Page 9 of Loving Amari

I start to roll up my sleeves. “I do love a challenge. This might be an all nighter.”

Tofi starts flashing sad face images. I sigh and look at Bobby.

Bobby steps closer to the desk. “Family first.” He gives me an understanding look.

He’s right. As much as I want to crack this system, as much as the challenge calls to me, Tofi needs me. Carla needs me. The work will be here tomorrow.

“Have the lawyers try to throttle this as much as possible and hit back at them full force.”

Bobby straightens. “Yes, sir.” He gives a black panther salute then makes his way out of my office.

I turn to Tofi, leaving the screen up. The code still blinks at me, taunting me, but I ignore it. “Come here, baby girl.”

Tofi skitters around to me. I kneel down, reaching her at eye level. Her multiple eyes reflect the blue light from the screen behind me.

“You’ve got to learn balance, baby girl.”

Tofi just stands quietly as if she’s waiting my command.

“First, let’s go hunting in the forest. I’m curious what you catch.” I stand upright. “Then, we’re going to meet with Noki and try to reconnect with him.”

Tofi sends me pouting images.

I hold up my hand. “I don’t want to hear it, Tofi. It’s bad that you’re rejecting your mate. And I’m still having that conversation with you about how you’ve been treating your mother. This is not okay.”

Tofi sends me images apologizing.

I pet her, running my hand over her bristly head one more time. “It’s okay, baby. Now, let’s go have some daddy daughter time.”

Tofi skitters out of the office, her legs moving quickly across the floor. I grin, the thrill of the chase sparking through me. I flash out after her with my vampire speed, the world blurring around me as I move through the castle corridors. I burst through the back entrance, my feet barely touching the ground.

The forest greets me with the scent of pine and earth, of moss and decay. I slow to a stop in the clearing, my eyes scanning the trees. Afternoon light slants through the branches, warm and golden. The undergrowth rustles with life. Small creatures skitter through the fallen leaves. A jay calls somewhere in the distance.

But Tofi is gone.

I smile, turning slowly in a circle. She’s fast, faster than most of her siblings. She knows this forest like I know the streets of Granada, every tree, every hollow, every hidden path. I use my vampire senses, listening for the particular sound her legs make against bark. There. A faint tapping, high up in the canopy to my left.

I look up but see nothing. She’s hidden herself well, blending into the shadows between the branches. The leaves above me sway slightly, but it could be the wind. I take a step forward.

Another rustle, this time to my right. I spin, but again I see nothing. She’s playing with me, testing me. Good. Let her have her fun. She’s been patient, waiting for time with me while I’ve been distracted with Carla, with work, with the constant demands of running Medina Shadow and protecting Wintermoon.

I close my eyes and focus. I filter out the sound of the wind, the small animals, the distant rush of the creek. I search for her heartbeat. There. Multiple heartbeats, actually. The other children are watching from their hiding spots, curious about our hunt. But Tofi’s heartbeat is distinctive, faster than the others, excited.

She’s directly above me.

I open my eyes and look up. Still nothing visible, but I know she’s there.

I grin when I look up at the web where Carla is resting with Moria and Kemnebi. The web stretches between three massive oak trees, swaying gently in the breeze. Carla lies in the center, her dark curls spread across the silk around her. Moria rests on her shoulder, Kemnebi near her hip. Both spiders are alert, their eyes watching me approach.

“Mind if I join you?”

Carla sits up and looks down at me. Her purple dress drapes around her. Memories hit me of when I tried to get her to come down from a similar web over a year ago. She wouldn’t. She was so angry with me then feeling rejection when she hadn’t know I just discovered she was my fated mate.

How foolish I was.

Carla smirks, seemingly sharing the same memory. Pink magic swirls around her fingers, delicate and beautiful. She uses her magic to create a rope of pure energy, letting it down toward me. The magical web glows softly, pulsing with power. I wrap myhand around it. The magic tingles against my palm, warm and alive.

She uses her magic to lift me up into the web. The ground falls away beneath me. I pass through the lower branches, leaves brushing against my shoulders. Then I’m at the web, stepping carefully onto the silk strands. They hold my weight easily, stronger than steel despite their delicate appearance.