Page 113 of Starborn Husbands

Erick grips the back of his neck, shaking his head. “Let me talk to him. You may be a big tough archangel now, but unfortunately, you’ll always be his little Nephilim.”

I’ve never seen Merrick blush in all our time together; seeing the deepest of reds bloom on his face is something I’ll torture him with for a long time.

“No.No.You’re not talking me into this. My son won’t mate with an Orion,” Daniel says, his eyes glow an eerie shade of blue.

What’s everyone got against Orions? But this time, I’m with the man on this one. No son of his will mate with an Orion. I suppose it’s beside the point that I’m a Centaurus now.

“It’s probably against some kinda angel protocol for me to interrupt, but any chance someone will tell me what’s going on? A lot of shit’s happened to me in the past couple weeks,” I say.

Erick jumps in front of his … husband? Angel mate? I’m not up on my angel lore. “Master, please allow me to sort this out with them. I’m the best one for the job.” He flashes his fangs as if that means something. Fuck, those fangs are large. They’re not so much long as they are wide.

When he doesn’t break, Erick slides fingers through the dark mop the angel calls hair and presses his lips to him. “C’mon, Master. I won’t be long, and I miss our son. You allowed him to become a member of the Guild and now he’s away from me all the time.”

The seraph softens marginally. That man has some strange power over him. “Only to save his pet from execution. I knew it would have upset you both.”

“Since when do you care about upsetting us, Daniel? It would have been wrong for him to die and you know it.

He sighs, glaring at his son. I’ve never seen Merrick like this. He’s vulnerable. Desperate for his father’s approval. Daniel tugs at the waistband of Erick’s kilt and plants a kiss on his lips that has Erick scrabbling to wrap his leg around the dark angel.

“Fuck, please,” Erick says.

“Oh no. You’re in so much trouble,” Daniel says. “Go. Tell the unruly star what we know.”

“Yes, Master.”

“And you,” Daniel says, pointing at his son. “This conversation’s not over. We’ll be speaking later. Alone.”

Merrick shivers. “Yes, Father.”

“Erick, shirt. Jacket.”

“Uh, oh yeah. Forgot,” he says, heading to the side of the room. “You boys wait outside for me.”

I’m more than happy to get the fuck out of here. Merrick hesitates, staring at his father with no shortage of dread. It’s the wrong move, I know it is, but fuck it. I grab his hand and drag him out. He lets me.

Once we’re out and around the corner, Merrick sags against the wall. A fat bruise colors his face, and dried blood cracks around his lips. Something tells me there’s more, and I don’t mean what his dad’s about to tell us.

“Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“That. That right there is why I just about got my face slapped off. Your disobedient nature. You need to behave or he’s going to step in, and my dad won’t be able to stop him next time. Ah!” Merrick hisses and grips his forearm.

“Merrick. Fuck … Mair?”

“It’s nothing.”

“That doesn’t look like nothing. You want to be in this together? Then you don’t fucking hide important shit from me.”

“Fine.” He tears his jacket off and rolls up his shirt on the right side. Silver Enochian letters are written there, glowing and searing, burning him. It’s like a tattoo with the way it’s embossed into his skin but also like a rune in the way it glimmers and shines.

It says my name. Just my first one.Treyu.

“New tattoo?”

“No. It’s a lot more complicated than that, and if my father sees this, he’ll rip my arm off.”

“What’s the deal with him?”

“He likes order.”