CHAPTER FOUR
Two days later, my rental boat floated on a river, the cold water gently rocking it side to side, far downstream from Poppy Carvene’s mansion. I held a pair of binoculars to my eyes as I waited in the dark, her home lit up like an ancient Christmas tree inside, all the windows ablaze with merry light. I waited like the patient person I was, just waiting to see if one of Joshua Striker’s tales was real.
The dead Ms. Carvene should be making her miracle way home tonight, fit and well, not a hair misplaced on her head. If true, then this story was going to be bigger than I’d initially thought. Humans becoming immortal, not just shifters. Humans becoming mates to this entirely different species. Mates conceiving children with shifters.
I felt like I’d entered into a beast mode reality. I couldn’t simply do my normal surveillance. I always had to make sure I was downwind from these fuckers, not to be smelled. Far enough away so they couldn’t hear me, far enough away from them to think I was innocent of any wrongdoing. I sure as hell didn’t want to get within reaching distance because of their strength. My whole world had changed, as Joshua had stated it would when he entered my home.
I still didn’t know his motivations, either. That bothered me.
A deranged man such as him… I wanted to stay clear from.
Clean blue energy lighted up the night over the forest surrounding Poppy’s home, a train flying into the solitude of the beautiful home.
I turned my attention to it, avidly watching through the binoculars as the train started to land. I tapped the earpiece in my ear, hoping the listening device I had planted on a tree limb on the edge of her property yesterday would pick up any conversations. It was a long shot, but it was better to try than not.
The train landed smoothly, and the door opened, the black wrought iron stairs sliding down to the ground. It was a King Corporation train, the emblem of a lion clearly depicted on the side of the transport. I held my breath and waited in anticipation, the suspense killing me.
My jaw dropped open as Cassander jumped out of the train, flying through the air, his blemish-free fur coat whipping around his strong frame as he landed with grace. He peered back at the transport, and yelled, “Dad, wake the hell up! I’m starving and want you to cook me something.”
The train had landed close enough for me to hear them!
Damn, I was good.
A moment later, Mr. Theron King poked his head out of the train’s doorway and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. “You want to eat here?”
Poppy Carvene made her appearance, my grin splitting my face with obvious delight. She patted Theron’s shoulder as she maneuvered past him, then trotted down the steps, speaking over her shoulder, “If you’re cooking, Theron, you two can definitely eat here.”
The dead woman didn’t look so dead to me. Hot damn.
Not a hair missing from her head. The shifter had been right.
Cassander grinned up at his father—his adopted father, as Joshua had informed me. “I want some type of pasta. Maybe white sauce, not red.”
Theron leapt from the train, much as his son had, landing right next to the two waiting for him. He ran his fingers down his suit jacket and patted his flat stomach. “All right then. How about chicken alfredo?”
“I think I have everything you need for that.” Poppy yawned so wide I could see her teeth gleaming from here. She complained, “Why am I always so tired after I die? No one ever explained that to me.”
Cassander watched her out of the corner of his eye, hovering if I wasn’t mistaken, and answered patiently, “Because regenerating takes a lot of magic. It can wear your body out.”
“Huh. Makes sense.” They followed her as she started ambling toward her house, swerving when she faltered in her steps. Once, Cassander reached out to help her when she almost fell, but Theron grabbed his hand and quickly yanked it back, gifting his child an exasperated expression and tapping at his nose. Poppy didn’t notice any of it, her tone mortified as she muttered, “Cassander, why aren’t you as tired as I am? This is embarrassing.”
He chose his words carefully and refrained from helping the strong-willed woman when she stumbled again, his fists clenched behind his back to restrain himself. It was clear he didn’t want her to feel any weaker than she already did. “I doubt you want to hear this.”
“Just tell me.”
Cassander sighed. “It’s because I have more magic than you.”
Her spine straightened instantly. “Well…I already knew that.”
It didn’t mean she had to like being weaker.
“It’s the simple truth,” Theron interjected kindly, his words almost disappearing the closer they moved away from my listening device, almost on her house. “I’m the king, and he’s the seer. We have the most power out of all the shifters and mates. You have nothing to feel ashamed of. You are a great soldier in your own right. You don’t need our power to be special.”
Instant. “I know I’m special.”
Theron and Cassander shared a private look behind her back.
“So…how long will it take to cook that food, Dad?” Cassander easily deviated from the hard topic for her. “Because I am completely famished.”
