“Oh yeah,” Paelotin said, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. “Something about Sam Kyllwood and a vote to kill him. I think he finally realized the stakes. He told Henric he wanted out, and of course, Henric made threats. Said he had people watching you and would kill you.”
Paxton’s chest hurt, but he didn’t rub it. He refused to show any unease to his father. “Santino’s a good man.” No doubt he would’ve sacrificed himself to save Pax. “Unlike you. You’ve never sacrificed for anybody, have you?” The anger still flowed through him, but he wouldn’t let it show. He would never give Paelotin that satisfaction. “I waited a long time to talk toyou,” he said.
Paelotin snorted. “We don’t have anything to say, boy. You chose theRealm over me.”
“Of course I did,” Paxton said. “You’re a loser who beats kids and works for the enemy. One of the biggest regrets of my life is that I have your last name. I could change it.”
It didn’t really matter, because his mother’s name was Pankov. So as a demon, when his mating mark appeared on his hand, it would be aP. For years, he’d felt it itching on his palm, but the marking hadn’t appeared yet. Something seemed to be holding him back, but he sensed it would happen soon. He kind of liked his last name. It was unfortunate he shared it withthis miscreant.
Paelotin just looked at him. “I can’t believe you’re here actually trying to be threatening. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you when you were young.I should have.”
“You tried,” Paxton said softly. “And failed.”
Paelotin chuckled. “Yeah. Deep down you’re still a crying little bastard though, aren’t you? You may look all tough, and you may be able to fight, but we both know you’re nothing but garbage.”
“Do we know that?” Paxton asked calmly, his gut turning. Yeah, he felt worthless sometimes. That was because his father’s words still rang in his head. But now, he was bigger than the bastard. Tougher and most certainly deadlier. “You’re the one who got kicked out of the Realm. Talkabout garbage.”
“You just had to protect thatlittle bitch.”
Paxton grabbed him square on the throat and squeezed. “I strongly recommend you don’t talk about Hope like that. I came here to chat, but I’m also fine with killing you.”
“You think you could?” Paelotin lifted one arm and struggled to shove Paxton’s hold off.
Paxton could have easily grabbed him again, but he reached for his drink first. He needed answers, and he needed his father to be able to speak. “Who’s your contact in theKurjan nation?”
“They’re all my contacts.” Paelotin’s chest puffed out. “I work with different ones at different times.”
“What about Drake?”
Paelotin grimaced. “The leader? Yeah, we’rebest friends.”
“You want to level with me,” Paxton said, downing his drink in one gulp. The cheap liquor hit his stomach and flashed out, burning as it went. What was in that stuff? He poured himself another shot. “Start talking, or you’re not going to like the results.”
“What are you going to do, boy?” Paelotin asked. “I am more than ready to fight you. I spent half my life hitting you. I miss those days.”
It was odd he didn’t even want payback. This was for Hope. “Don’t forget you liked to kick too.”
“I surely did. Obviously not enough. I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
Paxton had expected the vitriol, but even so, he had to wonder. His memories of his mother were good. She was only around until he was maybe three or so, but even Hope had gotten to know her a little bit. She was soft, and she was sweet, and then she was gone. “What did my mother ever see in you?”
Paelotin looked at him and laughed. “Not much. She didn’t have another option.”
What the hell did that mean? Paxton never heard the story, though he’d asked many times. She had died at the end of the last war. His mother didn’t really know anybody from the main headquarters of the Realm because she worked as a soldier for an international squad, just like his father. “How did she die?”
“I killed her,” Paelotin said calmly.
Paxton coughed. “She died in a battle with the Kurjans.”
“There was a battle. But...” He shook his head. “She wanted to go back on a promise and, well, I couldn’t let her.”
Paxton’s ears rang, his stomach hurt, and his vision blurred. “A promise?” he asked. “What promise?” Whatever was in his system was slowly killing him, no doubt as the Kurjans had planned. “The Realm’s good at what it does; they would’ve known if you’d killed her.” This was just another of his father’s mind fucks.
“No. We were in the middle of a battle with some very, very, very angry Kurjans, with a couple of the Cyst thrown in. It was easy to fake her death, Paxton. Don’t be a moron.”
“You killed her? You really killed her?”
“Oh, with great pleasure.”
