Kiss of Midnight_ A Midnight Breed Novel - Lara Adrian [936]
“And me?” Kade asked, the question blurting out of him before he had the chance to bite it back.
“You,” Kir said, thoughtful as he looked at him. “You were untamable. You were unstoppable, from the moment you came howling and kicking out of your mother’s womb. You were a force of nature, Kade. Everyone who looked upon you saw that you were something unique, something special. I knew a child once who was not so different from you.”
“Grigori,” Kade murmured, watching his father’s expression mutate from mild surprise to remembered regret.
“Grigori,” Kir repeated quietly. “I presume you heard something about him from my other brother, Maksim.”
Kade nodded. “Max told me a little. I know that Grigori meant a lot to you, and I know that he went Rogue.”
Kir’s brows rose a fraction. “Yes, he did.”
“And you thought I would end up like him one day.”
“You?” He scowled, then gave a small shake of his head. “I never thought that of you. It was Seth I worried about. You reminded me of Grigori, that is true. Everything vibrant and robust and strong in him, I saw in you, Kade. Seth, however, had none of those qualities. He was only like my brother in that he possessed the same flaws and insecurities that eventually doomed him. I knew it, and I lived in dread of what might become of Seth. As for you, I could only hope that you would never be put into the position that I had been with Grigori. I prayed you would never be faced with that kind of decision.”
Something cold coiled around Kade’s heart at his father’s words. Alex’s fingers tightened around his as if she, too, felt the dread of what Kir might say. “Tell me what happened, Father.”
“I never wanted you to have to shoulder the burden of having to destroy something you loved.” Kir’s eyes dimmed with regret. “I thought that if I kept Seth close enough, if I gave him every opportunity to prove himself, my strength might be enough to hold him up. If I could keep Seth from giving into the weakness I saw in him from the time he was a child, then maybe he wouldn’t end up like Grigori. Maybe you would not be forced to do what I had to do.”
“Max said Grigori was never seen or heard from after your family received word that he’d gone Rogue and killed someone in his Bloodlust. Max said you refused to speak of Grigori after that.”
Kir nodded grimly. “There was no need to speak of him again. He was dead. As his brother, I felt it was my duty to make sure that he could never kill again.”
Alex exhaled the smallest gasp at the sober confession. Kade was stunned to discover how similar his father’s path had been to his own, how much he never knew about the male who’d sired him or the life his father had led before Kade and Seth had been born.
He muttered a curse, but there was no venom in it. There never could be again, not after tonight. “I have resented you nearly all my life,” he admitted. “I thought you despised me.”
Kir clucked his tongue, gave a remorseful shake of his head. “Never. I only wanted the best for you. For both my sons. And now, for the two new ones who will be born in a few short weeks, as well.”
“We have wasted a lot of time on secrets and festering fears,” Kade said to him. He turned a look on Alex, swamped by love for the female who owned his heart. “I can’t waste another minute like that.”
Kir stood up. “Nor should I waste any more of your time when you and Alex could be spending it together. I want you to know that I am proud of you, Kade. And I am glad to see that you have found happiness. You’ve found love, and next to all your other strengths, that is the one that will see you through any challenge.”
Kade swallowed, gave an awkward nod. “Thank you, Father.”
“How long will you and Alex be staying here at the Darkhaven?”
“Not long,” Kade replied. “A few more hours at the most. Some of my brethren from the Order are waiting in a town not far from here. We have a mission to wrap up, and then we’ll