Chapter 105: Reunion

Chapter 105: Reunion
Mirage’s P.O.V

The man that stepped out of the van in front of the packhouse…didn’t look like my father anymore.

I remembered a man with light brown hair, fair skin and sparkling amethyst eyes and lips that were always smiling. He used to glow with a certain light, as if he truly was some kind of a fairy…a fairy of joy and happiness and love.

But this man…he had dark, matted hair that was cut short plastered to his skull. His eyes were sunken in and his lips were pressed together into a thin line. His skin was ashy and the glow I once knew was all but gone. Moreover, he was now bent at the waist and almost less than half his weight. It was as if those monsters had sucked him dry over and over, making him survive on the bare minimum just so he could once again produce more blood for them.

The names of those who had our father hadn't been disclosed by the Queen, but Maze’s mate feared that whoever it was that had him, was very close to the Queen, if not someone from her own coven. The only reason she had to give him up was because one of her people had reported seeing him alive a month ago. If not…she would have declared him dead and we would have never found him today.

As he slowly looked up at me and Maze standing in front of him…some of the light returned to his eyes as his lips parted in a gasp of surprise.

And then we were running into his arms, holding onto him tightly, just the three of us.

His entire book shook from the force of his sobs and it made me realize that he was even thinner than he looked. He had probably been told that we had died too, for all we know.

“My babies!” His voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. “My precious little, babies!”

His hands held us tighter, as much as he could as both Maze and I cried at how much he must have suffered at the hands of the vampires. Because unlike us, he was pureblood royalty…a jackpot for those who had wanted easy access to Fae blood.

He let go of us to look into our faces. Tears streamed down his face as he kissed our foreheads and cupped our cheeks.

“I never thought I was going to see my precious girls again,” his lips trembled as he spoke. “I missed you both so much…I’m so, so sorry…I wasn’t able to protect-”

“No, dad, no!” I shook my head, wiping away his tears. “None of it was our fault. None of us. We are never going to blame ourselves for any of it, ever again.”

“My babies…” he sobbed. “You’ve both grown up so much…”

This time as we embraced one another, we held on even tighter, trying to let go of the past and to fill the void left by our mother’s death at the same time.

When we finally let go of each other this time, we heard the sound of heels clicking on the concrete floor and as dad looked up to see who it was behind us…his eyes widened in surprise and tears began to fall from his eyes once again.

“Mother…” He whispered, dropping his hand from our shoulders and moving forward slowly.

Maze and I moved back and let him pass us by so he could reach his mother…our grandmother, the Queen of the Autumn Court.

“My son…my precious, precious…son…” she held out her arms for our father and her tears looked genuine…but I couldn’t tell.

“I don’t trust her.” Maze whispered under her breath so only I could hear and I nodded.

“Neither do I.” I agreed. “But she’s his mother…”

“And we’d do anything to have mom here right now…just to have a glimpse of her.” Maze sighed, closing her eyes and wiping away her tears. “I said so many hurtful things to her…things that I wish I could take back.”

I nodded silently. “She knew we loved her, despite everything we said or did. I’m sure she did.”

“How can you be sure?” Maze turned to face me, her expression hopeful.

“Because mothers always know,” I shrugged. “Just how she always knew which one of us always stole the Christmas cookies. She knew.”

“Yeah,” Maze smiled even as fresh tears escaped her eyes.

I wiped them away as our grandmother came to stand in front of us, father’s hand clutched tightly in her hands.

“I would like to take your father back home with me,” she told us what we had discussed before. “So he can heal in a familiar environment. The Court had never been the same without him.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, wiping at my eyes. “I think that’s a great idea. He needs to rest and he needs to grow stronger. For us.”

“But…I would like the two of you to visit as well, even if you do not wish to stay longer.” The Queen requested. “I know the two of you have found your mates and your new families…but we are your family too. And I’m done pushing away my people, my children. I want my people to mate with other species if they want to…I’m just…I feel horrible that I had to learn my lesson after almost losing my son. I’m sorry I never got to meet your mother…she was a wonderful woman to have raised two strong minded daughters.”

“I’m sorry you couldn’t meet her either,” Maze gave her a tight smile. “Despite all the times they reached out to you for help.”

“Maze.” I stopped her before it became a difficult situation for our father. He looked even more fragile by the minute, like he was ready to pass out. “I think father needs to rest. Should we take him inside?”

“No…I want to take him back as soon as possible.” Grandmother shook her head. “There’s magic in the air of our realm. Once he’s there, he’ll start to heal on his own.”

“Then take him.” I urged. “Please.”

“Mira…” Dad extended his hand towards me and I caught it, pressed my lips to the back of his palm.

“We’ll visit you as soon as possible, dad. We promise you.” I told him as Maze caught his hand too. “But once you are well and are able to give us your bear hugs and carry us on your back once again…just like when we were little.”

“I’m old now, my child.” He gave me a weak smile. “I have lost so much of my soul after I lost your mother.”

“Mother will always be with us.” I told him firmly. “Always. And that’s why, I don’t need excuses, I need promises. Promise you’ll get better? Promise you’ll be our super dad once again?”

Dad looked from me to Maze, his eyes weary and glossed over. But then he closed them for a second and when he reopened them once again, I saw a glimpse of the old him, the man who we admired and loved till eternity.

“I promise.”

A spark in the air caught our attention and before we knew it, a round circle opened behind my dad. It glowed with a blue light and beyond it, I could see forests and a bright sun. That must be it…the realm of the Fae.

Father let go of our hand finally and turned to our grandmother. She gave us a small bow as she took my father’s hand and then she took him through the portal, followed by the two guards who had accompanied her to the pack…and then just as the portal had appeared…it was gone.

“Wow…” Maze stared at the place the portal had been as one of the wolf soldiers came forward to walk around casually, to see if the portal still existed.

But I think everyone present at the scene was in awe of what had just happened.

But above all else…I was happy.

My father was alive and he was going to be okay. We were all going to be okay.

The enemy that had tormented us for years was finally dead and I was free from all the nightmares that once bound me. And as Alex came to stand next to me, I knew that I had finally found the one thing that I had been looking for my entire life.

A home. A family. People to call my own. And now…I had it all.