Page 21 of Dawn of the Pack

The thought had crossed my mind, sir.”

“Yes, well, you should know I didn’t know you were my son until a coupla nights ago. Your cousin was doing a… well, she did some spell, and she figured it out somehow. Can’t say I understand how it works, magic and all. But then I remembered your mom and I had a bit of a fling, back in the day, and realized it was possible.”

“I see, sir.”

“‘Course you understand once I knew I had a son, I had to find you right away. My mate passed before we had any children, and it was such a blessing to find out I’ve had a son this whole time.”

“I imagine it was, sir. Bit odd you forced me to leave with you.”

“Well, I hope you don’t take that to heart. Since you didn’t know who I was, I figured I ought to make it easier on everybody until we could have a chat. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Since I’ve never been under alpha compulsion before, sir, I’d say it was pretty upsetting.”

“And I apologize for that. When it’s just part of your everyday life, you don’t quite remember what it was like without it.”

Billy chose that moment to make his reappearance, carrying a tray laden with food and several bottles of water.

“Wonderful, thank you, Billy. Azalea said you can just pass that right through the barrier, it’ll allow stuff to go in but not come back out. Just push it through the slot there. Why don’t you grab hold of that when it comes through, Leaf?”

“Yes, sir.” I accept the tray as it slides through the slot in the metal bars. A faint line of energy crackles around it, but otherwise it arrives safely in my hands.

Even though the food—and especially the water—is tempting, I glance up at Nielsen suspiciously.

“Go on and eat, son. No tricks, I promise. I have no reason to want to hurt you.”

I consider for a long minute, but eventually decide the wise move is to accept what I’m given for now. It won’t do me much good to die of dehydration in a few days, and I need to keep up my strength in case I get a chance to run.

I crack the top on one bottle and swallow down half of it before coming up for air.

“There you go, you enjoy. I think I’ll head out for now. Let you get some rest. Billy! Get him some blankets and a pillow, will you?”

Billy’s head ducks through the doorway, bobs, and disappears in a matter of seconds.

“If you’re really interested in having a relationship with me, it’d probably be a good move to let me out of this prison.”

Nielsen turns and smiles down at me. “Well, until I know I can trust you, I’m afraid I can’t do that. We need to make sure we’agree about a few things first. But don’t you worry, we’ll have another chat. I’ll see you soon, son. Real soon.”

Chapter Nine

Lilliana

When we walk into Harridan House, Mr. Carson rushes to welcome us.

“Dinner has just been served, Miss Lilliana. Everyone’s already in the breakfast room.” With a grave face, he motions for us to walk ahead.

My gaze darts to Milo, but he just shrugs. What exactly does he mean by ‘everyone’?

As we get closer, some familiar voices reach my ears, and my heart gives an involuntary leap in response. Laughter from several people echoes down the hall. The anticipation makes my steps quicken, and I lengthen the distance between myself and Mr. Carson a good deal by the time we pass through the doors.

“…you know, I’ve never been a fan of facial hair,” Jared pauses in the middle of his joke. He has a captive audience, the knowing grin on his face a telltale sign that he’s having a good run. “But it’s growing on me!”

Another round of appreciative laughter from the staff milling by the kitchen door and the group seated at the table.

“You really should get some new material,” Milo teases loudly. “You told me that one last week.”

“Yeah, and you laughed last week,” Jared fires back, hopping out of his seat and crossing to greet us. He’s handsome as ever with his warm brown skin and dark, shining eyes—even wearing a slightly muddy sweat suit.

“Woah, woah, hold on just a minute,” I press a hand to his chest to stop the oncoming hug and affect a serious air. “What on earth is on your head? Is there something you need to tell me, Jared?”

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