Page 66 of The Mating Need
Silence descended on the grove. Caderyn stepped closer, his mouth flattened. “Firstwhat?”
Jenny blinked. “Firstlover.”
Aiden face palmed, and Tristangroaned.
“Did you have to tell yourdadthat?” Tristanasked.
The Shadow Wizard ignored them all and focused on Troy, his hands glowing with power. “You took my daughter’s virginity. She wasinnocent.”
Troy did not retreat. “Consent was freely given. She’s an adult, so lay off,wizard.”
Proud as she was of Troy for standing up to her birth father, Jenny worried Caderyn might overreact. Especially now, his big hands sparking like a Fourth of Julyfirecracker.
A firecracker intent on turning Troy into Lupine dust. Jenny stepped in front of herlover.
“Whoa Caderyn, easy on the power. You’re not the electric company. And I love Troy. I wanted him as much as he wanted me.” Jenny scowled. “Besides, where were you all these years when I thought I was an orphan? You aren’t exactly a poster child for Father of theYear.”
But the wizard ignored her, sidestepping Jenny to reach out for Troy, who refused to cower.Fine.
Jenny called on her own powers, and funneled them into her right fist. She punched Caderyn in the face, a magick punch that sent him reelingbackwards.
The big wizard blinked, as if no one had ever stopped him before. Maybe not. Hiding a wince, she flexed her fingers. Punching Caderyn felt like hitting granite. She’d be sore later, but it was worth it to see astonishment on hisface.
Tristan’s jaw dropped. “Did you seethat?”
“I saw that, but can’t believe that,” Xaviersaid.
“Did we truly see that?” Gideonmarveled.
“I saw that,” Drustadded.
Caderyn rubbed his jaw. “I feltthat.”
Having all five wizards stare at her as if she’d turned into a goat or a dancing ogre felt mighty uncomfortable. Troy slid his arm around her, anchoring her to his side, a reminder she did not standalone.
“Listen up, all of you. What’s between Jenny and me is our personal business. She’s had more than enough shocks for the day, so lay off. I may not have her magick or yours, but I’ll do everything in my means to keep you from hurting her or breaking us up. Gotit?”
Caderyn blinked. Jenny held her breath. “One question,” he said slowly. “Do you love her, love her enough to take her as yourmate?”
Tenderness filled Troy’s gaze as he looked down into her face. “More than my own sorry life. More than anything in this world. I would have claimed her as my mate long ago, but I wasn’t about to force Jenny. She had to make up her own mind. Have you, sweetheart? Will you be my mate forlife?”
Her mind spun in a whirlwind. How could she say no, when Troy was her world, her rock? “Yes,” she cried out, flinging her arms around him. “A thousand timesyes.”
His mouth on hers felt like heaven. Not caring who watched, or what her father thought, she kept kissing him until Aiden cleared his throat. “You two can pick that up later. We still have business todiscuss.”
Troy framed her face with his hands and dropped one last kiss on her mouth. “We do. What they’ve told me is mighty serious. You need toknow.”
They walked toward the makeshift altar. All traces of Perry’s acolytes weregone.
“What happened to his cult?” Jennyasked.
Tristan’s expression turned grim. “They were all Skins turned to darkness. I eliminated their bodies. Their deaths will be accounted for in a vehicle accident. We have seen toit.”
Jenny had a bad feeling about this. “Humans embracing evil isn’t new. We don’t get involved withthem.”
“But humans worshipping the Dark Lord and turning their souls over to him means we must get involved,” Troy told her. “The wizards told me this isn’t the first case of humans turning to dark magick from ourworld.”
The Silver Wizard nodded. “Perry was able to access your land, Aiden, because you already have one follower of the Dark Lord in your pack. You, Darius and Dale warded the land from the inside, strong enough to keep evil from infiltrating from the outside. But this treacherous Lupine in your pack used dark magick to disable all the warding from theinsideof your territory. Then he personally invited Perry and the others into your territory. This Lupine also placed the crystal in the tree outside Darius and Samantha’shome.”
