Liam Takes Manhattan (Elder Races #9.5)

Here we go.

“Thank you for offering to get me a puppy.” He looked at both of them in turn. “It was really thoughtful of you. I did some thinking about that too, and I’d like to turn your gift into something bigger, if that’s okay.”

Pia’s gaze went wide with interest. “What did you have in mind?”

“I want lots and lots of dogs. Sort of.” He gave them a crooked grin. “I’d like for you to buy West River Animal Shelter.”

Dragos’s eyes narrowed. “You want us to buy an animal shelter? Your mom already donates to several already.”

Liam turned to Pia. “Yes, I know, but you only donate to no-kill shelters, right?”

“Of course,” she said.

“West River doesn’t have a no-kill policy,” he told her. “I want us to buy it and turn it into a no-kill shelter so that one way or another, every dog that goes there gets a home.”

Pia started to smile, and her eyes shone. She whirled to Dragos, who inclined his head and made an acquiescing gesture.

Dragos said, “As long as you two take care of all the details, I have no objections.”

Liam grinned. “Thanks for the Christmas present.”

“You are the most outstanding son anybody could ever wish for,” Pia said as she threw her arms around him. “I love that idea so much, and I have no idea how to go about doing it.”

“Are you kidding?” Dragos said dryly. “They will be ecstatic to get this offer. You do realize it will probably mean ongoing donations just to keep the shelter afloat.”

“That’s okay, I’ll add it to my list,” Pia said. She said to Liam, “You’ll help me with things, won’t you?”

“I’ll help you as much as I can,” Liam told her. “But that kinda leads me to the last thing I need to tell you.” Dragos raised his eyebrows, and Pia looked at him expectantly. He braced himself. “This morning I applied to Glenhaven College.”

Pia’s face went blank with surprise. She said, “You did what?”

Dragos’s expression darkened. He sat forward. “You applied to Glenhaven without talking to us?”

It was harder than he had expected to meet his father’s blazing gaze, but he couldn’t back down now. He said steadily, “Yes, I did.”

“Absolutely not,” Dragos snapped. “You’re not going to Glenhaven. I forbid it.”

Whoops, there was no throttling back his dragon at that one.

Liam snapped in reply, “You can’t forbid me to go!”

Anger burned in his father’s eyes. He snarled, “I can sure as hell refuse to pay for it!”

What the hell? “I didn’t ask you to pay for anything!”

“Stop it,” Pia said.

“You just asked me to pay for an animal shelter,” Dragos shot back.

“What, are you going to refuse to do that now?” Liam felt his fists clenching. “So I guess I only get Christmas presents or college when I do what you say?”

Pia leaped to her feet and shouted, “Stop it, both of you!”

There was so much passion and forcefulness in her voice, both Liam and Dragos stopped to stare at her. Her face was clenched, and tears stood in her eyes.

She pointed at Dragos. “You are saying things in the heat of anger, and you’re going to regret them.” Then she turned to Liam and told him fiercely, “Of course you get Christmas presents and college. But both of you need to take care right now. Remember that you love each other and act that way.”

Unable to sit still any longer, Liam threw himself to his feet and started to pace. “I don’t understand why you’re trying to forbid me to go. It’s the only option open to me that makes any sense.”

“You’ll have to pick another college,” Dragos snapped. “Somewhere more accessible—maybe Harvard, or Yale. Glenhaven is far too remote and too secluded. If something were to happen, you wouldn’t be able to get in touch with us. We wouldn’t be able to get in contact with you, or help you.”

Right now that sounded like heaven to him.

Liam forced himself to breathe evenly and managed not to say it. Instead, he said, “Harvard and Yale aren’t appropriate, so if something were to happen, you’ll just have to trust me to handle it.”

Dragos shook his head. “You’re too young.”

“If you can’t trust me to go away to college by myself,” he said through gritted teeth, “then you sure as hell can’t trust me to become a sentinel. But you’re not expecting me to become a sentinel anyway—are you?”

His father said nothing. But then he didn’t have to. His silence said it all.

Tired tears sprang to Liam’s eyes, and he spun away to hide it.

“Look,” Pia said, her voice sounding a little ragged. “College is a good idea for anybody, and so is finding independence. But Liam, there are a lot of reasons why your dad and I are not reacting well to this, especially after our trip to the Light Fae demesne last month.”