“Fuck you, Byron. You know some vampires are better at it than others.” Aleksey pulled the collar up on his coat and slipped on some black leather gloves.
Damyr and Benji were only wearing a thin outer jacket—black, of course—and Byron only had a simple coat on. Vlad was in a black t-shirt that looked like it was about to rip at the seams, and Acheron was decked out in a black velvet jump suit. I’d never really noticed that Aleksey struggled with the cold more than other vampires, but I guess there were differences between them, just like there were with witches.
I checked my watch. Ten minutes to midnight.
Ten minutes until the shit was going to hit the fan.
Byron walked over and snaked his hand around my hip. “Are you okay?”
Ha. Okay? Was Iokay?I was as far from okay as I could possibly be. I was holding myself together on a wing and a fucking prayer and my nerves were shot to shit. “I’m fine.”
Byron chuckled and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Sure you are, baby. But it’s okay. You don’t have to be fine.”
“I know, I just…” Fuck. I couldn’t even find the words. My head was all over the place, my hands trembled and my stomach had fallen somewhere beneath my feet.
Byron laced his fingers with mine and brought my hand to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it. “We’re in this together. Youand me. You’re not alone, Wilder and you will never be alone again.”
There was so much sincerity in his words, so muchbeliefthat doubting him wasn’t even an option. I nodded, my heart too far up my throat to allow me to say any words.
Damyr huddled us all together so we could go over positions, but I wasn’t really paying any attention. I knew what I was doing. I was going to meet my father and his mysterious buyer and hopefully I wouldn’t die. Hopefully, no one would die.
I couldn’t help feeling that I was out of my depth here, though. There were so many possibilities unaccounted for, so many things that could go wrong. I couldn’t rely on my magic, that was an unknown until the suppressant wore off. I had no idea who the buyer was, this ‘King’ and who even knew what he was capable of. This whole thing was madness and yet, as I looked around at the faces of the people who were willing to risk their lives for me, all I saw was determination.
Even from Acheron who really hated my guts.
My watch beeped on my wrist. 11:55pm. Five minutes to go.
It was time to end this.
I walked into the open space with my head held high. I wasn’t going to show any fear. Not to him and certainly not to the buyer. Byron walked with me, shoulder to shoulder, until we were no more than a few feet away from my father.
As always, he was prompt. He stood in the clearing with his hands tucked into his pockets like he wasn’t about to try to ruin my life.
Just looking at him had my stomach twisting in knots. I had to fight the instinct to kneel and surrender. He’d beaten that intome for so long, that it was instinctual. But I wasn’t going to do it. I wasn’t going to let him have a hold over me anymore.
Lawler smiled as if he knew exactly what I was fighting in my own mind.
Prick.
“Good evening, Wilder. How kind of you to join us.” His voice grated on my ears. It was cold and empty. Lacking any real emotion or interest.
“Hello, Father,” I replied, like the dutiful son. I wanted to give Damyr and the others time to get in position. “It’s been a while.”
He cocked a dark brow. “It’s been ten years. I’ve been waiting for this moment for ten years, Wilder. It’s a good job that I’m a patient man.”
“How did you find me?” I asked.
“Find you?” he chuckled. “I never really lost you, Wilder.”
That surprised me. He’d known exactly where I was, all these years? Which meant that me turning twenty-five and the suppressant on my magic was all part of his grand plan.
This moment was always supposed to happen.
“You said ‘us’ but I only see you,” Byron said. His fingers were tucked into his pockets, but I knew that was an act. He was ready to move at a moment’s notice. A predator playing pliant.
Lawler cast a passing glance over at Byron then looked away, dismissing him. That would most likely cost him. Byron was definitely not someone to dismiss.
“I see you’ve brought your dog with you, Wilder. Couldn’t bear to do this on your own? How utterly pathetic. But since your dog asked, the buyer is here, he’s just waiting in the shadows.”