As if he read my thoughts, my father reached for my hand. Unshed tears swam in his eyes. “Every second of every day we’ve been apart, I’ve thought about you. I wanted to call you a million times just to tell you I was alive.”
I swallowed hard. “Why didn’t you?”
He sighed, frowning. “It’s complicated, but basically I had an inside asset with the Akuma right after the car accident with your mother. An old friend, a warlock. He said the Akuma were watching you for any sign that you bore my gifts. He said that if they thought you had even one shred of magic or might be a threat, they would end your life.”
I squeezed his hand, swallowing a thick lump of emotion. “I understand.”
He wiped his eyes. “I also know that you’re your mother’s daughter, and that if you knew I was alive, you would have tried to find me. That would have led the Akuma right to us both, so I had to remain vigilant, carefully plotting my course of action all this time.”
Haru and Reo entered the room then, harried as if they’d run. I nodded toward my dad. “Haru, Reo, my father has come,” I explained.
They scuttled into the room—most unlike them—circled my father’s wheelchair to face him, and bowed low, their arms rigid by their sides.
Okay. This was a side I’d never seen of the warrior brothers.
My father nodded graciously like he was some kind of king, and only then did my protectors rise.
“Welcome, Master,” Haru added. “How may we assist you?”
I finally realized that, despite his paralysis, my father was dressed impeccably, his hair cut and combed with precision. He raised his head in a regal manner. “I am here to protect and train my daughter. She must close the gate to the underworld. Since my physical body is no longer up to the task, I will assist you in training her.”
Haru bowed his head in acquiescence. “Of course. It will be our pleasure. We’ve already begun her training, as you requested, but she does have to complete three more shifts before she acquires all nine tails.”
“Because of the baby?” he guessed, and they nodded. “We have much to do in little time,” my father continued. “The Akuma’s most recent attack on me has left me weaker than I’d like. I need to rest before I begin Evie’s training.”
“You are welcome in our home, as is your ... attendant?” Brock cocked a questioning brow at the woman behind my father.
“Yes, this is Cho. She is both my nurse and a witch. Cho has helped hide me from the Akuma all these years. If you have space for both of us, I’d be grateful for your hospitality, though we will need two rooms,” he added timidly.
“Welcome, Cho,” Brock said. “We have enough room for both of you, and would be honored to have you in our home.”
My father raised one eyebrow, like maybe he hadn’t realized we lived together in sin until this very moment.
Kill me now.
“Thank you. I’m quite tired from the journey,” my father finally said diplomatically.
Brock nodded. “Please follow my second-in-command, Ray. He’ll lead you to your rooms.”
Ray swept into the room as if by magic, though I knew Brock must have used his pack bond to call him. “If you’ll follow me,” Ray said, waiting for Cho to wheel my father around to leave.
“Wait,” my father commanded, and looked my way, reaching out to squeeze my hand. “I’m so pleased to see you again, kitten. We’ll catch up more later.” Emotion shone in his eyes as my throat went tight. And with that, Cho wheeled him from the room, leaving stunned silence in his wake.
I waited a full minute, long enough that I figured he couldn’t hear me. “Wow. That was … intense,” I breathed.
Brock was grinning like a fool next to me; he totally liked seeing me squirm.
Cass barked out a laugh. “I’ve never seen you so nervous.”
I released some of the tension I’d been holding. “I meet my dad for the first time, and in the first sixty seconds he’s asking me why I’m not married. Who wouldn’t be nervous?”
“You have to understand,” Haru implored—I’d almost forgotten he’d entered the room. “The kitsune were treated like gods in our homeland and raised in a traditional manner. They were revered for their powers. Your father would have been raised like a prince, and later treated as a king once he took over the mantle of kitsune from his father. Your way of life might be a bit shocking to him until he gets used to it.”
I was pretty sure Gran hadn’t treated him like a king…
“Don’t worry, he’s just trying to protect his only daughter,” Cass assured me.
I smiled. No matter how ludicrous the situation, he always had my back. “Thanks, Cass.”
