Wild and Free (The Three #3)(58)

“They’re good,” Abel spat.

“They are,” Jian-Li confirmed.

“And you know this,”—he threw out a long arm—“how? That they didn’t kill you but obviously talked you into gettin’ me to have a sit down with them. Is that how?” Abel asked.

“They wish to speak to both you and Delilah,” Jian-Li told him.

“I bet they do. Two birds, one stone, and you deliverin’ us up for that shit,” Abel snarled.

Jian-Li’s head moved like she’d been slapped.

I cut my eyes to my man. “Abel, calm down,” I hissed through my teeth.

Abel again ignored me. “You are my daughter, my sister, my mother, and you put yourself out there for possible slaughter, then sat down with them and let them feed you bullshit.”

“How do you know it’s bullshit, Abel?” I asked, and he turned his angry eyes to me.

“Because I smelled them. Three vampires, one werewolf, all threats. I know. They smelled like me, but they also smelled like danger. The bad kind. The kind that’ll get your head ripped off,” he stated. “You do not mess with these guys. You do not look funny at these guys. Two of the scents nearly had me turnin’ to wolf without control. I managed to fight that back, but my fangs came out and I didn’t manage to fight that. That’s how big of a threat they are.”

Oh man. I didn’t know much about his abilities or his control over them, but I got for certain none of that was good.

Dad moved from Jian-Li’s other side to stand partially in front of her.

“You gotta be pissed, son, be pissed at me,” he said. “I reckon Jian-Li did this because I told her that you and Lilah were thinkin’ of takin’ off.”

“Then you’re lucky you’re Delilah’s father or I’d rip your f*ckin’ throat out,” Abel growled.

“Abel!” I yelled.

“Deserved that, Lilah. Keep cool,” Dad muttered to me, his eyes on my man. Then he addressed Abel. “I hesitate to do this, considerin’ your mood, but gotta point out, heard word you were gone. That means you’re pissed at Jian-Li for doin’ exactly what you did just this morning.”

“I wanted to rip your throat out, Hook,” Abel began, “I could. Before you could take a breath. Jian-Li cannot do that shit.”

“My point still holds,” Dad said quietly. “Now, we got a situation here where we got a lot of unknowns out there, but what we know is, some of ’em are not good. But we’re f*ckin’ this shit up worse our own damned selves because we’re reacting when we should be planning.”

I so loved my dad, and in that instance, I did because he was so smart and he was so right.

I looked to Abel. “Please listen, baby.”

Abel said nothing, didn’t even look at me. His eyes were locked on Dad and a muscle was jumping in his cheek.

“You guys still thinking of takin’ off?” Dad asked.

“We decided against that,” Abel answered. I felt relief sweep the room, but his gaze moved to Jian-Li and he obliterated that relief. “Until I learned folks are doin’ stupid shit that puts them in more danger than we already are, so now I’m considering it again.”

“I hope, the man I need you to be to give a life of love and peace to my daughter, that you’ll be the kind of man who reconsiders statements like that when you calm down,” Dad replied.

“I wish to say something,” Jian-Li cut in.

I kinda wished she wouldn’t say anything. Dad was doing a good job and I sensed Abel pulling his shit together. We didn’t need Jian-Li setting him off again.

“Your place, your son, your voice,” Dad murmured, stepping back to her side.

Fabulous.

Jian-Li looked to Abel. “You know I’m no fool.”

“Sweetheart—” Abel started.

“Those I spoke with yesterday shared openly that one of the vampires was the mightiest of their kind, and one of the wolves the same,” she said. “Think for one moment, Abel, that the threat you sensed was just a threat, not to you, but instead it could be the threat at your side fighting your enemies.”

“And what else did they tell you?” Abel asked. “Did they share what the f*ck is going on?”

“No, they said they could only tell you and Delilah that,” Jian-Li replied, and I looked to Dad but my eyes went quickly to Abel at hearing his nonverbal snarl.

Jian-Li kept speaking.

“They also shared with me precisely why you’re behaving the way you’re behaving right now. That you are wolf and the wolf is about his pack. A werewolf exists to protect his mate, his family. It was impressed upon me that he doesn’t do this simply as instinct. It’s his reason for existence.”

My eyes got big at this total awesomeness. I looked to Abel to see him staring at Jian-Li with a weird look on his face that made my heart clutch at the same time I wanted to jump with glee.

“If we can perhaps arrange a meeting that you would be comfortable with, one of theirs alone but all of yours with you. Or perhaps one of their females—” Jian-Li started to suggest.

But I interrupted her. “Females?”

“One human who is bride to a vampire. One female werewolf who is queen to the werewolf king,” Jian-Li explained.