“Right. But I am still your father. And father trumps you being the alpha.” Asher chuckled and patted his son on the shoulder. “Now, honestly. How are you doing?”
Hunter heaved out a sigh and looked upward. “It still stings, to be honest. I’m a bit bitter over it. And I feel like … well, I feel like there’s an emptiness inside of me. Blaze has gone quiet. He rarely speaks now. Even when shifting, he keeps his personality dormant. He’s hurting, too. I’m going to keep moving forward, though. I’ve got the pack to worry about, and these demon wolves are keeping me busy. Eventually, I’ll have to try to find my own luna, but I don’t have the time for that now.”
Asher looked into his son’s gray eyes. It was like looking into his own. His eyes looked a bit tired and had lost some of their shine, but he was strong. He would get past this. “Your wolf will get better in time. So will you. Who knows? You may have a second-chance mate out there.”
He was proud of his son and how well he was handling the rejection. Some wolves went mad. Hearing about the demon wolves had him a bit apprehensive, though. Their leader, Abaas, had been after his mate, Lita, twenty years ago, and now he was after their daughter, Reiya. “Tell me about these demon wolves you’re having trouble with. Do you think any of them were Abaas?”
“No, but I think they’re part of his pack. They must have been checking to see if Reiya was here, but we took care of them. I do think this put us on his radar, though, because since then, demon wolves have been caught patrolling the area.” Hunterrubbed his temple. “It’s only a matter of time before we have another run-in. I upped the training sessions among the pack. We’ll be ready for them.”
“Just be careful. Remember, Abaas has wolfsbane venom. I’m sure he isn’t the only demon wolf with that.” Asher was taking on his fatherly role, trying to guide his son.
Hunter chuckled. “Dad, don’t worry. I have things taken care of. Remember … I am part fairy, too. I’ve been testing my tolerance to wolfsbane, and I’m pretty sure I’m immune to it.”
“That’s great news, son. That’s wonderful to hear!”
Hunter looked back and saw Grayson and Chasen talking seriously in the distance. He felt a weird pit in his stomach as he looked back at his dad. “How is Reiya?”
Asher took in a breath of air and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re not going to like hearing this.”
“What?” Hunter’s voice came out in a low growl.What happened to his sister?
“Reiya isn’t in Elysia anymore. She’s living in the West Dragon Kingdom.”
“WHAT?! WHY? I’m bringing her back here!” Hunter growled angrily, glaring at his father.
“Calm down. I don’t like it either, but your mother insisted on this. It’s one of the safest places for her. They don’t want to give her back, and … well, there’s another thing, too. Her mate is there.” Asher hesitated to bring the last part up, knowing Hunter had just lost his.
“Wait, what? A dragon mate?”
Asher chuckled. “She doesn’t know it yet. They’re hoping her wolf will come out to see if she also recognizes him as her mate. You know some mates are not mutual. It happens.”
“Who is her mate?” Hunter felt irritated at the idea of Reiya being in a strange place with dragons he didn’t know. It was different when she was with their parents.
“Keep this secret for now. Leviathan claims she is his mate.”
Hunter stood there with wide eyes. His sister’s summon was her mate? He at least knew Leviathan, having met him often since he was his sister’s summon. He was also very considerate of Reiya and very protective. Thinking back, his reactions made sense, especially if he was her mate. “Is she there all alone? What about Brody?”
“Brody and Chelsie are there with her. You know Brody isn’t leaving her side, just like Chasen would never leave yours. Honestly, because Brody is there, I’m able to relax a bit over it. And knowing that Leviathan is with her … I know she’s well protected. Still, I wish I could keep all my kids with me. I worry about all of you,” Asher admitted with a half grin. No matter what, they were his children. They would always be his little kids.
“You don’t have to worry, Dad. We’re doing good here. I’m taking great care of the pack, too. And I’m okay … I’m going to be okay. I'm still not happy about Reiya, though. I want her back here, where I can watch over her.”
“Don’t worry. Brody won’t let anything happen to her,” Chasen said as he and Grayson walked back up to them.
“Asher!” Caden sprinted into the clearing and collided with him. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey! I thought you were going with Sam and Susan,” Chasen said, seeing the old beta there.
“As soon as I heard Sam was going, I ditched out. I didn’t want to go shopping anyway.” Caden smiled, patting Asher hard on the back. “It’s great to see you.”
“How is my son handling things here? Be truthful. Does he need roughed up some?” Asher winked over at his son as he smiled at the man who was his beta and best friend.
“He’s doing a great job, Asher. It’s really good to see you. Garrett and Caspian are back at the pack house. They’ll bestoked.” Caden then reached out and patted Grayson on the arm. “You taking care of our troublemakers?”
“The best I can. You know how Asher and Lita are, though. Always a handful.” Grayson smirked at Asher, who only chuckled in response.
“Let’s go back to the pack house. I’m hungry again anyway.” Chasen shrugged.
“Me too. What are you feeding us, Hunter?” Caden asked with a big toothy grin.
