Reyna appeared before her mother Isabella and shifted into her humanoid form. Gasps and cries of alarms from the other queens sounded as they took in her wild, bloody appearance. “You lied to me, Isabella. My father is not dead.”
Isabella’s beautiful face leeched of color. “That’s a lie.”
“Jorlan said you weren’t raped. You and my father were mated. Is that true?” she asked, still in that same calm, dead voice.
The rumbling murmurs of shock and disbelief caught Reyna’s attention. She turned on them. “Out! Everyone get out!”
When they hesitated, she used her telekinetic power to lift one of the queens and toss her out the door. The rest scrambled after her. Using her mind, Reyna slammed and locked the large mahogany doors behind them.
Isabella stared at Reyna as though she’d never seen her before. “You have no idea what you’ve just done. You must leave. Quickly now, before the elders arrive.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you answer my questions.”
Reyna glanced around the room she’d rarely been allowed to enter. Like her mother, the room was everything that was feminine. Soft color, vases full of vibrant flowers, and comfortable lounging couches filled the room. The floor was covered in plush beige carpet.
Her mother had been lounging on one of the couches when she’d arrived, wearing one of the jewel-toned caftans she preferred. Now Isabella sat straight on its side, her face a blend of complex emotions Reyna couldn’t decipher. But then, Reyna had never been able to read her mother. All she knew was the other Felini queens loved their cubs. Their lives revolved around the nurturing and protecting of said cubs. Isabella had never loved her, could barely look at her, and now Reyna wanted to know why.
When she’d believed herself to be the result of a violent act perpetrated upon her mother, Isabella’s aversion to her offspring had made sense. To see Reyna was to see and remember the male who’d attacked her. That he’d been punished for his heinous crime made no difference. The only wonder was that not only had Isabella carried her to term, but she’d allowed her unwanted cub to live after its birth. A decision, given Isabella’s lack of feeling for her, Reyna had questioned many times in her young life.
She stood over Isabella, her mother’s mirror image with the exception of her freaky silver eyes. Eyes Reyna now knew without a doubt she’d inherited from her father. The male who hadn’t raped her mother. The male whose only crime, if Jorlan could be believed, was loving her mother and taking Isabella as his mate.
Isabella slowly rose to her feet so they stood eye-to-eye. Reyna realized her mother was no longer the formidable presence she’d always believed her to be. She didn’t feel the least bit intimidated. Maybe because Reyna had finally realized and accepted there was nothing she could do to gain her mother’s love and approval.
“I don’t know what this is about, Reyna, but you need to go. Your presence is not welcome here,” Isabella said coldly.
“If you refuse to tell me the truth, Isabella, I’ll be forced to ask Alvaro,” Reyna returned in a voice just as icy. She was no longer a child to tremble in the face of her mother’s disapproval.
Her mother’s already ashen face turned red. “Where did you hear that name?” she said fiercely, reaching out to grab Reyna by the shoulders. “Answer me!”
Reyna knocked her hands away and put distance between them. Years she’d waited for her mother to touch her, to hold her, even in the most casual of ways. Isabella’s touch was no longer welcome. “I told you, he’s not dead. You lied to me.”
“That’s a lie!” Isabella cried. “Ragnor said—”
A heavy fist hammered on the door. “Isabella, open this door at once!” The doorknob rattled violently.
Isabella’s expression turned to one of stark fear. “You must go. Now. Quickly. If Ragnor discovers you here, he’ll destroy you.”
Reyna scoffed. “After all the lies you’ve told, you expect me to believe you? I want the truth, Isabella, and I want it now.” She’d had over twenty years of being unloved and unwanted. She deserved to know why.
“There’s no time,” Isabella said frantically, her panicked gaze locked on the door trembling under the force of the blows being bestowed upon it.
“Isabella, open the door!” Ragnor bellowed.
The air shifted and Alvaro materialized in the space between Isabella and Reyna. How fitting, Reyna thought, as the memory of him had always stood between them.
“Alvaro?” Isabella questioned. “Is it you?”
“Isabella, my love. You’re alive!” Alvaro said and caught Isabella up in his arms.
Isabella was laughing and weeping at the same time. She kept touching Alvaro—his face, shoulders, and hair—as if to assure herself he was really there. Alvaro had his face buried in Isabella’s mane. Reyna could hear him muttering low, passionate words in her mother’s ears. The look of love on Isabella’s face was so intense, Reyna had to glance away.
Her gaze landed on Jorlan. His expression was one of pity and remorse. He held out an appealing hand to her. “Reyna, I’m sorry. I know how you must be feeling.”
“You knew,” she said dully. All this time he’d known and said nothing.
Jorlan let his hand drop. “Yes, I knew the truth of your birth. There were reasons why I couldn’t tell you. Will you let me explain?”
She looked at her parents, in a world all their own, still locked in each other’s arms. Once again Reyna was on the outside looking in. The anger, sense of betrayal, and hurt all drained away. She felt isolated, disassociated from it all. The cold numbness invading her heart spread outward to engulf her whole body.
Turning to Jorlan she said, “It doesn’t matter,” and let the icy cold take her away.
Jorlan yelled, “Reyna!”
Tariq caught her crumpling form before it could hit the floor and swept her up into his arms. He’d felt it the minute Reyna had shifted forms. Their link had blasted wide open. He’d been with her during the confrontation with her mother, felt her pain and the ice of her fury. Switching trajectories mid-teleport, he’d locked onto her through their bond, determined to reach her side as soon as possible.
Jorlan rushed to her side. “Is she all right?”
“Shock and blood loss, I believe. She needs medical attention,” Tariq said. His men materialized and quickly spread out around him. “Secure the room and deal with whoever’s pounding on the door.”
“It’s my father,” the woman who must be Isabella said. Jorlan’s bellow had caught the lovers’ attention, interrupting their joyous reunion, and they’d rushed over to see what the commotion was.
Alvaro grinned, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Cold fury glittered in the orbs. “Let him in. I have a few things to say to him.”
“Conall, whatever Lord Alvaro needs, make sure he receives. Protect the High Lord as you would me. I’m taking Reyna to my quarters so she can be tended to,” Tariq said. His gaze never left the precious bundle in his arms as he issued his instructions.
Tariq knew the physical damage to her body could be fixed with a simple blood transfusion. She’d lost blood during the fight with Jorlan, and expended energy she didn’t have to make the leap to the Felini compound here in Arizona. It was no wonder she’d fainted. She was at the end of her rope.
What worried him was the emotional toil tonight had taken. The jolts to her fragile psyche had been more than Reyna could bear. To deal with it, she’d withdrawn deep inside herself. So deep, Tariq didn’t know if he’d be able to reach her.
“I’m coming with you,” Jorlan said. “You’ll need me.”
“Once I’ve dealt with the situation here, I’d like to return to your clutch, stay, and get to know my daughter,” Alvaro said.
Isabella clutched his arm, her concerned gaze on Reyna’s unconscious form. “Please take care of her,” Isabella begged. “She’s all I have.”
“You have me now,” Alvaro reminded her, placing his arm around her waist and gathering her in close.
Isabella smiled at him, happy tears still gathering in her eyes to fall down her cheeks. “You’re right. I do.”
Tariq didn’t know how Reyna would feel about her father’s presence in their home, but he and Alvaro had been friends too long for him to deny his request. “You know you’re always welcome. That welcome extends to your Heart’s Blood, as well.”
“Thank you,” Alvaro said. He reached out a trembling hand to brush a smudge of blood off Reyna’s cheek. His eyes were full of wonder. “I don’t have to tell you what discovering I have a daughter means to me.”
No, Alvaro didn’t.
Unwilling to waste any more time, Tariq nodded brusquely at Alvaro. To Jorlan he said, “Grab hold,” and took his blood mate home, where she belonged.