“It’s the principle of the thing.” I got into the car, catching a glimpse of a bush moving at the side of my yard.

Apparently, the minions weren’t actually hiding from me—they’d given that up after a few days of getting constantly called out by me—they were keeping out of the public eye. They didn’t want anyone knowing they were there.

Jack had brought by the “official” assessment of my magic and power level, then the one that had actually come out of the machine. Kieran hadn’t been lying about anything. My mom had banged a Demigod with a lineage to Hades. I was likely a mistake, and she’d kept it a secret. Kieran still didn’t know which Demigod was my father. He was apparently stepping lightly so as not to raise suspicion.

I didn’t want to know. Coming to grips with the fact that I possessed one of the most feared types of magic had been hard enough—I didn’t need to duke it out with Daddy dearest. One day I’d have to circle back and learn how to use my powers just in case Kieran brought more trouble, but for now…I wanted to pretend my life hadn’t changed in a horribly dangerous direction. I wanted to focus on the kids.

“Does this mean we can stop giving Mordecai the medicine?” Daisy asked in a small voice. A dozen questions had been on repeat since Mordecai had checked into the hospital, this being one of them.

“If the procedure worked, then yes, we can stop giving him the medicine.”

She nodded, staring out the window. “And we’re positive that meddling bastard can’t get his hooks into us or Mordie for this?”

“Kieran has no legal way to use this goodwill to his benefit. We can walk away.”

“And we will? Walk away?” She side-eyed me.

I hadn’t yet told them that I would be taking the job. But Daisy, very astute when someone was trying to get something over on her, had noticed when the contract disappeared from the kitchen table. She’d asked about it, I’d fibbed and claimed I’d filed it, and the questions had come pouring in.

I was pretty sure she was onto me.

“Totally,” I said, and it almost sounded believable.

I showed my badge to the guard at the magical gate. “Lovely afternoon, gov’na. Fine weather we’re having,” I said in a horrible British accent.

He passed my ID under the scanner before readying the light to shine through the back. The machine beeped and his gaze snapped to me. “This is the old ID. Where’s the new one?

“What…new one?” I asked, pushing up in my seat to make sure I’d given him the right card.

He zeroed in on the screen. “Newly issued. Check your mail.” He handed my ID back. “In the future, use that lane.” He pointed at the fast-track lane beside me.

“But…” I glanced over before looking at the grim face pictured on my ID.

“Meddling bastard,” Daisy grumbled.

“Keep moving.” The guard waved me on.

“Right, yes. Because bumping me up in the world is a great way to keep me on the DL, Kieran,” I mumbled, stepping on the gas pedal.

“You need to get rid of him,” Daisy said, still looking out the window. “I enjoy all the hot guys hanging around the house, but it’s a bit much.”

Yes. It was. But try telling that to a possessive Demigod. He’d laugh in your face.

This one had laughed in my face, at least.

At the hospital, I parked near the back and took an extra few minutes meandering in. Instead of taking the lead and urging me to walk faster, Daisy kept pace, silent.

She was just as worried as I was that this was all some trick, and we’d show up to bad news.

Mirroring her deep breath, I made my way through the hospital doors, the anxiety a live thing in my middle.

“Will he need therapy?” Daisy asked quietly as we entered the elevator.

“No. He’ll be just like you and me. Healthy. A normal kid.”

“But weak.”

“As weak as he’s always been, yes. He’ll need to start running and exercising. But he can get stronger now.” Hopefully.

“At least those hot minion guys are still cooking. They’re making us a lot of protein stuff, I’ve noticed. They’re getting him ready to bulk up.”

I nodded as the elevator chimed and the doors shimmied open. “I should stop their charity, but…”

“He needs it,” Daisy said softly.

I didn’t comment.

“He won’t need any medicine at all?” she asked.

“No. No medicine,” I said patiently, taking her hand as we walked slowly down the hallway.

A large figure stood outside Mordecai’s door, and for one heart-stopping moment, I worried it might be a shifter, here to wipe out the new threat. But a moment later, I recognized the face and body: Zorn, the minion with wavy brown hair and piercing gray eyes.

“Hey,” I said as we approached. I was thankful for his presence. Mordecai wasn’t well enough for the alpha to issue a challenge just yet, but an alpha with no morals could kill him in his sleep.

Zorn nodded and stepped to the side, his hands clasped in front of him and his tailored suit wrinkle-free.

I wrapped my fingers around the cold metal door handle. I couldn’t seem to will myself to turn it. “How is he?”

“He is healing at an incredible rate, even for a shifter,” Zorn said in his heavy, scratchy voice, as though it had been damaged from aggressive screaming over an extended period of time. “His body has been waging a serious war all these years. The doctors are amazed he survived it. A lesser shifter wouldn’t have, not with the way his body was fighting his power.”

A weight pressed on my chest. Heat prickled my eyes. “But he’s okay? He’ll…be fixed? He won’t hurt anymore?”

Zorn looked at me full-on now, assessing. His expression softened, if a stone could be said to soften. “He’ll be better than new. Some shifters become tough because they’re subjected to cruelty, but the rough treatment turns them into unbalanced individuals, like the current alpha of the Green Hills Pack. Battling his condition, with you and Daisy at his back, has amped up Mordecai’s resilience and endurance. You helped shape a well-rounded boy, who will turn into a powerhouse of a well-rounded man. He owes his future success to you, Alexis. You did good.”

Tears dripped down my face and sobs choked me. I’d never expected to hear something like that. Not in my wildest dreams.

“Thank you,” I said, trying to calm my quivering voice. “For saying that. It helps.”

He turned his head, looking straight. “I wasn’t trying to help. I was speaking the truth.”

“He’s like a robot half the time,” Daisy muttered, but I could hear the emotion in her voice. “Or a zombie.”

I took a deep breath and turned the handle. The foot of the bed came into view, and a moment later, I stalled as Kieran turned toward the door. His eyes rested on mine for a long beat, stormy but sparkling, in that face the angels had clearly blessed.

Butterflies swarmed my stomach and my heart gave a worrying lurch.

I hadn’t seen him for these last two weeks. Not once. He hadn’t stopped by the pub, nor had he hung around the house. He hadn’t even called.

I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat and moved into the room on stiff feet.

Mordecai sat up, his back resting on a pile of white, fluffy pillows. His turquoise blanket sat in a ball at his side, the one thing he’d insisted on bringing. His eyes widened when he noticed me, then Daisy, and a smile stretched across his relaxed face.

Without his tight eyes and the creases in his skin from the constant pain, he looked like a stranger. Like a normal fifteen-year-old kid who had his whole life ahead of him.

The sobs I’d stuffed down upon entering broke free, shaking my body.

“You look good,” I said, smiling through my tears and wiping furiously at my face.

“I feel good,” he said, beaming now. “I just feel…like I’m sitting here. I don’t even have to try at it. I’m just sitting here, enjoying the day.”

More sobs took me, my heart aching with happiness and guilt, knowing what it must’ve been like all these years. I was so happy he could be in a place of peace. That he didn’t hurt anymore.

I looked at Kieran, my eyes leaking like faucets. “Thank you for doing this. You didn’t have to.”

Kieran shifted and slipped his hands into his pockets, like he was embarrassed. “There wasn’t anyone more deserving.”

I nodded, because that was absolutely true.

“Thank you,” Daisy said tersely, staring at Kieran like she wanted to kill him. It was a defense mechanism. “You saved my brother. And for that, I respect you.” She flicked her hair. “It doesn’t mean I’m cool with…” She waved her finger in my general direction. “But this was big…and you deserve credit for that.”

Kieran nodded slowly, his expression not changing, but the glimmer in his eyes turned up a notch. “Alexis, may I speak with you?” he asked politely, motioning me toward the window in the corner of the room.

Daisy worked around me to get to Mordecai’s head. “You look really good, Mordie. Except for your hair. That hasn’t come back in. We might need to look into Hair Club for Men, because you can’t go around looking like that now that you’re well…”