Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

MAC

S ierra was out cold. She'd been asleep for almost nine hours, and that on top of the already twelve she'd slept had me concerned. Instead of getting sleep myself, I held her and brooded. Mostly because I was afraid to let her out of my sight now that I'd found her.

My mate was perfect and I've never been prouder of myself than when she'd come undone, screaming my name as I swirled my tongue along her folds, sipping her essence. The need to impale myself within her tight sheath had almost been my undoing. Damn duty. Who decided I couldn't take my mate fully before a few words were spoken?

"I agree that condition may have been a bit much."

The voice acted like a bucket of freezing cold water, effectively shutting down my intention to take my mate back in my arms and tease more orgasms from her sensitive flesh. I had never been more convinced that she'd been made for me and I for her than when I'd been between her creamy thighs. I could have almost forgiven the centuries I'd had to endure without her. Almost.

"Tiegh, your timing sucks, as usual." I made sure Sierra was covered, then reached for my pants and secured them before I stood to face my father. He was only a hands-on parent when he wanted something. Hopefully, our mother didn't show up next.

"What happened to addressing me as father? Have all my sons forgotten the many abilities I've gifted each of you? First Quinn, then Keir and Trace. Ungrateful. All of you." Tiegh made himself at home, sitting on the love seat, which he barely fit, stretching out his seven-foot frame and crossing his ankles as if he was settling in for a nice chat.

"Considering you were absent for much of our lives, you're lucky we tolerate you at all. You should be grateful for all we've endured because of you, Father ." If Sierra wasn't so vulnerable, I would do my best to kick his sorry alien ass out of the hotel room.

"Do I detect some resentment, son? I've lived many incarnations in order to advance the human race and keep the underworld where they belong. And now that your turn has come to fulfil the prophecy, you and your brothers act like petulant children once you've found your mates. As if you could start doing things your way when your very existence is to serve mankind." Tiegh's eyes glowed as he spoke.

"And you? Right? Isn't that why you're here? We aren't following your unwritten rules and checking in with you for approval. Well, maybe we would have been more compliant with your game plan if you hadn't stolen your own tablets and hidden them from us."

I've never seen him move so fast. Tiegh jackknifed from his seated position to standing in the doorframe of the bedroom in a blink of an eye. He didn't show off his powers often, but when he did, it would make even the strongest of supernatural beings take a step back.

But I didn't cower. When once I might have out of self-preservation, Sierra's presence in my life has changed everything. Instead, I moved toward the threshold, brushed against him to exit the room and, with all my restraint, quietly closed the door behind me. I continued toward the couch. I kept my back to him so he wouldn't notice how badly my hands shook.

"Son—"

"My name is Mac," I growled.

A long silence followed. So long, I thought, hoped, he'd left.

"What makes you think I'd steal the Emerald Tablets I created, and gifted to the humans? If I wanted, I could have simply destroyed them or never given the tablets to them to begin with?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because it's the only thing that makes sense. You were able to defeat the Olympians, banishing them from the face of the earth, but you couldn't keep the tablets containing the secrets of the universe safe? After I really thought about it, based on centuries of searching without little help from you that's when I'd begun thinking you might have done it. The you showed up at the temple where we finally found the first one, and I finally knew it had to be you." I didn't expect Tiegh to confess. It was simply enough that he was aware I knew the truth.

"And I believe there are at least two more, unless the rumors are true and that's not all of them. So, if you want us to continue assisting you with the Dante problem, it might be helpful if you told us why you did it."

When Tiegh was pissed, you knew. But even I didn't expect him to laugh at my demand. If he wanted me off-balance with his reaction, he'd succeeded.

"Sometimes it's the journey, not the destination, Mac. Congratulations on finding Sierra. Call your brothers."

I spun to face him. No longer shaking, I was determined to figure out the enigma who is our sire, father, and otherworldly chameleon. He reveled in playing instrumental figures in society, from the Egyptians to the Celtics, shaping the outcome of human history. If ever there was a kingmaker, our father was the OG. Yet, we were the only ones who knew it, and perhaps that explained his long absence from our lives. Who had he been recently?

"Since you've been gone, both Keir and Trace have found their mates as well. Roane, then Gavin, will also soon find their brides and then the prophecy will truly begin."

Then Tiegh pulled his signature move and dissipated, but not before he got in the last word. "Don't fuck things up."