Born of Ice

Paden pulled out his blaster and held it to his head. “You know nothing about me. I’m not his son.”


Devyn disarmed him so fast, Paden couldn’t do anything but gape. He tightened his grip on the weapon, tempted to beat him with it. “I’m not your bitch, boy. Don’t hold a gun to my head unless you’re shooting it. It won’t go well for you. And you better be glad our father loves you because right now that’s the only thing saving your life.”

Paden scoffed as he continued to stare at him in complete disbelief. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“Syn isn’t my biological father.”

Devyn narrowed his gaze at the last thing he expected to hear. “What?”

“My mother had an affair with another doctor at the hospital where he worked. We’re not really related.”

It couldn’t be. Surely his father wouldn’t keep chasing after a kid who wasn’t his? Why would he abuse himself for someone who . . . “Does my dad know?”

“Of course he does.”

Devyn was absolutely stunned. That just made everything worse in his opinion. The fact that his father would still care for someone he really owed nothing to at all . . . “You’re an even bigger bastard than I thought. Has your real father ever done anything for you?”

He saw the shame in Paden’s eyes.

“Yeah, and you spit on the one who took care of you even though he didn’t have to. You are disgusting.”

“I may be disgusting, but right now I’m the only chance you have of getting out of this.”

Devyn gave him a dry stare. “Need I remind you that you’re the reason I’m in this mess? I was—”

“Breaking the law.”

“Prove it,” Devyn taunted. That was the one thing he shared with Merjack. When it came to electronically covering his tracks . . . not even his father could match his skills.

Alix moved to stand between them. “Gentlemen, can you please focus for a minute? We have a most dire situation here and while I understand your mutual distrust and anger, we have something greater to think about right now.”

Paden snorted. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Then please enlighten us.”

He raked her with a sneer. “I don’t answer to a pathetic slave. Ever.”

Devyn slugged him hard. “You better pick a better tone for her. I don’t like that one. You will give her the respect due a human being or I will give you the beating you deserve for being a callous asshole. Your choice.”

Paden spat blood on the floor as he cupped his swelling jaw and eyed Devyn like he could kill him. “You bastard!”

Devyn was less than intimidated. “According to what you just divulged, you’re the only bastard in this room. My mother never cheated on my dad, and I’m pretty sure neither did Alix’s.”

Paden started for him, but Alix came between them. “Please, can we focus on what’s important? Like our lives?” Then she raked her own scathing glare over Paden. “And while I might be a worthless slave, you’ve just helped me evade custody, which makes you an accessory as much as Devyn. One word, and I own you for that kindness.”

Devyn scowled at him as he realized how right Alix was. “Why did you help us?”

“Because I’m not the heartless bastard you think. I loved Syn as much as any son could. When I found out he wasn’t my father, I was just a stupid kid, and I blamed him for it. Then when I learned his family history and who he really was, I was grateful to the gods that I didn’t share his DNA. I was mortified at the thought of someone learning that a man like him had been married to my mother.” He paused to glare heatedly at Devyn. “Don’t give me that look. I notice you don’t share his name, either.”

That made him seethe and had always been a source of extreme aggravation for him. “Devyn Wade Kell. I do have his name and I’m proud to call him father. Regardless of his past or his family, he’s the greatest man I’ve ever known. And I couldn’t give two shits that my grandfather was Idirian Wade. Unlike my father, I personally don’t care who knows it. I only go by Kell because that’s the name my parents gave me as a child, since they feared assholes like you abusing me over it before I was old enough to defend myself. Personally, like the father I love, I don’t believe in running from anything. As Uncle Digger always says, Wades don’t run. Sometimes we want to. Sometimes we ought to. But Wades don’t run.”

Paden raked him with a look of supreme disgust. “You’re no better than me.”

“I never said I was. You’re the only one in this room who seems to have an inferiority complex. Alix and I are fine with our places in the world.”

Paden looked away as the truth behind those words tore through him. Because of his mother’s hatred of his father, he’d felt unclean and unworthy the whole of his life. Like he needed to prove himself to his mother, who hated him for what his father had done.