Page 93 of His True Beloved

“Hey.” I pulled her close. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid he would take me away from you? You know that won’t happen.” I kissed her forehead.

“No.” She shook her head. “I worry for Mom, and I am a little concerned about how he found us here. Could he have tracked her phone?” I shrugged my shoulders, not understanding the technology of cell phones and their ability to track. If it was a magical spell, sure, but this was something beyond my comprehension.

“Justin won’t let anything happen to your mother. No one in this coven will let anything happen. I’m just surprised a human got past the barriers. Only those that are allowed and willing come into the territory. That is my gravest concern,” I stated.

Humans from the town couldn’t find this place. It was enchanted, composed with a glamour spell that made it look like nothing but forest. Broderick’s appearance here is unfortunate and questionable, but we also had witches trying to lure him out of hiding. The possibility of the witches pulling down the barrier was likely, but not telling the coven leader or anyone else in the coven had worry pulling at me.

“Let’s go. He’s waiting in the living room.” I nudged her.

“I just hope he doesn’t say anything terrible to Adaline about the floral decor,” she muttered. “I’d hate for her feelings to get hurt. Sperm donor has quite a harsh mouth when he isn’t around a bunch of rich folks.”

Christine twisted her hands in the back of my dress shirt. There was fear haunting her heart. Not once had she shown any fear when I was present, and it had me seething that she would feel it now.

I will protect her from the lowly human.

Upon entering, Rowan held two glasses of bourbon. One was for himself, and the other was out stretched to give to Broderick. Broderick eyed it carefully, taking it with one hand until he saw his daughter walk into the room.

“Christine,” he barked, setting down his glass on the coffee table. My beloved winced, and I pulled her behind me. Stupid human.

“Is this why you are here? Getting some sort of vampire tail?” Christine’s head came around my back, glimpsing at her father.

“Y-you know what he is?” Her voice shook. My beloved, becoming braver, stepped beside me, but her hand didn’t leave the confines of my shirt.

“Of course I do. I know what this whole coven shit is, now you tell me right now, did you—” Broderick paused, his nose flaring as he stepped forward and pulled down the side of Christine’s shirt. “Fucking hell, what have you done?!”

I pushed Broderick back. He stumbled but recomposed himself by taking the swig of bourbon. “You can’t touch me!” he yelled, wiping the alcohol from his lips. “It’s the laws of this coven; you can’t touch a damn human unless it is warranted. Now tell me the meaning of this!” Broderick’s face became so red it slowly became purple. The vein on his forehead was so large that I swear it would pop all over Adaline’s white couch.

“Sebastian is my beloved,” Christine smarted back. “So I had every right.” Broderick stepped forward again, but I pulled my mate behind me. Hissing, my hand went to grab him by the neck.

“Now, let’s talk reasonably about this,” Rowan interjected, trying to be the voice of reason. “You aren’t just here to see Christine, but your ex-wife as well? Let’s just talk reasonably about all that is happening here.” Broderick grunted, stepping away and throwing his hands up in the air.

“She isn’t my ex-wife. I haven’t signed the papers. I demand to see her.” Broderick stood by the open window. The light forced itself into the living room and had my beloved squint her eyes. Leading her to the other side of the room, Justin and Vanessa trekked in.

Christine leaped out, grabbing her mother’s arm and holding onto both of us. The small family we had created held onto each other, and Broderick held no amusement in his gaze.

“The hell is this?” Broderick yelled again. “You fucking changed too? Are you marked?!”

This Broderick certainly knew a lot for a human. Whether he found out on his own or someone told him, the witches would have a time erasing his memories.

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down and step away.” A vampire warrior stepped from the shadows. The voice was deep, rougher than that of a typical vampire. The scruff on his face was neatly trimmed, but his wild hair hid his eyes. The dark, distinctive attire was filled with black leather, knives, a sword, and even a bow on his back.

“An assassin,” Justin murmured between us.

“Not just any assassin,” I muttered. “An assassin from the Death Flock. He bares their mark.” I nodded to the patch on the leather. Red, branded fang marks with a halo of gold surrounded it. The Death Flock was a rebel group that opposed Darius’s and Hugo’s rule. Their mission was to eradicate the royal line and bring in someone with a kinder heart to rule. They were supposedly wiped clean by Darius six hundred years ago. I smiled, thinking how if there was one left, then maybe we could bring him back to Bergarian. With his skill set, he could help create a new army.

The aura in the room shifted. The Death Flock assassin stepped on the white carpet swirled with flowers, and his leather tightened around his chest. “You aren’t human, so the rules don’t apply to not touching you.” He smirked.

“Oh my god,” Christine muttered, staring at her biological father. Christine’s breath heaved. The powerful aura in the room coming from the assassin had us all taking heavy breaths.

Broderick scoffed, folding his arms. “Took someone long enough.” He smirked. “Thought I was dealing with a bunch of amateurs.”

Vanessa’s heart beat faster, her legs giving way until Justin pulled her closer into his embrace. “He’s a—”

“Yes,” Broderick interrupted. “Your dear husband is a warlock, soon-to-be sorcerer, so I expect you and my dear daughter to come home quietly before I break the mold and burn this piece of shit coven to the ground.”

Chapter 38

Christine

---