Sarin's laughter echoes throughout the room.
"I can't wait to meet her. Sounds like the kind of woman you need."
"She is." And I know he sees the pride in my eyes.
"I'm happy for you, son. Now, regarding the marriage, your right hand would be a good alternative for Tsarkov's daughter."
I think about Vasili and the look full of murderous promises he had when he looked at the man who hurt Gigi, and I know there are feelings there.
"I'll discuss it. That's all I'm offering."
With a single nod, he stands up, and I notice him sway slightly.
"You okay, old man?"
"I don't have a young wife to keep me on my toes anymore," he replies, but I know there's something more, and from the look I give him, he knows to stop with the jokes now.
After he straightens up and takes a breath, he says, "I have cancer. Terminal, pancreatic, so not exactly pleasant, but I'll hold on until you're reelected."
A wave of emotions pierces my chest like a blade because there aren't many people I respect, but the man in front of me is at the top of my list. He's the one who taught me patience. He was the first person I told about my rage episodes. He's the one who made sure nobody would touch Berna while I wasn't there. He stood up for me before the Council when I was only seventeen. He saw past the jokes and this hollow shell and gave me a chance. A purpose.
"Stop looking at me like I'm already dead. Don’t go all sentimental on me, son.”
"If you need anything, just tell me," I say without a trace of amusement.
I'm used to loss, to the idea that none of us have tomorrow guaranteed, but I still find myself wrapped in a miserable state at the thought that I won't have him by my side in the coming years.
"Be happy, Damien. That's all I've wanted. That's all your father would have wanted, too, even though the bastard didn't know how to show you."
He didn't know. Because he was a pathetic excuse for a father and a man. He let his own daughter be abused. He stood still while his own woman sold herself for power. And he certainlydidn't lift a finger when I had to recite every type of tissue and muscle while peeling them off the bones of our enemies.
But now I have a shot at that happiness Sarin mentioned, and she has dark chestnut hair and caramel eyes, and I'll make damn sure to burn anyone who tries to rip her from my arms.
After Sarin leaves the office, I text Stefan to bring this Stiles asshole to the basement after he drops Roxy home.
The unsettling news from the only man who represented a father figure to me has awakened my bloodlust again.
Chapter 22
Unknown
She's getting married.
Strike.
She’s accepting another man.
Strike.
Binding her life to someone else. Not me.
Strike.
Just like Elena did.
Strike.
"Please—" My victim's whisper cuts through the air, but it's not her voice I hear.
