Page 83 of Fallout

I hold out my left hand, showing him the ring. “I said yes.”

Mr. Thorne smiles widely. “Congratulations, you two. Welcome to the family, Henley.”

He gives me a hug and then quickly does the same to Parker. After, I stand there, looking at my dad. I wonder how he’s going to react to the news.

“You’re eighteen,” Dad says.

I nod. “Yes.”

Mr. Thorne puts a hand on my dad’s shoulders. “She’s eighteen, yes. But she’s also met her soulmate. Nobody can protect her better than Parker, you and I both know that.”

Dad slowly nods as he looks from me to Parker. “You better protect my daughter, and I do mean more than just her physical safety. She is my world, Parker Thorne. She better be yours too.”

I grin, knowing that my father has accepted the news. I lean forward and throw my arms around him, giving him a hug. As soon as I pull back, Parker hugs him too. My dad’s face softens at the contact.

Yes, his only daughter is getting married. But Parker will be part of our family. And Parker’s family will be our family. We won’t be alone anymore. And Mr. Throne is right—nobody will be able to protect me better than Parker can.

“If you are okay with it, there are a lot of people who would love to meet you,” Mr. Thorne says, focusing his attention on me. “A lot of people can’t quite wrap their head around the fact that phoenixes exist, let alone the fact that my son is mated to one.”

“I’ll be honored to meet everybody who has come to assist us today,” I say.

He smiles broadly. “Excellent.”

20

Let’s go kill a phoenix.

Henley

Over the next three days, Parker’s living room looks more like a war council room than a family room. The couches and coffee tables have all been shoved against the wall and in the center of the room is a large table that has papers spread out all around it. There are a few chairs scattered about, but for the most part, everybody is on their feet. They’re all planning. Scheming. Trying to find out how to kill a phoenix.

Though Parker hasn’t let me out of his sight, he is busy talking with alphas from other packs. Earlier we heard news that King Basilicus, the dragon king, will be by later today. I’m not sure what to make of the entire ordeal. It seems excessive for them to do all of this just for me. Will has tried to explain it to me—how important lunas are to the pack—but it doesn’t seem right for them to make a fuss over me. I’m not a wolf shifter. I wouldn’t be accepted into the pack at all if it weren’t for Parker.

Still, I am thankful that everybody is here. I know that Blaze wouldn’t dare make a move with all these alphas in the room. Instead, I know he’s biding his time. If we’ve learned anything about him over the past few months, it’s that he’s patient. He waited until the opportune moment to take me and I know he’ll do it again. I just worry about what will happen if he gets the opportunity again. This time, he won’t make the same mistakes. Blaze is a psychopath, but he’s cunning.

An alpha walks into the living room, holding a large chunk of some kind of crystal. It’s in a short but chunky shape. “I’ve got it.” He holds it above his hand like it’s some kind of prize. In reality, you could probably buy it for a few bucks at some hippie crystal store.

“What do you have?” Mr. Thorne eyes the crystal with the same scrutiny that I feel.

“If I may approach the girl,” the alpha says.

Parker stiffens, crossing his arms over his chest. “May I inquire why you want to approach my mate?”

Mr. Thorne shoots Parker a look, probably to stop him from back talking to other alphas, and then he turns his attention to the alpha. “What is it you’ve got?”

“I believe that this will block her powers,” the alpha explains, lowering his head.

“Let’s give it a shot,” Mr. Thorne says. He takes the crystal from the alpha and hands it to me.

I look at the metal in my hands and then at Mr. Thorne. “What do you want me to do?”

“Try to teleport while holding this,” he instructs.

I do as instructed, but nothing happens. I shake my head, holding the crystal back to him. “I can’t. He’s right—this blocks my powers.”

Parker’s eyes bulge. “How did you find this?”

“We’ve been searching the warehouse, like you asked. This crystal was everywhere around the loft bedroom,” the alpha explains. “I figured it was important.”