"Wow," breathed Waltz. "So you're an old man just like Ambrose!"

Ambrose and Papa spluttered while Dian shushed Waltz, but Daddy was smiling while everyone else was either laughing or shaking their heads.

I frowned at Waltz and he winced when he noticed I wasn't amused by his remark. He quickly apologized and then hopped over to me to kiss my cheek.

"I know you blurt things out of habit, Alt, but you do have to polite sometimes." I whispered, cupping his cheeks. "Besides, Papa and Rose can't even be considered old men. They're ancient nonhumans."

Papa grunted and Ambrose huffed, crossing his legs. Waltz giggled and kissed my cheeks, his pretty gossamer butterfly-like wings fluttering behind him for a moment. He returned to his seat with Dian across the couch, then Papa tugged me into his lap. Daddy had been sitting next to me, so he glowered at my papa for hogging my attention. Papa didn't notice or maybe he just ignored my daddy since Daddy was like a kid comparatively. But Daddy was also in Papa's blind spot since it was my father's right eye that was blind.

Papa hugged my form, curling down to press his nose into my hair. He visibly relaxed and closed his eyes for a moment, so I did the same while leaning back into his chest. Papa's purrs sounded like mine in my hybrid form and that made me feel even closer to my papa.

Daddy grunted. "How long are you planning to stay?"

"Are you proposing to kick me out if I stay 'too long'?" asked Papa, his irritation growing. "He is my son, not yours."

I winced and looked at my daddy. That retort had cut deeply into my daddy. His stricken expression was filled with hurt. I tried to clamber out of Papa's arms, but he held me tighter to himself. Daddy's honey-gold eyes filled with unshed tears when he noticed me reaching for him, but he stood up and left the room without a word.

"Papa, you shouldn't have said it in that way." I murmured, tilting my head to my left to look into his left eye.

Papa looked away from me, then sighed a few moments later. "Yes, I was being rather childish. But I could not help it, my son. Alexandre was neither welcoming nor sympathetic to my situation despite knowing that I cannot come live with you."

"Okay, but you were not sympathetic towards him, who lived his life believing I was his blood-related son for eighteen years. Daddy's name is also on my birth certificate. Meanwhile, you only heard about me and met me about six weeks ago." I reminded, and Papa bit his lip.

"I should go apologize." murmured Papa, then kissed my head and set my butt down on the couch as he got up.

I watched him leave, then looked at my family. Damon had an expression of awe, and Blaine was impressed for some reason. Waltz was solemn, Dian was quiet, Gavin and Zaire had matching saddened expressions, and Briar and Matteo appeared to be worried. Meanwhile, Russet was sleeping against Angel's side and Angel himself was clearly concerned.

Ambrose had returned to his room earlier, and Uncle Andros had gone home after meeting Papa.

"Um, I'm going to check on them." I uttered softly, getting up off the couch.

No one said a word as I left the room. I looked around, but there was no sign of my fathers. I hurried down the hall towards Daddy's office, but he wasn't in there when I peeked inside.

My next destination was Daddy's room, so I scrambled up the stairs and quickly made my way to his set of double doors. I passed Ambrose's narrow hallway towards his room without even glancing down there. If I haven't found my daddy in his room, I'm going to have to check outside.

Just as I reached Daddy's room, I felt the barrier ripple. I entered Daddy's room and rushed towards the window. Daddy was running—er, flying—away from home in his dragon form!

Papa's giant wolf-dragon's form was chasing after him, so I watched him take off from the ground and pump his monstrously sized wings to catch up with Daddy's huge dragon form. My jaw dropped as I watched their forms become specks in the distance.

Ambrose hummed behind me. I turned to look at him and his lips curled up as he pushed off the doorway. "So Alexandre ran away again, did he?"

"Again?"

Ambrose easily lifted me onto his lap as he sat down on the window seat. "Your daddy cannot handle his emotions very well. However, he has definitely improved with you at his side."

"When did he last do this, Rose?" I asked softly, hugging his neck as I began pressing kisses to his face.

My ancient vampire's chest vibrated with a pleased rumble. Daviel briefly came forward to kiss me before Ambrose did the same and started his explanation. Once we were both calm, I got an interesting answer.

"Your mother was not the first person to betray him. There was a reason he put up a barrier to keep women out of his home."

"I remember hearing about that when I first moved in here. I was going to ask Daddy about it, but I definitely forgot with everything else going on."

Ambrose petted my head and ears. "Perhaps Alexandre will want to tell you himself, but I will speak on his behalf because I witnessed a good part of that time of his life when she came into the house. I watched from the shadows because the woman had given Daviel and my own self a feeling of danger. We were concerned for our friend's safety, so we watched over him where we could—this house, though it is now our home with you in it."

My tail wagged, which made Ambrose chuckle as our lips met for another gentle kiss. I snuggled into his arms and pressed my left cheek against his chest to watch the scenery outside. Ambrose's hand rested on my head, so his warmth seeped in nicely.

"Sometime ago, long before Alexandre met your mother, he met another woman. She was beautiful to him. Long brown hair, dark eyes, tanned skin, and curves that made his mouth dry. He was speechless when she spoke words of wisdom and stunned when her movements eluded to an air of mystery around her. When she spoke, her voice was soft and sweet. It was ever so gentle, like a soothing melody from one's childhood." Ambrose clicked his tongue. "To be fair, her charms almost swept me away in the moment just being nearby. I believe she noticed me, even when I was using magic to cloak myself in shadows."

"So something wasn't right." I murmured, then smiled when I received a kiss to my crown.

"Yes," whispered Ambrose. "Something was wrong—terribly wrong."

"She was using magic, wasn't she? Not just to be charming, but to look and sound attractive."

"My little wolf," murmured Ambrose. "You are just too intelligent for your own good."

I giggled and tilted my head back to kiss his jaw, then settled my head on his chest again. His heart thudded an easy rhythm, making me realize how relaxed Ambrose was with me in his arms. His embrace tightened as he moved to rest his long legs on the bench.

"Have you ever heard of a wechuge?"

"Mm, no, I don't think so."

Ambrose hummed. "I did not have high hopes that you had, Anwyll. The wechuge hails from Canada, as I have, although I was from another dimension barred by a barrier. You experienced that when we were there last."

"All right, so what is a 'wechuge'?"

"It is considered a man-eating creature or evil spirit in the form of a human. Personally, I had never seen one before in all my years as an ancient nonhuman." teased Ambrose, ruffling my hair and kissing my head.

I blushed. "I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"I know, my sweet wolf." Ambrose chuckled, then kissed my ears. "Now, in the Dane-zaa mythology, it is said that a wechuge is a person who has been possessed by or overwhelmed by the power of one of their ancient giant spirit animals. Those animals are known to be 'too strong' since the crafty, intelligent, and powerful giant animals somehow managed to retain their power inside normal-sized animals despite going through a forced transformation."

"Interesting," I mumbled. "So the first woman my daddy loved was a wechuge. He was bewitched by the power she held, even though she was evil."

"Yes, because power can easily disguise evil as good. But good cannot be disguised as evil, no matter how much power is used."

I rubbed Ambrose's chest, then sighed softly. "What did the wechuge want with my daddy anyway? If she had enough power, what was the point of making my daddy emotionally vulnerable to her?"

"To be perfectly candid with you, my sweet wolf, I do not know what her purpose was in dominating every moment of Alexandre's life. Perhaps it was to feel a new kind of power—to feel something from someone else other than fear towards herself. I do not know the extent of her mental state, but when Alexandre returned home one day, his mind was shattered. He disappeared into the night and did not return for several years. Andros had to procure my food supply while his brother was gone. But even Andros had no clue as to where Alexandre had disappeared. Perhaps you can find out his location, little wolf."

I clutched his shirt with a sigh on my lips. "Yes, I know I can. But the question is: should I go to him? Or wait until he returns?"

Ambrose petted my head again. "You know the answer all too well."

"I love you, Rose." I stated, sitting back a bit. I cupped his cheeks and kissed him, which made Ambrose smile afterwards. Daviel appeared and we met our lips once more.

I sent him love mentally, then Ambrose said, "I love you too, Anwyll. Take care. I will let the others know what has happened and why you left."

"Thank you, Rose. I will see you as soon as I can coax my dear daddy back."

I phased through the window and transformed before I started falling. My paws took off and I spread my wings, flapping them even before I hopped up. My screeching howl echoed in the mountain valley as I soared into the sky, the wind biting at my sensitive scales. I toughened them up and sighed with relief as warmth returned.

Mentally reaching for Papa, I made a connection and said, "Papa, please go back. I'll bring Daddy home."

"Anwyll?" he asked mentally. The baritone purr in his voice felt really nice. "All right. I shall return to your home. Contact me when you have found him, son. He must have used magic to teleport to another place because I cannot find him. I do not know his magic wavelength."

"Magic wavelength?"

"Yes, each being that can use mana—the source of our power—to form or create things has what is known as a 'magic wavelength'. Magic is the process of forming and creation of things. And each time we create magic, a wavelength spikes upwards. If we are familiar with a person's mana and their magic abilities, then we can find the person quite easily. You know your daddy's magic wavelength, do you not?"

I considered my father's words. Daddy had used magic on me in the past, and he uses magic on himself whenever he went out on business trips or with me to places. As I imagined his warm, soothing magic, I cast a wave of my own out in hopes to register a ping. My ears perked when I felt something familiar.

"Yes, Papa. I know it well." I said softly, then tilted my right wing and swept around to my right. "I believe I have found him, but I will be spending time with my daddy to heal the wounds in his heart."

"From me—?"

"No," I interrupted. "Daddy's wounds are deeper than whatever surface pain you caused. He just couldn't handle it anymore."

Papa exhaled, the harsh sound ringing in my ears. "In that case, I will see you again when you can bring your dear lover back home. I will stay for awhile."

"Thank you, Papa. You should get to know the ones I love while I'm gone. And I'll make sure to cuddle with you if you're there once I return."

My precious papa chuckled. "You do not need to tell me twice. Stay safe, pup. I love you."

"I love you too, Papa. Stay safe as well."

The telepathic call ended, so I pumped my wings a bit harder and headed in the direction of some southern islands where my daddy was located. But why was he there?

THE POLL IS CLOSED.

For those who haven't read Daddy's Little Wolf and want to, now is a good chance. There's going to be a lot of spoilers in the AU since Anwyll has actually met about half of the characters through a Christmas AU in DLW. However, if you don't want to read DLW at this time, then please don't read the AU chapter because it really will spoil a lot of the plot twists.