Shades of Midnight (Midnight Breed 7)

Kade's father turned away from an open program on his computer, rotating in his large leather chair to face them. Kade watched the stern expression darken from one of surprise and relief, to one of confusion and not-too-mild disappointment when he realized it was the prodigal son who waited at the threshold, not the favored one. The scowl deepened. "Kade."

"Father," he replied, knowing there would be no emotional embraces or warm welcomes as his father got up from his seat and strode around to the front of his long desk. He spared only the barest glance at his brother who stood behind Kade near the door. "Leave us, Maksim."

Kade felt rather than saw his uncle's silent, obedient retreat from the room. He watched his father instead, seeing the harsh disapproval in the dark gaze that pinned him across the distance of the private study. Kade set down his duffel of belongings and weaponry and awaited his father's displeasure.

"You failed to mention you intended to come home when we spoke a couple days ago." When Kade offered no excuse, his father exhaled sharply. "Then again, that's hardly surprising. You didn't bother to say much before you left us a year ago, either. Just walked away with no thought to responsibility or to your much before you left us a year ago, either. Just walked away with no thought to responsibility or to your family."

"It was time for me to go," Kade replied after a long moment. "There were things I needed to do." His father's scoff sounded brittle with animosity. "I hope it was worth it. You broke your mother's heart, you realize that, don't you? Until you called out of the blue the other day, she was certain you'd gone off and gotten yourself killed by joining up with those warrior vigilantes back in Boston. And although Seth would be the last person to speak poorly of you, I can tell you that your leaving broke his heart, too. Your brother has changed since you've been away."

And of course, the blame for that and everything else sat squarely on Kade's shoulders. He shook his head, knowing that it was no use trying to defend himself or the Order. Lucan and the other warriors didn't need his father's support or approval. For that matter, neither did he.

He'd survived without that for a long damned time already, and he had since given up needing to prove himself to the man.

"So, Seth is still away on business for you?"

His father met the question with a narrow look. "He's due back soon. I presume he will also feed while he's gone, which is likely the reason for his delay."

"What about Patrice?"

"They are not yet mated," came his father's clipped reply. Kade grunted in acknowledgment, and wished he could feel more surprise to hear this news. For half a dozen years, it had been accepted that Seth and Patrice, one of the Breedmates who lived in the family Darkhaven since she was a child, would eventually become a blood-bonded pair. At that time, Patrice had chosen him above all the other males in the region, and to his parents' delight, Seth had agreed to make the female his mate. Problem was, he seemed to find one good excuse after another to put her off. Without a Breedmate to fulfill a vampire's need for blood, he was forced to feed off the mortal population for sustenance instead. Most Breed males welcomed the unbreakable, eternal bond that would release them from the slavery of their bloodthirst and provide a steady, loving source of strength and passion for the whole of a male's life.

But there were some who preferred to remain unattached, hunting where they willed, relishing the constant chase and conquest of new human prey.

Kade himself was in no rush to lock himself down with a Breedmate of his own, another point of contention with his father and mother, who had been blood-bonded and happily mated for more than a century. Instead they'd pinned their hopes on Seth. He'd been the studious one, the cerebral one, who it was assumed would one day take the reins as the leader of the family Darkhaven or form his own. Kade had always been the raucous opposite of his brother. It was that reckless streak that had likely condemned him in his father's eyes, while Seth's careful outward control had given him seemingly limitless freedoms.

"Well," his father said after a prolonged silence. "Since you've come to your senses and returned home now, I trust this means you're ready to try to be part of the family once more. As it seems you've come back with barely more than the clothes on your back, I'll make arrangements to transfer some funds into your old account."

"I didn't come here for a handout," Kade bit off, his anger spiking at the assumption. "And as for staying, it's not in my plan--"

"Where is my son?" Kade's words were cut short by a petite cyclone who threw open the doors of the study and breezed inside. "It really is you! Oh, Kade!"

She pulled Kade into a fierce embrace, her body vibrating with emotion. His mother was just as beautiful and vibrant as ever--more so, her glow enhanced by the large, expectant swell of her belly beneath the loose-fitting, winter-white sweater and pants she wore. Ebony-haired with pale silver eyes that matched both his and Seth's, Kade's mother, Victoria, was a breathtaking woman. Like her mate, she, too, appeared no more than thirty years old, her aging halted by the blood bond she shared with Kir.

"Oh, my darling boy. I've been so worried about you! Thank God you've come back--and will you look at me, just in time." She smiled, positively beaming. "You'll have two new brothers in less than a month. Identical twins again, just like you and Seth."

Although she seemed delighted by the prospect, Kade felt a sick twist in his gut. The talent that he and Seth shared, the ability to communicate with and command predator animals, was a unique skill passed down to them genetically from their Breedmate mother, in the same way that Seth and he shared Victoria's smooth golden skin, dark hair, and exotic eyes. But unlike her, in Kade and Seth, with their father's Breed blood running hot through their veins, the talent had a dark side. He hated to think that the pattern might repeat itself in another set of brothers.

"You look well, Mother. I'm glad to see you so happy."

"I'm even happier now that you're here. You'll see I've kept your quarters just as you left them. Not a day passed when I didn't hope and pray that I would have both of my beloved sons safe and sound, living under our roof again as a family."

She threw her arms around him once more, and Kade felt all the worse for what he had to say. "I ... I don't know how long I'll be staying. I didn't come back to live here, Mother. I'm here on business for the Order."

She drew back, her expression falling. "You won't stay?"

"Only until my mission is complete. Then I have to return to Boston. I'm sorry if you thought--"

"You can't go," she murmured, tears welling in her eyes. "You belong here, Kade. This is your home. We are your family. You have a life here--"

He gently shook his head. "My life is with the Order now. They need me, and I have important things to do. Mother, I am sorry to disappoint you."

She sobbed behind her hand, and took a few steps back on her heels. She wobbled unsteadily with the sudden movement, and Kade's father was right at her side, wrapping her protectively under his arm. He spoke softly to her, tenderly, private words that seemed to soothe her somewhat. But her tears and sobs did not stop completely.

Kade's father escorted her carefully to the door, pausing only to lift his head and level a hard look on his son. Their gazes met and clashed, neither one of them willing to back down. "You and I are not finished here, Kade. I will expect you to wait for me until I finish looking after your mother." He waited as ordered, but only for a minute. Time away had made him forget what it had been like to be in this place. He couldn't live under his father's roof any more than he could live under Seth's shadow. It killed him to cause his mother distress, but if he'd needed a reminder that he didn't belong here, he'd gotten it as clearly as possible in the look his father gave him as he was walking out the door.

"Shit," Kade hissed, as he grabbed his duffel bag and exited the study. He walked outside, thinking the frigid air would help clear his head. Instead his gaze was snagged by the sight of his brother's cabin. He knew he shouldn't go inside--he had no right, actually--but the need for answers was more powerful than any sense of guilt at invading Seth's privacy. Kade opened the door and walked inside.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected. Some sense of chaos or the scattered clutter of a troubled mind?