Page 58 of Eternally Yours

Just as I was about to start banging on the door, the lock unlatched and Cat slinked in.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned from her. I was glad it wasn’t one of the guards, but who I needed was my father. “Why did they let you in here?” I asked, my chest heaving as I fought to contain the volcano about to erupt.

“Nevermind that,” she said, never wanting to reveal her methods. “I’m gonna speak to your mother. She can—”

“No. You’ve done enough,” I said, turning back and clenching my teeth. I didn’t want her in any more shit. It would only hurt her in the end. Especially if my parents ever found out she’d been secretly helping me all these years.

The pained expression in her eyes pricked my heart. She’d done so much and I was lashing out. She deserved better, but right now, I was out of time and out of patience. I rubbed at my face and sucked in a few breaths. “I’m sorry, Cat. You should go.” There was zero friendliness in my voice.

She lowered her gaze and left just as quickly as she’d appeared.

I paced, practically carving a path on the concrete floor as the minutes ticked down. My father wanted me on edge and he was doing a fine job at it. After forty-five minutes of waiting, I was about ready to tear through the walls when my father’s voice piped through the receiver in the room.

“The prodigal son returns,” he said, his voice lacking any pleasantry.

I stared through the two-way mirror, narrowing my gaze, aware the man was standing on the other side, smug as ever. “Is this how we’re going to do this? Do I not deserve to be graced by your presence, father?”

“I’m your father now?” he huffed. “You wanted nothing to do with this family. And what did I say to you all those years ago?” He waited for a response I wouldn’t give him.

“You would be back,” he answered for me. I didn’t need to see through the mirror to picture his haughty demeanor. As much as he wanted me dead, he was enjoying watching me unravel.

Egotistical son of a bitch.

I ground my teeth, pain webbing up my jaw. I had to remember why I was here. Loren. I needed to save her. So if that meant bending the knee, fucking hell, then that’s what I’d do.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important,” I said.

“Important doesn’t quite cover your recent transgressions against this coven.”

I paused, the silence in the room rippling through the air. Did he mean the fact I’d sired Loren or the recent events with the Order? It was impossible to know how much intel he’d gathered already.

“Father, I—”

“Silence. I have no need for your explanations.”

Swallowing hard and chewing on the inside of my cheek, I grimly said, “Then you know this is a matter of life and death. The coven is in danger.”

“No, Nicholas. We neutralized their threats years ago. Whatever you did to piss them off is your own doing. You will not bring a war you started to my doorstep.”

Stalking toward the mirror, I drew close to the glass, my breath fogging the surface. “You’re wrong.” Challenging my father was never a bright idea, but he needed to know the truth. The Order hadn’t remained idle. They’d simply bought time, and if my suspicions proved correct, they would strike soon. “They’ve developed something in their lab I believe they intend to use against us, Father. For crying out loud, I can walk in daylight and Loren is the key.”

“Loren?” Coated with revulsion, his voice vibrated through the intercom.

My saliva turned to ash. It was as if he’d known my next words would send this whole thing spiraling south. “My bloodmate.”

Deafening silence choked the air, suffocating me as I waited for his reply.

After an agonizing eternity, the door opened, and my father stepped inside. Dressed in a tailored black suit, he moved with the patience only a creature his age could possess. Despite being my elder and sire, Arthur Guerra didn’t look older than a man in his early thirties. But his gaze was deep and harsh, a looking glass into the past bathed in a sea of deep blue. His eyes spoke of the thousands of years he’d walked on this Earth. He’d seen empires rise and fall and had fought alongside kings and queens.

His mere presence was enough to drive fear into the hearts of men. Human and vampire alike. Within seconds he stood inches from me, his towering frame a pillar of power. I bowed my head in respect, but also in understanding that I needed to play my cards right or he’d snap my spine in half.

I couldn’t save Loren if I was dead.

Still, I refused to cower into submission. I raised my head and met his gaze. His nostrils flared, outrage steaming up from inside. He pressed his lips into a hard line, fighting with himself not to lose his shit. As ruthless as he was, he prided himself in his cold and stoic demeanor.

Always the fearless leader.

We both knew what I’d done had dire repercussions. Our family’s reputation was at stake yet again.

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