I took a seat on the couch and waited nervously as Toby placed the call. “Hey, Allie. We need to talk.”
I gripped the cushion below me. That phone call officially meant there was no turning back.
Chapter Three
Jared
I’d just drifted off to sleep when my phone rang. I’d switched it to vibrate, but the vibration against the wooden nightstand woke me up immediately. I picked up quickly, hoping it was Casey.
“Jared.” Levi’s voice bellowed at me through the phone.
I dialed down my disappointment. I wanted to see Casey, but I wasn’t going to chase her. She’d have to come to me—at least for now. “Yeah, man.”
“You need to get down here.”
“Now?” I glanced at the digital clock. “It’s almost one a.m.”
“That’s early for you. Get here.” Levi sounded crazed, so I knew I didn’t have much time to waste.
“You know I’m in New York, don’t you? It’s going to take a while.”
“Just get your ass into my office now.” The line went dead.
I couldn’t afford to leave Levi waiting. Less than a minute later, I’d put on a pair of jeans and shoes and taken off. The nice thing about being a Pteron is you don’t have to worry about anything as annoying as a plane ticket to get places in a rush.
The wind felt amazing against my wings, and I watched the city lights dance below me as I headed toward the country. Levi hadn’t told me anything over the phone, but I knew it couldn’t be good. Levi wouldn’t wake me up without a good reason. He also wouldn’t leave Allie in bed unless he had to, and he’d called from his office.
I tried not to overthink it. He was still pissed at me for sneaking into Angola, but this couldn’t be about that mistake again. He’d already said his piece, and I was doing exactly what I was supposed to do—I was monitoring things in New York. Of course, sleeping with Casey wasn’t in the description, but as long as I didn’t let her distract me from my work, it was fine. I never let girls distract me, even ones whose bodies called to me in my dreams.
Three hours later, I landed outside my house to grab a shirt before heading down to the hotel. The manager wasn’t a fan of us walking through the lobby shirtless.
Owen was sitting on the couch when I walked in.
“Waiting up for me?” I liked giving my roommate a hard time.
“Only because Levi told me to.”
“What, was he afraid I wouldn’t show up?”
Owen shrugged. “I don’t know, he just said it’s urgent.”
“It better be. I flew three hours to get here.” I walked down to my room and grabbed a t-shirt. I didn’t put it on yet since I knew we’d be flying again.
“There’s only one way to find out what’s up.” Owen picked up his keys and phone and headed to the door.
“Unless it’s the end of the world, let’s get a drink after. I could use one.”
Owen smirked. “Trouble in paradise with Casey?”
“No.” How did he know I was thinking about her?
“But you’ve seen her. What’s the problem, bro? She too much for you?”
I grunted. “Let’s get down to the hotel.”
The flight took mere minutes, then we rushed through the lobby and down to the basement level of the hotel.
Levi was pacing the marble floored halls around his office when we showed up. “Took you long enough.”
“Flying halfway across the country takes a while.” I shifted my weight.
“Yeah. I guess you’ve lost your speed with your old age.”
“Don’t talk. You’ll be twenty-three soon enough.” I was only a few months older than Levi, but the joke was I was the old one.
“I don’t fly as slow as an old man.” Levi threw around those sorts of comments all the time, but something felt off. He didn’t have his usual joking tone.
“What’s so important you had to get us down here at four a.m.?” Owen asked. Pterons barely need sleep, but getting called in at that hour wasn’t ideal for us either.
“Let’s talk in my office.” Levi turned and headed inside his cluttered space. He really needed to learn to clean up after himself.
I took a seat in one of the extra chairs. Owen sat down next to me. Levi kicked the door closed before sitting down behind the large wooden desk. There was still something weird about talking to Levi with the desk between us. It emphasized the boss-inferior relationship we now had. I didn’t like it at all.
Levi leaned back in his chair. “Allie got some insane news tonight.”
“Is she okay?” If Allie was hurt or upset it explained Levi’s mood. He’d do anything to keep Allie happy.
“Allie’s fine. This isn’t about her.”
“Then who is it about?” Owen glanced at me to see if I had any idea what was coming.
“Casey.”
“What?” I coughed. “My Casey?”
Owen laughed. “Calling her yours already?”
“If he is, this is going to be even worse.” Levi looked away.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He put his hands behind his head. “My dad’s an idiot.”
“And this is news?” I grinned. Levi’s opinion of his father was about as high as mine was of my father. Pretty damn low.
“He fucked around behind my mom’s back.” Levi practically spit the words. I understood his anger. Sleeping around on your mate was bad for a Pteron, but it was unheard of for a royal. It could also have huge consequences.
“Uh…” Owen stared blankly.
Levi closed his eyes then opened them. “It gets worse.”
“Worse?” My voice wavered. I knew whatever was coming was going to be bad.
He sat up straight. “He got her pregnant. She had a daughter.”
“What?” This couldn’t relate to Casey. It couldn’t. “How long ago did that happen?”
“Nineteen years ago.” Levi paused. “It’s Casey.”
“No.” I shook my head. I refused to believe it.
Owen stared at Levi. “Are you seriously suggesting Casey is your sister?”
My head spun. This couldn’t be happening.
“My half-sister. Toby saw a paternity test. I had Georgina trace it. It’s legit.”
I got out of my chair and tossed it into the wall. The wood splintered into pieces.
“Whoa. Calm down, man.” Owen spoke to me, but I could only vaguely hear him over my anger.