Page 75 of Witchblood

When Liam returned it was Korissa with him, not any of the pack. But I supposed she was pack in a way. The alpha’s daughter, a protected princess, if Liam’s comments about me had any weight. I bet she wouldn’t have cared much to be a princess either.

She rushed across the room and threw her arms around me, squeezing tight. “Thank you so much for coming back. For saving dad and the pack.”

“I didn’t do much,” I told her, hugging her back awkwardly. Liam just stood beside the bed with a smirk on his face.

“It’s okay. Things are going to be so great now. I’ve got a cool and much younger second dad, who I’m sure will talk my dad into letting me do all sorts of things.”

I gaped at them both, and tried to push her away. “You never told me your daughter was crazy, Liam.”

“Apple, tree,” Liam said.

“You know you just called yourself crazy,” Korissa pointed out.

“I was thinking of your mom, but sure, Sebastian thinks we’re both crazy. At least we’re all on the same page.”

Korissa curled up beside me, even sticking her feet under the blankets. Robin leapt off his perch and somehow landed on the bed.

“Impressive and not at all a normal cat jump,” I told him. He just walked up my blanket-covered legs and sat down in my lap. I sighed as he began to purr. “Little bastard, suckering me with your cuteness and purrs.”

Korissa laughed. It was a sweet sound that made me think in a few years, her dad was going to be beating the guys off by the hundreds. If she swung that way.

Liam perched on the bed beside me, kicking off his shoes and reaching over to put his hand on the back of my neck.

“No more interference?” I asked.

“Not necessary. Some of the pack just want to say hello. They won’t be staying long, and I told them that the tradition of giving gifts is not necessary.”

I frowned at him. “I don’t need anyone’s stuff. I lived for a year off of what I could fit in a backpack.”

Liam took my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “No one will be questioning your resiliency here. It’s okay to be nervous. They may give you things, but I wanted it to be their choice. You walked a hard path for a while, but…” he leaned over and kissed my forehead, “Sebastian, you are not alone anymore. I don’t mean just me or Korissa or even Robin. I mean the point of all this.” He waved at the closed door and what I assumed was a waiting parade of pack members to see me. “Is for the pack to support you as they would me. Just like you supported them when they united to help save my life. You’re a part of the conduit now.”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little, “In kind of a kinky way that is weird with your kid and Robin here.”

“Hmm,” Liam said, giving me a sideways glance. “Plenty of time for kinky later.”

“Gross,” Korissa said. “I mean in comics and on Supernatural we ship guys all the time, but it’s just different when one of the guys being shipped is your dad.”

“Shipped?” Liam wanted to know.

I sighed. “I’ll explain it to you later. Bring on the masses.”

Carl was the first through the door, which shouldn’t have surprised me since he was Liam’s second, but his distaste for people in general had me thinking he’d have skipped the party. He looked a little tired, but didn’t appear to be in any pain when he moved. I vaguely remembered seeing him nearly slashed in half. The healing power of werewolves was a fierce and terrifying thing.

He nodded at Liam and actually gave Korissa a full grin before turning his attention to me. “Sebastian Volkov,witchbloodchild of theMonster, I told Liam your presence would bring danger to this pack.”

I bit my lip. Liam squeezed my hand, but didn’t seem angry or on edge from Carl’s comments.

“You saved my life and dammit, why did you do that?” Carl demanded.

“Because you’re Liam’s. His, mine, ours,” I answered instantly.

Carl looked lost for words for a minute.

I sucked in a deep breath, seeing the pain on his face for what it really was without even needing to dive through Liam’s link to feel Carl’s emotions. “It’s not your time yet,” I told Carl. “We all will know when it is, I think. When it’s time to join her.” I glanced at Liam. “I understand the desire.”

Carl nodded, his eyes going watery but he looked up at the ceiling instead of at us, blinking away his tears. “You better be worth the love he has for you.”

Liam began to protest, but I stopped him. “I will be the best I can be. That’s all I can offer.”