Chapter 102

Selene

The morning after a very eye-opening night with Alpha Nathan, there's a hard knock on our bedroom door, pulling me from my sleep. I groan, throwing a blanket over Phoenix's naked ass. Finally, I managed to get him to sleep last night after making him orgasm twice.

Gotta take the small victories when I can.

"Come in," I mind-link Makayla, since I can smell her scent wafting beneath the door.

She peeks her head in, her eyes darting between me and Phoenix's sleeping form. "Hey, sorry to barge in like this, but it's nearly noon and the two of you are still in bed."

I stretch lazily. "I've been wanting to get up, but I figured if I got out of the bed, so would he, and he needs all the rest he can get."

She snorts. "Yeah, he definitely needed it. He's been looking like a walking zombie."

I glance back at Phoenix, his expression looking relaxed for once.

Thank Goddess for that.

"He has," I agree. "That's exactly why he won't be getting up until I say so."

Makayla smiles, her eyes suddenly glimmering with emotion. "You seem eager to tell me something. I'll meet you downstairs in a minute," I tell her, not wanting to disturb Phoenix's sleep any further.

"Okay," she chirps and quietly closes the door.

After carefully slipping out of the bed, I throw on a shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. After a quick check to make sure he's still sound asleep, I sneak out of the room.

I find Makayla downstairs eating a banana as she sits on the kitchen counter.

"Practicing for later?" I tease, grinning at her.

She blushes. "Thanks for that, by the way. That hand and mouth combo you showed me was like magic. I made him come in like two minutes flat."

I burst out laughing "You're very welcome. It's an underappreciated skill."

Definitely not by Phoenix, though. He appreciates it very, very much.

Makayla smirks, but her expression quickly turns serious. "Oh yeah, so back to what I wanted to tell you." She pauses, finishing her banana. "The results came in this morning...Luke is my biological father."

My eyes widen. "Oh my goddess. Does he know?"

She nods. "Yeah, he called me earlier. He seems happy about it, but I kinda already figured he would be. He wants to meet for lunch in a little while. Should already be heading this way."

I smile softly, walking over to embrace her. "That's good, right?"

"Yep, ready for some father-daughter time, I guess," she says with a nervous laugh. "Of course, Loki is going to be watching us, but he won't like actually be in the restaurant with us."

Of course. That's what happens when you have an overprotective mate. I should know.

"Hey, I'll be there with you in spirit. I'm also having dinner with my parents tonight."

A dinner I am absolutely not looking forward to. It's going to be awkward and tense as hell, but we need answers after last night. Answers that we need to hear directly from him.

"Are you still gonna call Phoenix 'brother' at the dinner table?" she teases.

I pretend to gag, giving her a playful scowl. "I'm going to need you and Sam to stop joking about that."

She laughs, the sound light and teasing. "I'm actually surprised your mom didn't make a big deal out of it. I thought with them being royalty, they would've been pissed. But I guess no one really cares because Philip didn't even mention it at the ceremony. That's really badass of them."

I'm sure the Council didn't really trip about it, considering they're blackmailing Philip anyway. They're out for blood and he's their prey. What's one more broken rule to take him down for in the end?

Phoenix suddenly barrels down the stairs, panic etched across his face, until his gaze lands on me.

"Can you not give me a fucking heart attack, little wolf?" His voice is gravelly, filled with exhaustion. "At least, you could've woken me up if you were going to leave the room."

"Ooh, he sounds grumpy," Makayla murmurs to me.

I cross my arms and give my mate a pointed look. "No. You needed to sleep, and you would've felt if something had happened through the bond. Now, take your ass back upstairs and go back to bed. You need more rest."

For a moment, he just stares at me, his blue eyes darkening. His nostrils flare as he exhales, but then he does the unexpected. Without another word, he turns around and goes back upstairs.

Makayla raises a brow, biting back a laugh. "Damn, Luna Selene has put on the big pants in the relationship, huh? You've managed to tame a badboy. Maybe I need some pointers."

I snort. Like she needs to tame Loki. She already has him wrapped around her pinky finger.

"I realize that if I don't say anything, he'll run himself into the ground." I also want to tell her about what happened last night, but what we know could put her in danger. And I would never forgive myself if something happened to her because of me.

Before I can say anything else, the door opens, and Luke steps into the house. The second he sees Makayla, he crosses the space in an instant, pulling her into a tight embrace. My heart swells at the sight. It's not everyday you see Luke so openly vulnerable. I wonder if he was this exact same way with Phoenix.

When he pulls away, his eyes are misty. "I can't believe you're my daughter," he says softly, almost in awe.

Makayla looks just as emotional. "And you're my dad."

Luke clears his throat, trying to hold back his emotion. "So, um, do you still want to go out for lunch? I mean...you don't have to if you don't want to...but I do want to get to know you. Try to make up for so much lost time."

He sounds so nervous, although he's been in her life for a while now. Maybe he forgot that.

Makayla smiles, her hand resting gently on her father's shoulder. "I'd love to."

As they head out the door, I say, "Have fun. I have a cranky Alpha to deal with."

I head back upstairs to find Phoenix back in bed, knocked out as he should be. I crawl back under the covers with him, wrapping myself around him as the big spoon. If he were awake, he'd hate it, but he isn't so I think I'll take advantage of that while I can.

Tonight's going to be rough, but for now, I'm going to enjoy the peace.