Page 62 of Last Shot at Love

“Why haven’t I met him? You haven’t even mentioned him to me, and I’m your father! Don’t you think I should know about these things, Beryl?” The older vampire smacked his palm on the table.

Beryl didn’t even twitch at his sudden move. “Apologies, father,” she said, emphasizing the word. “Maybe if you’d actually taken any interest in my life or tried to see me outside of New Year’s dinner, I would have remembered I had a father to share the good news with.”

“Talk about a mic drop, sis!” Lapis barked a laugh, but tried to cover it when he caught my sharp look.

I knew him well enough to know this situation was highly entertaining for him.

“Sis? She’s not your sister,” the younger vampire hissed.

“She married my brother, so yeah, she’s my sister. It’s the way these things work.” Lapis raised an eyebrow.

I could count on one hand the number of times in our lives that Lapis had been rude to someone. Between the two of us, he was the conversational genius. He could read situations and navigate sensitive topics with a skill politicians would envy.

My brother was also quick on the uptake. He no doubt sensed the animosity the vampires radiated toward Beryl, and he was showing support for her… while also goading the vampires into reacting and giving him whatever info he was looking to weasel out.

It still irritated me he’d flown to the opposite side of the world just to stick his nose in my business, but I couldn’t deny the joy I felt at the reminder that my brother always had my—and now my mate’s—back.

“Who do you think you are?” Stefan’s eyes flashed black as his anger mounted. He turned to glare at me. “And who are you to claim a vampire of our family and mark her body?”

I made a move to shove to my feet, ready to throw the vampire out of the restaurant myself, but stopped at the touch of Beryl’s hand on my thigh.

“I’m Lapis.” Realizing I was struggling with my agitated beast, my brother answered for both of us. “And that’s my brother, Cerulean.”

Lapis waved down the waiter and ordered a second bottle of wine since the vampires had finished the bottle Beryl ordered.

“No last name?” Beryl’s father raised an eyebrow.

“Should we know you? I don’t recognize either of you from social events or business meetings.” Her brother, Stefan, crossed his arms.

He’d dismissed us as unworthy of his time.

“Oh. You don’t know?” Lapis’s eyes widened in feigned innocence as he looked between our faces.

I sighed, knowing we were seconds away from Lapis dropping a bomb.

Three…

Two…

One…

“Thalassa.” My brother leaned back in his chair, a cheshire grin on his face.

He was enjoying this far too much, and I was tempted to kill him later for it.

That one word seemed to suck the oxygen from the room, leaving everyone at our table and the tables close enough to eavesdrop, gaping like fish out of water.

Thalassa.

Cerulean Thalassa.

Why didn’t he tell me?

Why didn’t I bother to ask him?

To my shock, Beryl shifted on my lap to look up at me, with tears shimmering in her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice pitched so low I doubted even the vampires across the table heard her.

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