Page 14 of Twilight Echoes
The ache in Darrell’s joints reminded him that what happened to his dad was happening to him.
He inhaled the fresh scent of lilies.
Avery.
He smelled her minutes before she practically danced into the room with all the style and grace that made her the sweetest creature he’d ever laid eyes on.
A trail of fairy dust gathered behind her, rolling into a ball. Both it and she crash-landed into his body.
“Whoa,” he said as she wrapped her arms around him. “What’s this about?”
“Seeing my dad reminded me of what you lost,” she whispered into his neck. Her hot breath tickled his skin, exciting every cell. “And how fresh that is. You haven’t had a chance to grieve.”
He threaded his fingers through her long, silky hair. Since his father died, all he could focus on was finding a cure. His pack, his mother, and his siblings needed him to step into his father’s shoes and lead The Red River Pack during this time of uncertainty. Fear gripped the hearts of all members, and they looked at him, wondering if he was half the man his father had been.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. His father had been his hero. His greatest supporter. And as an adult, his best friend.
“I can’t afford to grieve. My pack needs me to find the answers to survive,” he said.
Her gentle touch and warm fairy dust helped ease some of the ache in his heart, but it also reminded him that even if they found the source of the spell, he could be dead within the year.
Needing to put some space between them, he took a step back.
Her thick eyelashes blinked over her watery sea-blue spheres as her fairy dust took flight.
It would be impossible to resist her, but he’d have to, at least for now.
She palmed his cheek, sucking him right back in. “It’s okay to feel and it would be good for you. Certain aspects of our auras are attached to our emotions. That’s partly why readings can be tricky. Feelings affect the outcome. But allowing yourself to feel the pain of your father’s death, even in small doses, could help with whatever is going on with your aura layers.”
Inching closer, resting his hands on her hips, he dropped his forehead to hers. “I feel it. Every morning, I wake up hoping it’s all a bad dream, and then I move. My joints feel like I need a good shot of oil. My muscles feel weak, and it all reminds me of what my father went through. What others in my pack are suffering. I’m their leader. I have to serve them before I serve myself. I will grieve when this is over.” He leaned in, but instead of taking her mouth in a kiss that would end all kisses, he brushed his lips across her cheek. “Can your father see me?”
“Oh, yes. He’s waiting for us.” She took his hand and led him through a long hallway. “I told him about the fairy dust.”
“Wonderful.” He should pull away. Right now, he had nothing to offer but a broken heart. Instead of taking the new job so he could be near her, he should have gone through the proper channels to get the help he needed from her father and the council. But it was too late to turn back now. “He would have seen this stuff anyway. I gather it’s more than safe to assume he knows what all that means and now has a loaded shotgun behind his desk and he’s poised to use it.”
She laughed. “While he’s not overly thrilled at the timing because I’m so young and your situation, he’s taking it better than I am.”
“You seem to be handling it quite well, even though you haven’t accepted me.” He squeezed her hand. “Which is a good thing.”
“My father says otherwise.” She turned and glared. “And we’re not getting into all the reasons why he believes that right now.”
“Whatever you say.”
“My dad is trying to schedule an emergency meeting with the elders and the witch coven. That means Trask will be involved and that’s a very good thing. He’s more powerful than my dad.”
“I have to admit, the idea of meeting Trask is about as utterly terrifying as going into that office right now.” He pointed down the hallway.
“My dad’s a big softy and Trask is a sweetheart.” She smiled. “And really hot too.”
Darrell growled. “You should know. I’m a jealous man.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” She stopped at an open door. Her father sat behind a large desk, his cell pressed to his ear, waving them in.
Darrell tugged his hand free as he stepped across the threshold. He’d met the prince before, but he’d been a small boy and Avery had introduced him as herdaddy. But seeing the impressive man in his light-blue button-down shirt, sitting behind his desk, made Darrell want to shift and run like a scared little pup. The title alone intimidated him, but seeing the tall, muscular man in person terrified him. He puffed out his chest. He never really thought he’d bethealpha of his pack, at least not this soon, but it was time he started acting like one.
“Thanks,” her father said as he set down the phone, stretching out his hand. “Darrell, it’s nice to see you again after all these years, but I’m sorry for the circumstances.”
“Sir,” Darrell said, not knowing the proper protocol. “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, but Avery said you wouldn’t mind.”
