I stared at him, the man I’d stuck by for centuries because of what a good man he was. Garrick was not only my king, he was also my family. He was the only family I had left.
He was right that I’d been pulling back. Since the moment I realized who Oakley was to me, I’d been in a weird funk. At least where Garrick was concerned.
I wanted to celebrate and shout from the rooftops that I’d finally, after all this time, found my viramore. And that they were so damn perfect for me, so beautiful, so full of courage, so full of spunk and sass. I already loved Oakley as a friend, but I’d been falling in love with them over these past few months.
But I was so fucking terrified of what Garrick would think.
He was going to fucking kill me.
But… I couldn’t hide it forever.
I might as well get it over with now.
I stared at my best friend for a beat longer, then cleared my throat. “I… I, um, I found my…” Sweat broke out on my forehead and back, my nerves just about ready to make me come out of my skin. “I found my viramore.”
Garrick stared at me for half a beat before he smiled widely, stood, yanked me to my feet, and pulled me into a hug before I could say anything else. “Holy shit, brother. You found your viramore? That’s amazing news! Who is it? Do I know them?”
I cringed and hugged him back for a moment, wanting to enjoy it before he murdered me, then I pulled away and took a few steps back. Garrick was probably going to get violent, so I didn’t think I should be within easy reach.
Garrick’s brow furrowed, obviously noticing my weird behavior. “What is it? What’s wrong? Is your viramore okay?”
“Yeah, uh, yes, they’re fine. Yeah… so… um… yes, you know them.”
“Okay…” He said it slowly, like I was being insane, which, from his perspective, I was.
“So… it’s someone I’ve known for a while, right? But I didn’t know they were my viramore until a few months ago. You know how they say that the pull doesn’t come until all parties are of age and ready for their viramore?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “So this is a young person? How young are we talking?”
“Uh… twenty-seven.” I winced.
He stared at me for a long moment before his eyes narrowed. “You’re not telling me what I think you’re telling me, are you?”
“Uh… I don’t know.” I did. And so did he. He knew exactly who I meant.
“Roman. You’re not saying…”
Fuck. He was already so pissed off. I took a breath and quietly said, “Oakley’s my viramore—”
Garrick let out a loud roar. His dragon came out in the sound, roaring so loud, it shook the floor, the windows rattling away. Smoke filled the area, leaking out of Garrick’s mouth and nose at an alarming rate.
I flinched but stayed where I was, even when he rushed me. Running would do me no good anyway. There was nowhere to go since we were standing inside his office. He was pissed enough that he’d catch me before I even made it to the door. Shit.
He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me backward until I hit the wall with a loud thud. My head bounced off, and I winced but ignored the sharp pain. My natural healing abilities would take care of any bruise or bump I might get. It didn’t help with the pain right this second, but it’d go away quickly.
“You,” he ground out between clenched teeth, more smoke pouring out of his mouth and nostrils. “And my… my child!”
I flinched again. “Oakley’s an adult.”
Wrong thing to say.
His eyes turned into slits, his dragon coming out in full force. I could tell he was having trouble holding his shift back because his skin was rippling with his golden scales.
He growled again. “They’re my child. And you… you…” His jaw clenched so hard I could hear the grinding of his teeth.
“They’re my viramore, Garrick. Not some whim. Not someone to simply date. They’re my viramore.”
He growled again. “You cannot take my child from me.”
