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“Nothing.” My voice rose. “Just because I kissed her like that doesn’t mean anything. Why would she fight anymore when I’d already finished?”
He took a step toward me, and I swiftly strode around the pool. I didn’t want him getting any closer to Kali when he was this angry. His eyes narrowed as I stopped in front of him.
“I’m your son,” I hissed. “I’ve done everything for this family. For you. It’s an insult that you question me.”
“I don’t want to question you,” he murmured, his eyes going behind me to Kali. “But for some reason…when it comes to her, you act differently.”
Dread smothered me when I realized what he was about to do. It had always been a silent threat. Something he could use, but he’d never wanted to betray us in that way. It looked like he was changing his mind.
“Zan—”
“Don’t,” I snarled, turning my head from him. “You gave us your word that you’d never fucking use it on us.”
“That was before I thought one of my sons would lie to me.”
I saw his arm raise out of the corner of my eye, and for the first time ever, I lifted my hand to hit my father. My moves were fast. He was faster. He ducked out of the way, his eyes widening in shock before his anger flared. When he swung at me, I lunged to the side. But he wasn’t finished. He grabbed the back of my neck, yanking me closer to him. Before I could break free, he spoke the only words that would make me comply.
“If I don’t get answers from you, I’ll get them from her,” he threatened menacingly. “And since I can’t entrance her, I’ll make her talk in other ways.”
There it was again. The suffocating fear that had held me hostage the first time he met Kali. Only this time, it was so much worse.
Facing him, I lifted my chin, my glare full of loathing as I met his eyes. I could hear Kali’s heart thundering in her chest, but she didn’t say a word from behind me. Amaros stepped forward, dropping his hand from my neck. He didn’t need to physically restrain me. Not when he had a different way.
I’d always been curious about what it felt like. I’d done it so many times to humans, never thinking it would happen to me. I should have known better when it came to my father. His eyes bored into mine, and I suddenly felt weightless. Every stress and worry disappeared. I couldn’t form a thought. All I could focus on was his eyes. And then his words.
“Is it your time to mate?”
“No,” I answered in a monotone voice.
“Why did you lie?”
Out of the haze, a conscious thought swirled. I couldn’t lie. But there was more than one truth this time.
“I didn’t want to stay on the property.”
Suddenly, his hold on me waned, and I blinked, getting my bearings. Rage lined my veins, but I bit back my words. My nails dug into my palms as I attempted to regain control. I couldn’t believe he’d actually done it. He had the power to entrance his bloodline. Something my brothers and I had known our whole lives. And he swore he’d never do it.
“What’s going on?”
Viggo’s voice rang out through the room. My gaze went past Amaros to see my brothers near the door. Both were tense, and I knew they’d seen what had just happened. Pax was staring at our father with disgust, his lips pressed together as if trying to stay quiet. Viggo was better at hiding his emotions, but he was just as shaken as Pax.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Kali looking at me with blatant shock covering her features. She was gripping the towel tightly, standing in the spot I’d left her. Her tangled hair still had water dripping from it, and blood was trailing down her leg, but she didn’t seem to notice as her eyes cut to Amaros.
“I’m trying to find the truth,” Amaros grumbled, not looking happy that my brothers were here. It didn’t matter. I would have told them what happened anyway. “Zan has been lying to me.”
“This isn’t my home,” I snapped, my voice shaking. “I wasn’t about to spend months here because you think I can’t handle when it’s time for me to mate. I can do that perfectly from Deadwood.”
“You care for her,” Amaros murmured. His shift in attention had me straightening my spine.
“I chose her.”
Amaros boomed out a mocking laugh. “I chose your mother too. She spent nine months living her best life while pregnant with you. She got an extra six months to give you nourishment. Then her usefulness expired. And I killed her. Because she was human. Nothing more.”
Kali’s gasp had all eyes going to her. I took a second to lock down every emotion. I hadn’t thought about my mother since I transitioned. As a child, I’d dreamed about her often. But as an adult, I’d just buried it.
“Don’t worry, Kali. You won’t share the same fate.” Amaros stared at her. “Between how the Shadows reacted to you and your immunity to my powers, I think you’re more important alive. At least for now.”
My chest constricted, and I fought to take steady breaths. This was exactly what I’d feared when I walked into this house with her. If he found out she was the baby from all those years ago, he’d never let her leave.
