and Fleur is their only option to be parents.”
“Fuck, no!”
“Scarlett!”
Scarlett giggled and checked to confirm Fleur remained asleep. “Sorry, but no way does that cretin get to take our beautiful girl.”
They exchanged meaningful looks. “Agreed.”
***
“You’re what?!” Garik asked.
Sulen ran a hand over his hair and gripped the back of his neck. A night of sleep hadn’t helped bring clarity to the matter. “Mated. I have a bond mate.”
Silence echoed across the comm line. Sulen couldn’t say what had compelled him to reach out to Garik about the situation but he’d been the first person he thought to talk to. To his credit, Garik didn’t question the oddity of him calling. It’s not like they were friends.
“Tell me how you managed to meet someone, fall in love and bond with her when I only asked you to go there a few days ago.”
Sulen understood Garik’s frustration. He was frustrated too. “It’s a long story and I only have part of it. I’m hoping to know more today when I meet with her.”
“Who is this woman? What’s her name?” Garik spat out the questions in rapid succession.
“Amelie.” Sulen didn’t add information about the daughter. He wasn’t sure how all of it tied together yet.
“Contact me later. I’ll have the information needed to dispel this fraud.” Garik ended the comm before Sulen could protest.
He started to call back and tell him not to bother but reminded himself he didn’t know anything about this woman and she’d created an elaborate ruse. Did Sulen want to be a part of something like that?
A vision of the dark-haired little girl teased at Sulen’s mind. He compared it to the man...Roan with his blond hair and green eyes. Other than the eye color, she didn’t favor the supposed father. Oddly, she looked like...him but that was impossible. Sulen hadn’t slept with her mother.
And she wasn’t his mate.
He had to keep saying it to himself. Now that he’d met her in person, Sulen was drawn to her even more. The desire to claim what was his continued to drive through his heart and mind, the bond insisting they were connected intimately and urging him to reconfirm the mating physically.
Sliding his handheld comm into his pants pocket, Sulen turned off the lights in the rental he’d booked and left for his meeting with Amelie today.
The walk to her home served two purposes. He could observe the area and the residents for Garik and Saedra’s future home while getting an idea of possible places Amelie might run and hide if he confronted her about her scheme. He’d waited years for this and wasn’t letting her get away so easily.
He knocked on the door of the house she’d led him to the day before. The quick comp search he’d run on her background showed she’d lived in this residence throughout her time on the colony. It was easy to see the appeal of the place.
There was an abundance of flowers flourishing behind a fenced in area on both sides of her front yard. The trim on her one level home and the outside décor were in neat order. It matched his impression for the interior when he’d been inside yesterday.
At the time, anger at his discovery of her fake bond mating story may have been prominent in his thoughts but he hadn’t missed a single detail.
“She’s not home. Amelie goes to work during the day,” a voice called out.
Sulen tensed then forced his shoulders to ease as he paused on the walkway to Amelie’s house. An older woman was seated on a chair in front of the house on the right. “Where is she?”
Tiny wrinkles at the corners of her mouth tightened from his brusque tone. “Who did you say you were again?”
Sulen turned from Amelie’s house and walked toward the woman. Adjusting his demeanor, he plastered a friendly expression on his face. He wouldn’t get anywhere if he treated this situation like a preliminary scouting mission to assassinate a target. “I didn’t. I’m Sulen Czen.”
Sulen had no need to hide the truth of his identity. If this place worked out and passed his scrutiny, Garik and Saedra would live here and there might be the occasion for Sulen to visit.
“Sulen! You’ve been gone a while. It’s a pleasure to finally meet Amelie’s bond mate and Fleur’s father.”
Sulen masked a grimace at those false details and nodded as if agreeing without actually saying anything. “Do you know where they are? I was hoping to spend time with them but we haven’t