Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 165(@200wpm)___ 132(@250wpm)___ 110(@300wpm)
A meeting with Etienne Hirsche had Gaël visiting the billionaire's headquarters in downtown Miami, and Gaël couldn't help but notice how security protocols seemed to have further tightened since his last visit.
Etienne's human wife and their one-year-old son were also in the billionaire's top-secret underground laboratory when Gaël was finally cleared for entry, and Spencer greeted him with a cheerful smile.
"Say hi to Uncle Gaël," Spencer urged her little boy, and Henri, who was the mirror image of his father, smiled at his mother before looking at Gaël.
"Say hi to Uncle Gaël," the boy said dutifully, and the two of them were still laughing when Etienne came out from one of the testing rooms.
Etienne dropped a kiss on his wife's lips, and seeing Spencer blush reminded Gaël of his ward. He was starting to think of her all the time, and that was not good.
Spencer listened quietly as the two Caros discussed the latest threats that had Hirsche Medical Center taking additional security measures in the past twenty-four hours. The original breed of vampires used to be mindless with bloodlust, but with the increasing infusion of vidange blood in their systems, they had since evolved in terrifying speed.
"Vampires can now become obsessed?" Gaël could barely fathom how much vampires had changed in such a short span of time. Old bloods like him and Etienne used to know everything about vampires. Unfortunately, what they had learned a decade ago was no longer applicable. Even worse, the vampires that had launched the first large-scale attack against humans three years ago barely had anything in common left with the creatures that were now hiding and scheming from every dark corner.
"I have a feeling it's something they've been capable of for some time now," Etienne said grimly. "We just didn't know about it then."
"Does this new ability of theirs make them more dangerous?" Spencer questioned.
"Unfortunately, yes," her husband answered, "since it makes them more unpredictable. But again, this is only a theory for now—-"
"All of your theories have become true," Gaël pointed out, "so I'll take your word for it and let Jean Luc know so we can improve security at House Bellecourt. Have you told the Brethren? Or L'Alliance?"
"They have been informed, and while we have nothing to worry about as long as Riyu is head of the Brethren..." Etienne's lip curled. "You know how L'Alliance is when it comes to theories."
Gaël's smile was humorless. "Indeed." L'Alliance was the preters' version of the United Nations, and it was unfortunately as bureaucratic as most human-led governments were. L'Alliance didn't like taking risks for mere theories, never mind if the cost of waiting for further proof meant the loss of innocent lives.
It was almost noon by the time their meeting ended, and Gaël had to decline the couple's offer to join them for lunch. "I need to be at UdLA for Juliette."
"How is she, by the way?" Spencer asked. "It's been a while since we last saw her."
"I'll take her with me on my next visit," Gaël promised.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?"
Etienne couldn't help smirking at the way his friend stiffened. "Take care with your words, wife," he drawled. "You speak as if Juliette were Gaël's daughter."
Spencer blinked. "I thought that was what a ward basically meant. Isn't it the same?"
"It's not."
Although Gaël's tone was courteous, Spencer couldn't help looking at Etienne worriedly as soon as their guest left. "Did I say something wrong?"
"On the contrary, my love...you said exactly what that man needed to hear."
Don't say daddy.
Gaël's teeth gnashed as his mind kept returning to Spencer's words en route to Juliette's university. Since he was thirty-four to his ward's eighteen, he was admittedly old enough to have sired her...but not fucking once had he thought of her as his daughter. A child yes, but his fucking daughter?
And now, a daughter whose pussy he had already tasted and blood he had already drank?
FUCK!
Gaël tightened his grip around his steering wheel in an effort to contain his fury. He knew he was being unreasonable, and that there was no one to blame for the age gap between them. It was simply a fact of life, but...
What about Juliette? Did she also see him as a father figure? Had she ever seen him as her daddy? And what about her peers? If they saw him as her father, would that bother her? Maybe even make him less attractive in his ward's eyes?
There was only one way to find out, and a few minutes later, Gaël's text message had Juliette hurriedly excusing herself from the other wards. Although this was not Gaël's first time to attend a PTA as her guardian, he usually did so in a low-key manner. He had never sought her presence even when he was in her school, and she would only learn about what her teachers had told Gaël upon meeting him at home.