Chapter 428

Thoth was silent for a minute, then he groaned. “Fuck.”

My dad’s eyes tightened. “Was the one you have following Verity someone close?”

Thoth snorted. “I thought so.” He scoffed. “But I guess I was fucking wrong.”

My dad leaned on his desk, closer to the screen. “Did you give her the necklace?” He tried to sound aloof, but I could tell he was concerned by the way his forehead crinkled.

“No.” Thoth sighed. “I don’t trust anyone enough to give them the necklace.” I heard him crack his knuckles. I could almost picture him, but his face eluded me.

My dad raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

Thoth chuckled. “Sadly, Gav, I only have you and Amy.” He sighed. “That’s a little sad, isn’t it?”

My dad smiled. “You have more than us. You just aren’t sure who is on your side.”

“That’s the fucking point, Gav.” There was another smashing sound from his side. “How are we supposed to be sure when we have people we are supposed to trust turning on us?”

I watched the two carry on and felt like I was missing something. “Why do I feel like I am out of the loop?” I looked between the screens. “Obviously, I know I am, but something is going on between you two.”

My dad scratched the back of his head and chuckled. “Old friend’s baby. That’s all. Anyway, get back to your story. What the hell happened to you? And how the hell did you end up in a cell?”

I groaned in frustration. “Let me just tell the whole thing.”

“Okay.” My dad waved his hands at me. “I promise not to interrupt.”

Thoth sighed. “I’ll stay silent.”

“Okay, so the day that Mom got her divorce…”

“DIVORCE!” My dad yelled.

I leveled him with a look, and he raised his hands. “Sorry.” But I could tell he was ecstatic about the information.

“Yes, Mom got a divorce.” I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, and he winced and then nodded. “As I double-checked with Rick before the divorce, he told me to go for a run. Really emphasized taking the time to connect with the trees.”

“He needed you in the woods,” Thoth cut in, but I just nodded.

“I made a deal of driving my mom to the airport.”

My dad furrowed his brows. “You said she went to the cabin.” I just turned to glare at him. “Sorry.”

I laughed. “I created a connection from the cabin to my closet here.”

“What?” Both men asked this time.

I sighed and just dropped my head into my hands. “I swear I will answer any questions you might have, but I’ll never get through this if you both keep interrupting me.”

My dad sighed. “Give me a second, then.”

“What? Why?” My dad started opening drawers, and then I heard Thoth do the same. “What are you doing?”

“Getting a fucking paper and pen, 'cause I know I’m going to have a ton of questions.” My dad slapped a notepad on the desk and clicked a pen. “Okay, go.”

“Okay.” I sighed. “I sent Mom through my connection in my closet. But I used my magic to make a copy, and I drove her through the pack to the airport. I sent the jet on a trip to the other coast, so it looked like she was going to Toya’s old pack. Then I shifted and ran back home.”

“I…” I snapped my eyes to Thoth, and I heard a whispered, “Sorry,” and some scribbling.

“I just hit the edge of the pack lands when I felt something shift. Something felt off, and we ran towards it.” I could feel their eyes on me, like an almost physical feeling, but I closed my eyes to remember. “I crouched down and slipped through a bush, and I saw them: Vince, Morgan, Brandon, Rick, and Verity. They had a little body, and they were trying to drain him, but I had gone to his house the Friday before and gave him enough strength to last another week.”

“What the fuck?” Thoth whispered, but I ignored him.

“Vince was pissed because Verity had said the kids were ready to harvest, but they weren’t. Not anymore. Rick was prancing around, flirting with her, talking about how he was ready for this to be over.”

“What to be over?” My dad couldn’t help it, and I just smiled.

“Vince told them that if you drain your own child, it will not only give the man the power from his child but also the mother. It’s why Morgan wanted Mom to have his pup, and why I can only assume Brandon was so pissed in my last life when he thought the pup wasn’t his.” I opened my eyes. “They are harvesting powerful females for more power. They said they needed it so that when they killed the king, they had enough power to become the next one.”