Chapter 70 MISSIVE FROM THE ALPHA KING (2)
GALLAHAN'S POV
I mulled over her words for a moment before finally deigning to read the letter in my other hand, just so I could glean what the hell she was so concerned about.
It read:
Son, I implore you to come home this instant. Come home to Moonshire, and we shall have a serious talk about the things I have heard from Zuleika and Maliya.
They might be inclined to believe you and indulge you and your madness, but I do not. I have been far too lenient on you, but this? I cannot tolerate it. Everything you have done up to this point, I had turned a blind eye. But enough is enough, son. Cease this nonsense and return to Moonshire.
I expect to see you no later than tonight. If I do not see a shadow of you, I shall come and fetch you in Wolverham myself.
Do not test me, Gallahan.
“Rubbish,” I said as I crumpled the letter and threw it on the floor. Huffing, I placed my free hand on Calisto’s small back, a surge of protectiveness for my family filing me to the brim.“Do not pay it any mind, Willa.”
But my words didn’t quite reach her.
“Maybe you should go back to Moonshire,” she suggested with caution in her tone, as if she was navigating a territory filled with numerous hidden traps. “Whatever it is your father wants to talk to you about, it could be really important.”
“It’s not,” I assured her.
But Willa had her rebuttal ready on her tongue. “Then why didn’t he just… I don’t know, talk to you through your mind link? Why send a missive all sealed with his crest as the Alpha King?”
“Because I am not…” I hesitated, trying to find the right word to describe my condition. Ultimately, I ended up choosing a term that simply glossed over the matter. “...adept at navigating the entire process of communicating through a mind link.”
“Wait, really? You can’t even get messages from others?” Willa exclaimed, sounding genuinely confused and surprised.
“Nope,” I replied, childishly popping the ‘p’ quite loudly.
Her lips formed a little pout as she quietly mulled over the matter. Then she said after a few seconds, “How odd… Isn’t it supposed to come naturally to us, though?”
“Maliya, my witch friend who has taken a special interest in theoretically studying mind magic… She believes it’s because I have all these mind barriers.”
An adorable thoughtful look settled on her face, and her eyes shone beautifully with wonder. “I’m not familiar with mind magic, Han. Please expound on that.”
“Well,” I said slowly, my mind still trying to find a concise way to explain Maliya’s theory. “She thinks it’s because I don’t trust anyone enough to allow them to have even the slightest connection to my mind. Not even for the sake of communication. So I unconsciously keep my mind fully protected with all these mental barriers.”
A hint of a frown pulled at the ends of Willa’s lips. “So you’ve made your mind inaccessible? Even with your Dad? Surely you trust him to a good degree.”
“I do trust the man, Willa. A lot. But the ability just seemed to have been lost to me completely.”
Willa didn’t proffer any reply, seemingly getting lost in her thoughts, and I simply let her be as I quietly and quite childishly relished in the fact that I was currently the subject of her attention and thoughts.
The silence was comforting, not something I ever expected to have with Willa after all the anger, spite, and bitterness.
Suddenly, Willa squeezed my hand and said, “Want to practice with me? Maybe us being fated mates could help you better in getting the hang of communicating through mind links.”
The suggestion pulled a grin on my face. “Why not? It’s not like there is much we can do while we nest here with our pups. Although, I would appreciate it if you could tell me more about the twins. I would like to hear stories about them from you.”
A look of guilt glimmered in Willa’s eyes, and for a moment she looked sad. “Of course.”
It wasn’t a look I loved on her. Not at all.
So it nearly took all of my self-restraint not to kiss her senseless just so I could erase her guilt and regret.
But I wasn’t there yet, and I would just be ruining the fragile peace if I stepped a toe out of line.
It was clear as any day that I still had to work my way into her heart first. But before that, my father had to be dealt with, lest he might ruin things for me.