The Vampire Who Thirsted for a Wolf Read Free Page B

worry about us. We’ll be fine.”
    A wave of relief flooded Derek. He hated lying or even hiding
    from his family. They were everything to him, and even if he didn’t
    always show it, he loved them deeply. “Thank you, Father,” he replied
    in a broken whisper, this time not hiding what he felt. “I promise I’ll
    never let you down.”
    “I didn’t think you would.”
    And with that, Soren waved him off. Derek fled his father’s office,
    desperate to avoid embarrassing both himself and his father by
    bursting into tears. However, he was intercepted by his second dad,
    Daniel. The squirrel-shifter took one look at him and arched a brow.
    “Everything okay, Derek?” he asked.
    Derek cleared his throat and struggled to regain at least a measure
    of composure. God, since he’d met Kaname, his emotions had been a
    mess. He really needed to get a grip. “Fine,” he told Daniel. “I’m just
    going to see Mel. Father gave us permission to visit Japan, should
    Yamamoto-sama agree to it.”
    “That’s great.” Daniel smiled knowingly. “It will be a great
    experience for Mel, and it will do you a world of good. Don’t you
    agree?”
    Derek wondered just how much Daniel had figured out. The
    squirrel-shifter always had a knack for understanding exactly how

    18
    Scarlet Hyacinth
    Derek and his siblings felt. Even if they weren’t blood, it sometimes
    seemed that Daniel knew him better than Soren.
    At any rate, Daniel couldn’t have found out anything for certain.
    The only ones who’d witnessed Derek’s infatuation with Kaname
    were Jace, Paris, Rhys Whitaker, and Tyrell Hall’s son, Noah. Soren
    had also been in Japan for a good period of time, but during his
    father’s stay, Derek had managed to control himself better. As such,
    Daniel must only have been guessing, because Jace would have never
    broken Derek’s trust by revealing his secret.
    In the end, it didn’t really matter, though. His parents might
    suspect that Derek had a mate waiting, or they might not. The
    important thing was that Derek would be allowed to go to Japan.
    Perhaps then, he’d finally manage to sort out his emotions.
    “It is a great thing, yes,” he told his dad with a grin. “Mel will be
    so excited. She’s been itching to explore a bit ever since we stopped
    going to the university.”
    “Well, I won’t keep you from seeing your sister, then. She’s in the
    gardens, by the way. Have fun.”
    Derek thanked his dad and went on his way. Indeed, he found his
    sister outside, like Daniel had told him. She was talking to Paris and
    laughing as she and the other wolf watched Jace playing with his and
    Paris’s new son, Daire.
    As a young warlock, Daire had once been banished from his body
    by Tyrell Hall. Through a spell of the Sidhe king, his soul had
    managed to regain its rightful place. His magic abilities were all over
    the place now, but Tyrell’s son, Noah, often visited and taught him
    how to control it. However, Daire’s problems did not end there. There
    were still many people who could not understand the difference
    between Daire and Tyrell. Those who’d met the warlock while Tyrell
    inhabited Daire’s body rejected the child. In fact, many pack members
    were in this situation, and their discontent extended to Paris, still seen
    as an outsider. It pissed Derek off, and he was glad his brother and
    Paris had decided to take Daire in. The boy deserved all the affection

    The Vampire Who Thirsted for a Wolf
    19
    in the world after what he’d been through, and Paris was not to blame
    for what his mother had done. Derek only hoped that, in time, things
    would get better. It was unacceptable that his brother’s mate, whom
    Derek now considered another brother, would have to go through all
    this.
    When Derek entered the garden, everyone turned to greet him.
    Mel and Jace seemed, as always, thrilled at his presence. Similarly,
    Paris greeted Derek with enthusiasm. Daire was still shy, but he was
    learning, and he