“He will no’ get our baby sister,” Lennox said again and started pacing.
“I donna see why we canna go out there and kick his ass,” Tavish snapped.
“Use yer head, boy,” our father said from the stairs as he ascended and stopped at the landing. We all snapped our heads in his direction.
Our father was massive, well over six-foot-seven, with wide shoulders and a chest packed with muscle. And the triplets were just like him. All alphas, the lot of them.
And for such a large, intimidating male, our father was stealthy as hell. We hadn’t even heard him until he was already feet from us.
“That Lycan has been partially shifted for gods know how long,” Da said, addressing my brothers. “He’s stronger than us. Feral.” My father looked at me then. “In the state he’s in… he’ll tear up a centuries-old Lycan male.” He shook his head and glanced back at the triplets. “He’d eat you three babes alive without a thought.”
The triplets started growling, each one barking out they weren’t babes, that they were grown males, were strong enough to protect their own.
My father ignored them and snapped toward the stairs. “Your Mam has cooked a feast, desserts—plural—included. Go and eat. Make her happy.” When the triplets just stood there, still seething, my father snapped out, “Boys, donna make me tan your hides for makin’ her wait. Go. now.”
They grumbled but obeyed, and then it was my father and me on the second-floor landing, the silence heavy and thick. I knew what he did, he did it for a reason. I knew he was overbearing to protect me, because he thought Luca was too dangerous. And I couldn't deny my hesitation with that truth too.
I’d seen him, the wild look in his eyes, the fact that he wasn’t wholly in his human form. He’d been more animalistic, but he’d gazed at me with so much longing… so much pain, that I knew he wasn’t lost. No matter what anyone else said.
“Darlin’, how are ye?”
I smoothed my hands down my jeans and nodded. “Fine, Da.” It was a lie. I wasn’t fine. And with each passing day I was away from Luca, I felt more off-kilter. And that scared the hell out of me. “Going to bed early, I think.” I heard Luca roar again, watched my father’s jaw clench, his animal flickering across his visage.
“Ye know we do this tae protect ye?”
I nodded. “I know… but…” I looked at the window. “Would it be so bad to let me talk to him?”
My father let out a gruff sound, and I looked back at him.
“Aye, lass. That one…” He tipped his chin toward the window. “He’s too far gone. It’s rare, but it happens.”
“What?” I whispered, although I knew what he was going to say.
“The ones who doona find their mates for a long time slowly lose their minds, their inner animals too untamed, too powerful to be kept back. And ye being close tae that beast....” He slowly shook his head. “Nay, darlin’, I canna risk it, even if he is yer mate. I canna risk you put in harm’s way because he’s too feral that he canna control himself and may end up hurting ye inadvertently.”
I wanted to tell my father that it hurt, that I could hear Luca’s pain and it cut me deep. His pain felt like mine, and as fearful as I was of being harmed—even if not purposely—everything in me yearned to go to him, to help ease him. Because I knew I could. I knew I was the only person on the planet who could reach him.
I didn’t tell my father any of that, because it wouldn’t have mattered. He was too alpha, too set in his ways. His entire life was about protecting and providing for his family. No matter what, he’d never put any of us in harm's way. It didn’t matter if I told him I knew in my heart Luca wouldn't hurt me. It didn’t matter if I was Luca’s Fated Mate, that we had the Linked Connection. None of that mattered, because his inner animal would never allow me to be put in harm's way, even if that was going against a Lycan’s most revered aspect of existence—finding your mate.
But do I know that? How can I be sure? I’ve never come across a Lycan who’d lost touch with reality, whose animal has taken control.
“Darlin’, why don’ you come back downstairs and eat with us? Yer mam made enough tae feed an army.”
I gave him a smile I hoped reached my eyes.
“Thanks, Da, but really, I am exhausted. I’m going to call it an early night.” There won’t be any sleeping for me though. I can’t think, let alone close my eyes to rest, without seeing Luca's face.
He gave me a soft look, one he reserved only for me, his “wee darlin’ daughter.” “Okay. I’ll have one of the boys bring ye up something to eat though, okay?”