Page 74 of Property of Mako
Hating that she’d been carrying this burden alone, I pulled her hands down and kissed her knuckles. “Then you don’t have to do it alone. We’ll tell her together. When the time’s right.”
Her gaze searched mine, desperate, broken. “She still asks about our parents sometimes. If I tell her the truth, she’ll want to know about her father. What am I supposed to say?”
“Tell me about him.”
Her voice dropped to almost nothing. “He left before she was born. Just… disappeared. But he left that necklace and a note. Said it was for the baby when she was old enough. I never saw him again.”
Then she described him and how, at her young age, she thought she was in love. She shook her head as she gave me a sad smile. “I know better now, but I was young. Impressionable. Idealistic. Then when he just disappeared, I had to watch my daughter raised as my sister, and it broke me. Every single time she called her grandmother Momma. Every time I had to say she was my sister.”
I stilled. My mind replayed every word, every detail she gave as she described him—tall, too beautiful to be real, eyes like the bluest sky, a presence that felt like sunlight and storm all at once.
Trying to keep my astonishment in check, I kept my mouth shut for a moment. Except I knew enough. Enough to see the truth—insane as it seemed.
“Lyra.” My voice was low, certain. “I could be wrong, but I don’t think so. He wasn’t human. He was fae.”
Her breath caught, horror flashing across her face. “Fae? That’s impossible. Those are just stories.”
“Not impossible. Just hidden. The powerful ones can cross the veil when they reach maturity.” My jaw clenched. “It explains Lily. Why Thane wanted her so badly. She’s more than just human, more than just marked. This isn’t simply about you or her legacy blood. She’s got fae blood.”
Lyra shook her head like she could deny it away, but I cupped her face, forcing her to hear me. “Listen to me. None of that changes who she is. She’s still Lily. She’s still yours. And she’s mine now too. Nothing will ever take her—or you—from me.”
Tears spilled over, but this time she didn’t look away. She leaned into my touch like she wanted to believe it.
Unable to hold back, I kissed her, slow and reverent, a promise sealed in blood and fire. When I pulled back, I pressed my forehead to hers.
“I’ll be by your side until the end of time, Lyra Callahan. That’s the bond. That’s more than love, baby. That’s forever.”
Her small hands framed my face, her lips moving against mine as she spoke. “I love you, Calix. And though this is all still a little unbelievable to me, I can feel the bond. And I’m not going anywhere. You, me, and Lily—a team.”
“No… a family,” I corrected.
A tear slipped free and trailed down her cheek. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed.
And for the first time since the world fell apart, she let herself breathe.
Epilogue
Crypt Keeper
The clubhouse smelled like blood, smoke, and bleach. The kind of cocktail I’d gotten used to after too many battles, but it still made the wolf in me restless.
We’d survived the latest storm. Barely. But survival came with a cost. It always did.
I leaned against the wall near the bar, arms crossed, watching. Mako was perched on the edge of the couch with Lyra tucked tight against his side. I’d never seen the bastard look that soft before, and I’d known him for years. Whatever they were—mate bond, fate, or some cosmic joke—it had him wrapped up tight.
And now she wore his brand.
Lily was on her knees on the couch as she studied her sister’s new tattoo Killswitch had finished no more than an hour ago. It was at the base of her neck, centered over her spine. I didn’t need to see it to know what it said.
Property of Mako.
Lily said something that made Lyra laugh. But it wasn’t them that snagged my attention.
It was Dexter.
The man hadn’t let Lily out of his sight since Zeus and Thing Three brought them back from that impossible trip to Fontainebleau. Wherever she went, he shadowed her. Always a step behind, hand hovering close like he was ready to snatch her out of danger the second it showed its teeth.
Not possessive. Not creepy. Just… protective. Too protective.
