“Kaelion,” he growls. “You spent the night with an unapproved adult in the home our daughter will be staying in.”
Solvi looks between the three of us. “...I’m gonna go to my room.”
Shahar leans down to kiss her on the forehead. “Good idea, blossom. You know how Wulfric is.”
Solvi rolls her eyes, looking to me as if I should be the one to reestablish sanity…then she leaves.
And it’s just the three of us—me, Shahar, and Wulfric.
Shahar sighs. “Wulfy,” she says, “you really don’t need to worry about this. Lyn isnotKaelion’s girlfriend.”
“And she won’t be coming back here overnight,” I murmur. “I don’t date, Wulfric.”
Wulfric folds his arms across his chest, the muscles in his jaw twitching. “You do not date,” he repeats, “and yet a human female slept in our daughter’s bed.”
“My daughter,” I correct him.
He narrows his eyes.
“Ourdaughter,” Shahar says, gesturing between me and herself. “Wulfric, really, you need to get a handle on yourself. Solvi was spending her summers with Kaelion long before you and I ever met, and that was when she was even younger. She’ll befine. She loves Mythara.”
“If the female was not yours, then why did she reek of sex?” Wulfric asks.
Shahar looks to me again, surprised now. “She…she did?”
Skoll senses are sharper than ours; I should have known he would recognize it, and of course he’s too nosy not to pry.
“She’s…” I pause, knowing the easiest way through this is merely to be honest. “She’s doing research on a device that can simulate arousal. The incident last night left her in a heightened state, and she was worried there could be permanent neurological effects.”
“Shouldn’t she be in a hospital then?” Shahar asks, immediately concerned.
“She insisted that she was fine, and I feared she would return to the lab and continue testing her tech on herself,” I explain. “So…I forced her to come home with me for her own safety.”
“And she will not be spending the night here again with such experimental technology, correct?” Wulfric says.
Shahar sighs and presses her fingers to her temple.
“Wulfric,” she says, “Kaelion has never—never—put Solvi at risk. You know that. She is his daughter, and he loves her. Now…can we establish that yes, he will tell us if another adult enters the picture?”
“Of course,” I cut in, rolling my eyes just like Solvi did earlier.
Wulfric notices and glares.
“And Wulfy, can we establish that we know you adore our daughter, but that this is truly not your call?”
He lets out this pained, raspy sound of disagreement…but he folds.
Because no matter how I feel about Wulfric, I know that at least he truly loves Shahar and Solvi.
“I understand,” Wulfric says.
“Now,” Shahar breathes. “Are we ready for breakfast? I’m starving.”
I sigh in relief. “Yes—let me just go and get Solvi.”
Shahar reaches out to squeeze my shoulder. “Sorry for the confusion, Kae.”
I give her a hapless smile. “That’s alright.”
