“Let me guess, there are intruders?” Marcus mocked him.
“Sir.” The Sentinel’s eyes flashed with anger at Tegan before bowing his head slightly.
“Have you alerted others?” Salem asked from his seat behind the rich mahogany desk.
“Darus has alerted Michael and Sloane,” The Sentinel’s head rose slowly to make eye contact with his Elite Elder.
“You may go, Kai,” Marcus said tersely. “Tell Michael and the others, I am here. There is nothing to trouble them.”
Leonid snorted in derision and Tegan watched the Lycan turn slowly and glare at her father. Salem made a slight gesture with his left hand and Marcus sat in the seat beside her father, his attention fully on Leonid. Just then two more Sentinels came through the door, one a younger version of the male behind the desk and the other so tall and broad that Tegan was instantly on alert.
“Son, you do not need to be here. Go back to training,” Salem directed his statement to the dark-haired male, who Tegan had deduced was Michael. Both males wore black combat pants and black t-shirts.
“How did they get in?” Michael walked to the side of his father’s desk and stared hard at both Leonid and Tegan. “You are in a Principal Elder’s presence, your hood should be down, show some respect,” he snapped at Tegan. His companion strode forward with his hand raised as if to draw her hood down. Tegan reacted without thinking and her dagger was in her hand and at his throat. Michael yelled and moved forward causing Leonid to rise swiftly, his hand on the chest of the younger male.
“Vampyre, I suggest you take your hand off of the Heir,” Marcus’s voice was almost indistinguishable with hate as he half crouched in the seat waiting to pounce.
“Vampyre? Seriously?” The male at the end of Tegan’s blade said looking at Leonid with interest. “That’s how you got in?” He relaxed his stance and stood back, seemingly at ease. “You still should have your hood down, Vamp,” he added as he took another step back, gesturing to his friend that he was okay. Michael also relaxed slightly knowing his friend was out of the way of the blade, resuming his place beside his father.
“My daughter gotusin,” Leonid turned to look at the male behind him. “And she is no Vampyre.” All of the attention was now on Tegan. “Daughter, this is not the way I wanted this to be done.” Her father looked at her apologetically. “Close the door.” Tegan turned and closed the door as instructed but she hesitated before turning back to the room. A room where she still remained the focus of everyone’s attention. “Take down your hood.”
Tegan looked at her father for a moment, before she reached up and drew back the hood. Her attention was on Salem and his son who both wore identical looks of astonishment. Her eyes darted to Marcus once, who was looking at her with his mouth open.
“By the Ancient, you look exactly like them.” The large male who had been under her dagger stated.
“Sloane! Language,” Salem snapped. He had risen from his seat when Tegan had taken down her hood and only now seemed to realise it, he resumed sitting before looking at Tegan again. “Leonid, explain this trick.”
“It is no trick, I assure you,” her father held his right hand out and Tegan went to his side.
“How does she look like that?” Michael demanded, his stare was so fierce, Tegan was glad he wasn’t a Castor.
“Born this way, taken after her mother, but more predominately, her father.” It was Leonid’s turn to stare hard at Salem now.
“Celeste?” Salem’s question was no more than a broken whisper.
“Indeed,” Leonid did not soften his voice despite the obvious agony of the male across from him.
“Who’s Celeste?” Michael demanded.
“Aunt Celeste?” The blond male asked. He walked up to Tegan and she tensed at his approach. “Oh the Ancients, I see it now.”
“Sloane. Again, with the language. The Ancients are not to be used for your swearing purposes.” Salem reprimanded the large male, who winked at Tegan before he turned to his Principal Elder.
“Sorry,” Sloane’s apology did not sound remorseful Tegan thought as she returned her attention back to the two men behind the desk.
Leonid turned to look at Sloane fully. “I did not realise Cornelius’s son was here. How is your father? Still stark raving mad?” Cornelius was her mother’s brother, Tegan’s eyes ran over the male,thiswas her cousin? She assessed him with interest, he looked capable and well built.
“He has better days than others,” Sloane answered easily. “Don’t we all?”
“I find that even on my worst days, I don’t wreak savage warfare on innocents,” Leonid regarded Sloane coolly, before dismissing him as he turned back to Salem.
“You just slaughter villages when you’re hungry instead,” Marcus muttered in the chair beside him.
“Once,” Leonid nodded. “Three hundred years ago. I will never be absolved of my actions that day and I won’t be until the Ancients decree it to be so, but it is a mistake from hunger that I have never made again.” Leonid turned cold eyes to Marcus. “Can you say the same Lycan?”
Marcus turned his head away, his face flushing from anger or embarrassment, Tegan wasn’t sure.
“Enough,” Salem instructed. “Tell me how you have a child of Celeste’s? I don’t believe there is no trick here.”