Page 30 of Destined for Dreams
Cori squeezed her eyes shut. She’d lost that tiny grasp of emotion he’d shown by saying something as simple as she missed him. “Okay. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”
“Take care.” He hung up.
When she lifted her lids, Emily gazed at her from across the kitchen with sympathetic eyes. The young sensor would have heard the phone call with her acute hearing and felt Cori’s emotions. “That was…rough.”
“He’s still mad.”
“Want me to call him and talk to him?” she offered.
Emily had a way with people that could make most of them listen, but it would be cheating to use her. “No.” Cori shook her head. “He has to forgive me in his own time.”
The teenager nodded. “So I’ve got two more pies ready for the oven.”
“Thanks. That’s good.”
She was glad for the change of subject. Cooking and baking were Cori’s greatest escapes from her problems and one of the reasons she’d become good at them over the years. She proceeded to sink herself into finishing a few more pies with Emily, only stopping once Lucas arrived shortly after noon. He was another welcome distraction.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
As usual, he wore a crisp, clean suit—this one navy blue with a white shirt underneath. His blond hair was cut short and styled perfectly with gel. He could have easily been a model if not for the perpetual cold look in his eyes that rarely warmed except for Melena and Emily.
Cori pulled off her apron, setting it aside. “Yes.” She turned to her teenage helper. “All you have to do is pull the last two pies out and keep an eye on them. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Tell Derrick I said hi!”
Lucas reached toward one of the cherry pies as if he planned to dip his finger into the thick red filling. Cori slapped his hand. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I was just…” He gave her a consternated look. “My apologies.”
He might not like eating in front of people, but she’d learned he had a special weakness for baked goods. Sometimes he’d even snack on them when she was around to watch. It was funny really, considering he was usually a rather fastidious person.
“Let’s go,” she said, leading the way out of the kitchen.
***
They pulled up to the gates of Derrick’s mansion in Cori’s Tahoe—she’d insisted on driving. As usual, there were guards standing there who checked them over closely before admitting them. They parked along the side of the house in a designated space for visitors and met another set of guards when they reached the main doors at the front. The alpha werewolf did not skimp on security even when the Fairbanks area appeared peaceful.
His home, which was also a refuge to supernaturals who did not wish to live among humans, didn’t look too fancy despite its size. It was large with a main entry at the center and two-story wings on either side. Though Cori liked to refer to it as a mansion, it had simple cream siding and didn’t appear ostentatious. Even the gardening was limited to hedges along the walls and a scattering of white spruce trees that stood sixty to seventy feet high, sheltering the snow-covered lawn. The main thing that made this place stand out from other large homes was the metal shutters on the windows—most of them closed during the day to protect the vampires living inside. They were powered by electricity, but they had manual wind-up handles in case of an outage.
The guards, each armed with a sword and pistol, nodded at Cori and gave a fearful glance at Lucas. She wasn’t surprised at their reaction to him since he had a tendency to make most supernaturals nervous. While Bartol was a recluse who didn’t show off his power, Lucas let his flow out wide for everyone to feel. Now that Cori had a touch of angel blood in her, she could sense the static charge emanating off of him. It was enough to set her teeth on edge if she stood too close to the nephilim. She wondered if he let his strength show like that to keep people from bothering him, or if he had other reasons. Lucas wasn’t known for his subtlety or ability to deal with those of lesser power, so maybe it was his way of stopping trouble before it started. She was really glad he’d always tolerated her, considering he hated humans more than most anyone.
They entered the foyer and a butler greeted them, dressed as if he’d come straight from an English manor house. Cori had met him before. He was almost a foot shorter than her with solid black skin, a bald head, and pointed ears. There was no name for him because he was a fae crossbreed of some sort, but Bartol had once told her he guessed the man might be a mix between a sluagh and a troll. Based on the strength of his moss green aura, he had to be around fifty or sixty years old, but with his ageless skin, he didn’t appear to be more than thirty.
“If you’ll follow me, the master is waiting for you in his office,” the fae said with a slight Irish accent.
They were led to a set of stairs and up to the second floor where they followed a long hallway before stopping at a thick wooden door on the right. It was closed. The butler knocked once, waited for permission to enter, and then opened the way for Cori and Lucas.
They found Derrick sitting behind his desk, frowning at a sheet of cream-colored stationery in his hands. The alpha was a large man who could have passed for a woodcutter in another era, but since taking control of Fairbanks, he’d cleaned up his look to something a little more professional. Instead of jeans and flannels or t-shirts like he used to wear, he now went with casual dress attire while doing official work. Today that included slacks and a button-up shirt. His face was clean shaven, and he’d pulled his long, brown hair into a low ponytail at the back of his neck. There were lines of exhaustion on his weathered face that made him look like he was pushing forty. Few in Alaska could boast much of a tan during the winter, but he’d managed to maintain a light one. Maybe that came from his mortal years of living in the southern United States.
He looked up, directing his gaze beyond them. “That will be all, Jeb. Thank you.”
The butler shut the door.
“Have we caught you at a bad time?” Lucas asked, gesturing at the stationary.
Derrick grunted. “You couldn’t have come at a better time.” Derrick set the sheet face down on the desk. “If I have to stare at this letter much longer, I might just rip it apart.”
Cori frowned. “What is it?”
