“I love you, Daddy. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too,Mazbushka.” He sits up with me, helping me onto the couch where I cuddle in his arms like I’m eight again.
No, this isn’t a nightmare. This is a dream come true, and one I never thought possible.
“Zeu said there’s a story.”
I nod, and he hands me a tissue. “It’s a looong story.”
“But…where is the ring?”
“That’s part of the story.”
I end up using the bathroom next and then, sitting on the couch between them, I tell him the story with Zuzu’s help.
Dad looks pensive when we finish. “We will need to go out tonight then and try.” He reaches over and ruffles Zuzu’s hair. “You wish me to say it now?”
He smiles. “I do.”
“You were right, and I was wrong.”
Zuzu throws back his head. “Yes!”
“It isn’t full moon tonight, though,” Dad says. “We will keep trying, even if it doesn’t work tonight. First, I have a question.” He turns those violet eyes on me, and I nod.
“Is this man good enough for you?”
I snort. “Yeah, Dad. He’s good enough for me.”
“How do you know?”
“He spent almost two months hunting for me after only knowing me a couple of days. And I’ve never met anyone like him before. He’s different, in a good way. I can see myself spending the rest of my life with him. And he makes me feel safe.”
“How do you know it’s love and not obsession?”
“The two are not mutually exclusive, Parxon,” Zuzu teases. “I remember a certain man obsessively in love with a human woman.”
He grumbles at Zuzu but focuses on me. “Do you love him?”
“I really do.”
“Then we’ll see what we can do to get you back to him.”
I reach up and rub my chest at the thought of never seeing Dexter again. “It physically hurts, missing him,” I admit.
They both scowl. “Have you marked him, then?” Dad asks.
“What?”
“Bit him.”
“I…” I stare at him. “Wait. I did bite him.” I tell them about it.
He smiles and opens his mouth, indicating his canines and pointing to my mouth. I open so he and Zuzu can both look. “Yes, look here,” Dad says, pointing. “They’ve come in fully. That only happens when you have left a mating mark.”
Zuzu nods. “Our little girl has a mate.”
“Does that mean… Wait, whatdoesthat mean?”
