“Of course I did,” Eddie replied, indignantly. “He asked if I was the Alpha, and I said no, and then he told me it was none of my business.”
“Show him in.” The kid had balls. Not many would even think of telling Eddie to fuck off; the enforcer was massive. Returning to the report he was writing, Reeve never heard the door open.
“You the Alpha?”
Looking up, Reeve saw a man scowling at him, his fists clenched at his sides. “I am…and you are?”
“I’m your fucking son! I bet you don’t recognize me, but that doesn’t surprise me since you refused to acknowledge who I was. But you’ll remember me now because I’m issuing a formal challenge to you. After the way you treated my mother and me, you don’t deserve to be the Alpha.”
Setting his pen down on the table, Reeve leaned back in his chair, studying the man in front of him. His first impression had been spot on: the man definitely had balls. “I don’t recall having a son,” he said, laconically.
“Well you did…and what’s more, you’re lying to me right now.”
“Those are some fighting words, son.”
“Oh, so now I’m your son. Well, it’s too late…my challenge stands.”
There was something about the man that reminded him of…holy shit!“Well, I’d like to know the name of my opponent.”
“As if you don’t know.”
“Humor me…what’s your name, son.”
“Tristan.”
Inwardly smiling, Reeve nodded. “You have proof of that?”
Reaching into his back pocket, Tristan pulled out an envelope and tossed it onto Reeve’s desk. “It’s all there.”
Picking it up, Reeve took his time opening the envelope and pulling out the papers inside. Unfolding them, he saw a birth record along with a paternity test confirming what he had suspected. After reading them, he slowly folded the papers andslipped them back into the envelope. Looking up at the young man, he asked, “So Josiah was your father?”
“You meanyou’remy father, don’t you,” Tristan growled, seething with anger at his ‘father’s’ evasiveness.
“No…I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for your father. My name is Reeve Nicolet. I’m sorry to tell you this, but your father, Josiah Silver Point, is dead.”
Tristan’s eyes narrowed. “Dead? You’re lying!”
“That’s the second time you’ve accused me of lying and I highly recommend you don’t do it again.” Shuffling through some files, Reeve picked one up and removed a document from it, handing it to Tristan. “I work for the High Council, and I was sent here to arrest Josiah for the massacre of the Fox River pack. But before I could do so, he kidnapped a shifter, and shot two others, one of whom killed him. His body…or what’s left of it…is in one of the pack freezers if you want to see it.”
Tristan snatched the paper from Reeve’s hand and read it. And then read it again, and, just because he couldn’t believe it, had to read it a third time before it registered as to what his father had been charged with. For the first time since his mother’s death, he was grateful she wasn’t alive to find that the man she’d loved for her entire life was a mass murderer. Unable to stand, Tristan sank down in one of the chairs in front of Reeve’s desk, his smoldering anger suddenly extinguished, leaving him numb.
He wished he could go back—back when his father was a swashbuckling adventurer who traveled the world, capturing evil pirates—but that was not to be.What did my mother say…oh yeah, be careful what you wish for.All those years he’d wished his father would appear, apologizing for being away so long and promising to never leave again. Looking at thedocument in his hand, he realized his father wasn’t one of the good guys—just an evil pirate who caused pain and suffering wherever he went.
Now, facing an outcome he never could have imagined, Tristan closed his eyes, letting the paper slip from his fingers and flutter to the floor. It was a mistake to come here—he could see that now. The revenge he’d sought by challenging his father had been thwarted. His mother was right—revenge was always an exercise in futility.Why didn’t I listen to her? Now, for the rest of my life, I’ll have to live in the shadow of my father’s sins. My father! Gods, how I hate him!
Reeve watched Tristan’s face reveal a profusion of emotions similar to those he’d seen before on Kahn’s. And knowing the shame his mate had felt about his father’s actions, a wave of sympathy for Kahn’s half-brother swept through Reeve. Though he’d just met him, he intuited that Tristan was a good man who didn’t deserve to have Josiah’s sins taint him. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
Bending down, Tristan retrieved the arrest warrant from the floor and handed it to Reeve. “I’m the one who should be sorry…charging in here and accusing you of lying.”
“Don’t be…it’s been a long time since someone’s had the balls to challenge me,” replied Reeve, smiling.
“Yeah…just another dumb thing I did today,” Tristan said, getting up. “Sorry for the intrusion…I’ll see myself out.”
“Hey, have you eaten?” asked Reeve.
“I had a burger a while back, why?”
Reeve closed his laptop and stood. “Why don’t you join me for a late lunch?”
