LUCAN’S HEART CRUMBLED to stone dust. After discovering that Elise had betrayed him three nights ago, he stayed far from Salem. The sting of her betrayal cut like storm winds on his wings. His muscles were too stiff, affecting the trajectory of flight. No matter how far he soared, the bitterness clung to him, weighing him down.

He avoided Elise. How could he be near her and see her lying eyes?

To numb himself, he indulged in an excess of whiskey. But, it hampered his ability to fly, so then he couldn’t soothe himself that way.

On Sunday afternoon when the fog in his brain finally lifted, he met Danton and Mattias at the apartment Danton shared with Tracy. She was in a study group, so they had the place to themselves. With three gargoyles in the one-bedroom place, it was already crowded enough.

Lucan paced before the coffee table in the living room. “She lied to me. Betrayed me.”

Danton paced and rubbed his jaw. “There has to be some explanation.”

Lucan grunted. “That she’s a woman and a witch, as evil as her sister.”

Even as he heard the words come out of his mouth, a part of him knew it wasn’t true. Elise had been nothing like Veronique. But dammit, why did she lie to me?

At least, Veronique was gone. After tying her to the dumpster, he notified his boss, Tristan. As a descendent of a long line of witches, he’d set the calls in motion to inhibit Veronique’s use of magic and ship her out of the country. She was back with the council awaiting trial for cursing him. Although she wasn’t dead, perhaps justice would catch up with her in the end.

“Something doesn’t add up,” Mattias said. “Why would she free you from the curse and fight her sister?”

Lucan rubbed his forehead and grumbled, “Hell if I know. Once again it proves I don’t know shit about women. I didn’t with Veronique back then and I sure as hell haven’t learned anything by now—with her sister, nonetheless.” He threw his hands up. “And now I have a daughter. I’m the worst possible choice to be a father.”

“You need to take a step back, so you can look at things clearly,” Danton said. “When it comes to Veronique, you’re so blinded by rage, you can’t see the bigger picture. Or, what’s more important to you.”

“And what’s that, my older and wiser brother?” Lucan said with contempt. Perhaps Danton was partially right, but years of boiling anger had clouded Lucan’s judgment. He’d admit that.

“It’s not just Marguerite,” Danton said, “but Elise.”

Her name hit Lucan like a cold slap. He’d been a fool to think she might have been his mate. Maybe he’d had a fantasy or two that he could share a slightly bigger apartment like this with her and Marguerite one day. Fat chance of that ever happening. He was wrong. A mate wouldn’t betray him the way she had.

He raised his hands and stepped back. “No. This isn’t helping.” He had to get away from them. Escape the betrayal. He left the apartment to go back to searching for solace in the skies.

As he searched for cover to shift, a young woman’s voice stopped him.

“Dad?”

He turned on hearing Marguerite’s voice. That one word only reserved for him cracked through the hardness shielding his heart.

“Marguerite, what are you doing here?”

“I heard what happened.”

“From who?” He had a solid guess, so he wasn’t sure why he asked that.

She raised her brows in a come-on look. “Aunt Elise, of course.”

“Oh.” He swallowed. “How is she?” Wait, why was he asking that? She lied to him—he shouldn’t care about where she was or what she was doing.

“Being thoroughly miserable.”

A sharp pain twisted inside him. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel any pain. “Why?”

“Come on, Dad. You don’t have to play dumb. I know there’s something going on between you—and now look at you? You look like hell, like you haven’t slept in a week and are just as miserable as she is.”

He grimaced. “That’s what happens when people lie to those who care about them.” He heard the bitterness in his voice and wanted to slap the bullshit out of his mouth. What a fine time for a parenting lecture from an absentee father.

“What did she lie about?”

“About your mother. Saying she was dead.”

Marguerite furrowed her brows. “She said that?” She shook her head. “That’s weird. My mom was sent away, not dead. She was going to be put on trial for using dark magic to control others—like what she did to you.”

“Then how did she end up here?”

Marguerite gave him a come on, it’s obvious look. “She escaped. She’s pretty good with dark magic, as you know.”

Lucan replayed the conversations with Elise in his head, searching for the exact words. She’d said that Veronique was gone. Had she ever used the word dead?

Shit, he couldn’t recall that ever happening. When the spell had been broken, he’d assumed Veronique had died. He’d pictured her death so many times, it was easy to conclude. Elise had said that her sister was gone, leaving Marguerite without a mother. It must have reinforced his assumption.

Oh fuck. She hadn’t betrayed him after all, but he’d pushed her away with that unfounded accusation.

He was a world-class idiot. And he’d almost made the biggest mistake of his life.

“Damn it, I was wrong.” He shook his head and implored his daughter, “Can you take me to her?”

“Sure.” She beamed with a wide smile. “As long as you fly us there.”

Lucan laughed. He hadn’t taken his daughter out for a flight yet. “Of course. Otherwise, what kind of gargoyle father would I be?”

She responded with a sage nod. “Not a bad one at all. I’m glad Aunt Elise convinced me to come meet you.”

They exchanged a look that spoke more than he could ever say. They were father and daughter. They’d figure this out.

Maybe he wasn’t such a shit dad after all. After a rocky start, he might get better at it with time.

And, Elise had brought them together. Created a family. Would she still want to be part of it with them?

Before he shifted to gargoyle form, he added, “Hold on. Your dashing dad is about to look more handsome.”

She laughed, but then her face dropped. “She’s planning for us to return to France sooner than we’d planned.”

His gut caved in. “How soon?”

“Tomorrow.”

Fuck! All his muscles hardened while he screamed inside his head. She couldn’t go. She was the one for him. The only one.

His mate.

His soul whispered the word again—mate, as if relieved he’d finally understood.

What an idiot he’d been for not accepting that fact sooner.

“Marguerite, I want to ask you something.”

“What?”

“I know we had a rough start, but I want to be a part of your life. Would you ever consider staying here with me instead of returning to France?”

She peered at him with wondrous surprise before her face spread into an enormous grin. “I thought you’d never ask.” She rushed over and gave him a big hug.

He held his daughter in his arms. Something about this moment felt so right. For thirteen years, he’d dreamed of destroying the woman who’d cursed him. He’d given up that drive for the daughter they’d had—and for Elise. They gave him a reason to live rather than destroy.

And with the comfort of his daughter safely in his embrace, he knew it had been the right thing. She might never have forgiven him otherwise.

When Marguerite pulled back, she smiled with a wise look of someone well beyond her age. “But, only if Aunt Elise stays, too.”

He nodded. “I couldn’t agree with you more. But, will she want to be near me?”

He’d lashed out at Elise, accusing her of being just like her horrid sister.

Marguerite sighed. “She’s been pretty upset. Devastated actually.”

His stomach caved in. What a dick he’d been.

“Then again, I’ve never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you,” she added.

A flutter of hope rose within. He gave his daughter a half-smile. “Worth a shot, right?”

“Right,” she agreed. “The worst that could happen is that she’ll turn you down. And maybe tell you to piss off.”

“Hey,” he scolded. “Language.”

“Oops, sorry,” she said. “So, are we going to fly to her or what?”

“Yes,” he replied. “But, first, I need to go get something important.”