"Don't," she said, her voice sharp as she pushed to her feet. "You don't know what they're like."
After fifteen years of being friends with Ilianna, I did know what they were like. They weren't the ogres she was depicting them to be. She was underestimating them. Or at least, underestimating her mom. Her dad was a stallion, and they did tend to have one-track minds when it came to mares and their uses.
But this battle wasn't one I could help her with. I reached out and squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry. And thank you."
She smiled. "The things I do for you two—first basketball, now dinner. You owe me big time, girl."
"Meaning you want me to take your place at the dinner?" I waggled my eyebrows at her. "I certainly wouldn't mind getting to know a prime bit of stallion."
She laughed and swatted at my shoulder. "Wrap Tao's present. His mom will be here any minute."
Tao's mom was human, not wolf, but it was from her he'd inherited his fire-starting skills. His dad had been from the wealthy Neale brown pack, and Tao the result of a one-night stand. All wolves—even the half-breeds like me—were electronically chipped at puberty to prevent conception, but something had gone wrong—or right, depending on which way you looked at it—with the device that night. Tao's dad had supported both him and his mother, but he'd died when Tao was nine. Tao had inherited his wealth on turning eighteen, and had been supporting his mom ever since.
Ilianna walked out, closing the door behind her. I contemplated the serpent-like dragon now decorating my arm, and wondered who the hell would send me such a thing …
My thoughts froze. Oh God.
Not my father.
Surely not.
And yet, everyone was so convinced he would contact me.
What if this was some kind of message?
How it could be, I had no idea. But then, I didn't know my father. I didn't know where he was, or what he was really involved in. For all I knew, this could be some important key in the research meant to bring an end to the gates.
I closed my eyes and gingerly rubbed my temple for several seconds. My head was suddenly aching even more fiercely than before, and it had nothing to do with the strain of the last few hours.