Page 94 of Simon

“Have fun, Lucy. Let the bond take over!” James said as the Wood parted for us.

Lucy huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. “This is the most embarrassing thing I have ever been through!” she shouted.

The wolves snickered behind us, and I jogged faster away from the group.

Chapter Thirty-One

Lucy

Afewmomentsearlier…

My father squeezed both my hands in his. We were sitting on the soft bedding. That I now realized that he and his mate had most likely tossed around on.

I held back the bile in my throat.

“Will you ever forgive me?” My father pleaded. He looked up at me with those sparkling eyes. How could I ever say no to him? The man who rescued me from the foster care system. Saved mefrom growing up alone and, instead, opened my eyes to worlds of adventure and a hunger for learning.

“Father, of course.” I wrapped my arms around him, and he squeezed me tight. “I just can’t believe you fell for someone so quickly, but I’m so happy for you—so happy.”

He chuckled and released me. “Like I said, when you know, you know. I guess I’ve been searching in the wrong places all my life. I never ventured into the opposite sex. Because that was frowned upon during my upbringing, I never explored it. Once Rune spotted me and revealed himself, my body and my heart hadn’t felt that alive—well, ever.”

I held back the grimace about his body coming alive, but his heart? It was sweet, to say the least. “I can’t wait to meet him. Does he only meet you at night?”

Rune should overcome his shyness and fear now that they’ve mated. The shifters shouldn’t hold hostility against the warlocks, anyway.

As if he read my mind, a voice spoke in the corner. “No longer,” a velvety, quiet voice said. A man emerged from the darker corner of the tent, and his green shoulder-length hair swayed with each step. As he drew nearer, his darker skin complexion shimmered under the candlelight, adding depth to his presence.

The tanned robes he wore were adorned with intricate, dark-colored runes that danced along the edges as they moved closer. He smelled of mint and a spark of ozone, like lightning ready to strike. With a gentle sway, the robes gracefully followed his every movement. Finally, he reached us, his warm smile casting a comforting glow that embraced us in its radiance.

Father stood up and, like an excited teenager, jumped in his arms and wrapped his arms and legs around the tall warlock.

I covered my mouth to hold in the laugh, but Rune’s smile spread further, and he cupped the back of my father’s head. “I’vemissed you, James. I’m sorry I was away. I was here every night while you slept.”

My father nuzzled into his neck, mumbling comforting words I couldn’t hear, while I sat awkwardly waiting. But I could see they were sharing a moment, a bond that Simon and I shared.

Rune put my father down and cleared his throat. “Proper introductions should be in order,” my father said. Rune straightened his back and rolled his shoulders. He appeared more proper now, so I stood and held out my hand to shake, but he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

“Thank you for filling James' life with joy, Lucy. I hope you can accept me into your family as well now.”

Well, just make my heart melt like chocolate.

I sniffled and nodded with no words able to leave my mouth. I patted his back awkwardly and pulled away. “I’m glad to see my father happy. I’m happy when he is. I hope we can spend more time together, but I’m sure, as with most bonded couples I have seen, you’ll like to have time together in the early days.”

“Yes, most bonded couples usually disappear for the first couple of years,” Rune said and grabbed my father’s hand. My eyes widened, but I knew this to be true. Years are just specks of time to the Bergarians.

“I see your mate has not yet marked you.” Rune nodded to my body, nowhere in particular.

I cleared my throat. “Well, once I accepted that this magic was real, that a bond was real for me—” my voice trailed off. “We needed a witch, the one they called Starla. She has helped the orcs deal with their bonding, and I had hoped she could help Simon and I.”

Rune tapped his thumb on his thigh in thought. “With your and your father’s intelligence, I’m sure you could figure that out on your own.”

I scoffed. “Simon said he would just keep biting me until he figured it out.”

Rune and Father made a face.

“I guess if you are into that sort of thing,” Rune said, waving his hand dismissively.

“I’m not sure if she is. I kept her away from boys most of her life; my fault again, but I didn’t find anyone worthy of her. I was overprotective.”

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