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“Dad’s home,” Pax said out loud for Kali’s benefit.
Amaros wasn’t even in sight, but Kali’s guard immediately rose, and she would have jumped from my lap if I wasn’t holding her. I leaned over, closer to Pax, to keep my next words from leaving this room.
“Keep this room empty the rest of the night.” My order had Viggo narrowing his eyes in suspicion, but he nodded anyway.
“Why?” Kali hissed in a whisper, not liking that she had no idea what was going on.
“Come on.” I lifted her off me and then grabbed her hand. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“Zan, where are we going?” Kali snapped, fighting against my hold. “I fucking hate this. I’ve been in the dark ever since I came here.”
“In the dark?” I echoed as we left the rotunda. “You know more about vampires than nearly any other human.”
My response was for my father’s ears, since I knew he could hear me. That wasn’t what Kali meant, but there was nothing I could do about that. There were only a few parts of this house where we couldn’t be overheard, and my bedroom wasn’t one of them. I couldn’t explain anything to her without my father possibly overhearing.
“Yeah, because the humans who find out these kinds of things get murdered,” she muttered. We moved down the hall, and once Kali put together where we were heading, she struggled harder against me. She’d barely left my room since we’d been here, but the few times she had, she’d gone down this hall to get to the rotunda. And she knew we were heading straight for Amaros’s study.
“I don’t want to see him,” she snapped, a tinge of fear in her voice.
“You’re not,” I told her calmly. “I have to talk to him. I want you to wait in here.”
I opened the door, revealing a small room with a couch and a small table. It was a place for the human workers to relax without vampires around. There were a few rooms like this around the house that varied in size. The only reason Amaros agreed to this nicety was because he enjoyed the cooks and housekeepers enough that he didn’t want to keep replacing them.
“I’ll be back soon,” I said, nodding to the couch. “No one will bother you.”
“Zan. Do not leave me in here?—”
I shut the door, and then locked it when she pounded on the other side of it. I stared at the door, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. She was going to be pissed when I saw her next. For more than just locking her in the room.
But I had a plan, and this was a part of it.
I didn’t knock on the study door before pushing it open and entering. Amaros was standing behind his desk with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He didn’t drink often since alcohol barely affected him unless he drank a massive quantity. Which meant whatever he’d done today had put him in a shitty mood.
“You’re supposed to be heading out,” he said sharply. “Why are you still here?”
He expected me to be driving to one of our armories about an hour away. We needed extra supplies for his plan for Project Peace.
“Because I can feel it,” I said, meeting his eyes. “It’s time.”
A smirk broke out across his face, and he strode toward me, handing me his whiskey. “I knew it would happen soon. I was getting worried it happened already and you missed it. I know you’re not all that keen on mating.”
“That was before,” I answered before taking a sip of the drink. “I needed to find the right one who would be perfect for a Kane heir.”
“She’s not going to submit to you,” he murmured, his gaze drifting to the left wall where Kali was in the room on the other side. “I see how you are with her. Protective. You care for her to an extent.”
“Yes,” I agreed, treading carefully. “I don’t need her hating me. Stress isn’t good for the body. Especially if she’s going to carry my child.”
He was watching me intently, as if sizing up my words. He might have a hint that I cared for her more than I let on. But in his mind, I would always choose our family first. He had no doubts about my loyalty.
Maybe he should.
Because I was lying through my fucking teeth. I wasn’t feeling the urge to mate. But this was the only way I’d be able to get Kali off this property. Amaros wanted us to stay here until that happened. So I made it happen. He might be disappointed when Kali didn’t get pregnant, but there would be nothing he could do except wait the number of years until I could mate again.
“Kali is a strong human.” He poured himself another drink. “Mentally and physically. She’ll handle a pregnancy well. But she won’t accept it. She’ll fight against you when you go to fuck her.”
“I know.”
My chest tightened, and I forced myself to keep my eyes on my father. There was a vent on the wall, and I knew from personal experience that it connected to the room next door.
