Deep in thought, I ate more nuts. I stared off into nothing as I thought about that night, replaying it in my mind. I thought about the people in power directly underneath my father. The people who knew about the passageways. I blinked as if I were waking up.
“It’s Brandon.” I jerked my excited regard to humored golden eyes. “My father said he arrived early. He saw you and me leave together after we were in the bar with your entourage of guards. All the soldiers know the layout of the base, and the higher-up officials are briefed with exit strategies in case of an attack. He would have known about the hidden passageways.”
“Keep going…” Godric rested his hip against the counter, a proud glimmer in his eyes. “You’ve almost got this.”
I shook my head in amusement. “He was getting intel on you. It’s wasn’t me. But he figured out who I was soon enough when we met. The girl with the great Mr. King was his own fiancée.”
Godric rolled his finger. Waited.
“News has spread that I left my father to join the Corporate Army. The timing that my father received the image means that Brandon was keeping track to see if I was accepted or not. And he knows if we’d married, it would have sealed his future as the next general. But I was accepted into the CA, so no marriage for him.” My brows bounced with the giddiness of being correct. “His future as a general was in jeopardy, so he took matters into his own hands. He wants my father dead so that he can secure his place again.”
Godric slowly clapped. One. Two. Three.
Then he dipped and pressed his lips to mine.
His kiss was indulgent.
I grinned against his mouth. “So, big man, how did a man sneak into the bedroom with a shifter who has a great sense of smell?”
Godric nipped my bottom lip. “You tell me.”
“The shifter was finally getting some after one hundred years of no pussy. He was a little preoccupied.”
He chuckled, tilted his head to lick along my bottom lip. “You would be correct, pet.”
A masculine throat cleared behind me.
I didn’t want to move, so I didn’t. I placed my forehead against Godric’s chest and inhaled his unique scent while he straightened to deal with whoever had interrupted us. Wild spice and cherries surrounded me, calming my shattered nerves.
Godric’s arms embraced my frame, his hands rubbing on my back in comfort. He stated gently, “Poppy?”
“I’m smelling you. Hold on.”
He chuckled, his chest vibrating against my head.
I sighed. “You’re ruining it.”
“I’d like you to meet someone.”
“Okay.” I tipped my head back to stare into his eyes.
“It’s my father.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Inside Godric’s warm embrace, I pivoted and placed my back against his chest, a warm smile on my face to greet his father.
The view had me stopping short in confusion.
And a little fear.
I sucked in a lungful of oxygen. “I don’t understand.”
A honey-haired man wearing a pair of orange swim trunks and a gray t-shirt stood before me. His muscles bulged under his beachwear attire, and black flip-flops graced his feet. His age was indistinguishable—maybe twenty, maybe thirty—but his penetrating dark eyes were still scary as hell.
“Poppy, this is my father, Theron King,” Godric explained, a careful hum in his tone. The golden lion was being gentle with me. “Father, this is Poppy Carvene. She’s my mate.”
Immortal. They’re all immortal.
I shivered again at the remembrance.
Theron’s gaze honed on me with his son’s words, his eyes narrowing. “Your mate?”
Scary, scary man.
“Yes, my mate. We figured it out today.”
He strolled forward with strong legs.
I stiffened and pressed harder against Godric.
Theron’s gaze never left mine. He dipped and leaned in toward me. His nostrils flared as he smelled my hair, my shoulders, and even ducked against my neck to sniff at my throat.
Weirdest parent meet-and-greet ever.
“Godric?” I asked, my voice shaking.
Theron was trailing his nose up my neck, smelling my skin the whole way. He huffed against my neck. Then his nose pressed harder, his chest expanding as he inhaled again.
Godric hugged me tighter. “It’s okay, pet.”
Theron pulled back and straightened.
His eyes were wide in surprise. “There’s no darkness.”
“I know,” Godric said, his tone gentle.
Then I remembered Godric’s mom.
One of the six matings that were magically wrong.
Theron blinked. “The curse is gone.”
“It is.” Godric laughed. “Now say hi to my mate.”
Theron’s gaze snapped down to me, and he smiled so wide I could see all of his teeth. And he was glorious, a beauty to behold. He lifted my right hand and bent to kiss the top of it gently before straightening again. “It is my truest pleasure to welcome you to the family, Poppy.”
I yelped as he yanked me out of Godric’s embrace and crushed me into a hug. My hands hung down by my sides, and the left side of my face crushed against his hard chest. I peeked out of the corner of my eye back to Godric.
He was grinning, his golden eyes full of joy. But his gaze was all for his father. He was elated with his father’s sudden happiness, his shoulders relaxing.
I closed my eyes in resignation and lifted my hands. I hugged his father back, holding him around his lean waist. “I have to admit, Theron. You may frighten me, but you give a great hug.”
*
Godric’s mansion was impressive.
The three of us walked down many different hallways on our way to where ‘everyone’ was meeting. They had decided on the living room. We had yet to get there, after walking for three minutes.
Godric typed on his bracelet, his gaze intent on it.
“What are you doing?” I leaned to peek.
“I’m informing your father about our theory.”
My lips tilted up in a smile. “Thank you.”
Theron walked behind us. “Poppy, your last name is Carvene. As in, General Carvene?”
Godric answered for me, sounding irritated. “Yes, her father is the man who attempts to thwart any new law I put into place.”