Warrior's Hope (Dark Protectors #16)(49)
“All right.” Drake glared at the book and sighed, turning his focus to her. “I’ll discover what I can about the drugs affecting Paxton. Maybe there’s some sort of antidote.” He stared at her for a long while. “I can’t wait until you’re mine, Hope.”
She turned to see a crown full of emeralds, diamonds, and sapphires cresting the waves of the pink ocean.
A crown.
Fate couldn’t be more obvious than that.
Chapter Twenty
It was after midnight when Zane Kyllwood returned from the battlefield outside of Denver. Paxton lounged against a mature cedar tree across from Zane and Janie’s house. It was a two-story with a lot of glass and stone, and he actually didn’t mind standing guard outside it. Much of his time as a youth had been spent making sure the house and its occupants were safe.
Zane parked his vehicle in front of the home, stepped out and stiffened before turning and instantly spotting him. It was like a physical punch of power.
Paxton shoved away from the tree and strode across the street to meet him, noting they were the same height and had the same black hair. He wasn’t as thick as Zane yet, but he probably was exactly as Zane had been at his age. He’d never noticed the similarities between them. It made sense, since they both had demon and vampire lineage, so what was there to notice?
“Paxton,” Zane said, shutting the door. “I have intel that your father is in a cell.”
He felt like puking. How was he even going to ask this question? Did he truly want to know the answer? “Paelotin is in a cell,” Pax corrected. “I brought him in. He’s been working with the Kurjans and was their liaison with Henric, but he didn’t have any high-up contacts. Or at least those higher up didn’t let him know who they were.”
Zane took in the bumps and bruises still showing on Paxton’s face. “It looks like it was a tough takedown.”
“It wasn’t easy,” Paxton said. “I dropped by to see Emma before waiting for you out here. The Kurjan concoction in my blood is worsening. The drug has infiltrated my muscle fibers and should be hitting my organs next.”
Zane’s body tightened. “Shit, Pax, what are we going to do about that?”
Paxton shrugged. “I don’t know. She doesn’t even know what it is. It may kill me. It may make me stronger, but at this point it’s just giving me a freaking headache, and I can’t heal myself.”
Zane swore. “We require more information.” He rubbed the whiskered shadow covering his chin. “We’ll create a plan to infiltrate the Kurjan stronghold in Canada. That’s where the scientists are. We’ll need to take one,” he said thoughtfully.
Paxton stepped back, surprised. “You’d start a war over me?”
Zane’s eyes blazed in the darkness. “Of course I’d start a war over you. Don’t be a dumbass.”
A rock dropped hard into Paxton’s stomach. Why was that? Crap, could Zane actually be his father? “That’s insane. You can’t start a war because of me.”
Zane rarely showed expressions, but a quick scroll of confusion crossed his face before he focused fully on Paxton. “They fired drugs into one of mine. That is war if they don’t give up the information on how to save you. You know that.”
One of his. Paxton kicked snow off his boots. He just needed to ask the question. Why was he so afraid? If the guy he had revered for pretty much his entire life turned out to be a dishonest prick, then he was better off knowing it. “Are you my father?”
Zane stilled, his shoulders going back. Then he cocked his head...slowly. Paxton fought the urge to tackle him to the snow. This violence inside him would never go away, no matter how hard he tried.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Zane finally asked, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind.
Peace unfurled in Paxton’s chest. It took everything he had to keep from running away, grabbing Hope, and escaping this place. If he never knew the answer, he could keep loving her. Man, he was a sick fuck. “Paelotin said that he is not my father, and there was a definite ring of truth to his claim. I asked him who was, and he said to ask you.”
Zane’s brow cleared. “Pax, I have absolutely zero idea what you’re talking about.” He leaned against the car. Perfectly casual. “Do you believe he’s not your father?”
Paxton swallowed. “I sure didn’t take it as bad news until he implicated you as my real father.”
“Just to be very clear, I am not your father. That jerk was obviously messing with your head.” Zane snorted and slid an arm around his shoulders. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here. I could use a drink. We need to figure this out.”
“Did you even know my mom?” Paxton asked.
“Not really,” Zane admitted. “When I took over the Demon nation, things were pretty disorganized. Your folks were both with the international fighting squads, and frankly, I didn’t get a chance to know either of them very well. I met your mother a couple of times, but never when she was around your father, so I didn’t get the sense of anything wrong between them.”
“He said he killed her,” Pax said, his voice low. Even though he’d been just a kid, he felt responsible.
Zane opened the door to the house, and warmth instantly washed over Pax. “I told you a long time ago to stop taking blame for things you didn’t do. Remember when Hope fell off her bike?”