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“Will you come with me?” I asked Blake as I stood to follow Dalton.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be alone?” I loved how Blake always gave me a choice.
“No, I think I need you there. Please?”
“Of course.”
He took my hand and waved Dalton off with his thanks, showing me around the bottom floor as we walked to the conservatory.
“Breathe, Kade. It’s fine. It’s only your papa.” Blake soothed. He wrapped an arm around me and I melted into his side.
“Okay.”
I saw him as soon as we entered the conservatory. The light hit his bright red hair, making him look like he had a fiery aura. Physically, he was exactly the same. Hair cut in the same style. Face still looking like a twenty something and not a forty-seven-year-old man. No facial hair, no scars, the same features we shared.
The years showed in his posture, though. He seemed to hold the weight of the world on his shoulders. There was tension there that I hadn’t seen before. It might have always been there, but we were both older and wiser now.
When his eyes landed on mine, it felt like a punch in the gut seeing all the sadness in those amber depths. Papa quickly shut down whatever he’d been thinking and a smile lit his face. “Ryder!”
“Kade,” I corrected automatically.
“Yes, of course, Kade. I knew that.” He shook his head and beckoned me closer. “Let me look at you. I’ve missed you!”
Blake followed me closely. Offering his silent support.
Once near enough, Papa rested his hand on my face. I was taller than him, taking most of my height from my dad. Everything else seemed to be from papa.
“We don’t quite look the same anymore. I can see you in there. They saved your nose, but your cheekbones are higher, eyes seem wider. You’re so handsome, baby!”
I blushed. “Thanks, Papa. I’d like you to meet my mate. This is Blake Sweetwater. He’s the alpha of the Sweetwater pack.” Blake stepped forward as if to shake Papa’s hand.
“Nice to meet you, Alpha Blake.” His words were polite, but I saw him shove up those walls. My papa was usually friendlier than this. “Come, Kade, and see your sister. She’s been looking forward to meeting you.” He turned, effectively putting Blake at his back. A slight if Blake was that kind of alpha.
Blake and I exchanged looks before following Papa further into the room. A beautiful little girl with the same bright flame red hair as Papa looked up, stealing my breath. She looked just like I had at her age. Our eyes were the same shade.
Seeing us behind Papa, Angelica became wary and moved to hide behind him, peering at me behind his leg. “Hello,” she said quietly, “are you my brother?”
I squatted down, so we were eye to eye. “Yes, I am. Wow, I’ve not seen you in such a long time! You were a baby the last time I saw you.”
“I’m six!” Angelica announced.
“I’m twenty-six. Did you know we share the same birthday?”
“We do?”
“Yeah. I asked Papa if you were my present. I’d always wanted a sister.”
I looked up at Papa, but he was glaring at Blake, who was watching me with my sister and smiling softly. We had hope now that one day we might be blessed with young of our own.
“Angelica, would you go play please so I can speak to your brother?” Papa asked in a firm voice. He seemed harder than he used to be. Almost like the last few years had squeezed all his soft edges into sharp ones.
“Are you the alpha?” Angelica asked Blake, becoming bolder.
“I am. Do you want to show me the toys they have here? I’ve not spent much time in this room. I’m always in my boring office.” He said it playfully, and Angelica rewarded him with a giggle. She took his hand and pulled him towards a bin of toys she seemed familiar with in the short time that they had been here.
“Kade.” Papa’s tone held a warning.
“Yes, Papa?”
