Chapter 429

I opened my eyes to see my dad scribbling more notes, but his face was pale. He looked up and saw me watching. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “I’m sure.” I leaned forward. “Verity and Rick kissed, and then she took off. The guys were talking, and I stood. I figured I had the upper hand, and I had seen everything I needed to see. But somehow, even with Nix, Megan, and my magic, Rick caught me.”

“How?” Thoth jumped in, and this time I threw my head back and laughed.

“You two can’t stay quiet, can you?” I wiped my eye from laughing so hard. “It’s comical.”

My dad blushed. “I want to defend myself, but I can’t say anything.”

Thoth sighed. “It’s the first time I have gotten to speak with you. I’m a little…excited.” He snorted as my dad glared at the other side of the screen. I could hear the smile when Thoth spoke next. “She’s a beautiful woman, Gav. Any man will be lucky to call her a mate, goddess given or chosen.”

Even I could hear the interest in his voice, and I blushed, but my father just growled. “You keep your paws to yourself.”

“Anyway,” I cut in. “Vince and the rest caught up, and he called Verity to knock me out. He wanted her to force me to shift so he could…” I just looked down at my hands.

“Please tell me he didn’t,” Thoth’s voice dropped to a deadly threat. Even with the voice warping, I could hear it.

“Baby,” my father was calm, but I could see the twitch in his eye. “Did he?”

I shook my head. “I stayed shifted. Verity told him she could only put me into a light sleep from where she was. Apparently, she had already made it to the car with the ‘brotherhood,’ so she knocked me out. I woke up on the way to the jail, but I pretended to stay asleep because I needed to figure out if Rick really was with them. I had told him my secret. I had already taken his mate, pup, and him to the cabin and I showed them Carly.”

“The shaman?” My dad asked. “How is she holding up? I heard Carl was dead?”

I just nodded. “She is doing okay. I let Carl see her every so often.”

“Wait, you just said he was dead,” Thoth sounded a little breathless. “How are you letting a dead man see his kid?”

I just looked at his screen and pretended it was his face. “Magic.”

My dad snorted. “A new power, because it wasn’t a thing for me. It started with my grandmother, and now it apparently extends to Carl.”

I winked at him. “The goddess has given me a bit of leeway.” I waved my hand again. “Anyway, back to Rick. He has a corrupted rune burned into his neck.” I yawned, the day catching up to me. “I was confused about it until I realized Verity, or her sisters, laid draining traps all over Vince’s woods. Anyone that runs in there will lose their strength. It pulled my power in, too, and funneled it all into Rick, making him faster and stronger until the power transfer was completed.”

My dad furrowed his brow. “Why would Vince give it all to Rick?”

“Because it’s killing him,” my answer was soft. “He can’t control the transfer, and when he’s done using the power, the extra is purged from his system, so he can’t use it against Vince.”

“I thought you said they were working together?” A sound from Thoth’s side had us all silenced. Then there was movement before he dropped out of the call.

I looked at my dad, and he held up a finger. “Give him a minute. He is in a room that I charmed. If anyone tries to get in, it lights up. He dropped the call to make sure no one would hear or see us.”

I nodded. “Who is he?”

My dad smiled. “That’s not mine to say. Why do you want to know?”

I looked away. “I-”

My dad’s eyes narrowed at me. “You like him, don’t you?”

I snapped my eyes to his. “I…” I groaned. “It’s stupid.”

My dad smiled. “What is, pumpkin?” He was goading me. I groaned, and I covered my face with my hands.

I shook my head. “Okay, listen,” I yelled and then hit my head against the wall. “After everything I went through with Brandon, finding a man I liked was the last thing on my mind. But then I met Rowan, and I thought…” I looked off to the side. “I thought maybe, you know. Even when I knew it was impossible—he’s the king, for goddess’ sake—but I felt it in here.” I hit my chest, and I watched my dad’s eye turn sad.

“You really liked him?” His question caught me off guard.