Page 61 of Fallout

Mr. Thorne chuckles. “I can’t imagine the mate bond while I was still in high school. Girls held very little interest to me back then. But when your mother and I found out we were mates, waiting two weeks to marry her felt like torture.”

I sink a little in my chair, not wanting to hear about this.

“Do we really have to hear about this?” Parker groans. “It’s so gross, Dad.”

Mr. Thorne, still smiling, shuffles some papers on his desk. “All right, all right. Let’s get down to business. We need Henley to have protection with her at all times.”

Parker sits up straighter. “I will protect her. I will not leave her side.”

“You will certainly be with her often, yes, but you do have alpha duties to attend to,” Mr. Thorne says, leaving no room for argument. “When you are not with her, either Will or Blaine will be. But I will also have wolves guarding the house. He won’t get within a mile of here without us knowing.”

I chew on my lip. “Not to undermine what you’re doing, but he can teleport. If he wants to get to me, it would be easy for him to teleport directly to where I am.”

Mr. Throne shares a look with his beta. I don’t know him well enough to know what he’s thinking, but I don’t like the look.

“The powers of a phoenix are certainly a problem.” Mr. Thorne rubs at the back of his neck. “I’m beginning to understand why phoenixes were so feared. They seem unstoppable.”

“And then there is the whole cheating death thing,” Will pipes up.

Parker glares at him.

Will grins at me. “Sorry, Henley.”

I wave a hand. “It’s okay. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Parker insists. “I don’t want anybody to think of you as a threat. I couldn’t stand it if something were to happen to you.”

I squeeze his hand, not sure what to say to comfort him.

“Let’s worry about the current situation for the time,” Mr. Thorne says. “Henley is right that the phoenix could just teleport at any moment and try to harm her. It just means we will have to be extra diligent. I have made a pack wide announcement about what Henley is and everybody knows about the rogue phoenix that has been sneaking around pack land. We will make sure everybody is very aware of the danger. We won’t take any risks when it comes to her safety. Henley is the future luna and the pack won’t take her safety lightly.”

My heart thumps a little faster at the mention of my future title as luna of the pack. I know that being mated to Parker means that one day, I will rule at his side, but the thought is a little daunting. I don’t feel like I could lead anybody.

Will they really want me, a phoenix, to help lead them?

“Dad, I should be with her at all times,” Parker says. “I know that I have duties as alpha, but can’t I just bring her with me?”

Mr. Thorne gives him a pointed look. “Sometimes, yes. But you can’t always be there.”

Parker sighs in defeat, thumping back in his chair.

“We’ll keep you safe.” Blaine takes a step closer to my back. “Don’t worry, Parker. We’ve got her.”

And I do feel safe. With Parker, Blaine, and Will protecting me, I’ll be the safest supernatural alive. Nobody will be able to get through their defenses, not even a teleporting phoenix.

14

Jealous.

Parker

I let out my breath in a huff.

The last thing I want to be doing right now is checking in on the patrols. I want to be at Henley’s side. I want to protect her. The fact that my dad has me out doing mundane alpha duties is ridiculous. If my mother were in danger, my father would never leave her side. It’s not fair of him to ask this of me.

Protecting Henley is going to be difficult. I didn’t realize just how difficult until she brought up the teleporting thing. It’s true, if the phoenix wants to get to her, he can. We don’t know enough about how phoenix powers work to stop him. If only our ancestors had been better about recording history.

“Are you okay?” Will asks.