It takes us almost an entire day to find Gabriel. After driving around in what appears to be circles, I finally pick up his scent while hunting in the underbrush. Getting out of the car in front of his cabin, I pop my knees and stretch my back from the long ride. The air is filled with the biting smell of smoke from the chimney that can't escape past the low hanging clouds. The drizzle from last night hasn't eased up and gray meets gray all around me; it's a miserable day that mirrors my mood.

Gabriel appears on the threshold and to my surprise, Jos sneaks a peek from behind him. The old wolf spits on the ground; the disdain is obvious in his tight lips and the folded arms. The muscle in his jaw jumps. He's expecting a confrontation and won't part with the dagger willingly.

My smile is a feeble attempt to take some of the tension out of the air. "Hi, Gabriel."

"What do you want?"

At least he doesn't waste time on pleasantries. "I'm sure you can guess why we're here."

"I have nothing to say and nothing you want. Turn your car around and leave."

"You know that's not true. Cassum sent us. We're here for the dagger."

He snorts. "Cassum is dead, so how could she have sent you?"

"If she didn't, how would we know you have the dagger?"

His lips twist with struggle and he exchanges a glance with Jos. Jos shrugs; his tense body makes it clear that he wishes to stay out of the conversation.

"Okay, then what's the code?"

"Code?" Cassum didn't mention a code.

"Spring barrels." Gideon's voice is flat as if he anticipated the question.

Gabriel's gaze flicks to him. "And you are?"

"The warlock who will tear your house apart and then bury you in the rubble if you don't stop with these games. The dagger belongs to the magical community and was only passed to your kind for safekeeping. It was never intended to be a werewolf toy. Now I'm here to reclaim it, and trust me, the only reason I've shown patience so far is out of respect to Raelyn, who has spoken highly of you."

With one leap, Jos shifts and dives off the porch. He bares his fangs, crouching low, ready for an attack.

I step in front of him before Gideon can get any wrong ideas. "Enough. The dagger is the only thing that can prevent the total annihilation of the werewolf species. We are not the enemy, so please give it to him."

Gabriel hesitates for one more beat before disappearing into the house. The wait stretches to minutes that wind down in slow motion. Jos's tail whacks the ground as if playing the drums. It tears at my nerves, and Gideon's pacing back and forth in front of the car isn't helping matters. When Moose, who hasn't even bothered to get out of the car, gives me a mocking thumbs up from the driver's seat, I snap.

"What the hell is taking so long?"

In that moment, the mosquito screen on the door screeches and Gabriel reappears. He drops something wrapped in a cloth in front of Gideon's feet. "Here is your dagger. Now get off my territory."

"What? No invitation for dinner? No dry place to sleep?" Gideon smirks. "Honestly, I expected more."

Gabriel doesn't take the bait but only stares at Gideon with a stoned face.

"Tsk, whatever." Gideon bends down and retrieves the cloth. With utter care, he unwraps a dagger about seven inches long that ends in a slight curve. The gold of the scabbard is weathered with age.

"So that's it." The weapon that can kill Marush.

"Yes, that is it." Gideon runs his thumb over the hollow in the handle that must hold the stone from my amulet. "I need to take this to Sazith, but before I go, I really would like a word with you."

"What about?"

"Different things." He signals with his eyes to the woods. "Let's take a walk."

"And Moose? Are we just gonna leave him here? Besides, Gabriel said he wants us off the territory."

Gideon pinches the bridge of his nose as if fighting an oncoming headache. Mumbling something under his breath that include the words "women" and "difficult," he turns toward Gabriel. "Is there a hotel around here?"

Gabriel chuckles. "If you consider a radius of two hundred miles as "around here," then yes. Otherwise, I have to disappoint you."

Jos finally shifts back. "If Raelyn needs a place to crash, she can stay with me. However, you're not welcome."

"What about him?" Gideon juts his chin at Moose.

"If he's a wolf, he can stay in the shed. Otherwise, he has to leave."

"I guess that settles it. Let's go, Raelyn." Without waiting for confirmation that I'm willing to have a father-daughter talk, he heads for the woods.

I reach for Jos's arm. "Can you show Moose where to go?"

"Sure." He glances at Gideon. "Will you be okay with him on your own?"

I can't hide a smile—his sudden protectiveness shows I can still rely on his friendship. "He's my dad."

"I figured. You and he look very much alike."

"Raelyn!" Gideon calls from the tree line.

I ignore him. "How will I find your house?"

"I'll be back here in an hour to pick you up. Is that enough time?"

"Make it thirty minutes." That's all Gideon will get. "Father or not, I can't stand the guy."

~~~~~

Gideon wastes five minutes just walking next to me in utter silence. A few times, I glance at him, but his stare is directed at the forest path. Then, without warning, he stops and finds my eyes.

"Look, Raelyn, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

My laugh is incredulous. "You think?"

"I know we don't have much time, but I can answer any pressing questions you might have about your choice. And once all this over, I hope we'll be able to get to know each other better."

His words are filled with assumptions: me making my blood promise to the sun, Marush dying, both of us surviving. Chances are that at least one of these premises won't hold true, so this might be my only chance to talk to him.

"I want to know if you loved my mother or whether she was just another pawn in your twisted game?"

His forehead wrinkles. "Why would you ever think I didn't love you mother?"

Sazith's words cut like knives into my ears. When I cornered him one night in the Iomaire Draíochta to either tell me who Tessa's parents are or risk me walking away from the warlock world, he fessed up.

"Her mother is Delsandra and her father"—Sazith sucked in a deep breath—"her father was Gideon, which also makes her your half-sister." Back then, his revaluation was a slap to my face. I had an older sister, something I was sure my dad had withheld from my mother. Would she have still slept with him if she had known?

I refocus on Gideon's eyes, eager to see his reaction. "Well, you had a child with Delsandra to bear the ultimate weapon to destroy Marush, so forgive me for assuming that you only impregnate females for a special purpose."

"Ouch, that hurt, but I guess I deserved that." His grimace is sheepish before his face turns serious. "I truly loved your mother—we were even connected by the Anam Aidhnín, which, I guess, would make her my true mate in warlock terms. I would've done anything to make her happy and if I could choose, I would take death and give her life."

"But that would ruin the plan."

"Believe it or not, I wouldn't care."

Fat chance that's true. There's too much at stake for him to ignore the plan. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what else to tell you."

Maybe that you love me. That I wasn't just born because you needed a warlock with fire powers. Turning my head, I fight the hitch in my throat.

Don't fucking cry.

Don't show him that type of weakness.

He squeezes my shoulder. "It was your mother's idea to have a baby. She was so excited when she became pregnant—she had all these plans for you. Geez, that woman loved you."

"And you? Were you excited?"

"I was mostly scared." Gideon chuckles with bitterness. "Exactly this conversation, I didn't want to have. When Sazith told me I had to time your birth with the lunar eclipse to give you the opportunity to pledge your loyalty to the Sun God, I was strictly against it. Then he reminded me that I had violated the malediction—that Marush and the other Sentinels would search for you to kill you. He convinced me that giving you fire powers was your best chance of survival. By the time they manifested themselves, he'd be ready to take on Marush, and if he prevailed, we'd be celebrated as heroes. I just wanted what was best for you—that much I owed your mother."

I stare at the sky to catch a glimpse of the sun. It's futile; the clouds are too thick. I know he's there—my guardian, the Sun God—but I've never felt a connection. At least not in a way I feel the presence of the Moon Goddess whenever I look up at the stars at night. Does that make him less deserving of my loyalty? And what about the fire? We make a good team. "Do you think I should stick with the plan?"

Gideon exhales through puckered lips. "That's ultimately up to you. Even for Tessa, it's a choice. Just as Marush elected power over balance, you can walk away from all of it and just turn into an ordinary wolf. But even if you choose to keep your magic, remember we are on uncharted territory. There has never been a werewolf hybrid who made their blood promise. If you turn to the Moon, you will stay a Caomhnóir, and it's more than likely that you'll keep the ability to shift, although there are no guarantees. If you lose your fire powers, Tessa won't be able to kill Marush for at least another century. By then, he'll have waged war against the werewolves and killed them all. It's personal to him, and he'll use it as a deterrent to show that any opponent will face annihilation."

I sigh. "Why does he hate the werewolves so much?"

"They are headstrong creatures, plus I suspect that he still reels from your mother's rejection. Killing off her kind could mean some sort of deranged closure for him."

My brows knit together. "What do you mean by my mother's rejection?"

"I thought Sazith told you." A sly smile sneaks on his lips. "Your mother, she was first involved with Marush before we fell in love."

"Seriously?" What could she have possibly seen in him?

"I wish I weren't. Did a number on him, too. He was bad before, but after your mother chose me over him, he turned downright vicious."

"So it will be different from when he fought the werewolves before?"

"Very different. This time, he'll not only make them suffer but also ensure there's not one single wolf left breathing."

My shoulders slump. This is bad.

"And remember, Raelyn, war is no longer a possibility but a certainty after you lifted the veil between life and death. Your choice won't only affect you, but everyone you care about. I saw the way you looked at Kendrick Raynes and I know you love him, so also consider what will be best for him and his pack."

I nod. The lump in my throat is choking me and I swallow a few times to keep down my fear. "I think you should go. I need some time to unpack this."

"Sure." Instead of location shifting, he hesitates. "Is there anything else I can do before I leave?"

"No." What else could there be? It's not that I had a father over these last twenty-one years who was attuned to my feelings and could understand my internal struggles. The only male who ever managed that was Kendrick.

I'm about to turn and shift when he holds on to my wrist. "I'm not really good at this parenting stuff and at communication in general."

I snort. He has lived for over two thousand years, so he'll likely not get the hang of it now.

"But I want you to know that I care about you. Deeply." He looks up at me with an eager expression, his brow raised, as if he's expecting some great epiphany.

"Yeah, okay."

"And even though you don't look like her, I see a lot of your mother in you. She would've been very proud of the woman you've become."

"Female."

"Excuse me?"

"My mother was a werewolf. She would've never referred to a she-wolf as a woman but a female."

"I'll remember that."

"Do." Though it makes me wonder if she really meant that much to him. As her warlock equivalent to a true mate, he should know this. "You should go. I'm sure Sazith is already waiting for the dagger."

"Be careful. The woods are full of danger."

He holds my gaze; I detect some concern, but I don't know him well enough to determine if it's real or whether he's just faking it.

"And when you're getting ready to make your choice, follow your heart."

I quirk a brow. "Even if that ruins the plan?"

"You can only rise to greatness if you are true to yourself. Something your mother taught me."

"Have you always been true to yourself?"

"No, or I would've never left her alone in the woods the night you were born."

~~~~

© Sally Mason 2018

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