King Hall (Forever Evermore, #1)(11)

I blinked, knowing full well that I had started trembling as comprehension dawned.

Oh. My. God!

No one in our tiny group moved or said a word, or even breathed, for a long moment.

Eventually, controlling the possibly explosive situation, I cleared my throat and handled it like a trooper, stating as honestly as I could, “I didn’t know my biological dad. He was out of my life before I was born.” That, and bam, he was now standing right in front of me. Dominic wasn’t an idiot, either. He was rigid against me, staring at King Venclaire much like I probably was. A little shocked, a lot awed, I really took in his features.

I had his blue eyes, really their shape, too, since mine were wide and slightly slanted like his. He had more red streaks in his hair than black. That was where I had inherited it, perhaps minus the black because of my nature. Although, he was tall, as my mom had been, so I was guessing the hybrid part made me smaller, the two combined sets of genes whacked.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” King Venclaire murmured, his head cocking as he glanced with a scowl at the closed door, but I could tell his words were heartfelt, even if he did appear distracted. The four of us shuffled to the side when King Fergus and Jack exited the building. We watched them begin to cross the lawn but, before the door swung shut, King Nelson called loudly and irritably for King Venclaire from deep inside the building. King Venclaire grabbed the door, holding it open. Glancing inside, he replied loudly, “I’m sure Ezra meant no offense, King Nelson. Just give me a moment and I’ll be back there.”

I memorized everything about my biological dad. His profile, his straight hair, the way he held himself with such dignity. No wonder Mom had gone after him. He would have been — hell, he still was — a prime catch. He peered back toward me and touched my forehead with a single finger.

Suddenly, I felt less scared. Less depressed. Joy and happiness filled me in small sips until I was no longer shaking and I was left feeling relaxed and content.

King Venclaire lowered his hand, stating quietly, “It really is a pleasure to have met you, Lily.” He stepped inside the building, the door shutting behind him. He was gone from view. Only his earth-shattering news remained, a whisper inside my soul.





Chapter Three


Dominic rolled over, wrapping his arms around me. “What time is it?”

I squinted at the red numbers on our clock. “Seven o’clock.” I yawned, stretching against him. “Nap time’s over.” We were meeting Elly and his friends at Hell’s Gate for dancing tonight.

He groaned, nuzzling against my neck. “I don’t want to get out of bed.”

I didn’t want to, either. It was a rare occasion since school had started two months ago that we had time to merely lounge. We were always busy with classes, studying, or political crap. It was Saturday and we had spent our free day being bums and couch potatoes. It had been wonderful. And now we had to get up, since we had promised our friends dancing and our presence.

I swatted his drifting hand, using my tiny bit of Vampire speed to roll out of bed before he tried pulling me back.

“Not fair,” he grumbled, burrowing his dark head against his pillow. He opened one eye. Glared. “Let’s skip tonight.”

I laughed outright. The last time we had done that, we’d had at least eight angry Shifters pounding on our locked bedroom door in the middle of the night. His friends tended to get a bit testy if he didn’t follow through on what he said. “Not happening. Get up!” I yanked the covers off him and then squealed when he lunged at me. I twisted, diving into the bathroom, rolling and jumping to my feet. I had become more adept at not getting pummeled in the last two months, learning evasive moves to keep from completely dying on the mat every weekday.

I heard a wolf’s growl, and I growled right back.

He was still growling when we left for Hell’s Gate.


Once we arrived at the club we were both fine with being there, especially when we hit the dance floor. We hadn’t been there since the first night we officially met, and we hadn’t danced since, so both of us sober and dancing together was a new experience. A delectable one to be certain.

I stared into his eyes, the blue lights swirling above our heads, and I warmed inside as he pulled me closer. An excited shiver trickled outward from my spine as he ran his hands down my sides to my hips, where he gripped me firmly and trapped me against him. His eyes were slightly glowing and his breath was sweet on my lips as he bent toward me, nipping my lower lip, tugging.

Kissing him, I lost myself in the caress. He was mine. My mate. All M-I-N-E.

His mouth curved against my lips and I realized that some of those thoughts had slipped through as he whispered, “And you’re mine.”

I grinned right along with him and we really started dancing.


Drinking from a bottle of water, I tried to cool down from our (at least) hour-long groove session. Dominic was still out there, dancing with the Shifters, but I needed a break. They tended to close in all at once; for the last half-hour I had been slammed between Dominic and a variety of Shifters, all of us uncannily moving as one unit. The closeness didn’t bother me, but being able to take a decent breath was essential, so here I was, taking a break.

Rolling my shoulders, I saw Pearl and Gideon dancing not too far away. I smiled to myself, seeing them gazing deep into each other’s eyes. They really were an adorable couple. To top it off, Pearl was a pretty cool woman to hang with. She may appear the perfect, golden doll, but every so often I thought I glimpsed her playful side. That was still to be determined.