Page 112 of Hybrid Heroics

“I know my father owns it now, and it flourishes.”

Franklin nodded. “I gave it to him.”

Sloane tapped her chin, studying him intensely. “You?”

He nodded once more.

“You’re Fernando,” she stated, the gears and cogs clicking into place in her mind.

“How did you jump to that conclusion?” Novak held his hand out, waving over Franklin. “He could be Wilhelm’s son.”

My Kitten shook her head. “No. Nathaniel King is Wilhelm’s son.”

“I am Fernando d’Ostun,” Franklin confessed to her. “And I am your great-grandfather.”

“This whole time?” she asked, making me furrow my brows.

He hadn’t just magically become Fernando today… But he seemed to understand what she meant. I was almost convinced that his extra ability was reading her mind without actually reading her mind.

“I had my reasons,” Franklin answered cryptically.

“We all do.” She tipped her head, considering him. “This entire time, you’ve been hiding in plain sight to keep me safe. Everyone knew what my parents looked like, but no one remembered what you looked like. Because you disappeared for centuries, living on your perishing island as you healed from the loss of your mate.”

Sloane frowned at her words, but kept pushing. “Wilhelm never owned the island; he said he did so people would believe you dead. Why did you give it to Nate?”

His explanation was simple. “Wilhelm never loved.”

“But Nate did,” she responded, casting a quick glance at her father.

“Something he learned from me.” Franklin smiled at her. “You pieced all that together rather quickly. When did I give myself away?”

I liked how he worded that question. He knew exactly what to ask to make her think deeper than surface answers. But I wondered if he was asking when she caught onto his lie or when she caught onto his love.

Because the ancient vampire loved Sloane. I’d known that since I saw them interacting. I just hadn’t understood it until now.

“You confirmed my suspicions when we were in the basement yesterday,” she confirmed, causing him to nod. “You told me that Alric had been trying to kill me since I was a baby. I only knew of the threat after I was born and the more recent things… So you’ve been stopping them before they got too close. But I also recognized the cameras you set up. It was the same one we found in the club facing my booth.”

“Good catch,” Franklin commented, prompting her to keep talking. “How did you figure it out?”

“That’s the only place you never went inside with me. You would drop me off at the door and pick me up at closing time.”

“You didn’t believe it was Alric?”

That was a fair question, but his tone made me think he was after something else.

“At first, yes. Alric was clever, though not that investigative. He knew where I lived, but that’s public records in this state. The murder at the pharma company was nothing except him tying up loose ends after I bought it. That wasn’t public. However, Ralph Bowers had to sign the contract. Either he told Alric the drug manufacturing was compromised, or he told Alania and she told Alric.”

Franklin grinned as Sloane began pacing. And I understood what he was doing. She had held onto a wealth of knowledge, unable to share it while Alric was in her mind without him knowing everything.

We sat around the patio, content to let her spill all the pieces of her mosaic.

“The power farms harvested enough to make the drug and keep him feeling invincible. Kadence wanting to out the vampires to the world was meant to be a distraction, but she didn’t act fast enough. If she had, it would have taken us months to get back on Alric’s trail. The fake tip given to Nate drove him away so she could act out her plans. But she’d been taking the drug, so she wasn’t in the right headspace to enact something so elaborate.”

I nodded along, adding, “The rebellion in Hell was meant to draw Sam, Lucy, and Lil into a mess, keeping them busy while they cleaned up.”

“Right. And the missing shifters painted Charlie as a failing Alpha, turning his packs against him. Or that was part of the plan. Alric used the shifters as test subjects on this side of the world, leaving them for his minions to study. By the time we got to Belfast, he was getting worried, though. All he had left were the mages Anahein was abducting. He also knew we would find Rig, and when we found him, we’d know exactly where Amelia was.

“Except, Anaheim gave Nate a real tip, because from what I could gather… Alric wanted her to step into Amelia’s shoes to produce the child of prophecy. But she couldn’t sway Amelia’s mates. So Anahein was holding a grudge,” she deduced.