Page 48 of Slow Heat

“I, uh…” Jason gaped.

Miner took up the slack for his undone son. “I read through one of your books and allowed Jason to see the ones that were suitable for this stage of events.” He tapped his glass against Vale’s own in a small toast. “You have quite a way with words. Your work was very beautiful.”

Jason frowned, as though disappointed he’d been shown up by his pater. “Beautiful,” he murmured. “I agree. Powerful, too. And smart.”

“Thank you.”

Jason looked as if he might melt into the floor. The power Vale had over him was intoxicating, and Vale’s pulse picked up in excitement.

Miner went on, “I admire that you’ve done so much with your life. A respected professor of alphas and an accomplished poet, no less.” He threw back the last of his drink and sat it down on the bar, motioning for Jason to make him another. “It would be fair to say I envy you.”

“But you have so much here to be proud of…” Vale looked to Jason, who was listening with an air of astonishment. He remembered the age well. It was strange coming to know your parents were human, with dreams fulfilled and dashed, with foibles and resentments. It’d been his first loss to know his own weren’t the perfect creatures he’d imagined. And then he’d lost them both entirely.

“I do. Of course I do.” Miner waved an elegant hand. “But I always wanted to be a musician, myself. When I was young, I dreamed of playing with the symphony here in the city. But my Pater-in-Law would have none of it.” His smile went brittle.

“I didn’t know that,” Jason said, a frown creasing his brow. “Grandpater Derak wasn’t very nice to you, was he?”

Miner shrugged. “It’s all in the past now. I settled for composing and teaching Jason to play.” He gazed at Jason fondly. “He’s not gifted, but talent can’t replace hard work. That’s something Jason has never been afraid of. He’s more than passable on the guitar and not terrible on the piano.”

Jason laughed, blue eyes sparkling. “And believe me, that’s high praise from him. He’s usually less generous. I’m working at getting better, though.” The wordsfor youwere somehow implied, and Vale felt them like warm fingers pressed over his heart.

“I look forward to hearing you play.”

Jason smiled again and Vale nearly swooned from his white teeth glittering in the soft light.

“What about your family?” Miner asked. “Where do your people live?”

Another question he surely already knew the answer to, but it was fair to assume Miner wanted to hear Vale’s take on the events himself.

“Father and Pater are both deceased. There was an accident. I didn’t have any other family.”

“They wereÉrosgápeor…?”

Contracted alpha-omega relationships were legally every bit as valid, but culturally they were still looked down on as less-than. Vale straightened up, sipping his drink before answering, “Érosgápe. Though I was born quite late.”

Miner nodded, already aware.

“You were?” Jason asked. “Why’s that?”

Vale swirled his liquor around in his glass, schooling his features to thoughtfulness, ignoring what he knew about Miner’s problems with conception and carrying to term. “They didn’t find each other until they were both in their thirties. It seems my family line is full of late bloomers.” He took a long swallow and grimaced at the burn. “So perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised by our situation.”

“Your parents didn’t contract with someone in their youth?” This was from Yule who’d turned from his conversation with Urho, Yosef, and Rosen to listen to Vale.

“No. They were both romantics. They believed their match was out there, and it turned out they were right.”

“Amazing. That’s quite the risk to take,” Yule said.

“Maybe, but there’s always the risk of finding your match after you’ve contracted with someone else, and that’s its own kind of hell, from what I understand.”

“Oh, indeed.” Yule’s eyes went wide.

“Going it alone is brave,” Miner said. “Believing in destiny even braver.”

“Speaking of a special kind of hell, your pater must have been a madman,” Yule said. “Enduring heats without an alpha as he must have done before finding your father is a very bold choice.”

Vale lifted his brow, and Miner grew pale. “Oh, I doubt he endured heats without an alpha. I’d wager he did what any sensible omega would do and found someone to help him.”

Jason let out a soft noise, almost like a growl, but when Vale gazed his way, he went silent; the only indication he was unhappy was a flush up his pale neck.