“What happened? Did you empty the entire pot of glitter on your face or some shit?” I asked, looking at her bronzed face. She rolled her eyes.
“Oh, Uncle, are you jealous that I look so fine?” She asked. Clearly, she was not bothered about what I had just said.
“Well, I’m afraid if I kiss you, I’m going to have that crap all over me,” I mocked, placing a kiss on top of her black locks.
“You always do look more than fine, Princess,” her mate, Chris, remarked upon entering the room. Those two were fucking made for each other. If their pup was half as fucking conceited as them, then I felt fucking sorryfor his mate…
Well, the moment they began sucking and eating each other’s faces off, I walked over to Delsanra. Her eyes were open, but she looked exhausted.
“Hey, King Burrito,” she whispered.
“Hey, Spitfire.” I crouched down by the sofa, placing a hand around the back of her head before I kissed her forehead. Her pale eyes met mine, and I silently promised that she was going to be fucking okay… “Where’s pretty boy?”
“Rayhan? Dante wanted to talk to him.” She sounded amused, and I frowned slightly, nodding.
“Guess the cousins are fucking bonding.”
She gave a weak nod, and I stood up, going over to Maria, who stood up. She looked a bit better than she did on the video call. I didn’t say anything, hugging her tightly. Every time I saw her, I remembered Raf. No matter how much time fucking went by, I couldn’t forget him or get over his loss. I had lost many in life, and I just dealt with that shit… but Raf… there was something entirely different about losing him. You didn’t get over it, you just learned to deal with it. I let go of her, and she smiled slightly.
“It’s good to have you here,” I said before turning to the girls. “Nice hair.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Kataleya replied. Her eyes bore into mine. I knew she wanted to ask me if I had done anything about finding the pup. Even if I brought him here, I did not plan on allowing her to meet him…
I glanced at Raihana. That was a spell we were going to do later, one I knew Kiara was not going to fucking approve of.
“I’m going to go change,” I informed Kiara, leaving the room.
“Don’t take long, dinner will be ready soon,” she replied as I gave her a quick kiss and a nod.
I had smoked countless fucking cigarettes and needed a fucking shower. I headed upstairs, taking two at a time, and slowed down when I heard the sound of Rayhan and Dante talking…
Rayhan
We had gottenthere a short while ago, and I had gone up to check on Dante. It was weird not seeing him downstairs, annoying the hell out of me as he talked to Delsanra and complimented her on how she looked. I would tolerate all of that happily if they could just both be okay again.
I reached his bedroom and knocked lightly on the open door. One of Uncle’s most trusted guards was sitting on the sofa in his room. He stood up and lowered his head to me before he left the room, leaving us alone.
“Ray…” Dante said, frowning slightly as he sat up. His aura filled the room, and I knew that when he did shift, he was going to be truly strong.
“Hey, kiddo,” I replied, walking over and ruffling his hair. He raised an eyebrow, pushing my hand away weakly.
“Don’t touch the hair,” he warned, trying his best to sound like his usual self. He looked like hell, but itwas clear he was coping better than Delsanra was.
“Mind if I sit?” I asked, motioning to the edge of the bed.
He shook his head, and I sat down, looking at him. He had some music playing in the background, but it was faint. Apart from that, there didn’t seem to be anything that he had to keep himself occupied.
“How’s Delsanra?” He asked with a small pout on his lips. I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m surprised you weren’t downstairs to greet her, considering you are usually always the first at the door.” I smiled slightly. “What’s wrong? Not up to it or just don’t want to see her anymore?” I asked lightly. He frowned, his eyes flashing with irritation.
“Don’t say I don’t want to see her, I do… I just…” He glared at me, crossing his arms as he sat up straighter. He stared down at the striped bedding, and I could sense his uncertainty.
“What’s up?” I asked, leaning forward and running my fingers through my long hair.
“Do you hate me?” He murmured hesitantly, shocking me as he looked up at me with those ruby-red eyes of his.
“Why would I hate you?” I questioned, confused. I heard Uncle silently come up the stairs, but I knew Dante hadn’t sensed his father yet.
