The Broken Warrior's Daughter

| looked between the two of them. | don’t know why adding Rik to the group has changed the entire dynamic of their conversation tonight, but this is hilarious.

“So, what happened? How did you win her over?” | ask.

“| convinced your father to pull a Top Gun bar-singing routine with me.” Anders says and my father starts laughing so hard he has tears in his eyes. He’s still laughing when he says, “We were so bad, Calista finally agreed to go out with him if we would stop singing.”

We're all laughing now, and Anders says, “Hey, it worked.” “And the rest is history?” | asked.

“Not exactly. | had to show her that | meant it, that | wasn’t trying to make her one of my conquests. | think she finally realized how serious | was when | had a jewelry set made for her.”

Rik jumps in. “The aquamarine surrounded by sapphires?” He asks and Anders nods. “Yep, who do you think had it made for her?”

Rik looks thoughiful. “That’s where | got the idea to make Cara’s. | always loved that they looked like a combination of Mom’s and Shali’s eyes.” He looks at me as he says this and Artemis, the hussy, pushes forward so her eyes show in mine. Kai, not to be outdone, pushes forward for a moment too, making Rik’s beautiful eyes bleed to sapphire. He must get his eyes from his mother.

“Like father, like son.” My father says. “You may not have sung her a song, but grand gestures are definitely a Forte trademark.” “Not just a Forte trademark. | don’t remember you slacking in the grand gesture department.” Anders says to dad. “Mom didn’t want you at first either?” | ask, stunned because all I’d ever heard was how in love my parents had been. “Your mother shot me down several times. Only made me want her more.”

“So, what was your grand gesture?” Rik asked.

“Not to be outdone by your father,”

e looks at Anders who smirks back at him,

LC

| found a song called September Lily and | learned how to play it on the guitar. | practiced for months, every day.” “Trust me, it was EVERY day. | thought my car drums were going to burst.”

+15 DONOS

Anders interrupts, chuckling.

Dad smiles and continues. “On Anders 18th birthday, we arranged for me to get on stage. It was meant to look like a toast to him. But instead, | grabbed my guitar and sang my song to her. Walking through the crowd of pack members until | was right in front of her.”

He smiles wistfully at the memory, reliving it as he tells the story. “At the end, | got down on one knee. | think she thought | was going to propose, but we were both too young. And | asked if she’d be my date to the prom.”Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“It was a bold move.” Anders states. “She could have shut you down in front of the entire pack.”

“But she didn’t.” Dad says softly.

“No, she didn’t” Anders repeats.

“So, we went to prom, all four of us together, and had a great time. And the rest, as they say, is history.”

Cooper Author

Double Cara update. What did you think of the glimpse of Clint and Anders back story? | loved writing