Ambrose held my hand while my father led us to a secluded valley. Papa appeared to be quite displeased when Ambrose took his chance to escort me, but he said nothing while I kissed Ambrose and hugged my vampire's neck.

My father and I have had a good time together as far as I could tell. He was very quiet, but he definitely wasn't emotionless or expressionless. Ambrose had apparently stayed with my grandfather and they talked a lot. Baron seemed pleased to have a new "friend" of sorts, so I was happy he was getting along with Ambrose.

"Little wolf, are you truly not affected by your father's aura?"

I hummed. "I can sense it clear as day, but it's more comforting than scary. Maybe because we are aware of each other?"

"Perhaps." muttered Ambrose, then kissed my head again. "I will stay at the tree line so as not to disturb your time with him."

I pecked his lips. "Thank you, Rose. And I'm sorry for making you stand around."

He shook his head. "After this, I have to meet with someone. You will stay with your father."

"Okay, thank you. And I have kept the barrier up around you, Rose, so you can feel a bit more relaxed."

Ambrose smiled. "Thank you, little wolf."

He set my feet down and leaned against a pine tree, so I blew him a kiss and then hurried towards my father in the middle of the field. He looked at me with great fondness, then shifted into his enormous hybrid form. My jaw dropped. He looked identical to me except his fur and scales were different colors than mine, and he was over thirty feet tall at his head instead of a bit over twenty feet like me. He even had the same twisty horns and the hidden scales under his fur, although he did have scales defining his noble wolf face.

I rushed up to his front talons and admired the pretty gray and white scales. "What are these made of?" I asked him, and he flinched.

"Black lace jasper, fortified only because of my magic." rumbled his baritone voice.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, petting his forelegs and pitch black fur. "You really are handsome, Papa! Both forms!"

I sensed his pride and pleasure, which made me very giggly. He asked me to shift, so I did and I sensed his amazement. I nuzzled his jawline and sniffed him, scenting his fur. He turned his head, so I saw the ragged scar that cut through his fur and down his blind right eye.

He nosed my form and then buried his snout in my silvery heather fur, inhaling deeply of my scent. I did the same and relaxed, my legs buckling. Papa began to bathe me with his tongue and it felt surprisingly good.

Ambrose probed my mind. "Little wolf, I must head out now. I hope you have a lovely time with your father."

"Mm, thank you. Have a safe trip, Rose. I love you lots!"

"I love you too, my little wolf. Thank you." he said firmly, and I realized that thank you was for more than just wishing him a safe trip.

I sensed him leave, then returned my head to the ground. Papa cleaned behind my ears, then took a seat next to me and laid down. I tiredly licked his talons while my huge, fluffy tail thumped on top of his own.

"Is it less lonely now, Papa?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm the only other dragon-wolf hybrid. Was it lonely for you all this time?"

My papa sighed and opened his eyes. "I suppose so. Work kept me busy. I met your mother in a bar on one of my days off, although there was another reason that was irritating. I regret having sex with that woman, but I do not regret you as the outcome of her union with me. If only I had known about you sooner."

"It's okay, Papa. I'm just happy things worked out."

We returned to our human forms and I got up, hurrying over to where my father was now sitting upright. I leaped on him and he caught me with his large hands, then swept my legs to one side and plopped my rear end in his lap. I pressed the right side of my head to his muscled chest and sighed softly as his arms curled protectively around me.

"My son, will you show me your weapon and the story of how you received it?"

I looked up at his strong profile, the hot sun beamed overhead and caused my father's face to be in shadow. I used my magic to plant a beach umbrella just behind my father and he glanced back at it with a small but amused smile on his face. Now that we were in the shade, I had the sword appear.

My father's breath hitched. "Is that The Wolf's Requiem?"

"How'd you know, Papa?" I asked with a grin, my tail wiggling over his legs on the grass.

His one violet eye met my sparkling orbs. "How did you attain it? Are you able to draw it?"

I nodded, then moved out of his arms and stood up. I strapped my sword to my hip and drew the blade from its scabbard. It sung sweetly as I did so, which made my tail wag. It sounded nice. The sword hummed with what I sensed as happiness, which made me giggly.

"Come here, son."

My wolf ears perked up and I quickly stepped over to my father. "Yes, Papa?"

He held out his left hand and I placed my own on his fingers. I cocked my head to the side. "Papa?" I asked again, and his lips curled up in amusement.

"Why must my little boy be so adorable?" he murmured, and my alabaster skin flushed beet-red. He glanced up and chuckled. "Did you hear me, little wolf?"

I shyly nodded, then sheathed my sword and hugged it with my tail. The sword began to glow, then strange markings began to appear on its core through the scabbard. My father was just as startled as me when it all ended. All was well, so I stored it away again.

"What was that about?" I asked, carefully moving down into his lap again.

"I believe those were ancient runes, my son. Only magical relics from thousands of years ago have runes. So your sword, The Wolf's Requiem, is the real one."

"Daviel said that it had a free will. It wouldn't let Daviel pick it up, but it accepted me." I explained, and my father rubbed my head. I hummed happily and leaned into his touch.

"Who is Daviel?"

"Rose's primal side." I giggled, my tail whacking his back. "Daviel used to be more expressive than Rose, but Rose is much better now after the night before last."

My father's dark aura intensified and the pitch black magic began to resurface. It wiggled its jelly-like tentacles at me and I reached for them again, but my father grasped my hands and placed them on his chest.

"Do not touch."

"Look how disappointed it is!" I whined, gesturing towards his drooping magic with my head. "Why can't we be friends?"

Papa's good eye darkened, but I continued to pout at him. We had a staring match for two minutes, then I had no choice but to blink. I rubbed my face on my papa's chest with a loud sigh, then felt his hand cup the back of my head.

"Why are you so determined to become friends with my dangerous magic, pup?"

I puffed my cheeks out again, but answered a few seconds later. "Because it's not dangerous to me. It feels warm, comforting, curious, and protective. Just like you, Papa."

His fingers tightened and squeezed my nape, which made me I mewl shudder with pleasure. My father was so startled that he released me and my limp upper body flopped off his lap into the grass. I continued to tremble as the pleasurable numbness began to fade ever so slowly.

"Pup? Did I hurt you?" whispered my father, his large hands gently lifting my upper body and cradling me in his lap.

"Mm, nope. Just the opposite, Papa." I giggled childishly, and his violet eye seemed to sparkle. "I just have sensitive spots because of my wolf traits. I'm guessing you're more dragon than wolf in that aspect."

"Hmm, perhaps." he hummed, then petted my ears. "Tell me about how you attained The Wolf's Requiem."

So I did. My father was quiet throughout, but he seemed pleased with how I defeated that vampire lady by crushing her with my weight. He was also surprised about Ambrose, but he seemed to have heard about my vampire from his concerned expression.

While my father was lost in thought, I played around with my magic. I made translucent miniature animals and they crawled into my hands. I giggled and gave them kisses, then set them back on the ground to run or laze around. I sensed Papa's magic again and noticed it to my left, although it seemed to be curious of the colorful little animals dancing and prancing across the grass in front of and around me.

Seeing the pitch black magic react so alike to my father, I wondered if it had its own free will or if my father's true desires were expressed through excess magic that was unable to be contained inside him when he wasn't paying attention.

I gently poked the magic jello again and eyestalks appeared from it. I was quite fascinated by the wiggling, snaillike creature and went to pick it up the largest part of it. Now my father was paying attention, so he clasped my hands again. I pouted once more, but smiled when I watched the magic retreat while my father watched the little animals play on the grass by our feet.

"Did you create the moving figurines?" he asked, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Papa, who else would? We're the only ones here."

He snorted but said nothing in response. I turned around in his lap and faced the meadow, my back against his front. My father looped his arms around my waist and sighed softly.

"I hear that you must return home soon. Is there a reason?"

"Mmhm, another beloved has a birthday that I will be there for. We're going on a date, too."

"Tell me what your family—your beloveds are like. How did you meet them all? How many do you have?"

I blushed. "I promise I'm not selfish, Papa. I just have a lot of love to give."

My father chuckled. "Just answer my questions, Anwyll."

I nodded and swept my tail into my lap, then began to answer the questions he'd asked while playing with the tiny animals I'd made. My father's magic came out again, much to his dismay, so again I wondered if he didn't have full control over it. Maybe that's why Baron is afraid of him too, despite the great pride and respect he holds for my father as well.

Since I wasn't allowed to touch my father's magic, I urged my magic animals to go play with it. They were eager like me, so they trotted and hopped over to the pitch black jello and began playing with it. My father ruffled my hair and kissed my crown.

"It seems as though my son is very well-loved. It almost makes me feel a bit lonely."

"You could come live with us, Papa."

His rejection of that idea stung a bit. I asked him why not, and his answer was more heartbreaking than I'd first thought.

"My magic is too overwhelming for humans and normal nonhuman creatures. Most of the time I can control my aura and my magic, but I cannot around you. Perhaps it is because we are the same, my own magic will not cooperate and instead spill out in a relaxed state around you. If anyone else had touched that intensely concentrated magic that spills from my shadow, they would have instantly died."

"Then maybe you can live nearby and I can come visit you?"

Again that plan was rejected. I wanted to cry.

"Why, Papa?"

"It is too risky, my dear son. However, you can come visit me where I live as much as you like. I live near my family and only they can withstand the uncontainable magic I carry. I cannot leave my property very often and especially not on the full moon. My magic swallows everything around me, and people have died because of it. I cannot control it as much as I desire to. It is a curse that cannot be broken—I have tried for nearly three millennia."

"Then why did you meet my mother that night at a bar if you couldn't control your magic?" I asked, my bottom lip trembling.

My father hugged me tighter. "I lost a bet and my sister cast a strong magic spell to temporarily contain my magic for one night. I felt ill because of it, but went to a bar with her. She left me alone and a woman approached. She had light brown hair, dark eyes, and pale skin with a tattoo around her neck. She was looking for a night with a strong man, so I gave her a night to remember and she ran off the next morning. I had never heard about her since then until just yesterday afternoon when Alpha Baron contacted me."

"Oh, okay. So if I were to store your magic in an infinite place inside you, would you still feel ill because it's not able to breathe?"

He paused. "What?"

I quirked my lips to the side. "Papa, have you ever considered creating a space to funnel your overwhelming magic inside and leave air holes for it to breathe? Rather than trying to remove your 'curse', since that's never worked, try to accommodate the magic you have to make your life more comfortable. I can literally do anything I put my mind to because my magic came from you. What makes you think you can't do the same?"

I took hold of his magic and held it on my lap, and it took the shape of a small dragon. I grinned at the jelly creature and kissed its nose, then looked back at my father. He had turned to stone. I giggled and felt the jelly dragon lick my cheek.