seeing. One of the benefits of being a Pteron was perfect night vision. I pushed open the doors, and we headed toward my dad’s office, which was located just off the main chamber.
I knocked on the door loudly. “Who is it?” Dad called.
I knocked one last time just to be a pain. “Who do you think?”
“Come in, Levi.” His low, gravelly voice always sounded pissed when he talked to me.
I walked in, Owen and Jared followed behind.
Dad didn’t glance up from the paperwork on his desk. “Close the door.”
Jared slammed the door harder than he needed to. The action wasn’t lost on my dad. He finally dropped the paperwork, and his glare had Jared standing up straighter.
Dad didn’t miss a beat. His steely gaze moved to me. “You missed last night’s council meeting.”
“What are you talking about? We just met last week.”
“I called an emergency meeting last night.” He ran a hand through his gray hair. At one time, it had been the same shade of brown as mine, but time, or too many years as the King of The Society had aged him.
Shit. I should have listened to the other messages. “Yeah, well, I didn’t know.”
“Is that all you have to say for yourself? Twenty-two years old, and you behave like a child.”
My dad never minced words, but he usually kept his cool. Things had to be serious for him to be flipping out on me in front of my friends.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“It better not.” His icy stare left little doubt he was serious.
“What did you discuss?” I shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Only my father had the ability to make me nervous. Most people were afraid of me or kissed up to me to get what they wanted. There were only four exceptions. Owen, Jared, and my parents.
“The Blackwells. There’s talk of a takeover attempt.”
“Like those Yankees could do anything,” Jared spat. He never kept his mouth shut, not even in front of my father.
“Has your father taught you nothing, Jared? The second you start underestimating your opponent, you’ve lost your advantage.”
“Yes, sir.” Mentioning Jared’s father usually had that effect. His dad was essentially the head of security for my family. We’d spent many nights getting wasted and talking about how much we hated our fathers. Neither of us would ever live up to their expectations.
“So what’s the plan?” I slunk down in a high back chair. This could take a while.
“The plan is that you grow up and find a girl.”
“This again? I’m not ready. Just because you and Mom got married at twenty doesn’t mean I have to do it.” I looked for a mate once and all it brought me was heartache. What was the point of torturing myself again? I’d put it off as long as I could.
“You’re not twenty. You graduate college in less than a year; it’s time to stop chasing after everything in a skirt. Find someone worth your time.”
“What does this have to do with the takeover attempt?”
“Don’t play stupid.” His cold blue eyes locked on mine.
“No one cares whether I have a mate. They know I can have a kid, it’s not a big deal.”
“Everyone cares. Everyone.” He cracked his knuckles. He only did that when he was particularly worried.
“I’ll take a mate when I meet the right girl.” I leaned back in my chair and stretched out my legs. Getting angry wasn’t going to help the situation, but I was tired of this bullshit.
“You can’t find her unless you look.”
“He does plenty of looking,” Owen mumbled under his breath.
“Looking for a mate is different from looking for a girl to jump in bed with. I’d have thought you’d understand that, Owen.” Dad really liked to get you where it hurt.
“You told me I have until graduation. That’s months from now.” I planned to enjoy every last day of my freedom until then, starting with
I knocked on the door loudly. “Who is it?” Dad called.
I knocked one last time just to be a pain. “Who do you think?”
“Come in, Levi.” His low, gravelly voice always sounded pissed when he talked to me.
I walked in, Owen and Jared followed behind.
Dad didn’t glance up from the paperwork on his desk. “Close the door.”
Jared slammed the door harder than he needed to. The action wasn’t lost on my dad. He finally dropped the paperwork, and his glare had Jared standing up straighter.
Dad didn’t miss a beat. His steely gaze moved to me. “You missed last night’s council meeting.”
“What are you talking about? We just met last week.”
“I called an emergency meeting last night.” He ran a hand through his gray hair. At one time, it had been the same shade of brown as mine, but time, or too many years as the King of The Society had aged him.
Shit. I should have listened to the other messages. “Yeah, well, I didn’t know.”
“Is that all you have to say for yourself? Twenty-two years old, and you behave like a child.”
My dad never minced words, but he usually kept his cool. Things had to be serious for him to be flipping out on me in front of my friends.
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
“It better not.” His icy stare left little doubt he was serious.
“What did you discuss?” I shifted uneasily from foot to foot. Only my father had the ability to make me nervous. Most people were afraid of me or kissed up to me to get what they wanted. There were only four exceptions. Owen, Jared, and my parents.
“The Blackwells. There’s talk of a takeover attempt.”
“Like those Yankees could do anything,” Jared spat. He never kept his mouth shut, not even in front of my father.
“Has your father taught you nothing, Jared? The second you start underestimating your opponent, you’ve lost your advantage.”
“Yes, sir.” Mentioning Jared’s father usually had that effect. His dad was essentially the head of security for my family. We’d spent many nights getting wasted and talking about how much we hated our fathers. Neither of us would ever live up to their expectations.
“So what’s the plan?” I slunk down in a high back chair. This could take a while.
“The plan is that you grow up and find a girl.”
“This again? I’m not ready. Just because you and Mom got married at twenty doesn’t mean I have to do it.” I looked for a mate once and all it brought me was heartache. What was the point of torturing myself again? I’d put it off as long as I could.
“You’re not twenty. You graduate college in less than a year; it’s time to stop chasing after everything in a skirt. Find someone worth your time.”
“What does this have to do with the takeover attempt?”
“Don’t play stupid.” His cold blue eyes locked on mine.
“No one cares whether I have a mate. They know I can have a kid, it’s not a big deal.”
“Everyone cares. Everyone.” He cracked his knuckles. He only did that when he was particularly worried.
“I’ll take a mate when I meet the right girl.” I leaned back in my chair and stretched out my legs. Getting angry wasn’t going to help the situation, but I was tired of this bullshit.
“You can’t find her unless you look.”
“He does plenty of looking,” Owen mumbled under his breath.
“Looking for a mate is different from looking for a girl to jump in bed with. I’d have thought you’d understand that, Owen.” Dad really liked to get you where it hurt.
“You told me I have until graduation. That’s months from now.” I planned to enjoy every last day of my freedom until then, starting with
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