Page 84 of Wings of Betrayal

I clear my throat. “I’m Zarla. Serona’s daughter.”

A haunted look crosses his features. “It can’t be…”

“Look, I know this is strange. But I think… I think you might be my father.”

He runs his hands down his face. “No. It’s not possible. She would’ve told me.”

He paces down the alleyway, mulling over my words, muttering to himself, before he faces me again. “You shouldn’t be here. You could be killed.”

“Are you my father?” I ask, ignoring his concerns.

“No,” he says, his voice loud and stern, causing me to jump. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

And with that, he storms back through the door and into the bar, leaving me alone in the dark alleyway. I stare at the door he disappeared through as it swings back and forth.

What in the gods was I thinking? Was I wrong to come here?

My lip quivers, and I bite down on it to hold back the tears.

This was a huge mistake.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

No, Iwasright about coming here. I storm after Atticus inside, but he’s nowhere to be seen. I rush through the bar and out onto the sidewalk, scanning the dark, empty streets, hoping to find him, but he’s gone, vanished as if he were never here at all.

Someone grabs my arm and hauls me back in. My watcher.

“Are you nuts? You could be seen!” He hauls me to the bar and shoves me down on a barstool.

My mind is reeling. I know it was him. My father. Why is he denying it? He can see it. I know he can. My emotions are ablaze, and I struggle to contain them. The whole missing-and-now-found father issue, combined with the delicious blue drinks, is messing with my head. Gods above, why am I feeling like this?

“I take it that didn’t go so well, then?” he asks, his tone genuine.

I shake my head and almost fall off the barstool. “I need another one.”

He leans in closer to me, and his dark and spicy scent is far too appealing. I look up at him and then down at his full lips.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

His eyes search mine before he answers. “Grazen. What’s yours?”

“Zarla.” There’s something so alluring about this big, strong, stubborn male.

“You shouldn’t look at me like that,” he warns under his breath and backs up a little.

I tap my glass, signalling to the barman. “Another drink, please?”

The barman nods and makes us two more, and I finish mine quickly and then order another. The door dings again, and a group of males file through, followed by more, and soon the bar is full of them. Huge males, all dressed in black leathers, and covered in markings.

“This isn’t going to go down well,” the barman warns Grazen.

The magical blue liquid is doing its thing, helping to numb my emotions and sending a blanket of warmth buzzing over my skin. It’s so good.

“I call this…a happy drink,” I say with a giggle, cupping Grazen’s cheek. “It’s the same colour as your eyes.”

Whispers from the other males in the bar indicate that they’ve noticed me, and they’re chatting amongst themselves as they eye me.

“Another one, please?” I ask the barman.

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