Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
“What would my job here be?” I asked.
Nyfain glanced at Finley.
“We don’t know yet,” she said. “Obviously, we really hope you can work alongside Weston as a true mate pair. In a perfect world, you’d co-lead the pack with him. We’d like to train you for combat because of your fairy magic—”
“I don’t know how to use it. Calia mentioned that I’d get training for it after accepting her offer.”
Nyfain’s lips tightened as he cut a piece of chicken. “We’ll need to sort something out. The fairy king always has a price.”
“What about making my products?”
Finley answered, “That would be one of your duties. Vemar mentioned that the sleep aid was great. I’ll try it—”
Nyfain cut her off. “No you will not.”
She gave him an annoyed look before turning back to me. “We’ll go slow rolling them out, and some will be available only through our medics just to make sure nothing is being abused, but it seems there is a need for them. I’d like to fulfill that need. Here, and elsewhere.”
“Listen, Aurelia, we know Calia’s offer is incredibly attractive,” Nyfain said. “It is a lot of gold. What her kingdom doesn’t have, and what she comes here for, is our unity. Our pack is kingdom-wide. We’ve had a lot of hardship in this kingdom, and it has brought us together, strengthened by my mate and yours. We collectively understand what it is like being suppressed. Many of us understand the pain and degradation of being trapped and beaten. You wouldn’t be an outcast with us—you’d be part of the family. My daughter loves you. My people respond to you. My beta has found his heart within you. I ask that you give us a chance to help you make this kingdom your home.”
Hell. That was a good speech.
Finley pointed at her plate with her fork. “One of her duties needs to be teaching the chef how to cook.”
“Agreed,” Nyfain murmured around a mouthful of chicken.
“Now for the third option.” Finley dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. “Your biological father. We have a pretty good idea of who it is. He holds a high status, and you are his blood relation. Despite not being one hundred percent wolf, they’d respect your lineage and your level of power. I’m sure they would welcome you into their court, though I have no idea if that would come with a job or annual gold. I will mention that your biological father has a mate and two kids. One of those kids is older than you. One is younger. You can do the math.”
The reality of what it meant sank in.
“Fucking hell,” I said, pushing my half-eaten plate of food away. “Did any of my family keep it in their pants? I’ve got fairy blood from a random addition to my family tree, and now it turns out my mom was a mistress?” I wiped my mouth and leaned back. “Clearly, that is why she was sent away. How the hell did she not know?”
“Trust me, I get where you’re coming from,” Nyfain grumbled, which made me incredibly inquisitive. “Just asking, how much would I mess up my chances of enticing you to stay in my kingdom if I ate the other half of your chicken? Would that be a serious faux pas?”
“Yes,” Finley told him. “Eating off an almost-stranger’s plate in a professional meeting is a faux pas. Your mother would freak out.”
“Not if she tasted this chicken.” He lifted his eyebrows at me.
I laughed and pushed the plate a little more. “Knock yourself out.”
“There, see?” He half stood and speared the chicken with his fork. “Everything is fine.”
“She probably thinks less of you now,” Finley told him. “Hell, I think less of you, and I’m your mate. You take the food from her room and then off her plate? Disgraceful.”
“I didn’t take it from her room, I just let it be served.” He sighed happily as he chewed and swallowed another bite. “No regrets.”
“Disgraceful,” she said again, her eyes sparkling. She turned her focus back to me, and my heart melted with the residual love I saw warming her eyes. “I’m telling you about your father merely to be open about the situation. I don’t recommend trying to make that connection.”
“I had no intention, even when I just thought he’d sent us away. Now I definitely don’t want that connection.”
“I don’t blame you.” Finley leaned back so her plate could be cleared. “You need to think about this, I assume.”
“Yes,” I said.
“You need to talk it over with Weston, as well. He knows about both offers. We wanted to be the ones to speak with you directly, though, so we told him to keep it to himself. I’m sure that couldn’t have been easy for him.”
I inhaled sharply. I’d had no clue he was keeping something else from me. But I realized I was glad he had. I was glad they’d told him to. I wouldn’t have believed him or taken it seriously if he’d tried to relay all of this. I still didn’t fully believe it, and I’d heard it from everyone’s mouths. I was just having a hard time accepting it.