Page 1 of Sins of the Fathers

Chapter One

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JASPER WAS JUST A GUY.

Or at least, that was what he told himself as he ducked the punch coming his way. He was just a guy, and there was nothing weird about him. There was nothing different from what he’d been before.

Even though he’d found out that he was part monster a few months ago.

“It’s not fair,” Corey whined. “I swear you’re faster than before.”

“Or maybe you suck at fighting,” his sister yelled from the other side of the gym.

Jasper laughed as he jumped out of the way of a kick aimed at his knee. He resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at Corey, although it was tempting because he knew what kind of reaction he would get out of his friend. Corey would get agitated and start making even more mistakes, and it would be easy for Jasper to win the fight.

To be fair, it would be easy for him to win the fight even if he didn’t do that. Corey wasn’t lying when he’d said that Jasper was faster. Jasper wasn’t sure how he’d never realized it, but now that he knew what he was, he kept noticing little things that had nothing to do with him being human, even though one of his parents had been. He was only half monster, but that half was enough to give him unfair advantages, which could explain why he’d been such a good hunter.

The thought made his stomach churn. As Leroy’s son, adopted or not, he’d had a certain position in the hunters’ organization. He’d been able to refuse some of the cases handed his way, which meant that he’d been careful to go against monsters who needed to be stopped, like Kester. It still hadn’t been enough to keep him with the hunters, though. He’d left years ago, and he didn’t regret it, especially now that he knew what he was. He was pretty sure that most of the hunters knew, too, by now.

He didn’t care.

Corey feinted left, then moved right. Jasper blocked his punch and stepped to the side, moving his fingers to Corey’s wrist. He twisted Corey’s arm behind his back, grinning when Corey yelled and tried to get free. He couldn’t.

“It’s not fair,” Corey complained.

“You were never able to beat him,” Kerry reminded him after putting down her weight. “Remember? Has nothing to do with him being a monster.”

“It has everything to do with him being a monster. I was never able to beat him because he was always one,” Corey pointed out. He was panting, but also grinning, and Jasper wasn’t offended by his words. His friends didn’t care that he was a monster or that he’d always been one, even when he hadn’t known he was. They loved him, and that was never going to change. They showed him that every day by still treating him the way they had before the truth about his biological parents came out.

“Should I let go?” Jasper asked. He was slightly out of breath, too. It was nice, though. It was nice to be able to be like this with his friends without having to think about his past, what his adoptive parents had done, and his future.

The only future he was interested in was the one he had with his boyfriend. He wanted nothing to do with the hunters, and he kind of wished he could move and never hear about them again. Unfortunately, he doubted that would happen. Besides, why would he have to move? This was his home, and he had a right to be here as much as all the hunters, maybe even more so. He’d been born in the city. It was where his parents had been killed. It was where he’d spilled blood, his own and others.

“Yeah,” Corey said with a groan. “We both know I’m not going to be able to get out of this hold.”

Jasper let go and patted Corey on the shoulder. “You did well.”

“Please don’t. I don’t need you to pat my ego. Kerry’s right. You were always better than me, and that hasn’t changed.”

Jasper grabbed his towel and dried his face from sweat. He also drank some water, watching as Corey and Kerry bickered. His heart squeezed with affection. Even though the three of them weren’t related, they felt like his siblings, and he didn’t know what he would do without them. Luckily for him, he’d never have to find out. They hadn’t dropped him when he’d started dating a monster, and they’d still been there after he’d found out that he was one himself. They were family, much more than Jasper had ever been with Leroy, who’d raised him.

Corey bumped his shoulder against Jasper’s. Jasper grimaced because they were both sticky and sweaty, and he took a step back, eager to put some space between them. As much as he loved Corey, he didn’t love him to the point of touching him while he was sweating.

“What’s got you so pensive?” Corey asked, chugging his own bottle of water. It was one of those refillable bottles that was almost bigger than his head. Kerry and Jasper always teased him for it, but he didn’t care.

“I was just thinking,” he said.

Corey sucked in a breath and pressed his free hand to his heart. “Oh my God. Alert the press. Jasper was thinking.”

Jasper snapped his towel at Corey, who screeched and jumped back. He looked like he might want to jump Jasper, but clearly, he thought better of it because instead, he drank more water.

“Were you thinking about your boyfriend?” Kerry asked as she neared them. She was just as sweaty as they were, but somehow, she still managed to look beautiful.

“He’s always thinking about his boyfriend,” Corey said.

“You would be, too, if you had one,” Kerry pointed out.

Corey huffed, and Jasper decided to stop the bickering before it could get worse. Sometimes, these two gave him a headache. “Yes, I was thinking about Archie.”