Page 84 of Throne of the Wolf Queen

‘I’m not backing out. I never give up. I’d like to—’ Vyrus glanced down to where my hand gripped his as I held him in place. I let go quickly. ‘I’d like to… adjust the deal. A bit.’ I swallowed against the rising panic.

‘Adjust it?’

I nodded. ‘I’ll still find your heart. Still give it to you. But surely you can see that presenting you with the whole thing is an impossible task?’

‘We shook.’ He crossed his arms across his thick chest. ‘The deal is sealed. There were sparks, Villente. Sparks.’

Shit. My body suddenly felt offside, as though the ruby in my pocket had increased in mass.

‘But you’re a God. Immortal. All powerful and I’m…’ my hands slumped to my side. ‘This. If you’ve spent a thousand lifetimes searching and only found one piece, how on Eusis do you expect me to do it in a few weeks?’

The light flickered against his eyes. The harsh lines softened.

‘Because, sweetheart, I have been here for a thousand lifetimes. And I’ve watched you. Mortals. How you breathe, love, hate, simply exist within the little bubble granted to you. How you’ve no knowledge of those who made you exist within their own bubble. Their challenges and heartbreaks. Because, sweetheart. You are different.’

I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

‘Different to the other Villentes.’ His voice dropped and he opened his palms between us, my breath catching as a scene opened up. Snow swirled around a young woman, her blonde hair sweeping across her face as she fought to hold her shawl over her face. Behind her, a man stomped through the snow.

Vyrus.

‘Why do you Villentes always breed Anomalies, eh?’

I shuddered at his whisper as the woman collapsed into the snow, the tiny Vyrus grabbing her in his arms, cradling her as he led her away.

‘We…’ I jolted as he closed his hand, the scene fading in a single blink. ‘Chastity Villente fought you, defeated you, or so the legend states,’ I added as he rolled his eyes. ‘Evella rewarded her, blessing her and those who followed her.’

I narrowed my gaze as he smiled.

‘Well, me and your great-great-oh-so-many-greats granny tussled all right, sweetheart. But not how the Sisters recorded it. A year after I met her, we had a daughter, Hope.’

My fingers curled into the security of Pablo’s fur. A child? Vyrus and Chastity had a child?

‘You…’ I cleared my throat. ‘You had a child? A daughter?’

He nodded as my eyes widened. Chastity had borne only one child. A gift from Evella, or so we’d been told. I shook my head, my mind spinning with his tale. His truth.

My gaze snapped onto his. If she’d only had one child, then that meant…

‘Fuck,’ I whispered.

He spread his arms wide. ‘Want to give your great-grandpa a hug?’

His face broke into a huge smile as I recoiled.

‘Only, you sweetheart, you’re another breed entirely.’

I met his gaze. All those stares, all that time, he’d known who he was to me and he’d kept his mouth shut.

‘You’ve no idea,’ I hissed.

‘No, sweetheart.’ He cocked his head. ‘It’s you that’s got no idea. Your father, your sire. What’s his name?’

‘I told you I don’t know⁠—’

Vyrus clicked his tongue.

‘I may be able to help you there.’