“Never! You are never leaving this compound again!”
“But Jacob…” If he believed her story, how could he see any of this as her fault?
“I don’t care. I don’t want you near that wolf. If he risked life and limb to bring you back here there can be only one thing he wants.”
“Oh. My. God. Dad, I’m twenty-seven. Who the hell cares if that’s what he wants? Do we have to have the nun conversation again?”
“Syd, I’m not in the mood for this right now,” her dad growled from the other side of the door. “Reynard is out here. We’ll figure out something for you to eat when I return from this meeting.”
“Dad! You’re being insane!” But there was no response. He was already on his way to the penthouse.
“This is bullshit!” Sydney shouted. “I am fucking going to that meeting!”
Her mother winced. “You know how your father gets. You’re stuck here until he decides to open that door. With me in here, it’ll be sooner rather than later. Be glad for that, at least.”
Sydney sighed. “I hate to leave with you like this, but I’m going. I need to be there with Noah.”
Charlee’s eyes were shrewd. “There’s something going on with that wolf isn’t there?”
Sydney buckled and told her mother about the mating link. She felt guilty, as if she’d run off to elope.
“So, I have to be there. I can’t leave my mate and pack alone to deal with everyone—not with Noah just now being free after so long. He tries to hide it, but even under the best circumstances he gets overwhelmed around too many people. And tensions could be high.”
“They always are when everyone gets together. But that’s reinforced steel, you’ll never—”
Sydney wasn’t sure if her mother had finished that sentence because she’d already blurred to the door and pounded through it. Her dad’s guard was waiting for her on the other side. He startled, fumbling with his gun at human-speed. Sydney ripped the weapon from his hand, emptied the chamber and took the magazine. She’d at least learned something useful in her time at the compound. She pushed him with all her strength.
He went flying through the air until his back hit the wall at the end of the hallway and he slumped down, eyes wide.
“Don’t get up,” she said. “You can’t take me.”
“Sydney?”
She turned back to her mother. “I’d love to explain this, but I have a meeting to get to.”
“At least I know you can take care of yourself. Be careful, and try not to rile your father up too much. You know how he gets.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Watch out!” Charlee said.
Reynard had gotten behind her and was trying to put her in a choke hold. Sydney flipped him hard on the concrete so hard his back cracked. Even with his mate’s blood, he was looking at a good half hour healing time for that. “I said, stay down,” Sydney said. How he’d managed to stay in her father’s employ with his sub par listening skills was anybody’s guess.
Sydney blurred out of the building and didn’t slow until she reached the Cary Town Luxury Apartments. A few of the more intimidating male pack members stood outside the front door. They nodded as she approached.
“If a vampire shows up with dark hair and thick eyebrows… looks sort of like a caveman, acts sort of like a caveman… don’t let him in. He’s not on the guest list.”
“Yes Ma’am,” one of them said and saluted.
“Don’t salute. This isn’t a military installation.”
He shrugged, and she went inside. It was still hard to get used to the way the place had fallen into disrepair, but the wolves had already been hard at work on it. She had no idea what they’d used for cleaning products. She’d heard a few of the girls were quite crafty, maybe they’d made something, but it was obvious they’d been hard at work on the lobby.
The cobwebs had been cleared away and the mirrors gleamed as much as they could at this stage. Everything was clean, but it was still dark as a tomb without electricity. One of the wolves had helpfully put an “out of order” sign on the elevator, as if anyone would try to utilize it.
She took the stairs two at a time to the sixth floor where a few more pack members were stationed. They nodded, but happily no one saluted this time.
She was surprised they’d cleaned the hallway and the penthouse. The rotted peach smell was gone. She could get used to being part of an alpha pair. Still more pack wolves stood outside the stairs leading to the roof.
“Let me guess, we have more goons at the top?”
Milo smirked. “Nothing gets by you.”
“Nice job on the clean-up by the way,” she said.
“No problem. We still have a lot of work, but we at least wanted to get the areas guests would see.”
“Is everybody here?”
“I think so. Noah gave me a list, but there were a couple of unexpecteds.”
Sydney raised a brow. “Oh?” They must have been okay if they’d been waved up.
“Yeah, but we knew them.”
“How did you know them?”
“Small world, I guess, but it was that witch that gave us our music and her panther.”
Weird.
Sydney took the last flight of stairs two at a time. She was halfway up them when she heard the vampire king roar “What the fuck do you mean she’s your mate!?!”
Maybe she should slink away, but her conscience got the better of her. She couldn’t leave Noah alone with her dad, especially since her mate’s new immortality was just as conditional as hers.
The metal door clanged against the brick wall, announcing her arrival.
“Sydney? You didn’t tell him?”
The wounded look on Noah’s face nearly killed her. As if she’d betrayed him or as if he didn’t matter to her now that they were all back home.
“Well… I mean… He already locked me in the compound with a vampire guard when I didn’t tell him. What do you think he would have done with more information?”
Noah growled, the fur starting to crop up on his arms. Sydney rushed to stand between her father and her mate. “We have more important stuff to deal with.”
The vampire king suddenly looked more pained than angry. “I’m so disappointed in you Syd. I can’t believe you’d let a wolf…”
She knew it was wrong, but she shoved her father like she’d shoved his guard. He flew across the rooftop until he landed against the brick wall. Everyone went quiet.
The king looked up, and for a second she thought she’d only made things worse.
“You’re strong,” he said.
“Yeah.”
Anthony got up and blurred to her, crushing her in a hug. “You’re strong!”
Was he actually crying?
“Okay, dad. It’s getting a little weird.”
Anthony backed off and wiped his face with the back of his hand. She’d never seen a display of emotion like this from him, and suddenly it became clear what her mother saw in him. Despite all their romantic behavior, it had always seemed like an act with her father. And now she realized why. She’d never seen him show a strong emotion except for anger. This was the first time she’d seen him cry.