SHADOW
“Hey. You’re up.”
“Pfft. What do you want, Califf?” I ignored him as I made my way to the kitchen. How did I become so bitch towards the only man I’d ever loved?
Apparently, Sebastien’s castle had five kitchens, and I knew there was closer to his study- the private kitchen was exclusively for him. I’d been here many times, but the tour was always out of the agenda.
“Can we talk?” Of course, he followed me.
I huffed out. “Nope. I’m hungry.”
“Let me make you some sandwich.”
I snorted, arching a brow. “Why? Because you’re stronger and faster?”
“No.” A single line appeared between his perfect eyebrows. “Because I want to make a sandwich for my wife.”
“Not for long.” I laughed out loud to piss him off so he would leave me alone and have a great life. I wasn’t good for him anymore- he deserved better. “You better start looking for a new Luna, Califf, because I’m not equipped to do that job, and I can’t be a team player anymore.”
“Shadow.” He held my arm. “I know-”
“You don’t.” I jerked it off and narrowed my eyes at him. “Fuck off, or I will shoot you with a silver bullet or stab you in yourself, and you don’t even notice it.”
“Let me share your pain, baby.” He looked pained, so sorrowful. I felt terrible that he had to feel my pain, and he tried so hard to help but still felt helpless.
“By what? Fucking and biting me in my dreams? That’s disgusting. You’re disgusting.” Why did he have to fight it? Why couldn’t he just give up and leave me?
He looked taken aback and swallowed. The agony was so deep it broke my heart over and over again.
“Yes. I heard everything. I may not have super hearing, but you all did not even try to be discreet about it. So, just stay the fuck away from me. You may be strong, but you’re not invincible, and I know all your weaknesses, Alpha. So quit bossing me around.”
Califf didn’t follow me anymore. I went to the kitchen. I was starving and saw some ingredients in the fridge for sandwiches.
“Need help?”
“Father, I may be a human, but Kent taught me how to cook unless you want me to get out of your kitchen or your palace now that I am useless for your grand plan.”
“Don’t say that.”
I found myself in his arms, hugging me. Sebastien was known for his distance and shallowness. Right now, his actions surprised me.
“I know you hate me, but I need you in my life. Don’t push me away, darling. I’m begging you.”
When my eyes misted with unshed tears, I drew a deep breath and hugged him back. I lost everything, and I was still suffering from that loss. I didn’t know when I would heal and move on. I hadn’t figured out what to do with my human life.
I wanted to go back to Kent, but I couldn’t put his life at risk again now that I had no power and strength, and the threat was still out there.
“Okay. I think that’s enough.” I pulled away, wiping my tears discreetly.
He chuckled. “I can make a mean risotto.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, you can, but I’m making a sandwich. Do you want one?”
“Okay.” He slid onto the stool.
I picked up some ingredients from the fridge with prosciutto, a pack of sun-dried tomatoes in oil, and a pack of baby arugula, and I found a tight container of marinated artichoke.
“Do you have allergies?” I heated the pan, sliced a ciabatta bread, and pressed it upside down on the pan.
“Aside from-”
“Silver?”
He dropped his gaze, stood up, and came to help me with the sandwich.
“It’s okay. The faster I accept that I’m just a human, the better, and the faster they can get rid of me and stay out of your life.” I watched him spread the basil pesto on the crusty, burned side of the bread. “So you cook, huh?”
“I don’t have time, but I do.”
“I’m proud of you.” I saw and appreciated him for the first time, and it took me to lose my power and my wolf to see who Sebastien was. No matter what he did before, he was still Samuel’s twin, and he was still my father.
“Did you know who I was before we met?”
“Yes.” He finished it by cutting it into two.
“Would you ever come for me if I didn’t come to you first?”
“Yes.”
“But?”
“Your instinct is your strong suit, Shadow. But I know how dangerous our world is, and if I could protect you by not coming to you, which is what I did. But our worlds are meant to collide, and you are eager to be a part of this messy and treacherous world we live in.”
“Thank you for telling me.” I grabbed two plates and glasses with a bottle of wine.
“You can ask me anything.” He put half into my plate. “Pour us wine, will you?”
I did as he asked and sat next to him. I took a bite of it. “It’s delicious. I think you make a delicious sandwich better than me.”
He looked at me and smiled.
“What?”
“I always dreamed of making us sandwiches, sharing breakfast like this. I wanna be a father, not just supporting your cause or helping you, daughter. I know it’s too late, and you have someone in your life, but I still want to do this once in a while.”
I drew a deep breath. Hearing Sebastien say that out loud, I had someone in my life hurt my entire being, but I couldn’t throw all my pain into the sink and wash it till it was gone. I had to endure, no matter how excruciating. I needed to heal and move on.
“Take your time to heal. Stay here as much as you want. This is also your home.”
I took another bite and sipped the wine. “Can I have like this in my room?” I grabbed the bottle and read the name. “Wait. Alpha Knight has a winery?”
“Yes. Your mate- your husband is one of the investors. I have a winery too, bigger and renowned, but the taste of Italian produced and Californian are different. And Knight’s wine has a smooth and subtler taste.”
“Yeah. I love it. So the wines I’d been drinking since I came here were yours?”
“Yes.”
“That was great wine, too. How rich are you exactly?”
He laughed- belly laughed.
“What? Is it like asking how many sand grains are in the ocean?”
“That’s too much, but you can live a good life in ten human lifetimes.”
I whistled. “You’re freaking rich, father.”
“Well, I’ve lived long enough, changed multiple names and identities, so I have enough money, and you can just sit there and do nothing and still be rich.”
“And grandpa?”
“We have separate assets but share the same companies to protect our wealth.”
“Will you buy a house for me?”
“Why would you want a new house?” He finished eating but looked at me, maybe questioning my decisions.
“Never mind.” I finished mine and dabbed my lips. I could still feel him looking at me as I emptied my glass.
He poured another into my glass. “I will buy it for you, but you have to tell me why?”
“I want solitude. I need peace and time to figure out what I want to do with my life. Don’t worry, I’m not suicidal.”
“You’re a business graduate. Help me run our companies. Your grandfather had been retired for two decades, and I’d been bearing the centuries of autocracy down my shoulders, so I need your help.”
“Boring.” I rolled my eyes. “First, I wanna find who did this and make him suffer.”
“That’s not a good idea. Leave it to us-”
“Why? Because I’m only human?”
He blinked off, and the pain appeared in his eyes. “I want to protect you, Shadow.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Because I’m powerless-”
“Because that’s what parents do.” His voice raised, but it wasn’t from anger. He wanted to tell me what he truly felt. He sighed heavily. “And I love you, my child. You’re the only family I have left. Your grandfather is old. We may live long, but we’re not immortal.”
“Then teach me how to shoot.”
He stared at me, barely blinking as if I had gone crazy.
I arched a brow and waited for his response, hoping he would say yes. Even if he said no, I would still find a way to make myself useful and independent like I used to be. I wanted to be able to protect myself without them or someone watching my back.
“Is that really what you want?”
“Yes,” I answered almost immediately.
“Very well.”