one of the fae said. “Why should we forgive that?”
“Tulip had nothing to do with that,” Vaughn said. “She was imprisoned by the dark fae for trying to help your people. She tried to save the royal family and tried to intervene when Onyx came for my alpha’s mate. She was left to rot with no light, no food. Her wings were cut from her body.”
The fae did a slow blink and stared at one another.
“My mate has never harmed anyone,” Vaughn said. “She didn’t fight back when they imprisoned her, merely accepted her fate. She came to my pack for help and our alpha knew immediately she was meant to be a mate to one of our wolves. I was lucky enough to claim that title. Tulip is sweet and genuinely cares about people. One of the mates in our pack recently gave birth and Tulip eased her pain, not caring how much it drained her energy and magick. She’s selfless.”
“If you’ve truly claimed her, then her life force has been shortened by joining with yours.” The female fae folded her hands. “If that’s the case, and she’s pregnant, then I don’t believe she will be a threat any longer.”
“So, you’ll ask the light fae to remove the bounty on her? She’ll be left in peace to live amongst my
pack?” Vaughn asked.
“I believe that can be arranged.” The male fae looked at the other council members. “Do any of you object?”
There were murmurs, but everyone agreed to free Tulip.
The sorcerer thanked them for the audience and then took Vaughn back to the house. Tulip and her father were watching TV, both of them looking fascinated by the cooking show that was on. It still amazed him that she’d been around so long and still had never watched a TV before coming to his home. Their home.
He leaned against the living room doorway and watched them laugh and talk for a few minutes. It was clear that Tulip was happy to have her father in her life. Vaughn didn’t know how long the fae planned to stay in their home, but he would allow it. Anything that made Tulip laugh like that was welcome in his world. The sorcerer patted his shoulder and then blinked out of the room, probably to return to his home. Vaughn didn’t see Deacon anywhere and assumed the wolf had gone home.
Leaving Tulip and Cedar to talk a little more, Vaughn went to the kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. He looked out the kitchen window while he waited on the machine to percolate. As soon as he’d had some caffeine, he’d give Tulip the good news. For the moment, she was content, and that was more important. After the pot was finished brewing, he poured himself a cup and took a large swallow. Closing his eyes, he inhaled the scent of rich coffee and felt at peace for the time being. Now that his mate was safe, he could relax and enjoy being mated to an amazing woman.
Vaughn carried his cup into the living room. “Having a good time?”
They both startled and looked at him with wide eyes.
“When did you get home?” Tulip asked.
“A few minutes ago. You looked like you were having a nice time so I made some coffee and left the two of you alone a little longer. It sounds like you’re getting along.”
“Thank you for welcoming me into your home,” Cedar said. “Now that I’ve found my daughter, I plan to visit often.”
“What did the council say?” Tulip asked.
“It was determined that you aren’t a threat to the fae. No one should be hunting you any longer. I’m not certain how quickly that order will be passed though, so we should probably stay close to the house the rest of the day, just in case. I’m not sure how the fae communicate something like that.” Vaughn took another swallow of his coffee. “But we can order pizza and watch movies. Cedar, you’re still welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”
“I’ll stay for dinner and then I’ll return home, but I promise to visit often. And I’d like to come stay a few days when the baby is born.” Cedar reached over and took Tulip’s hand. “I missed out on your birth, but I plan to be here for each of my grandchildren.”
“Does Tulip have any siblings?” Vaughn asked.
“No. Nightshade was my true love and I’ve never paired with anyone else. Nightshade was the only female I’ve never used a protective spell with. I think I was always hoping she’d become pregnant, giving me a reason to fight for us to be together.”
“So, you’re going to be alone the rest of your life?” Tulip asked. “Mother wouldn’t have wanted that.”
“I know she wouldn’t, but I don’t want anyone else. Besides, I will now have you and your children, and their children. I can watch over the future generations for as long as I live.”
“I’ll go order the pizza. I’ll make sure one is a veggie since I know you prefer not to eat meat.” Vaughn stepped out of the room to return his cup to the kitchen and place their order. When he got back to the living room, Tulip was showing Cedar the movie collection. When they found his copy ofLegend, they decided they wanted to see it. He only hoped nothing in it offended them.
He smiled as he thought about how much his life had changed. He’d known his mate wasn’t part of the pack, and had wondered if he would be alone for years to come, then Tulip had landed at his feet. Now he had two fae in his life, and a baby on the way. Life couldn’t have been sweeter.
