Page 64 of Broken Wolf

“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I’m asking for help and you didn’t want to be rude.” I moved over towards him and extended my hand. “I’m Sera Thomas. I appreciate you dropping everything and coming to talk with me. Eva was clear you were the right person to help me.”

He raised an eyebrow, and there was a hostile amusement in his eyes. “No hug for your uncle?”

I smothered a chuckle when Eva made an annoyed noise but let him see I was fine with his snark. “We are what we say we are. Just because Alena and Eva have decided to adopt me doesn’t make the decision for us. To outsiders maybe, but I don’t let people make those calls for me and never have. I wouldn’t force it on anyone else either.”

He didn’t say anything but gave a slight nod as he accepted my hand. “Mauro Dorcus, nice to meet you.”

I glanced at my watch and tried to adjust for the change in my day. Then I remembered that I wasn’t the only one involved in this. “Do you want to get settled into where you’re staying and we can talk tomorrow or…”

He seemed shocked that I cared to ask. “I’d rather jump into the situation, but I could use a meal and a run after the long flight.”

“That works perfectly.” I pulled out my phone and texted Sander, glad when he came right up.

“I just got filled in,” he told me as he entered the apartment, introducing himself to Mauro. “This changes going hunting tonight, right?”

“I was going to ask if you could do the hunting with Eva and maybe Hagan,” I told him. “I want David found, and I’m going to talk to him as Sera before I quietly bring him in. We still have missing pieces he’ll be too excited and gloat to me about if I bump into him. I doubt he’s just sitting at his stolen home on a Saturday night after he came into money.”

He frowned. “I doubt it was all that much, right?”

I snickered. “You think he’s going to be smart with it and not blow it in less than five years?”

“Right, good point. I’m still used to dealing with smart people who make it to be ancient, not idiot criminals.”

“No, you’re used to the smart ones who are terrifying,” I drawled, biting back a shiver. I glanced at Eva. “I could use you to tag in like Melicent has. This human won’t know you’re ancient, and you can keep him—”

“And you want me distracted and not hovering,” she interjected, smirking at me. “Don’t treat me like a fool either.”

I smiled at her, genuinely. “You are no one’s fool, Grandma. You know exactly what I’m doing but yes, I would like to speak with him alone like I did Joshua. We’re our own people, and—he doesn’t have to agree to this. I asked you for help, and you told me who would be best. Let us figure out the rest.”

She sighed, saying something in Greek and then giving me a hug and kissing my cheeks. “You came in relieved and too worried. What has happened? You found that woman? The one that was nice to you as a child?”

“Yes, and she’s staying the night at the hospital. If you want to swing by and visit, I’m sure she’d like the company. You can ask her about when I was a kid.” I swallowed loudly when she studied my face. “It’s bad. What her stepson did to her and what she’s been through—she’s got like nothing left until I take them all down, and even then…” I shook my head.

I handled a few other things, apologizing to Mauro for the delay and then changed to something for a Saturday night, hopeful we’d find David. I asked him about dinner and he was shocked when I snickered.

“You’re definitely Alena’s sibling,” I explained. “She’s addicted to fast food and grease.”

He accepted that. “It’s unbecoming to eat like a pauper when you’re from the royal family. At least in front of the public.”

The hostility coming off of him was… Probably valid. A lot but yeah, I would probably be resentful if I had grown up the same.

We picked up Portillos instead of eating it there and went to eat it by the lake since it was a cooler night for the summer. He seemed pleasantly surprised with that outcome but simply thanked me for guiding him to order.

“I didn’t want to come,” he told me honestly after we were situated alone and eating for a bit.

“Oh, I caught onto that,” I chuckled darkly. “But no one turns down Eva Dorcus, so I’m sorry you got pulled into this. If you’re not interested, just be honest and I’ll tell her that I didn’t feel comfortable with this idea after all.”

He didn’t respond right away, focused out at the water as he devoured his burger. “I understand why my mother and sister have taken to you. You’re humble, whereas they are not, but I appreciate that. You are very young but have already learned something important to make your people loyal and fight for you.”

I didn’t play stupid. “Forcing people to do what they don’t want to does nothing but build resentment. Yeah, I learned that long ago, personally, being forced into houses and families I didn’t want to be with, in circumstances that didn’t work for me. I need help, and if you’re forced into this and you’re not here of your own free will, that’s dangerous for me.”

“Smart you understand that.” He sighed and moved on to an Italian beef. “I had to come, but I came this fast because I was curious. Mother has never called on me like this, and even if we talk once a month and holidays, even I know her love for you is genuine.”

I wasn’t going to reply at first and wanted to let him continue when he was ready, but I would want to know if the situation was reversed. “She immediately said your name. I don’t know what’s between you, and even she admitted you have every reason to feel as you do, but when I talked to her about what was going on and where I was at, she immediately said you were the person to help.”

He finally looked at me then. “I find that incredibly surprising.”

“You’re much older than I am. You can tell if I’m lying.”

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