Page 49 of Finding Embers and Stars (Twin Flames Duet #1)

Chapter forty-nine

N ormally the girls spend April in Florida, so it’s rare that the family is around on their actual birthdays.

No one told me this would mean our house was getting invaded.

The random magical breakfast feasts are actually pretty cool but having over forty people invade at the ass crack of dawn is a bit more than I was prepared for.

We all fell asleep in the theater room again and our puppy pile was turned into a puppy mountain when the whole family decided to join us.

Thank the Goddess we had clothes on.

Seeing the current and past rulers of hell rolling around in the pile of pillows laughing at us was a tiny bit unnerving to be honest.

Once we were allowed to get up, we all converged on the kitchen to eat the best breakfast food spread I’ve ever seen. Once again, courtesy of the girl’s Fairy God Dragon.

Sage is curled into my side, not so sneakily sneaking the last of the bacon off my plate when she turns to Lucifer, who’s sitting across from us. “So, Luc. I know purple is a sign of the royal bloodline, but what about teal fire? Does that have any special significance?”

His eyes widen in shock, and he quickly looks around for Silas. “Is this the boy you saved and brought to the human realm?”

Silas comes over and takes the chair on my other side. “It’s good to see you again, Wyatt. It’s been a long time.”

Lucifer reaches out and shakes my hand, a proud grin on his face. “Your great grandfather saved Lilith and me the day Leviathan attacked us. He gave us enough warning that we were nearly out of the throne room before it collapsed. We were still injured, but it would have probably killed us if he hadn’t gotten to us in time.”

My mind is spinning. After everything my father fucked up in my life, it’s nice to know that one of my relatives did something right.

Lucifer has a far off look in his eyes. I can tell his mind is several hundred years in the past. When he shakes his head and looks back at me, it’s clear that he’s having to work to push back the dark memories. “As a thank you to your grandfather, I blessed his family line with teal fire. So everyone would know of your family’s heroic deed.”

“Well fuck. I honestly don’t know what to say to any of that.”

Silas laughs, shaking his head at me. “Don’t say anything. While it’s a blessing and a sign of respect, the fire color doesn’t make the demon. That goes for teal and purple fire. Your actions are what matters. The way we see you treat our girls means more to us than who you may be related to.”

Now’s my chance to ask the one question that has plagued me for years. “Silas, why did you bring me to Earth? I’ve always wondered why I couldn't stay in the demon realm.”

He sits down next to Lucifer with a heavy sigh. “Wyatt, I wish I knew. My plan was to take you to the orphanage near the palace, but every time I set foot on the property with you, my talisman from Teague started to heat to the point of burning.”

“That was me!” We all turn to see Hera making her way through the crowd to get to us. She leans down to kiss Sage’s cheek and then mine.

“I must be careful with how much I interfere, or I risk tearing the strands of fate. Making your necklace from Teague heat up like that was all I could think of to get your attention without coming right out and screaming for you to take him to Earth.”

“I needed to be on Earth to meet my brothers…” My voice trails off as I put the pieces together. So many small details came together to give me the life I’d only dreamed about.

I look at them both, trying hard to clear the lump from my throat. “Thank you.”

Hera just grins at me as she moves past us through the kitchen. I can’t even comprehend the things she’s seen and done in this universe.

Sage has been a quiet observer to my trip down the family tree. Now she squeezes my hand in comfort. “Why don’t all of you have a guy's day? I’m going to the book shelter with the girls.”

I snort. “Stars, we’ve talked about this. It’s called a bookstore, not a book shelter.”

She looks at me with wide eyes, sniffing dramatically. “Those books are just sitting there. All alone. They need someone to take them home.”

Her voice ends on a wail, and I cringe as the tears start falling. My mate can cry at the drop of a hat and even though I know it’s not real, it still makes my heart lurch to see her tears fall.

“Okay, okay! Bring all the homeless book babies home. The guys and I will build you more shelves.” I rub a hand over my face, ignoring Lucifer and Silas’s snickers. “Please stop crying, even if I know your tears are fake, it still kills me. And you know it!”

Instantly, she’s all smiles and jumps up to kiss me before making the rounds to my brothers.

One thing is for sure. Life with our mates will never be boring.

We spend several hours building bookcases for the girls. Jack and Finn are happy to lend a hand, even teaching us some new woodworking techniques along the way.

Once we get cleaned up from that, we head over to the tattoo shop. We take the time to tour the shelter’s office, Felix’s jewelry store, and the Apothecary, but what we really are here for are tattoos.

All of us have wanted one of Zeke’s tattoos for years. When he told us that as a mating gift, he would give us each the tattoo of our choice, there was no way we could say no. Now that we know who the shadow from Milo’s vision is, we each choose a new scene that will include both our mates and have it tattooed on our opposite arm.

Liam asked to go first since he has plans to meet with Sam. I will never pretend to understand how and why anyone can geek out over financial planning and the stock market. Liam has handled all of our finances since we left the orphanage, and I’m thrilled that he loves it. Apparently, Sam has a YouTube channel that Liam’s been watching for years called “Vampire blood and Dragon Gold” how fitting.

Mav and I are standing outside the shop catching some air and chatting with Silas and Teague when a car pulls up.

The man that steps out is definitely a shifter, and I’m guessing that he’s in his forties. His dark brown hair has natural streaks of red in it and the brilliant blue of his eyes is so striking in its familiarity.

The man stops just in front of us and while his smile is friendly, there is a haunted look in his eyes that makes me nervous. This is a man on the edge.

On the edge of what is the million-dollar question.

He hesitates for a moment, then turns slightly towards Teague. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. I’m looking for the authors that did an interview about the shelter.”

My respect for Silas and Teague goes up a thousand times over when they exchange a quick glance and Teague responds in a voice much deeper and more hostile than it was a moment ago. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

The grin that takes over the stranger’s face is slightly bewildering. He looks happy, as if he just got what he wanted. He holds out his hand to shake Teague’s. “My name is Jasper. I’m thrilled to see my daughter has people in her corner who are looking out for her wellbeing.”

What the hell? His daughter?

Jasper doesn’t seem bothered by our stunned silence and keeps going. “When I saw the interview, I thought I’d seen a ghost. Piper is the very image of her mother. The same build, same mannerisms. The only thing she got from me is her eye color.” He pauses for a moment, that haunted look coming back into his eyes. “I mean her no harm. I’d just like a chance to get to know her and hopefully find out what happened to my mate.”

My gaze clashes with Maverick’s and he opens our bond. “Embers, we need you and Stars back to the shelter office, please. We have a bit of a situation here that we need you for.”

Sage’s voice comes back to us instantly. “We’re already on the way. We will be there in five.”

I lean towards Silas, trying to keep my voice down. “The girls are on their way. Can we take this guy inside so we can give Piper a heads up?”

I get a slight nod, then he gestures towards the shop. “Jasper, my name is Silas. I’m a co-founder of the shelter. Why don’t we head inside and see if we can figure this out?”

Just as they walk into the building through the front door of the shelter, everyone else walks out the door of the tattoo shop.

Walker is the first to get to us. “What’s going on? Why do the girls need to come back?”

Mav grunts, leaving me to explain. “A man just showed up claiming to be Piper’s father. He said he saw the interview the girls did and recognized her right away.”

A chorus of growls drowns out everything for a moment, but it’s Rhett’s voice that demands to be heard.

“Like fucking hell am I going to let some random stranger walk in off the street and claim to be Piper’s father. Where the fuck is he?”

I point to the office. “Silas and Teague took him inside so we can warn Piper.”

Rhett slaps my shoulder and storms into the office, followed by the rest of the girls' adopted uncles. I’d feel sorry for the guy except if he’s for real he should appreciate the protectiveness. If he’s a gold-digging asshole, he needs to know exactly how many pieces he’s going to get ripped into for fucking with our girl.

Luckily, we don’t have long to wait. And when they arrive, it’s with a bang. Both cars squeal to a stop and then everyone comes flying out.

With every story the girls told us about their adopted family, we’ve heard how fierce and protective the women of the clan are. I didn’t fully comprehend what that meant until now.

We’re damn lucky the parking lot is warded because Ashley and Lacy both have wings and weapons out while Maggie and Rhoda shift as soon as they are out of the cars.

I can’t contain my snort of laughter when Rhoda shifts into an oversized, fluffy fucking bunny.

Rhoda quickly sheds her bunny suit. Brushing a hand over her pink cheeks, she grins ruefully. “Shit, that’s embarrassing. I was intending to shift into my velociraptor, but apparently, I had Jack on my mind.”

Shasta pauses, flipping through her grimoire to glare at Rhoda. “Umm, Grams? Why the hell is my mate on your mind? You have two of your own.”

Hera’s loud cackle breaks up the goddess war and gets everyone refocused on the issue.

Maverick shakes his head. “Ladies, you can stand down. It’s not the kind of issue that requires bloodshed… Yet anyway.”

Everyone shifts back and they all converge on us, talking all at once.

An ear-splitting whistle finally breaks through the roar of voices. “Children!! Let’s use our inside voices! If you guys would hush for a damn second, Wyatt or Maverick can explain what’s going on.” Nox stands at the edge of the group, his hands on his hips as he glowers at them. The look he’s giving them makes me feel like I’m about to get sent to the principal’s office.

I look for Piper in the crowd. Taking her hand, I draw her into my arms. “Embers, a man showed up claiming to be your biological father. He said he saw your interview and knew who you were because you look just like your mother. He says she was his fated mate.”

Piper freezes for a moment, the shock in her eyes clear before they turn ice blue, and she shifts into Atlas. “Take me to the one that claims to be our father.”