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Lying by omission, also known as a continuing misrepresentation or quote mining, occurs when an important fact is left out in order to foster a misconception. Lying by omission includes the failure to correct pre-existing misconceptions.
Killian took her by the arm and pulled her to his side. “Cordelia, what just happened?”
She could see the confusion in his face, the way he stared at her, there was a mix of anger and hurt.
She sighed and touched the side of his face. “I promise to explain everything, but first I need to see my father.”
“No, you owe me an explanation. You lied to me.”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I never told you a lie.” She twisted her fingers in her hands and tried her best to smile. “I just didn’t tell you the entire truth of why I needed to come back...with you.”
He groaned and let her go, then lowered his head. “Fine,” he whispered, then looked at her through his lashes. “I don’t know what your plan was but you owe me, woman. I have a right mind to just leave right now.”
“But you won’t,” she challenged. She took a leap of faith that Killian wouldn’t run out on her. He was her destined mate and that came with responsibility. If anyone was fortunate enough to find their mate, there was a sense of oneness, like finding the other half of yourself you never knew existed, until they appeared in your life. There may be an emptiness inside your body, maybe in your soul, and upon meeting your mate, the void has been filled, so much so, it may overwhelm the person to the point of feeling shattered. The feeling could only be described as insanity if the mate ever died, whether by murder or natural causes. That part of your life would be stripped from you and death by mourning was often the case.
She stepped closer to Killian and touched his cheek with her palm. She stared into the chocolate brown abyss of his eyes and he slowly blinked. He felt the pull to her as much as she felt it toward him. They would discuss what had occurred between them soon, very soon, but her father took first priority.
“I won’t,” he returned, and pressed his tattooed hand to the back of hers. “But you still owe me—”
“And we will talk, I promise. Just give me this, all right?”
He gritted his teeth and took a step back from her. He was mad, and rightfully so, but his temper would have to wait. She needed her father, right now.
***
“Dad?” Cordelia stepped into her father’s bedroom and closed the door behind her. His nurse, a woman who was tall, but also quite large, stood over his body and dabbed a damp rag to his forehead. Her hair was gray and wiry under her nurse’s cap. Her scrubs were almost too small for her frame and her armpits were damp with sweat.
The room smelled of sickness and was musky. She walked to the window to open it when she heard her father growl.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what, dad? Open the windows? It smells horrible in here.”
“He refuses to take a bath,” his nurse offered, and crossed the room to Cordelia. As she drew closer, she realized the nurse was part of the smell.
She placed her fingers under her nose and coughed. “When’s the last time you were outside?”
“Two days ago before you decided to run off.”
She lifted her chin in defiance. “What I do with my time is not your concern.”
“It fucking is where it concerns your father.”
“What’s your name?” Cordelia asked.
“Marty,” the nurse returned.
“Okay, Marty, you may have a point, but what I do in my time is none of your business. My father knew what I was doing. Didn’t you, dad?”
“Well? Not really,” he groaned and turned on his side to face her. “Where did you go?”
Cordelia looked at Marty and raised her brows as if to suggest she may leave.
“Whatever,” Marty said, and left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Daddy, really, we need to open the windows. It smells wretched in here.” When he didn’t protest this time, she unlatched his windows and pushed the glass pane upward. Turning back to her father, it was then she took in his face, his body, the sweaty sheets. His skin was almost gray in color and his hair was matted to his head.
Her father had developed a rare form of cancer that ate away at his body. No matter of chemo, radiation, or surgery could help him. It was aggressive and the doctor gave him two months, at most, to live. And that was a month ago.
Preparing for someone’s death wasn’t like going to the grocery store. One didn’t go pick up a cart, order a casket, and asked for the funeral going rate. Being a shifter community also made the procedures for who was next in line different and, sometimes, difficult.
If Cordelia were born a boy, it wouldn’t have been an issue. She would assume the Alpha responsibility. However, born a female, the Alpha trait would never pass down to her. It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair, but it was what it was, and she accepted that.
But it didn’t mean she had to marry some asshole simply because he wanted to be Alpha. Hell to the no.
She wanted to marry for love. She wanted her mate to be her equal, even if that meant he would become their Alpha. She thought of Killian and she crossed the room to her father’s bed.
A slight breeze blew through the bedroom and she inhaled the scent of the trees and flowers outside. The winter was fast approaching and soon they would only smell the humidity of the incoming snow.
“Daddy, I found him.”
“You found who, Cordy?”
She reached for his hand and flinched at how cold it felt. She held his hand in both of hers. “I found my mate.”
“You found your mate. Is he aware of this?”
She hung her head low, then whispered, “About that.”
“Cordy, what the hell did you do?”
She explained about the night she ran off, following the scent of Killian, and ending her chase by crashing into an oak tree.
He chuckled. “Of course you’d make a grand entrance.”
She smiled and squeezed his hand.
“Let me go,” came a voice from outside. “Do not touch me again unless you want to lose your fucking limbs!”
“Yes, master,” came another voice.
“I am not your Pack Master! Now, where is Cordelia?”
“You better bring him in here before he tears the place up looking for you.”
She nodded. “Yes, daddy.” She stood from the bed when the door to the room opened.
Killian was escorted inside and the guard looked from her father, to her, to Killian, then back to her father.
“You may leave,” her father spoke.
The guard nodded then left the room, closing the door behind him.
She stared at Killian and didn’t like the fact his face was a shade of red and she wondered if smoke would soon billow from his ears. He was definitely pissed off.
“Killian Blackcrown, I’d like you to meet my father, the Alpha of my pack, Brady Golden. Daddy, this is Killian, who I was telling you about.”
Killian stepped in closer and the anger in his features shifted to sorrow. He reached for Brady’s hand and took it. “It’s nice to meet you, sir, but I do wish it were under different circumstances.” He added a bit of a growl to circumstances.
“Yes, son, me too. Tell me Killian Blackcrown, does your father know you’re here?”
Killian’s brows rose. “You know who my father is?”
Brady grinned, then coughed. He brought out a tissue that had been used too many times and spat into it.
“Daddy, give me that.” She took the tissue and handed him a clean one.
“Thank you, daughter. Yes, we all know who your father is. Tell me, why are you here?”
Killian looked at Cordelia and smirked. “You should ask her that.”
“Cordelia?” her father asked. “Does he know?”
She sighed and shook her head. “Killian, can I talk to you?” She glanced at her father, then back to him. “Alone?”
“Sure, why not,” he answered and looked at her father. “It was nice to meet you, sir. And to reiterate, my father has no idea where I am.”
“Give your old man more credit than that, Killian. He’s a natural hunter and he’s savage. If he thinks you deceived him, he’ll be after your hide faster than any other hunt he’s ever accomplished.”
“No disrespect, sir, but he’s still my father.”
“I understand that, son, but please bear in mind, you being here puts my people, and my daughters in danger.”
“You have a sister?” Killian asked Cordelia.
She nodded. “Now, can we please step outside to talk alone? There’s, umm, something I need to tell you.”
Killian nodded at her father, then walked out of the room. Cordelia leaned over her father and pressed her lips to his forehead. “I’ll be right back.”
“Tell him before it’s too late, Cordy. He needs to know. If you intend on him being Pack Master, he’ll need to go through the ritual and—”
“Yes, daddy, I know. Let me tackle one thing at a time.” As she stood, she turned back and added, “He’s my mate. I feel it in every fiber of my being. I know he feels it, too, but it may take some convincing.”
“My dear, if he knows you’re his mate, there’s no convincing. He would do anything, be anything to be with you. You only just met him and he’s here with you. That should tell you something.”
Cordelia knew exactly what her father was saying, and she knew it was the truth.
Killian took her in and allowed her to heal.
She was naked in his bed and he never once tried to touch or fondle her.
He saved her life when he had no idea who she was, other than she was his mate.
And that’s all she needed to know to believe he was meant to be hers.
With a deep breath, she opened the door and over her shoulder, she said, “Wish me luck, daddy.”
“You don’t need luck, baby girl. You’ve got this. You always have.”
She smiled and closed the door behind her. Down at the end of the hall stood the guard that escorted Killian inside. She approached him and asked, “Where did my friend go?”
“The new Alpha?” he asked.
She closed her eyes with a sigh. She had a lot of making up to do. “Yes, that’s him.”
“He’s outside and he’s quite possibly making firewood.”
She frowned. “With what tools?”
He chuckled. “His bare hands.”
“Oh hell,” she whispered and took off for the exit. She opened the door and found Killian lifting a large piece of a tree stump and sat it down. He growled and slammed his fist down on the wood.
“Killian! Stop!” She ran toward him and took his arm.
A shock, like an electric jolt, rushed through her body and when Killian faced her. She saw in his eyes he felt the same thing.
“Okay, let’s talk.”
