I slide my hand on his chest over his heart. Since I learned the truth of my parentage, I haven’t told Anders how much he means to me. “Ever since I came into your life, you have done nothing but protect me. You also taught me how to protect myself, how to make good choices.”
He snorts.
“Well, try to make good choices, anyway, and even if I didn’t always make the right choices, you taught me to deal with the consequences and take responsibility for my actions. I am who I am today because of you. I have always looked up to you and adored you as a father. Everything I said in my interview is true. Now, let me be the girl you raised. Let me show you what a good job you have done.”
Anders pulls me into a bear hug. “I love you, little one, more than you will ever know.”
“I know,” I whisper. “You show me every day of my life, even when I’m not with you.” Still enveloped in his arms, he rests his chin on the top of my head.
I listen to his heartbeat for a few minutes.
“You know, I should have put you in an all-girls school and then locked you in a dungeon until you turned 100.”
I laugh. He’s always threatening to put me in a dungeon. I pull back to look up at him, “Hmmm, I guess it’s a good thing that the dungeon here has a missing key.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Wiseass.”
Chapter 5
I’m Not Your Type?
JESSICA
The castle's entrance gives off a tranquil glow. I take my time admiring the craftsmanship of the wood and stonework. Who would have thought that Liam’s childhood imaginary fortress was an actual castle?
I step back a little. I hadn’t had time to truly admire it, busy with promotions and interviews. I try to picture it as it was before the crew stripped away all the vegetation. I can’t imagine how no one saw it wasn’t really a hill. The entire residence of the LS mistook the castle for a hill, and we all referred to it as either White Hill or Snob Hill. I wonder if Liam’s mother saw what others, including myself, couldn’t. Of course, there is no way to ask him now.
The morning after a full day of planning on how to make the territory presentable on film, Jeremy arrived with his construction crew, ready to take on the challenge. He noticed the exposed castle in the distance beyond the lake, recently freed from some of the vegetation that kept it hidden during the earthquake and storm that took place during the Alpha ceremony.
Anders felt it was confirmation that I was right where I was meant to be. A castle built from my very own ancestors’ hands, handed down to me. With all the work that needed to be done, Sixes, my assistant, called in for an additional construction crew we had worked with before, McLoughlin Construction, together with the Langhlan Construction crew, my pack, and several members from the Emerald Pack, worked tirelessly to put everything together in less than two weeks.
I watch the taillights of the second limo disappear down the driveway and close my eyes in both relief and disbelief. I just met three Alpha men close to eighty years old, if not older, and the other two—well, let’s just say they were related. And I don’t mean brothers or cousins that border each other’s territories. They were father and son, an Alpha and a Young Alpha from the same pack.
I exhale and count backward from seven. I can’t believe my parents chose them. I whip my head in their direction and level them with a narrowed-eye glare. My father raises his hands in front of him as if he can ward me off from that distance. A mischievous sparkle glints in his emerald-green eyes, and a hint of a smile traces his lips. His eyes lower in my mother’s direction and slightly tilts his head. I turn my attention to her. Why would my mother choose men well over fifty years older than me and a father and son from the same pack?
Her brows raise in surprise. She mouths, “It wasn’t me.”
I furrow my brows in confusion. I look between them expectantly, and they both simultaneously point at Anders.
My attention shifts to him now. He squares his shoulders, slips his hands into his pants pockets, and quirks a brow at me. Of course he did. It all makes sense. He chose men out of convenience, not men I could potentially fall in love with. He breaks eye contact and makes his way over to me.
He whispers in my ear, “I didn’t choose the Alpha and Young Alpha from the same pack.”
“And the others?” I hiss. He simply shrugs and returns to his post. On a huff, I turn back to the production team waiting for my attention.
While we wait for the third limo to arrive, someone from hair and makeup runs over to touch up my face. I roll my left shoulder back; the burning sensation from earlier is still present. Joe confirmed that the scratch healed, but I knew from the burn that this is more than an accidental scratch. I don’t want to bring attention to it right now. If I do, Anders will stop the filming and maybe even the production altogether, and it will ruin my plans. Quickly, I mask my thoughts before anyone detects my suspicions through our mind link.
I clear my throat and face Joe. “I’m surprised that since my parents insist I mate someone from the older generation that they didn’t put you or Xavier in the lineup.” Both Joe and Xavier have to be at least in their seventies. Joe’s eyes widen in surprise at my quip. “What? I’m not your type?” I give him a mischievous grin.
Joe frowns. “Not my type at all. I look at you as a niece or a granddaughter.” He shudders.
“Jeez, Joe. Tell me how you really feel.”
He scoffs. “Besides, I already put up with those two on the daily.” He inclines his head toward my father and Anders. “I can’t imagine Anders all up in my personal life, too.”
I peek a glance over at Anders, and his eyes narrow at Joe. “What personal life, old man?” He sneers. I shake my head. Inever heard Joe and Anders joke around with each other before. I wonder what Anders was like before he became lead guard.
“Always a pain in my ass,” Joe mumbles under his breath, hearing my thoughts through our mind link.
