Page 104

Lilith

WhileDadandStrikerhead inside, Leli takes me to sit on the bench in the garden. I sit there silently as I see the little herb garden is still flourishing. Some of the names look familiar. It finally dawns on me that Brenna has been keeping these around because she either knew Elara and I were witches or… she is one herself. They are common enough that unless you knew the magical properties, you’d assume they were for cooking. I let out a chuckle as I wipe away any remaining tears.

Callum is on the phone. It sounds like he is talking to Ulfric. “Yeah, Yeah. We made it to the orphanage. Go ahead and start heading down. We will be leaving for the warehouse tomorrow.” I see Striker come out of the house without Dad. He looks slightly horrified, but not in a way that makes me worried that something is wrong. I give him a strange look as he walks up to us. “Where is Dad?” I ask.

“Uhm…” he says, tilting his head slightly as he tries to find the words. “So… he just saw Brenna. They apparently have a, um, history. They haven’t seen each other since before Mom died.”

“Okay? I knew that.”

“They’re also mates,” Striker says almost cautiously.

“Oh, that’s amazing!” I say happily.

“Yeah… I am fairly certain they are in there fucking like teenagers,” Striker says. Daemon, Kael, and Callum laugh heartily.

“The poor guy has held out for twenty years, and he is literally a demon that fucks things to death. Of course he is fucking her. Twice, probably,” Daemon says, still laughing.

“Well, I think it’s great,” I say. “He deserves to find some happiness.”

“Yeah. I just wish I had not heard him say that,” Striker says with a deepening frown.

“What did he say?” Kael asks.

“Uhm… basically that he was going to fuck her to death, and she needed to speak up if she wasn’t down for that,” Striker says, and I laugh this time.

“You and Leli have been teasing him incessantly about me and the guys and this is what horrifies you? I hope you know he’s going to throw this back in your face,” I say.

“Yeah,” Leli says. “I don’t have shit to say. He can live his life, and as long as I keep my mouth shut, he won’t try to embarrass me.”

“I think you are all babies,” I laugh.

“Meh,” Vash says. “Let the man live. We have some time. Let the man get his dick wet with his new mate.”

“Vash!” Leli gasps, slapping his arm.

“We would’ve had an issue if I had felt that,” he says with a smirk. Leli frowns at him, and Vash laughs before kissing her. “He’s a sex-deprived incubus, Leli. Even only being half-succubus, you would be just as feral if you went 20 years. Shit, one week and you would be like that. All of you would be like that.”

“Yeah, your sister gets pretty feral if you make her wait,” Daemon says nonchalantly, and I narrow my eyes at him.

“I’ll remember that,” I say with a threat in my tone.

“Oooh. Are you going to try and prove me wrong, little witch?” he says, his voice low and husky and making promises I know he can deliver on. He knows whenever he talks to me like that, it drives me insane.

“Shut up,” I say, trying my best to keep my composure and not smile.

We begin making plans for when we reach the warehouse. Dad still hasn’t come out, and I am willing to bet it may be a while. There is no sense in wasting time. Lately, Fermin hasn’t been giving much advice. It seems like he’s trying not to step on anyone’s toes and has been keeping to himself more. The closer we get to the warehouse, the more reserved he appears. “What do you think, Fermin?” I ask him, trying to get him involved with the discussion. “These are your people.”

“Uhm… I think you and the guys should go around back and come in that way. You can sneak in before anyone sees you as they will be too busy looking for you to fight us.”

“That could work,” I say. “That will keep his ultimate target out of the front line.”

“Yup,” he says simply.

Thuly comes bouncing back over to us after having gone to find himself some food. Fermin and the others disperse as we see Dad and Brenna walk out. They look put together, but Dad’s entire attitude is different. It’s like he has a bounce to his step. Striker chuckles to himself and shakes his head.

“What?” I ask.

“See his eyes?” Striker asks.