Page 46 of The Jaguar's Flower

“I’m sorry I made you think that.” He wrapped his arms around her. Sarus placed a kiss on top of her head as she cried against him. “Outside of the willow, I have to be careful with my words. I need you to trust me when I say you are the most important person to me.” He smoothed his hand over her blue hair. “Tulip is probably in third place,” he teased.

She sniffled against his chest. “When we woke up here, I felt like I belonged for the first time. Like I finally found where I was meant to be. Then, it felt like it was ripped away.” When she raised her head, she met his eyes. “It felt horrible. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It’s like I no longer know how to regulate my emotions.”

“I am not an easy man to talk to, Violet. I made others upset with me. A lot.” He smiled. The primordial wiped one of her tears before he hugged her once more. “The emotions will be regulated in time once you accept your instincts. You cannot deny your feathered friend for long.” When he offered his hand to her, Sarus waited until she placed her small hand in his. “This will always be your home. I’m sure Asmodeus found Mac and is also trying to ease the tension there. The fairies know of you, but they are too much. Everything else, I have bugs. If you rather friend them instead?” He smiled.

“Mac,” she gasped. “The hour’s almost up. He went down the creepy staircase. I need to get back to him. He’ll think you did something.” She squeezed his hand. “We still need to go back. His brother is in that facility, along with my friend Draven. It’s horrible. I promised to free them, but I can’t go back on that promise.”

Before Violet took another step, Sarus phased them to the last signature presence he felt from Mac. His assumption was correct when he sensed Asmodeus. They scanned the hallway until the primordial’s eyes landed on an ancient seal over a black portal. “Violet.” He held his daughter to his side. “We will need to wait until they come out of there.”Why did you take him there, Asmodeus?“We cannot go in, or they will never come back out.”

“What?” He held her tighter as she tried to pull away from her father. “Where is Mac? Why can’t I go to him?” Her pounding heart threatened to bruise her ribcage as she stared at Sarus. “I can’t lose him. You don’t understand.” She thought she cried herself out until confronted with the idea of Mac never returning. “I love him.” The tears slipped down her cheeks. “Please? There has to be a way to bring him back.”

She tried to go into the portal again, but Sarus used his powers to place a barrier in front of it. When she gazed up at him, the primordial shook his head. “We will have to wait until they both come out. I can’t let you go in there. Not only will you lose your mate, but I will also lose Asmodeus.” Her quizzical stare caused another shake of his head. “Consider him as family. Alright? We can’t lose them.”

“Then he’s not the one you had kids with?” Violet shrugged. “I understand biology. However, all of this isn’t exactly logical or scientific. Since you can create kids alone, I assumed he was the one you had kids with that you didn’t create alone.” She took his hand. “You don’t want me to go in there, so I need to distract myself.”

Sarus squeezed her hand. “We can do that. But Violet.” He cleared his throat. “I will never touch Asmodeus sexually. Not even with a pole.” He chuckled. “What shall we do for distraction?”

“The tree? I have more questions. You said it’s the only place you can talk freely.” She bit her lip. “Then you’re not interested in Asmodeus? You almost treat him like a lover because he seems to know your secrets.”

“When they return,” Sarus guided her away from the portal. “Do not tell Asmodeus any of this. His head will grow, and there can only be room for one ego in this realm.” He chuckled. “He knows everything because he is also nosey, and I’ve been lonely. Not that lonely to touch the sloth.”

“There are sloth shifters?” Violet mentally went over all the shifters she knew. “I thought they were all predatory animals. I know about wolves, felines, and a few others.” Her head shook as she tried to understand it. “How is a sloth even remotely scary or able to protect itself outside of its human form?”

Before they phased back to the tree, Sarus turned to face her. “Sloth demon, as in a sin demon. Asmodeus may seem like a lot of things, but I wouldn’t think of him as a sloth creature who is lazy. Let’s go. We can talk about every species, event, or why the fairies don’t like Tulip. I’m all yours.” He smiled as he phased them out of the hallway.

Chapter thirty-one

Mac’seyesscannedthearea before he left the bedroom upstairs. The jaguar attempted to understand why someone showed him a woman giving birth to triplets. Part of his mind wondered if the cubs in the bassinet were him or someone else. He walked down the stairs of the large house.

It wasn’t until he reached the bottom of the stairs that he noticed the man from earlier. He stood as tall as Mac. They shared the same features, except the other man’s hair reached his shoulders. Instead of the slate-gray eyes like Mac’s, his were a deep hazel green.He’s your father.Mac denied it. The facility raised him. He had no memory of this.

Meanwhile, Davorin watched his sons carefully as they played in the large study. The jaguar shifter pressed his shoulder to the entrance of the door as he observed them. The triplet cubs grew healthy and strong over the last few years. None of them lacked where he was concerned. Pride swelled in his heart when they shifted a year after their birth.

They were still responsible for his mate’s death.

Love them, Dayo.The only promise he couldn’t fulfill after Genevieve’s death. Four years later, Davorin kept himself apart from his sons. Hellebore took over the responsibility of raising the triplets to ensure he could implement the strict teachings. They disciplined anyone that disobey the clan rules to the extreme.

“Sir.” Hellebore noticed the clan leader by the doorway. “Is there something you need?”

“Where are they in their lessons?”

Hellebore nodded. The jaguar returned to the week’s open courses. Davorin grabbed the notebook from the desk. His eyes scanned the pages. As he watched, Hellebore grabbed his fountain pen and dipped it into the inkwell in preparation. “This week is religious studies, as well as strategic methods for warfare.”

“How old are they again?” Davorin asked.Four summers and three weeks.

“Four summers, sir.” Hellebore frowned. “Why?”

“We will schedule their fighting courses.” When Hellebore didn’t speak, Davorin raised a brow. “Is there a problem?”

Hellebore shook his head. “No, sir. I will set the courses as soon as possible.”

Davorin smirked. “How is their speech?” The desire to find a single flaw in the triplets grew. The jaguar needed anything to justify his hatred.

“They each know their alphabets and prayers, sir. Communication is developing positively.” Hellebore disappointed him.

Each son exceeded his expectations. The jaguar’s eyes glanced back at his children. He caught a pair of gray eyes, which reminded him of his late mate. The young jaguar stared at him with disappointment, which Davorin found intriguing.

“Do they know who I am?” Davorin asked as he kept his eyes locked with the small cub.

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