30. TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-FIVE

Wren

"Ineverthoughtwe’d get here,” Thorn murmured as he swept my sweaty hair from my forehead and thrust back into me. His hands framed my face, and his coldness cooled the heat inside of me.

Our skin glowed with a faint sheet of ice as we took solace in each other the way we always did.

“Me either.” I gripped his shoulders and met his thrust with my hips.

His blueberry scent drew into my nose as I inhaled a breath.

He stroked in and out, easing himself slowly and softly and moved a hand down my body until he reached the little swollen nub and rubbed it. “Do you like this, Kit?”

“I like anything you do to me.” Pleasure swept through me as the coldness inside spread through my veins until my teeth chattered.

“You’ve always been made for me, and you have no idea how many times I wanted this.”

“I wanted you too.” I pushed more pheromones around him.

He moved, gripping my legs and resting my ankles on his shoulders as he drove in, hitting the sweet spot inside of me and sending tremors through my muscles.

“Oh, Fates, Thorn!”My screaming sent him over the edge as pleasure shot through our bond.

His face warped into ecstasy as he convulsed, breath rumbling before he let out a long moan, pushing my legs off and dropping on top of me, his mouth trailing along my collarbone to the hollow of my throat before pressing a kiss.

“You’re mine, Thorn.”

His brow raised before he tilted his head, his blue hair hanging like a curtain enveloping both of us in our private little moment. “I am all yours, Kit. Body, soul, and magic. But don’t mistake me. You are also mine. Don’t forget that.”

The door opened, and Kian’s scent filled the room. “Oh, shoot, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt. Dang it. Well, you interrupted me before too. But it’s still rude. Anyway, I do need to tell you this. I just had a vision. Wren, sweetheart, you’re the first one that needs to know.”

The urgency in his tone had Thorn pulling out of me and helping me out of the bed.

Kian snapped his fingers and had both Thorn and me dressed and cleaned. “We don’t have time. We need to go to the gate right now.”

Thorn gripped me tightly as Kian rushed over and grabbed Thorn’s wrist. “Let’s go.” Thorn phased us to the academy’s gate just as the big blue butterfly I had been seeing flapped around us, landing on my nose before flying toward the gate, where six humans stood.

My body tensed as Thorn pushed me behind him, but Kian pulled me back beside them. “It’s safe. Don’t do anything. Just wait, sweetheart. Focus on the butterfly.”

The humans may be humans, but they didn’t have a menacing feeling as of right now.

“Wren!” Rowan’s booming voice carried across the campus as he thundered over with long powerful strides, Blair on his tail. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his hot chest before glaring at the humans. “What business do humans have with Fate Hollow Academy?”

The butterfly went right through the wards, not tearing a hole in it before flapping its wings right in front of the humans. A blue glow emitted as it transformed into a man. A familiar scent of pine trees and jasmine lingered in the air. His blue eyes met mine as one of the humans wrapped a blanket of sorts around his waist. He had blond hair with scars decorating all of his exposed skin. His face softened as he gave me a longing look.

A sharp gasp escaped me as I realized who I was looking at. And if Rowan didn’t have his arms around my waist, I would have probably passed out.

Damien stepped out of the shadows beside us, and Rowan passed me to him as he took his spot in front of the gate. “Who are you?”

“Dad.” My voice wobbled, and Damien scooped me up before carrying me forward, standing next to Rowan.

Dad’s eyes glistened, and his mouth cracked to a genuine, painful smile as tears slid down his cheeks.

Time had been good to him, minus all the scars from the humans torturing him.

“Dad, it’s really you.” I breathed in awe as tears flooded down my cheeks.

“You’re not my little bird anymore. You’re all grown up.” His voice cracked.

Damien coughed, adjusting his hold on my body. “That’s because she’s my little bird now, sir.”

Everyone went quiet as Dad’s gaze flicked from me to Damien.

“Really?” Kian whispered under his breath. “That’s how you’re going to introduce yourself to her dad?”

“To our dad.” Damien winked back at him before settling his gaze back on my dad. “I’m Damien, a shadow demon, and before I was your daughter’s mate, I was her stalker.”

I wheezed, coughing on my own spit as Damien lowered me to the ground. “Damien!”

“Oh, but it’s okay.” Damien gave me a thumbs up that he thought was inconspicuous. “She liked me stalking her. It’s how we fell in love, really. Well, that and I killed for her a few times…”

A human woman stepped up beside my dad, and I froze.

“Damien,” Dad chuckled, shaking his head. “You are my daughter’s mate, and I have seen you protect her fiercely.”

“You were the butterfly,” Kian noted.

Dad’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, and my heart warmed seeing it. “I was. I am. It’s my power. A power that I didn’t want the humans to have.”

“But you are with humans now, are you not?” Rowan asked, his brow raising.

Dad nodded. “I am because these humans saved me. There is a small faction. Only about two hundred pledged to the group, but there are humans who want peace in Kalista with everybody—including the supernaturals.”

“It’s true,” the woman beside him said, and he snapped his gaze to her.

I watched the pink in his aura grow. The woman had blonde hair and beautiful brown eyes. She was shorter, unlike my mom, who was taller—yet, something about her reminded me of Mom. Maybe it was the way he was looking at her. It was the same way he looked at my mother.

“You’re my dad’s mate. Aren’t you?”

Both her and Dad’s eyes snapped to mine. “Yes, Wren. This is Faith. She is a human, but she’s my mate.”

“A human for a mate,” Blair mused. “Very interesting. There haven’t been many cases reported, and all of those ended in bloodshed and rejection. I will say you are the only human-supernatural couple I have ever met that has accepted their bond.”

Faith’s fingers laced through Dad’s hand as her gaze met mine and softened. “Your father has been trying to find you ever since we rescued him. I’m glad we finally found you.”

I smiled and nodded. “I’m glad too.”

“There was a fox named Jackson captive with you,” Damien mentioned. “We rescued him. He wanted us to let you know.”

“Good. He deserved to go back to his family.” Dad squeezed Faith’s hand tight.

“I knew it!” Simmons jogged over from the Training Hall. “Cooper, I knew you didn’t die on us.”

Dad chuckled and shrugged, though pain lingered in his eyes, and Faith winced as if she could feel his pain of losing Mom through the bond—which I’m sure she did. “What can I say?”

“I see you found another mate.” Simmons clapped his hands.

“Yes. My magic has finally calmed. I’m positive that she’s my last mate.”

“So you only had two.” He turned toward the Training Hall as he waved to my dad. “I’m overjoyed that Wren has you again.”

“I am too,” Dad murmured as Simmons walked back to his class that was outside waiting for him.

“We have questions for the humans you are with,” Rowan told my dad.

“We are more than happy to answer,” Faith said.

“If you make so much as one wrong move, I’ll kill you.” Rowan growled.

“Rowan,” I hissed.

He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. “Aside from her dad, of course.”

“Rowan, Wren’s firedrake mate. Older than me yet looks more of my daughter’s age,” Dad said.

“That’s right. I am her mate, and I don’t really care what anyone thinks about it. I’ll protect her, even from her father if I have to.”

“Good. She needs mates like you. I’ve been keeping an eye on my daughter since I’ve gotten out while I regained my strength.” Dad shifted his gaze to me and smiled. “I made sure you saw me when you were with Simmons in class.”

“So your father’s a habitual stalker too,” Damien muttered under his breath excitedly, and I smiled as I leaned against him for support.

It was like seeing a ghost when looking at my dad. I’d believed he was gone for so long, and while it was so good to see him alive and aged, it was surreal.

“Why don’t you come in?” Blair raised her hand and made a small tear in the wards for them to walk inside and patched it back up as soon as they were in. “We should talk about the war. I have seen no outcome within my visions of betrayal.”

Rowan gave a stiff nod, his gaze shifting to me slightly. “Cooper should talk to his daughter while we meet.”

“Brilliant idea.” Faith squeezed Dad’s hand and smiled at me.

My heart fluttered as Rowan stepped forward and respectively bowed his head to Dad before leading the humans and Blair toward Arcane Hall, leaving Kian and Damien with my dad and me.

“Wren… It is so good to see you,” he murmured, stepping closer.

Overwhelming joy clogged my throat as tears spilled down my cheeks.

Kian snapped his fingers, and Dad was suddenly wearing a regular pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt.

Dad grinned, moving his hands down his shirt as he stared at Kian. “Thank you. It was a little embarrassing to be wearing a blanket while I reunited with my daughter.”

“I can imagine.” He pushed his glasses up his nose, a tell tale sign that he was about to ramble. “Not having clothes really makes you feel exposed, especially when you’re somewhere unfamiliar. I just can’t imagine how awkward it must be. And since you’re my mate’s father, I wanted to make sure you were comfortable. And comfort includes being clothed.”

“Comfort sometimes includes being unclothed,” Damien muttered before Kian shot him with a bolt of purple magic.

“Be respectful.”

Damien blocked it with his shadows as he mocked a wounded gasp. “How dare you insinuate I’m not being respectful.”

“I get it.” Dad chuckled, shaking his head. “I can absolutely see why the Fates paired you with them.”

I moved forward before I even realized, and my dad took me into his arms.

“You look so much like your mother.” He held me close and stroked my hair tenderly.

“I thought you died.” My voice broke as tears started to soak the shirt Kian had given him.

“I thought you died until I was told otherwise.” His magic soothed mine, and I took comfort in it. My parents’ magic had always been so comforting as a child, and I’d only ever found compatible magical energy with my mates since.

“I know. I found a journal of experiments performed on you. I am so sorry… if I had known you were still alive, I would’ve searched for you.”

“Wren, you were just a child. You barely knew how to tie your shoes when this happened. There was nothing you could have done. You did exactly what I told you to do. You ran, and that’s why you’re still alive. Look at you. You have so many mates. Was it seven or eight?”

I barked a laugh through my tears. “Seven, and that’s all of them. Our magic is stable. All of ours.”

“That’s more than I’ve ever seen.” He chuckled before he tensed. “When I told you to run, where did you go? Where have you been before this year? I’ve missed so much.”

“We were the closest to the Arctic Wolf Village, so I went there. I went to Uncle Greg and Alice.”

Dad’s body stiffened like a rod. “Was Greg able to take care of you?”

I shook my head “No, but he wanted to. Alpha Haven killed him because of it. Alice took me in and raised me, though. I helped with the shop and became an herbalist like her, which I really loved. I still do—love it, I mean.”

“So you stayed in that village?”

“Yes… I wasn’t supposed to talk to the pack members, but Alice did her best.”

“Debatable on that front, but my little bird did sneak out to meet a fae in the forest growing up.”

“A Fae.” Dad pulled back to look at my face with a worried expression. “Tell me you didn’t make a contract.”

“Oh, but I did.” I giggled as the wind bristled, and Thorn, Alister, Lachlan, and Rhett materialized. “Thorn’s an ice fae, but he’s my mate.”

“Ah, the fae is him.” Dad’s muscles relaxed slightly, and he kept an arm around me as I held on to him, feeling like a little girl again. “I know the headmaster of this academy is your mate. He’s a firedrake. So these are the rest of your mates, then?”

“Yes.” I grinned.

“Rowan told us your father was here,” Rhett explained. “We all wanted to meet him.”

“I’m Thorn.” Thorn reached out his hand, and Dad just looked at it.

“I’m not making a contract with you.”

“Why would I force a contract on my mate’s father? I would only do that if I could offer you the best.” Thorn smirked.

“I promise he can be trusted,” I told him, holding up my mate mark from Thorn.

Reluctantly, Dad put his hand in Thorn’s and shook it. “Nice to meet you. I hear you kept my daughter safe through the years.”

“Safe only from boredom, I’m afraid.” Thorn shot me a self-loathing look, but I shook my head.

If I had let him take me away, I may not have suffered at the village, but I also may not have met my mates at the academy.

“Alister is my vampire,” I gestured toward him.

He flashed his fangs and shook his hand. “Pleasure to meet the father of my sweet ruby. You are a ruby too. Interesting.”

Before Dad could question him about the ruby spiel, Rhett stepped forward with his hand out.

“I’m Rhett. Incubus, and I’m grateful you found her so easily.”

He smiled and looked down at me. “Me too. Now, you’re Lachlan.”

Lachlan nodded. “I’m honored that you know who I am.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on her. I know who most of you are, just not all of your names. Thank you for keeping her safe and loving her like mates should.”

I tensed, and he gave me a look.

“I saw that you were affected by dark magic. I heard bits and pieces about a rejection. What happened?”

“Well, before I met them, I met my first mate who promptly rejected me.”

“And who was he?” A growl rumbled from his throat.

“Grayson Haven, Haven’s son.”

A louder growl tore from his chest.

Damien chuckled, crossing his arms. “Yeah, that was our reaction too. Don’t worry. Grayson’s dead, but you probably know that already. Simmons explained a lot to Wren about the alpha and luna of that pack.”

“Do they know that you killed their son?”

“Oh, I killed them.” Damien’s smile widened as he ran his hand through his hair. “Their pain was delicious.”

“Good. My mate deserved vengeance.”

“And so did your daughter,” Alister said.

Dad nodded in agreement. “Regardless, I’m thankful to you all for keeping her safe and loved, but I’m most thankful to have my daughter back.”

I teared up again, causing him to do the same, and I hugged him tightly. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“And I’ve missed you. We are staying in the marketplace just outside of town. We met an older woman named Jan who runs a magic shop. She’s been very welcoming.”

My lips curled into a grin. “I know Jan. She’s been a mother figure to me since coming here.”

“She explained that.” Dad squeezed me harder. “She had her suspicions that I was your dad, and I confirmed it for her yesterday. She offered us a place to stay at their shop.”

“I’m sure Rowan would give you a place to stay here,” Rhett said.

“I believe my mate and the rest of the humans would be more comfortable outside of an academy built for war on humans.” He let out a strained laugh.

“I understand.” I hesitated as we pulled away, and my heart swelled. “Faith, your mate… I like her. She seems full of love.”

“You and Faith have made life worth living again after losing your mother.”

“I can imagine.” I glanced over at my mates. They did the same for me.