Page 26 of Slow Heat

More smoke drifted up toward the high ceiling, curling and shifting in the air. It smelled like sadness to Jason.

“Ifthings settle with this omega,” Father muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jason asked.

“It means we have a lot to work out,” Pater said, his voice cracking with exhaustion.

“It means I’m not going to allow your future to be determined by the too-random hand of Fate.” Father’s blue eyes tightened piercingly.

Pater glared at Father. “Stop. If you go down that path, you know where it will end up.”

“What path?” Jason asked. “What are you not telling me?”

“Son, you need to trust us. We’re your parents. We want what’s best for you.” Father leaned forward, brows quirked gently and voice urgent.

“It’s all too soon for this conversation,” Pater said.

“I’m not a fool, you know,” Jason said.

“Of course you’re not. But Miner is right. It’s not time to talk about it now.” Father glanced at his watch. “I have to meet Jeft Mellors in twenty minutes. He’ll have the first batch of information for us to peruse. Then I’ll stop by the warehouses, see how things are going with the shipments.”

Pater shrugged, his bony shoulders rising and falling tiredly.

“That’s the detective you’ve hired?” Jason asked. “Jeft Mellors? He’s getting information about Vale?”

Father frowned. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

“You can’t leave me out of this. I already told you that’s the entire reason I left this morning, because I knew you’d do this to me. If you want me to behave, if you want me to act according to protocol, you can’t keep me in the dark.”

Pater sighed and Father’s lips thinned.

“You’ll show me what he brings you.” Jason dared to point a finger at his father and tried to sound older, ready for what was coming. “All of it.”

Father rubbed at his temples. “Fine. It’s your right to know and your choice to make.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what Father was implying and what Pater didn’t like about it—he was suggesting Jason might take a surrogate in Vale’s stead.

“Go then, Yule,” Pater said. “I’ll stay here with Jason. We’ll work on his guitar skills today. It’s been a while.”

Jason groaned but didn’t complain more. He accepted Father’s hand in his hair and watched his parents kiss goodbye, then rose to get the acoustic guitar he’d graduated to once his hands had grown to adult size. He sat down again, this time on a stool near his pater’s sofa, turning the golden-wood instrument over in his hands. “Which piece should I start with?”

Pater waved absently. “Something you won’t butcher too badly. My nerves won’t take it.”

An hour later, Jason’s fingers were tired, and Pater was lying back on the sofa, arm over his eyes, listening instead of instructing. But he wasn’t smoking anymore, which was an improvement. It seemed a fair time to quit.

“I’m done.” Jason rose and placed the guitar back in the stand.

“You played better than usual.”

Jason smiled softly. He’d closed his eyes and pretended that Vale was on the sofa instead of Pater. But he wasn’t going to admit that much. “Thank you.”

“You were more focused. Any reason?”

“I thought maybe Vale would like it. If I play well, I mean.”

Pater smiled and sat up. “Maybe he will.”

Four blue pills appeared from Pater’s pocket, and he handed the alpha quell to Jason. He downed them easily. The cool calmness seeped into him quickly, settling the renewed urges that he hadn’t even realized were growing in him.