Page 56 of Lahaina Noon

What. The. Fuck. You said your father died after your mother was killed.

Yeah, well, obviously, I was wrong. I don’t know how this is possible.

Ya think? I’ll tell you what I think. I think we better start talking and figure this out.

I agree. I’ve only been thinking my father was dead for over two hundred years but somehow, he just waltzed in here, challenged you, and then welcomed you as his daughter? I’m seriously thinking I’m in some episode of the Twilight Zone here.

Because that’s comforting.

I love you, smartass.

Love you too, Sex God.

“Are you two done?” asked Ivan the Red, Vaughn’s magically undead father.

Bridget gave Vaughn side-eye;can he hear us?

Ivan laughed. “No, you lovely creature, I’m not reading your mind, but it was obvious you two were speaking to each other. I’m going to have to teach my daughter a better poker face!” The smile left his own face. “I’m sure you’re wondering how I’m here.”

Vaughn nodded in silence.

Bridget took charge, grabbing them both by the arm and called out to the group, “If you’ll excuse us, a quick sidebar is needed here. We’ll be right back.” She walked them out of the education room and down the hall to Vaughn’s office. Once there, she steered father and son to the guest chairs and sat across the desk from them. She decided a little distance couldn’t hurt. She grabbed the remote and opaqued the windows. She pointed at them both and said, “Speak.”

Ivan laughed and slapped his leg. “Oh, son, I can see why you snapped this one up. She’s a firecracker!”

Vaughn smiled and replied dryly, “You have no idea.”

The two men looked each other over for a bit. Bridget took the opportunity to compare them. She could certainly see where Vaughn got his good looks, but Vaughn was softer somehow. Must have been from his mother. He had thick black hair like his father, but his was wavier and fuller compared to his father’s straight locks. Definitely the same arrogant nose. Vaughn’s lips were fuller.

Vaughn finally spoke, “Father, please understand, I’m grateful to see the rumors of your demise were false, but,” he faltered.

“What the hell am I doing here alive?” Ivan supplied for him.

Vaughn just nodded; the normally eloquent speaker was unable to formulate the right words.

Bridget raised her hand, nodded, and pointed at herself, indicating she would also like to know.

Ivan leaned back in his chair. “Well, son, it’s a long story and we are short on time so let me give you the short version. After your mother died, the bond between us should have snapped. I’m not sure what happened, but I fell into a state so close to death everyone thought I was. I know you had a memorial for us, I am told it was lovely, very traditional. Thank you, son. For the first one hundred fifty years or so, I was held in a chamber below the Council in a magical stasis, they called it.

“The healers worked for years, trying to mend my spirit. When I finally woke, they spent another decade doing what you would call rehabilitation. I had to learn to walk, shift, fly, all over again. Since then, I’ve been learning my way around this new world you live in. I wasn’t allowed to contact you. The Council was afraid if you knew I was alive you would do something rash. You know they have been keeping an eye on you since you came to the United States.”

Vaughn rolled his eyes. He hated being reminded.

Ivan continued, “I was just as surprised as you were when they elected me to serve you your summons.”

Vaughn leaned back and put his hand on his chin, rubbing thoughtfully. He’d been expecting a summons since he marked Bridget as his mate. He just hadn’t been expecting it that fast. God, had it only been a few days? He looked at her, smiling.

She smiled back and mimicked drinking, asking if they wanted water. He nodded, and she ran to grab some cold bottles from the fridge.

Ivan gratefully accepted the bottle and drank half the contents before clearing his throat and continuing. “So, I’ve got a summons here for you,” he mumbled, pulling an official-looking black envelope from his coat. “To appear before the Council to discuss your violation of their terms.”

“Um, excuse me, violation? What violation?” Bridget demanded.

Vaughn looked at her with guilt all over his face. He’d told her his release from the Council had come with certain terms. He just hadn’t told her all of them. “Well, one of the terms was that I wasn’t allowed to ever take a mate,” he supplied quietly.

She stared at her mate. She was pretty sure he said he wasn’t allowed to have a mate. As in, he wasn’t supposed to do what he had done. And he knew it but did it anyway. A thousand different emotions raced through her head as she processed this. She looked at Ivan and saw a soft smile on his face.

He reached across the desk, took her hand, and spoke softly. “Lovely Bridget. The heart wants what the heart wants. You can’t tell a dragon no. The Council was foolish to instill such a term in the first place.” He turned to Vaughn and slapped him on the knee with the stiff envelope, “And you were an idiot for agreeing to it!”

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