Chapter 52

Lukas
“I want to see my daughters, son.”
He glared at his father over the top of the files Aiden had given him to review at his request.
“Dad, when they are ready, they will come to you. If we pressure them too much, we could both lose them.”
His father coughed and blood came out. His father held up his hand, showing him the droplets, as if he hadn’t already smelled it.
“Lukas, I am dying. I will not last much longer. My dying wish is to see you three together again. Please, talk to them.”
Lukas sighed. “Alright, Dad. I will speak to them when I see them next.”
A sharp knock on the door made him stand up to answer it. He pulled it open and smiled at Gregory. The new beta grinned.
“Hey, Lukas. Is your father hungry? Sasha has made sure the food is clean.”
He stepped back to let the servants bring in the platters they were holding. Gregory cleared his throat.
“Lukas, your sisters would like to know if you would like to join them for breakfast this morning in the dining hall?”
‘Say yes,’ Gideon whispered in Lukas’s head.
Lukas rolled his eyes, annoyed that he would think he would say anything else, but yes and gave Gregory a short nod.
“I will be there. Let me get our father set up with a plate.”
“I will wait. They asked me to make sure you got there with no issues,” Gregory said.
“I wanted to talk to Aiden about something, anyways. Will you, please, let him know that I would appreciate an hour of his time at some point today?”
“I will do that now, Your Highness.”
Gregory stepped back. Lukas eyed him in amusement.
“Eventually, this is going to have to stop,” he told the beta, before shutting the door in his face to tend to his father.
He scooped eggs, bacon, sausage and biscuits onto a plate. He set it in front of his father, who grabbed his wrist.
“Son, please, ask them. There is so much that you three need to know and only I can tell you. Nobody else knows, because there hasn’t been a trio in centuries.”
“What do you mean a trio?”
He patted Lukas’s cheek. “Get me a meeting with your sisters and I will tell all of you at the same time. Time is running out, so please, hurry,” he begged.
“Dad-”
“Go, Lukas. Leave an old man to enjoy one of the last meals he will ever have.”
“Dad-”
“Lukas, enough. Your sisters are waiting.”
He stomped to the door like an angry toddler being told he couldn’t eat ice cream for dinner, before turning back to watch his father, eating alone, for a minute. He hesitated and Gideon pushed him to leave. Gregory eyed him.
“Are you okay, Sire?”
Lukas rolled his eyes and glided past him, following his nose to the dining hall. Gregory rushed to enter before him.
“Presenting His Royal Highness-”
Again, Lukas walked past him, ignoring his attempt to be official. Gregory cursed under his breath. Lukas grinned when he saw Kalani sitting at the head table talking animatedly to Sasha. He moved quickly towards them, passing a few dozen people sitting at other tables. He knelt in front of them.
“Your Royal Highnesses, good morning.”
His formal addressing of the two women sitting at the table made the whispers start, which was his intention. Kalani stood up, giggling.
“Oh, this is nice! I could totally get used to being called your highness. It’s about time someone other than my mate worshiped my badassness,” she joked. She reached across the table to take his hands, shooting Gregory a disapproving look when he growled. “Come, brother.” She turned to smile at Sasha. “Brother. I never thought I’d have anybody else, but you.”
Sasha winked at her. “Don’t be so quick to replace me.”
“Never,” Kalani cried teasingly, feigning hurt.
The three of them laughed. To everyone observing, they looked like they had never been apart. Sasha hugged him. “Come, brother. We have much to talk about. We-”
The doors burst open.
“Get out!”
The aura that came out of the elderly man was undeniable. Everyone except for Ana, the siblings and their mates, rushed from the room. The man slowly approached the head table. Kalani glanced between the man and her two siblings, one of which was seething. Lukas stepped in front of the girls, blocking them from view.
“I told you I would talk to them,” Lukas reprimanded his father.
“There is no time. I have held on for as long as I could. I am ready,” he responded.
Sasha touched his shoulder and Lukas moved out of the way. Aiden helped Sasha step up onto the table and she landed lightly on the other side. She shyly stood in front of him.
“Dad?”
He opened his arms. “Sasha. Goddess, I have missed you.” He looked over her shoulder at Kalani. “Both of you.”
Kalani flew around the table and threw herself into his arms. “Daddy!”
Sasha hugged him with her. Kalani backed away from him, eyeing him. She had a far away look in her eyes.
“Do you want to die, Daddy?,” she asked suddenly.
“No. I want time with my children. All of you.”
She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to her face. Sasha put her hand on Kalani’s shoulder. The overwhelming need to push his power through them had Lukas stepping up to also put his hand on her shoulder, weaving his fingers through Sasha’s. They all leaned forward towards their father. Kalani’s mouth hovered over his and she drew a breath in. Their father closed his eyes and memories started flashing before Lukas’s eyes. The excitement of hearing Aiden speaking about Sasha and Kalani, the millions of times he stood just outside of the borders watching them hunting and cooking, the various meetings he had with Anastasia, begging her to come back and to bring their daughters.
Memories of watching them all take their first steps, memories of the first time he saw their mother, the instant love he had felt for her, the pain of her turning her back on their father almost brought Lukas to his knees. The vision changed to a conversation with the woman that had neglected him his whole life and now he fully understood why. The look on her face when his father had told her he had found his true mate was pure rage. She had threatened to kill Anastasia if his father left her. The memory changed again to his father dealing with his people and overseeing trials, sentences and the carrying out of consequences. He had never realized how hard his father had worked to be a fair leader. His vision cleared enough to let him see Kalani releasing their fathers essence back into him.
“I have deemed you worthy of life. Do you accept my gift of life?,” Galina asked, from Kalani’s lips.
Their father nodded. “I accept your gift and I will not abuse it.”
Kalani let her head drop back and her energy changed. She grew stronger, more sure of herself. Her aura oozed out. Opposite of the deadly aura he exuded, hers was soothing and felt like a mother’s hug. He felt her pull on his power and he opened it up, gently pushing it towards her. She put her hand on their father’s chest and power surged around her. Sasha tensed to his right, gearing up for something. She was watching Kalani’s face and he turned his attention to it, too. She was growing paler by the second and when she started trembling, Gideon urged him to move closer to her.
Her head snapped up and she yanked their father towards her again. Her mouth went back to hovering over his and she breathed a blue fire into his body. Sasha cursed and caught Kalani when she collapsed, while Lukas caught their father. Gregory sprinted to their side and took his mate from her sister. Sasha stumbled back against the table. A worried Aiden lifted her and pulled her back across the table to sit on his lap. His father touched his cheek.
“They are not used to the amount of power they just used. We will all need to sleep for a few hours. Then we will explain everything,” Magdon, his father’s dragon, said.
Lukas stared down at him. “Magdon? You died. How are you alive?”
He chuckled. “Let my human rest for a few hours and our daughters. Then we will speak.”
Lukas glanced at a concerned Aiden and Gregory. “You heard him. Take the girls to bed. Please, let your servants know that we will be having a private dinner tonight in a location of your choice.” He started carrying his dad out, before he paused to turn around. “I don’t want you guys calling me sire, Your highness or your majesty anymore. I have a feeling whatever my father has to tell us is going to change how we look at everything.”
“Meaning what?,” Gregory asked.
“Meaning, brother….,” Lukas grunted with the heaviness of his father in his arms, “welcome to being a royal.”