Those words echoed through my head as our gazes met.
One of my greatest fears had come to pass.
Tabitha’s father had found us.
And he was a fucking prince of Faerie.
13
SAMANTHA
Sanity kicked in, along with all the mother instincts to protect my daughter. Holding her tighter, I spun away from Len, and all but jumped over the couch to keep distance between us.
“She’s mine,” I growled as my wolf reared her head. “I’ve waited years to be free of my pack, able to hold her whenever I want. I will kill anyone who tries to take that from me.”
As I huffed and continued to back away, Tabby finally lowered her arms, tilting her head up to look at me. “Sorry, baby,” I whispered. “I have to protect you. We don’t know his intentions.”
Len watched me but didn’t move closer. He allowed me the illusion of safety, and I felt marginally better about it.
When he tilted his head in a similar manner to Tabitha, I wondered how I hadn’t seen their similarities almost instantly. No wonder he had felt familiar, he was clearly someone I knew very well in the past. “You cannot give her everything she needs,” he said softly, gaze locked on me the way a predator watches their prey. “She’s fae, and if you say you’ve waited years, it’s clear she hasn’t thrived on Earth. I can help you figure it out.”
My gaze darted to Mera, silently asking her if she found any answers. “No helpful books on raising their young,” she said sadly. “They’re all magically updated, and it appears that young are rare as anything these days.”
Len crossed his arms, the gesture accentuating the breadth of his shoulders in the silver duster jacket. He didn’t say anything further, allowing me to come to the only logical conclusion from this information: I needed him to help save my daughter.
“Promise that you won’t take her from me?” I managed to rasp around the lump in my throat. “Swear it on whatever is the most important thing in your world.”
Len nodded. “You have my word, sworn here before Shadow and Mera, that I will do everything in my considerable power to ensure that you remain her primary custodian. Faerie children need their parents, their mother. And while this isn’t going to be an easy journey, I believe we will find our way through.”
“Why not easy?” His words didn’t fill me with confidence.
Len’s answer was sharp and succinct. “Because there has never been a half-fae born before. Tabitha is one of a kind.”
Shadow let out a rumbling growl. “Samantha has a memory block. This is what we were trying to lift when you threw your temper tantrum.”
A burst of laughter escaped Mera, remaining even as her mate shot her a dark look. “No, no, sorry. I just… karma is fun.”
Shadow huffed. “I don’t throw temper tantrums, Sunshine. I command and everyone fucking obeys.”
Mera’s lips were pressed hard together as if that would stop the next snort of laughter.
Shadow shook his head, ignoring his spluttering mate. “The block is from an ancient fae magic. It could not be lifted, even using the combined strength of Gaster and myself. Hopefully, you will have more of an idea.”
Aurora chose that moment to lift herself up from the couch, into the air, and sail across to her father’s arms. Shadow visibly calmed the moment she settled against him.
Mera’s laughter faded as her expression shifted from amused to… well, definitely not amused. Her mate acting all “daddy like” had hunger sliding across her features, and I really couldn’t blame her. The beast holding that child like she was the most precious thing in the world was a vibe.
My gaze returned to Len since I couldn’t apparently look away from him for more than a few moments. “Do you remember me?” I asked, since we were discussing the memory block.
“No,” he said shortly. “Whatever is blocking your memories has affected mine as well. It’s almost as if we’ve been glamoured. Spelled by Faerie magic.”
Glamoured. That sounded scary and very mystical. But seriously, to affect Len it had to be the most powerful of Faerie magic. Before I could hyperventilate, he shifted course. “You feel the connection between us now that we’re together, right?”
Straight to the fucking point.
“I do,” I replied, equally as honest. “I just don’t understand any of this. When did we meet up? Why can’t I remember anything about you?”
Mera stopped eye-fucking her mate for a moment to turn to me. “So, you don’t even remember meeting Len in the library, years after you would have had the block on your memories?”
