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Keir opened his front door and received the shock of his life.
“Son. Heard you we’re back. You going to invite me in, or do I have to show off for your mate and flash inside?”
Tiegh could pass for twenty-five, but Keir and his brothers had never been able to get him to say exactly how old he was. They’d been born almost a millennium ago during a time when mankind still worshipped gods, goddesses and the like. However, their father was one of a kind and had taken many names and appearance during his time on Earth. Today he looked like a mountain man, complete with a plaid lumberman’s jacket.
Keir was not ready to introduce his mate to his other-world sire. She still wasn’t on board with all aspects of the prophecy and discovering her soon-to-be father-in-law was an alien stranded in the deserts of Egypt before the first Pharoah reigned, well he was pretty sure she’d make a run for the closest exit.
“Keir? Are you going to leave that man out in the blizzard or is he coming in?” Rhia had followed him. There was no way she hadn’t caught a glimpse of Tiegh.
Before he stepped aside to allow his father entry, he leaned in and lowered his voice. “She has no idea who you are, what you are. My plan was to tell her tomorrow after she’s had a chance to rest. It’s been a hell of a day.”
Tiegh acted as if he hadn’t heard Keir’s plea and pushed his seven-foot frame past him. Keir shut the door harder than needed, then turned to make introductions. “Rhia, this is my father, Tiegh. He can only stay for a few minutes, right, Dad?”
The last time he saw his father was when all the brothers, minus Trace, had been in South America tracking down one of the Emerald Tablets Britt had helped them discover. The tablets, containing reported answers to the universe’s greatest mysteries, had brought with him from his home planet. Something Dante had been searching centuries for, along with their mates. What could Tiegh possibly want in Alaska?
His father held out his hand to Rhia. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Keir’s father.”
She took Tiegh’s hand, a skeptical smile on her lips. At least she wasn’t freaking out. “Hello.”
Kier noticed she didn’t return his father’s greeting. And that his father hadn’t let go of her hand. Her gaze flashed to his, a question in her expressive eyes.
“Tiegh, could you give Rhia her hand back?”
His father waited a few beats, then released her, sighing heavily. “Keir, she’s not with child.” Tiegh walked around the room, totally unaware of the trouble he’d just cost his second son. Or maybe he did.
A strangled gasp came from Rhia and her expression would have been funny had the situation been any different. But when one’s parents were powerful beings who wanted the prophecy completed, tact went the way of the dodo bird. It seemed Athena wasn’t the only willing to anger The Fates.
“If that’s the only reason you’re here, you can leave now. I only found Rhia this morning. We’re still getting to know one another.” Keir moved closer to his mate and shook his head when it appeared she was going to argue.
For once, she seemed to be content with him to handle the situation. She crossed her arms and glared at him while his father silently judged him. Great.
“Tiegh, I think it would be best if you?—”
“Get on with it, boy. The second tablet is out there, and we could use another win. Get her to Scotland and have Gavin conduct the ceremony. Mac is on the trail of his mate and now that you have yours, I have faith the remaining three will soon be found. I can feel it. It may be the only thing your mother and I can agree on.” Tiegh looked between him and Rhia with an expectant look on his face.
“Who are you to order us to…to?—”
“Rhia.” Keir warned. He didn’t want to see what his father would do to his mate if she challenged him.
She threw up her hands and marched into the kitchen. “I need a drink. Don’t worry about me. I’ll find it myself.” Before she made her escape, his father’s words made her pause.
“Rhia, please forgive my impatience. Once you are with child and mated to Keir, we’ll need your expertise. We have waited centuries for you and the others to arrive. If you’re worried about being nothing more than a broodmare, please know you are more than that. You are an important asset to our cause.”
Tiegh turned back to Keir. “How was that? Better?”
Rhia let out an exasperated sigh before continuing into the kitchen, loudly muttering unintelligible words. His father just made his job of not only convincing his mate of the prophecy but seducing her into bed at the soonest opportunity ten times harder.
Keir had had enough. “Tiegh, I have things under control here. Maybe you could help us with the demon problem? Two of Dante’s flunkies were after Rhia when I found her. I’m confident they haven’t followed us, but I want to wait a bit before we head off to Denali and the portal. Maybe you could do some backtracking between here and Vegas. Because thanks to you, reassuring Rhia she has some level of choice may now be near impossible.”
Tiegh grinned then right before he flashed out, said, “You’re forgetting that you’re my son and coupled with the mating bond, the connection is already working its way through both of you.”
Shit. There was no arguing with a being from a world he and his brothers still didn’t fully understand. But one thing the brethren had learned, and what his father’s militaristic DNA would never get is that humans worshiped free will above all else.
“You can show yourself out. I need to go undo all the damage you managed to create in less than five minutes. Congratulations, I believe that’s a new record for you.”
Keir knew it was chancy, but he turned his back and headed to the kitchen. This time, his father didn’t use the front door. The cabin shook, and a white flash of lightning filled the room.
He was such a showoff.
