Big Bad Billionaire (The Woolven Secret Book 1) (19 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Randi didn’t know how long she’d slept or if everything that had happened had been some horrible nightmare, but the tang of blood filled her mouth and every joint in her body ached.

She was torn between hoping it had all been a nightmare and the fever-raw need to see her father again.

When she realized she was at Aphelion, a pained sort of relief washed over her. Had what happened at Upyrion even been real?

Despite the agony she felt with every movement, she forced herself to struggle into a sweatshirt and yoga pants, grabbed her ID, then headed toward Medical.

When she entered the wing, she saw it had been no dream.

The crowd of staff parted and seemed to disappear into the edges of her vision. All she could see was him.

Her father.

He sat upright, the IV still feeding blood into his arm, but when he looked at her, she could see recognition on his face. The sorrow, the guilt, and the joy.

“Daddy?”

He opened his arms and Randi didn’t know how she made it to him, but she did. Her knees went weak, and she could barely stand because the moment she thought would never come again was here—her father embraced her.

She clung tightly to him, her face buried in his neck where the rope that had taken his life had scarred him, the ligature marks still as fresh as when she’d seen him hanging—she hugged tighter.

“You smell a bit like wet dog, my Randi.”

“And you smell like a horrible leech, but I don’t care.”

“Can you forgive me?”

“For what?”

“For not telling you who you are. What I was working on. For not trusting you.”

She pulled back and studied him, his brown eyes ringed in the red that would never leave them. “That’s not what I expected you’d say.”

“What should I say?”

“I don’t know. Something about the way your white blood cells are responding to…” She shrugged, helpless.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “My beautiful girl, a Woolven bride. I never expected that. Blake tells me you marched into his office and told him you were going to end him. I’m very proud of you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? About all this, I mean?” She searched his eyes again but found only sorrow.

“Your mother. She didn’t want you to know. I am human, or I was. Your mother came out of the Remus bloodline via the O’Reilly’s at Kilkenny, Ireland, seven generations back. She thought ignorance could keep you safe.”

“No one’s ever really safe, are they?”

“No.” He shook his head. “But why would you want to be? Too many good things happen outside the safe zone.”

She scrubbed a hand over her face with a sigh. “What do we do now?”

“You mean because that rat bastard Evgeni infected me? I study it. I cure it. I know I can.” His eyes narrowed in determination.

“You’re Vampyr.”

“Yes. And you’re a werewolf. That’s doesn’t mean you’re not my daughter. You’ll always be my daughter. Nothing can change that.”

“I never thought I’d see you again.” She was overwhelmed with emotion. It choked her, and hot tears gathered in her eyes. “I wasn’t going to cry. Alpha bitches don’t cry.”

“Alphas bitches do whatever they want to do.” His embrace relaxed slowly until he pushed her away gently. “I need more blood and rest. These emotions, they do strange things to the Vampyr. They’re not equipped to feel things like humans do. It makes them angry and…
hungry
.”

His eyes became completely crimson, even the sclera.

“I’ll see you later, Daddy.” She pinched her lips together tightly. It didn’t matter, because he was right. The only important thing was he was here. He lived.

The Vampyr version of life, anyway.

She didn’t want to let him go, but she knew the moment was as much about him learning what it was like to be Vampyr as about their reunion.

When her feelings threatened to overwhelm her, her wolf rose. Instead of fighting it, she surrendered. It felt good to run, to stretch… the Change might be painful, but not as painful as the first time. It would get easier, she knew.

Running with her bare paws connected to the sweet grass and earth below, the wind in her nose and the freedom, the peace she found was a salve.

Even better once she caught the scent of her One. Her mate. She ran harder and faster to catch up to him. As she closed in, he shifted to warrior form and she followed suit.

Instead of turning to face her, he ran. The cant of his head over his shoulder indicated she should chase.

Somewhere, deep in her memory, she remembered chasing him. Remembered being desperate to catch him and running him down like prey.

Just as she’d promised.

Desire tinged his scent and she pushed herself harder, stretched farther, reached out for what she wanted and she took it.

Everything she wanted was within her grasp.

They tumbled into the sheltered arms of the forest when she took him down hard. He allowed her to pin him beneath her, and she howled her victory.

Blake quickly reversed their positions and joined her song with one of his own.

Just maybe he was Big Bad after all.

It occurred to her, as her mate took her there in the soft grasses under the cathedral of trees, how Little Red Riding Hood got it all wrong.

Wandering off the path was the best part of the story.

MORE FROM SARANNA DEWYLDE

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The Werewolf Tycoon’s Secret Baby

While on holiday in Greece, Drew Woolven had a passionate encounter with a woman he never expected to see again. Especially not in a small Midwestern town with a dark-haired boy that has a crescent moon birthmark on his wrist that matches Drew’s own. Emmie Anderson had never been more thrilled than when she discovered she was pregnant. She’d wanted a baby and was tired of waiting for the right man to have one. A successful career woman, she thought she had it all planned out until she discovered her son’s unique affliction. Pack law demands Drew marry her and turn her to keep the Woolven secret, but after her divorce, Emmie swore she’d never let another man have that kind of power over her again. Especially not one she’s in danger of falling for.
 

The Mate Mistake

After waking up in a sleazy hotel room in Vegas married to waitress Belle Vaughn instead of wolf heiress Maribella DeVaughn, Parker knows he’s made a mistake of epic proportions. One that his family, money and position can’t fix for anyone involved. There will be no annulment or divorce. Not only because wolves mate for life, but because of Woolven Industries. They can’t afford another scandal. Belle doesn’t understand why it’s such a big deal until the full moon Parker tries to turn her and fails—because she’s a vampire. They aren’t even the same species, but somewhere along the way, the show they put on for human society became real and that mistake became something not only worth dying for, but worth living for, too.

Stealing the Heiress

Warner “War” Woolven is the scarred, half-mad uncle who shuns human or wolf contact at all cost. After the last pack battle when the Woolven patriarch was killed, War raised the boys until they could fend for themselves and then retreated to his animal form to live off the land. Until Parker marries the wrong woman. The marriage covenant states only a Woolven heir, so to protect his brother’s sons War steals Maribella and marries her in the way of old—with his bite. Maribella planned her current circumstances too well to be saddled with an ugly, deformed beast like War. Yet as her time passes with him, she comes to the stark realization that maybe the ugly isn’t on him at all, but inside herself. His quiet and stoic sacrifice could easily be mistaken for apathy, if she hadn’t heard him in the grip of his nightmares reliving the torture he endured to protect those he loved. Maribella thinks at first love
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Interested in something sexy, paranormal, and a little…ODD?

Check out the Odd Series by Virginia Nelson!

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Janie Smith is ready to get her life in order. She just needs to control her powers, feed without killing someone, deal with a sick witch, a vampire boyfriend committed by fate to another, and an ancient serial killer’s ghost hidden inside an unsuspecting human. Oh, and she must also put up with Queen Mab’s unwanted elfin fiancé while dodging Chance, her supposed soul mate, while helping her daughter adjust to life after divorce. Seriously, not a big deal.

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http://virg-nelson.com

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