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"We haven't forgivenWilliam for what he did," said Mom. "Having a child with an alpha who's not his mate. It's a disgrace to the family, you knowthat."

Parker felta flush of anger and fought to quell it. "He's yourson.He made some poor decisions, but he's grown a lot. And he's raising Nate—your grandson—the best he can. He's not a disgrace, Mom. Not any more than Iam."

"No, you're not,"Dad said. "But we just cannot approve of you sacrificing your time and your resources for your brother. More importantly, nor can we approve of you using thefamilyresources for that purpose. We've cut your brother off for a reason, Parker. You can't just support him using your familyfunds."

"And what?Just leave him and my nephew to fend for themselves? You've already reduced my funds as itis."

"That'swhat we wanted to speak to you about, Parker," said Dad. "We can't approve of you using our money any further. If you're going to continue assisting William, we will have to cut off the remainder of yourfunds.”

He blinked in disbelief."The three of us are living in a one-bedroom apartment," he said. "I've already reduced the expenses as much as possible to avoid dipping into the trust. You aren't seriously saying you're going to cut me off. I'm helping mybrother."

"That's exactlywhat we're saying," said Dad. "Anyway, you have a good job. You can support yourself, and we'll still be taking care of the tuition. And once your brother goes off on his own, you can have access to the family moneyagain."

"And you can start thinkingabout finding yourself a mate," Momstarted.

"Fuck that!"Parker said, unable to keep his voice from raising. There was a murmur as eyes turned towards their table. His parents lookedhorrified.

"Parker!"

"Settle down,"Dad said. "The food ishere."

The waiter maneuveredover to their table, and the three of them sat in silence as he placed the plates of pasta in front of them. Parker was seething. He felt ill. He hadn't had time to eat a bite since breakfast, but his anger wiped away the hunger. It wasn't about the money. He knew Mom and Dad had always been practically insane, but just couldn't believe that they werethisuncaring. Were their principles worth that much to them that they'd be willing to cut off both of theirsons?

"Anyway,"Mom said, speaking in fast, hushed tones, trying to maneuver the conversation to a lighter ground. "It’s about time you found yourself someone. You'll be graduating soon, and you'll want to start a family of yourown.

"Ican't believewhat I'm hearing," Parker said. "This is insanity. You both are crazy, you knowthat?"

They staredat him like he was speaking a foreign language. Mom gingerly placed her napkin into her lap and pierced one of the stuffed ravioli with her fork, taking a dainty bite fromit.

"Mm,"she said. "Delicious. I'm glad we came here and not Zangaro's. Their ravioli ishorrid."

Parker pushed awayfrom the table, his chair groaning loudly across the floor. "You can forget about me," he said. "If this is how we treat our family, I don't want any part of itanymore."

"Parker,"Dad said, sternly, like he was talking to a child. "Sit down. Eat yourfood."

"Go to hell,"Parker growled. He turned heel and marched out of the restaurant, leaving his parents sitting stunned. He didn't bother to look back at them. They might've been calling to him to come back, Mom might've been shouting, he didn't know. He wasn't listening. He couldn't hear anything over the angry pounding of his heart and the rush of blood in his ears. The valet arrived with his car, and Parker got inside, slamming the door. He pulled out of the parking lot, onto the street and then onto the highway, putting enough miles in between him and his parents so that he could finally breatheagain.

Screw them.

He was goingto be there for his brother and his nephew. He wasn't going to let them treat them this way. The money didn't matter. He could care less about his inheritance. He could support them on his own—and hewould.

Parker pulledinto the parking lot of his apartment complex and spent a few minutes in the car, breathing slowly, trying to cool down. He'd always had a bit of a hot temper and had been working on getting it under control. It was difficult for him to keep whatever was on his mind to himself. If he was pissed, he had no qualms about telling it like it was. He'd made his fair share of enemies that way, but he really didn't give a damn. He had William and Nate, and he had his art. He didn't need anyone or anythingelse.

He'd never beenin a proper relationship, either. Not once. It wasn't like he didn't find omegas and betas attractive, he definitely did, it was just that his personality had always prevented him from getting close to anyone. Sure, he'd hooked up with a few people before, but real relationships were out of the question. People were intimidated by him, and he wasn't concerned enough about it to try and make people feel comfortable. So he'd just gotten used to being single, and as the years went by he realized that his standards were just getting higher and higher anyway. Just being good looking wasn't enough. He couldn't find himself attracted to someone who wasn’t motivated, skilled and talented. Parker knew he was being unreasonable, but he didn't really care. He had limited time in this world, and he wasn't going to waste it on just anyone. He saw no problem withthat.

There werefew people he could think of that he even found attractive. There was really only one, but that guy seemed to dislike him, anyway. And also, he waswaytoo insecure. Parker didn't like that. In fact, the more he thought about that guy, the more he realized how annoying hewas.

He could hearWilliam scolding him. "You're never gonna get laid if you have these ridiculousstandards."

Parker took a deep breath.He felt calmer now. He'd have to give William the news. Without access to the family fund, money was about to become really tight. He'd do what he could to send Nate to preschool. He hadto.

He gotout of the car and headed through the complex. As he passed by the rows of front doors he caught vignettes of other lives: of televisions blaring in living rooms, of a couple having a shouting match, of babies crying and the smell of dinners on the stove. A cacophony of life that he was still getting used to. The family condo had been up in the Hollywood Hills, private and secluded from the lives ofneighbors.

He turneda corner into the hallway leading to his apartment and collided shoulders with a man hurrying by. The guy was lugging several bags with him, and they dropped onto the floor as he stumbled backwards from theimpact.

"Sorry,"Parker said, stooping over to the collect the fallen bags. He realized they weren't just normal bags—they were portfolio cases, much like the ones he used to transport his ownartwork.

"Sorry,"the guy mumbled. Parker turned to give the cases to him and froze when he saw who itwas.