“Again. You happen to hold yourself in very high regard. Who said anything about us hooking up? I merely thought it would be nice to get to know the person who took care of me last night. Oh, and I’m LJ to you. Honey cheeks sounds way too much like a pet name for my liking. Come on, I have a bone to pick with my uncle.” She reaches over and grabs my hand, and just like last night, the world shifts and falls away as I’m pulled with her through her trace trail.
As we arrive at the entrance of the bar on the upper level from last night, we hear a baritone male voice raised in anger, “Tarron, are you trying to tell me that a demon went home with my daughter last night, under your watch, after you got her wasted on faerie wine? Then you did nothing about it? Why the bloody hell is this the first that I’m hearing about this?” The voice demands.
LJ groans beside me, “Oh for the love of pixie dust, why did my uncle call my Da into this mess?”
“Shit, that’s your father?” I hiss on a low whisper.
“Yes,” she whispers back.
“Alaric, calm down. Lillie is a grown woman. You may not like it, but she is strong, determined, and has her head screwed on straight, if not a bit hard-headed. We need to trust her now as she comes into her own. This is not something that we can do for her, you know that. It’s her life, she’s a young adult. We’ve discussed this. Now calm down. As for you Tarron, how dare you give Lillie more than a shot glass full of faerie wine. A whole freakin’ glass? What the hell were you thinking? No wonder she passed out before she could even get to her bed.”
“Oh hell, my mother is pissed too. I think I need to intervene.” She whispers.
“Have fun with the family drama, I’m outta here.” I move to leave and she grabs my hand sending a jolt of tingling electricity through me, halting any further movement.
“Come on, demon boy. You’re coming with me. I’m not the only one that has caused a raucous.” Turning the corner, we can see that her parents are there with Tarron and the three are bickering amongst themselves. She clears her throat and lets go of my hand and marches into the room with her fox, greeting everyone icily, “Good morning. I see that I’m not disappointed. The topic of discussion is none other than myself.” The grin on her face is forced.
Her father spins to face us and he is livid, as he demands, “Are you the grimy demon that went home with my daughter last night?” Holding my hands up in submission, I take a step back not wanting any part of this.
Before I can address her angry father, LJ rounds on him, “How dare you, Father? Daxell is first and foremost a person. He did not choose to be demon-born. He has been nothing but a gentleman. Hands off.” She glares at her uncle, “Just like you instructed, uncle Tarron. How dare you meddle in my life. It’s my life.” She declares, before continuing, “If I choose to befriend Daxell, its because he’s a good person. If my soul is attracted to his its because there may be a deeper connection there, and you are not welcome to interfere.”
Did she just say soul connection? Hellfire and brimstone, that explains my pull to Lillie. I want her, but I’m not allowed to have her. What the hell were the fates thinking pairing the two of us together?
7
Can Family be Disowned?
(Lillie Joanna)
Iam so pissed off right now. How dare they. Turning to Daxell, I say, “You’re welcome to leave. This is my family drama. I don’t expect you to stick around or to understand. It’s not fair that I made you come in here with me and I’m sorry for that now.”
“I understand more than you know. I’ll stay because I think I have a stake in this. That, and you may need an ally.”
Tarron is quick to join in, “This is not what we discussed. Dax, you need to leave before things escalate.”
“Escalate? Oh, hell no. None of you in this room have any say over my decisions from this point forward. You are all acting as if I’m a child with little to no experience. I’m sorry. I love you all, but I have earned the right to live my own life, and anyone who challenges me now on that count will regret it.”
I watch as everyone in the room allows my words to sink in and I continue, “I can’t believe that you are so quick to judge someone because of their heritage. That’s so wrong. Da, once you got to know Pipperton, you were all in, you welcomed him and his family into our own. What’s to say that Dax is not like Pipperton? He’s a son of both worlds, not just The Underworld. That should stand for something. Right?!” I demand. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. You all were quick to judge him without information to back that judgment up. I’m ashamed to call you all family. Especially you, uncle Tarron. What the hell?”
I have never seen Tarron look chagrined until just now. It’s then that my mother rushes forward. “Lillie, please -”
“No, Mother. We’re better than this. He’s a good person. I can sense it, but you are all so quick to pass judgment because of who fathered him. You haven’t even met him. He made me breakfast. He covered me with a blanket when I couldn’t. He was thoughtful and he was kind. So none of you get to judge him. Do you hear me?!” I demand.
As my tirade comes to a close there is utter quiet within the room, my mother is the first to approach me, “Lillie, I’m so sorry. You’re right. We were quick
