Page 45 of Claimed By Prince Daddy

Pushing off the wall, I answered the door. A fleet of officers poured inside. They gathered photos and evidence, one officer staying by my side to question me. I told him where my last whereabouts were, and he made a call to the publishing house.

“Your alibi checks out,” Officer Tanner said, ending the call on his smartphone. He turned to me. “Your coworkers, Samantha and Peter, told me you were there at the time the murder took place.” Pity flashed across his face as I stared back at him, my body feeling as if it had aged fifty years in the span of five hours.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. “We will do our best to find your daughter. We have cops all along the city combing the area and have put out an amber alert. If anyone has any information or tips about your daughter, we’ll have them soon.”

I nodded numbly. Then stepped out of the condo. There would be no tips, no news coming into the station. I was on my own in this. I shook my head. No, I needed Drake’s help.

Pulling out my car keys, I slipped into the car and pushed the ignition button. I drove out of the subdivision heading for the outskirts of town. Ahead of me stretched a large expanse of woods, their shadows slinking over nearby buildings under the moon's pale light.

My inner wolf whimpered, pacing about my mind.

We’ll find her.I told my inner wolf.I promise.

Parking along the curb, I stepped out of the vehicle and entered the woods. The sounds of crickets filled the dense forest, leaves ruffling as deer and other animals scurried over the underbrush. All slinking away from the predator in human form, slipping around the trees. My eyes glowed amber as I headed for the center of the forest, a quiet rage seething and percolating in my gut.

My claws sliced out, my fingers flexing. My gums ached with the need to rip out the throat of whoever was responsible for taking my daughter. Then I felt it. Up ahead, the air shifted. Magic called to me, like a siren’s song, guiding me straight toward the portal. I stopped and lifted my hand, waving it through the air. The air rippled like a stone cast upon the waters of a lake. Then the space illuminated with a pale pinkish light in the shape of a large oval about my height.

The portal.

It only opened to Lanair, those who sought to travel between realms. The portal only responded to the blood of Lanair. I gazed at the rippling gelatin-like substance of the portal. I never wished to return to the otherworldly realm and would have been content in life never to look upon the werewolf or fae. But I couldn’t live life without my daughter. And if my daughter needed Drake’s help to find her, she would get it.

Whatever the hell I had to do, I would see this through. My brow hardened with grim determination. With that, I slipped into the portal.

CHAPTER TEN: REUNION

DRAKE

Istepped out of the meeting room, my back straight and head lifted proudly. As soon as the guards closed the doors behind me, I allowed my muscles to unfurl, my shoulders slumping.

“Stars damn, those pompous pricks are a pain in my ass,” I growled, rubbing at the bridge of my nose.

Bristell, my advisor, chuckled beside me. “Yes, Your Majesty.” He said, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Those royals are…um…sometimes a hard pill to swallow.”

I growled and swept away from the room and the raucous sounds of arguing beyond the doors. The twelve royals I called to the meeting today to discuss the territory borders between the dukes couldn’t agree on where to split the new property line so that it would be more fair for the royals as a whole. Each bastard wanted the lion’s share and wasn’t willing to yield. I would’ve liked to cave all their skulls in, but Bristell had advised against that.

Being the king of the shadow fae, came with perks,s but I soon learned there were checks and balanced. I had beencrowned four years ago after my father had decided to retire and step aside to allow for my reign. He’d felt I was ready.

Four years ago, I felt as if my world had fallen apart.

The corners of my lips pinched when I thought of the one female in my life who had managed to steal my heart, who still held a piece of it. Ember Vaughan. Both my kingdom and the werewolf kingdom had never found her. Rumors had quickly spread that she was dead, but I vehemently denied such rumors.

I’d know if she were dead. The bond that rested within my core would’ve snapped. Yet it burned brilliantly within my mind’s eye, though still incomplete. Not a full circle because we had not consummated our mating with willing hearts. I had never taken a wife or lain with another woman since meeting Ember. As long as I felt the bond was alive and vibrant, I would remain alone. I couldn’t give my heart to another—it wasn’t even possible when Ember held it so completely—the one time I had lain with Ember had been under the spell of a forbidden aphrodisiac that was given to me by Rosalana.

My upper lip trembled in the beginning of a snarl as I thought back to my former friend and the one I’d promised to marry. She had been banished to the human realm. I hoped she’d rot there.

Just upheld, two guards had rounded the corner, approaching. I paused, my advisor drawing up beside me.

“What is it?” I asked my tone hard. I had enough shit to deal with today, and by the wary looks in their eyes, I wouldn’t like whatever they were about to say.

“Uh,” one of the guards said. He rubbed at the nape of his neck. “There is someone here who wishes to have an audience with you.”

I waved him off. “Send them away.” I moved to walk past them when I caught the stark expressions on their face. I narrowed an eye.

The second guard spoke up. “You’ll...want to see this person, Your Majesty.”

I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. “This person is that important.”

Both guards nodded with vigor.

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