In the doorway stood a tall, sophisticated stranger dressed in a black European-styled suit. His olive toned face was filled with craggy lines and contained a solemn expression echoed in his luminous silver eyes. A shock of pure white hair was gathered at the nape of his neck, giving him an old-world elegance.
Their eyes met and his widened in shocked recognition. My God, she looks just like Isabella.
In the background, Tariq’s voice echoed faintly, making introductions. “This is my good friend, Alvaro. Reyna, you’ll be interested to know he was instrumental in helping the Felini settle on Earth.”
“Telepathy is reserved for mates, family, and those with whom we share blood,” Tariq had said.
Reyna felt as though she were in a dark tunnel, the sides of which kept elongating. She couldn’t take her gaze off those eyes. They were the same ones she saw in the mirror every morning.
Jorlan’s voice growled out low and dangerous, “You’re supposed to be dead.”
Bits and pieces of comments Reyna had overhead throughout the years came together to bring her to an inescapable, no matter how illogical, conclusion. This is the man who’d raped Isabella. This man was the reason her life had been a living hell.
Memories cascaded through her mind. Years of rejection, mistreatment and brutality at the hands of others, and worse, the pure indifference to her suffering on the part of those who should care the most about her wellbeing swamped her. In its wake came a rage so pure, so liberating, and so volatile, Reyna didn’t think. She reacted.
She screamed. Between one heartbeat and the next, Reyna shifted and launched herself at her father. There were curses and shouts of alarm, which she ignored. Her focus, her primal intent, centered on destroying the male responsible for her horrific childhood. She kept him in her sights as chaos erupted all around them.
Claws extending, mouth open wide, she got within a hairsbreadth of the target when a force slammed into her side, knocking her off her trajectory. She landed on her side, skidded a bit before twisting around to alight on her feet. Not one to be swayed from her purpose, she immediate locked onto her objective and started for Alvaro again.
Jorlan, in cat form, jumped in her path and snarled, “No, Reyna!”
Out of control and beyond reason, she charged him. They rose to their hind legs in a flurry of slapping paws and biting teeth. They flipped and rolled, each trying to gain dominance over the other. Chairs crashed, furniture overturned, and dishes went flying as their fight propelled them around the room.
Jorlan was bigger, more muscular, and had more experience fighting, but Reyna had the strength of her wrath and the determination to accomplish her goal on her side. She never tired and fought with a deadly viciousness that would have shocked and appalled her had Reyna been in her right mind.
Voices buzzed in her head—Jorlan’s and Tariq’s—as each male tried to penetrate the red haze of fury blocking her thinking ability. It had the opposite effect. She let out another piercing scream and increased the ferocity of her attack.
Blood loss turned the tide in Jorlan’s favor. It weakened her to the point she had to slow down and plan her strategy. Emotion receded enough for her to think. Jorlan had backed her into a corner where she crouched, ears flattened, tail whipping from side-to-side. To reach her father she had to get past the man who’d raised her as his.
Why are you protecting him? You know what he did to Isabella, to me!
Kitten, I understand your fury, but Isabella wasn’t raped.
Reyna shook her head, swaying as dizziness assailed her. What?
Isabella gave herself willingly to him. She loved him. The vampyr mated with her.
No! That’s a lie! Reyna crouched lower, muscles bunched in preparation to launch herself at him for spewing such vile filth.
Jorlan shifted to his man form and knelt before her. “I’m sorry, Kitten. I know how much you must be hurting right now, but it’s the truth. Your mother loved your father. Everything you’ve been told about what happened between them was a lie.”
The sheer enormity of the betrayal slashed through Reyna like a knife. She stared into Jorlan’s remorseful gaze as the truth of his words settled. Lies, it had all been lies. Her entire life was a lie and for what purpose?
Reyna was still staring into Jorlan’s eyes when she dematerialized.
Tariq escorted his mate into the dining area, pride and anticipation filling him. He hoped if Reyna was reading him she caught the first but not the second. If tonight went as planned, he’d finally have the answers to the mystery of Reyna’s parentage.
For a second he entertained a qualm of worry. Reyna considered the death of her father no great loss. She wouldn’t be happy to discover he was alive, if indeed all was as he suspected. However, Alvaro had been his friend for many centuries. If Reyna was his child, Alvaro had a right to know, regardless of his Heart’s Blood feelings on the matter.
If Tariq were less honest, he could tell himself he’d arranged this little dinner solely to bring joy into a friend’s life after Alvaro had suffered so greatly. The truth was he was inquisitive and relentless in his quest for knowledge. He’d determined to learn everything about his blood mate. Tariq wanted to know her inside and outside, her past and her present.
He rushed through the introductions with his inner council with barely concealed impatience. Catching the knowing glint in many of their eyes, Tariq knew they thought he couldn’t wait to get his Heart’s Blood alone again to cement their bond. Newly mated couples had been known to seclude themselves for weeks, even months at a time before their need for one another lessened to a more manageable level.
Alvaro’s voice came to him through their mental link. You know all this pomp and circumstance between us is unnecessary.
Nonsense, you’re a visiting dignitary, not to mention one of my dearest friends. What kind of leader would I be if I didn’t treat you in the manner your exalted position requires? Tariq asked teasingly.
Exalted? Humph, I’m nothing but an old warrior, Alvaro said.
In a more serious manner, Tariq said, You’re more than that. You deserve much honor for who you’ve been to me and what you’ve done for our people throughout the years. Thank you for allowing us to do so.
I came only to meet the woman who managed to turn you inside out, Alvaro informed him smugly.
“Our guest of honor has arrived,” Tariq announced as he sensed Alvaro’s presence. He shifted Reyna so they faced the doorway, his intent gaze ready to capture every nuance of Alvaro’s expression the minute he spotted his daughter. Wryly Tariq acknowledged it was unseemly for a warrior of his position and stature to be so excited.
Alvaro appeared, escorted by two of the more beautiful women in his clutch, as was his right. “Thank you, Ana and Grace, for escorting our guest. You may return to your duties now,” he said, dismissing them.
They both gave small bows. “Yes, Master.”
He could feel Alvaro’s amusement, though his face showed no sign of it. Then Alvaro glanced at Reyna and his eyes widened in shocked recognition. My God, she looks just like Isabella.
Tariq smiled in satisfaction and made the introductions. “This is my good friend, Alvaro. Reyna, you’ll be interested to know he was instrumental in helping the Felini settle on Earth.”
Would his Heart’s Blood make the connection? How much of her mother’s history did she know? Reyna claimed not to have been told the full story, but surely the Felini had taught the young ones the history of their planet and how they came to be on Earth?
From the way Jorlan had turned into a statue on Reyna’s left, Tariq knew the name meant something to him. The Felini male growled out, “You’re supposed to be dead.” Jorlan didn’t sound happy to discover evidence to the contrary.
Suddenly Tariq wondered if the male had been involved in the attack on Alvaro. It was not a scenario he’d contemplated when he’d planned this get together. If the male had been involved, he’d be honor bound to make retribution. An attack on Alvaro was an attack on him, especially if the male took it into his head to complete the job his pride had failed.