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Malcolm slammed his flaming fists on his desk. The damn thing caved in. Jesse took a step in front of Sam. Malcolm could be as pissed as he wanted to be, but if he came near Sam, all bets were off.
Not that he thought Malcolm would hurt his son, but when this enraged, Jesse wasn’t taking any chances.
“Why do you hate shifters so much?” Sam asked. “Why, Father? Jesse isn’t a savage. He’s been nothing but good to me. He saved me, and you should be thanking him.”
Malcolm glared at Jesse. There was nothing but extreme hatred in his dark eyes. “Because it was a shifter who killed your mother.”
Sam gasped as Jesse mentally cursed. This did not bode well for him. His mate shook as he stood there, tears filling his eyes. Jesse wanted to kill Malcolm for making Sam cry.
“You never told me that,” Sam argued. “As a matter of fact, you’ve refused to tell me how she died.”
Sam sounded downright pissed, and he had every right to be, in Jesse’s opinion. That wasn’t something you kept from your children. He should have told Sam the truth a long time ago. He understood trying to protect those you loved, but that was something Malcolm shouldn’t have kept hidden.
“And a demon killed my family,” Jesse snarled, “but you don’t see me holding that against your kind. I only blame the person who did it, not the entire race.”
He hadn’t meant to say that. Jesse was shocked he’d let that out. The demon had been looking for Jesse because Jesse had killed the guy’s brother. The demon, Santana, had been a true piece of shit, had attacked innocent people, so Jesse had ended Santana’s reign of terror.
Garman, Santana’s brother, had burst into Jesse’s parents’ house, killing his mother, father, and sister in hopes of luring Jesse to him. It had worked, because when Jesse had found the guy, he’d ripped his spine out.
“Oh my god,” Sam whispered as he took a step away from Jesse. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Because it has nothing to do with you, sweetheart.” Jesse reached for his mate and was relieved that Sam didn’t pull away. “It was a long time ago, and I’ve put my past behind me.”
Or he tried to. But he didn’t hold what happened to his family against Sam. That wasn’t fair to his mate.
Sam looked stricken. “How can you bear to look at me?”
“Because I love you.” Jesse folded Sam into his arms. “Because you weren’t the one to slaughter my family. Because you’re an amazing man who brought light to my darkness.”
The flames on Malcolm’s hands died. He cursed as he looked at them. Jesse didn’t care if the demon ever came to terms with their mating. Hell would freeze over before he gave up Sam.
“I’m sorry I never told you,” Malcolm said with a sigh. “I was trying to protect you from the truth.”
“But you made sure I hated shifters,” Sam said as he turned to face his father. “You tried to drill that hatred into me.” Sam held up his hand when Malcolm took a step toward them. “I just can’t right now. Jesse, please take me home.”
“No,” Malcolm snapped.
Jesse was ready to fight the bastard if he tried to take Sam from him. He’d been crippled when Sam was kidnapped, when he’d seen his mate on that website, when he’d shown up and saw Sam wearing a fucking robe and being held by another male. Jesse was too feral right now to let Malcolm step between him and his mate.
“I won’t lose you, son.” For the first time since meeting Malcolm, the guy looked defeated. “I understand your anger, and deserve it, but you can’t walk out of my life. That would destroy me.”
Sam sighed. “I’m pissed at you right now, but I would never cut you off. I love you too much for that. I just need time.”
Malcolm nodded.
Jesse actually felt sorry for the guy but not enough to say anything. This was between Sam and his father. Whatever his mate decided to do, Jesse would stand next to him and support him because he hadn’t been lying. Sam was the light to his darkness, and he would be forever grateful that Ian had sent him on this assignment.
They left without another word and headed to Sam’s townhouse. The window had been repaired, and the house looked as if nothing had happened to it. Thank goodness Sam’s bedroom had dried out from the melted frost. Jesse hadn’t seen it for himself, but Knox had told him.
As soon as they were at Sam’s townhouse, his mate closed the door and rounded on Jesse. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten you said that you love me.”
Jesse smiled. “Gonna say it to you for the rest of our lives, babe.” He slid his knuckles down Sam’s cheek. “Don’t worry about saying it back. I know people go at different paces.”
Sam pressed his palms against Jesse’s chest. He liked when his mate touched him and was glad Sam was coming through his ordeal better than Jesse had expected. First Terry and now Malcolm. Jesse was starting to see that Sam was a lot stronger than he thought. “I love you, too.”
Jesse’s heart kicked up a notch as his grin widened. “I’m glad to hear that. Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, after what you’ve been through with Terry and your father?”
Sam shrugged. “I will be. I think what will help me the most is if you take me to bed.”
