Page 35 of Their World

Mason lingered, his thumb stroking the back of my hand.

“Mas?” I asked softly.

“I’ve never been lucky in life,” he whispered. “So, when you disappeared, I feared the worst. However, I’ve always felt a connection to you, one that thankfully stayed even after you removed the shadow power, and that connection didn’t disappear when you did. So, I did everything I could to try to find a portal, a way to get back to you. I even defied your father, our alpha and king, in doing so.”

My eyes widened. What did he mean by that?

“No matter what happens, know that I will always,alwaysfind a way to you.” He looked deep into my eyes and said, “My life is with you, Lily, wherever you decide to go. So, please, if you leave, if you go back, take me with you.”

Tears brimmed in my eyes and I wrapped my arms around his neck, and buried my nose against his throat, drawing in his familiar and comforting scent. “I didn’t leave you on purpose, Mason. I did not teleport there of my own free will. And I didn’t have a chance to return to you before you showed up. I swear. I would have returned at the earliest opportunity that I could.”

His arms wrapped around me and he hugged me tight. “Swear you won’t leave me behind?”

“I swear I won’t purposefully leave you behind,” I whispered. It was the best promise I could make, considering the portals opened whenever they damn well pleased.

“I don’t want to leave you,” he whispered. “I just got you back.”

“Too bad, pup,” Mom said. “You’re not mated yet and she needs sleep. You can come back in the morning.”

He huffed slightly and gripped me tighter.

“You were going to tell us something before you left,” he whispered. “Will you tell us tomorrow?”

Right, I had forgotten about that.

I nodded and sat back to smile at him. “Yes.”

He kissed me lightly on the lips, lingering a moment to inhale my breath, and reluctantly released me to leave the house.

Mom set her hand on my shoulder and said, “Go to bed, sweetheart. Tomorrow is going to be busy and chaotic.”

I hugged her and rested my head on her chest. “I fear that the chaos is only beginning.” Remembering the other information I had to share, my throat tightened as I said, “I need to speak to you, Tony, and all of my fathers before we go to bed.”

She scowled, but nodded and went to gather them into the dining room.

As I stood before them, I felt a deep sense of worry. Although they had always treated me as their own, I wasn’t their blood. Would they see me differently once they found out I had demon blood? Once they realized that I wasn’t a hybrid like them, but a demon hybrid? Would my loving, wonderful family, my adoptive mother, my brother, and my four fathers, would they disown me and cast me aside?

I drew in a deep breath and said, “There’s something else I didn’t tell everyone. Something I wanted to tell you all first.”

“Go on,” Caleb urged, clearly worried, as he sat up straighter at the table.

It was best just to rip it off, like removing a bee stinger. Taking a deep breath and praying I wasn’t about to be kicked out, I said, “I’m part demon. According to them, I am a royal who went missing when I was a child. I’m … they claim I’m a long-lost Princess of the Demons.”

They blinked at me silently, eyes wide as they absorbed what I had said.

“And … there’s a prophecy.” I pulled out my book and turned to the page, handing it to Mom to read. I pulled out the snake and lily charm and set it on the center of the table. “I met with agroup of females, who are the few who keep written records, and after seeing me shift, they all believe I am the prophesized one. Prophesized by my grandmother, the former queen. That’s why I must go back. Jol isn’t just a friend. The demons, they are my people, and I need to save them.”

Chapter

Ten

Getting so many strong-willed, alpha male, growly kings to agree on anything was like herding cats.

When they were as stubborn as I was, that meant that we were at a stalemate. My hair had been glowing for hours now and I constantly oozed black smoke, though the snake stayed inside, thankfully.

“Ordering me or forbidding me from going won’t stop me,” I said sternly.

“You can’t just admit to your king that you’re going to defy him,” Great Nana Kara said and tsked.

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