“He’ll be back.”

“Doubtful.”

“You and I made a deal. I talked Decker into keeping that girl alive if you agreed to stay far away from her. You promised.”

The reminder pissed Lorn off. “Under extreme duress. I just ran into Kira for a moment. Would you have preferred I be rude by completely ignoring her existence?”

“Yes.” Ladius gave a firm nod. “I told you I don’t want you within half a mile of that girl.”

“Stop speaking of her in a cursed tone,” Lorn demanded.

“She’s weak and should never have been allowed to live with our clan! Davis used leverage to force Decker into accepting her at first but we eventually got around that. Then I intervened on your behalf. She should have been killed. Davis chose to screw a human and brought his shameful mistake home with him. It is an insult to us all!”

“What did Davis have on Decker?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Lorn pressed, not willing to let it go. “Is that why Davis was assigned to host these parties every time one is held, and Decker made him one of the lowest-ranking members of the clan? As punishment?”

Ladius glared at him. “None of that is your concern. I kept that girl alive for you after Decker handled the issue with Davis.”

“Kira’s never harmed anyone in any way.”

“It doesn’t matter. Humans aren’t to be trusted.”

“She’s not completely human. You think she’d ever do anything to betray this clan? Her father would suffer. She loves Davis. You’re being paranoid again.”

“You’re young, and have no idea how destructive those vile creatures can be. She reeks of human and acts like one. They lie, cheat, steal, and would cut your throat the moment you let your guard down.”

“Kira is none of those things. I can’t say the same about Decker.”

“Blasphemy!” his father hissed. “Never dishonor our clan leader’s reputation!”

“His actions have done far more damage than my words ever could. He stole a small child from her mother. Where was the honor in that? He tried to blackmail Lord Aveoth by offering up his own granddaughter as a bribe to start a war between the VampLycan clans. Decker is greedy, devious, and he turns my stomach.”

Ladius took a menacing step forward. “You need to be taught to respect your elders.”

Lorn dropped his hands to his side, allowing his own anger to show. “I doubt you’d like the results if you start down this path. I’m not a small boy any longer. You strike me and I will consider that a challenge. Understood?”

His father paled and backed away. “You wouldn’t dare fight me.”

“Take a swing at me and find out.” Part of Lorn wished he’d do it.

Shrewdness entered his father’s eyes and the fear vanished. “You’re my firstborn son. Never forget what duties are expected of you. I’ve pledged allegiance to Decker and you will abide by my decision.”

“As if I have a choice.” Lorn glanced around again, making sure no one had witnessed the tense moment. “You’ve damned our entire family to follow that prick.”

Memories of his childhood filtered through Lorn’s mind. They’d never had a good father/son relationship. Ladius ruled his family with an iron will and a closed fist. He and Decker were both first-generation VampLycans. Brutal, heartless, and set in their vicious ways. They were good friends and too much alike. Life had changed as the years passed but their thinking never had caught up to modern times.

His father seemed to be assessing him. “I only want what is best for you, son. I might have been tough on you but look at how you’ve turned out. I’m proud of the man you’ve become. I made choices for the good of our family.”

“Spare me your lies. You’ve done everything to assure that your high ranking with this clan remains the same. Lavos and I have always come second to your greed. You swore your alliance to a man unfit to lead and damned us to live under his rule.”

“You were a threat,” his father hissed. “Don’t you realize that, Lorn? Decker became nervous of you as soon as you hit puberty. You’re stronger and faster than his enforcers, yet you refused to become one of his personal guards. My assurances that we’d never betray him have kept you alive. He would have killed you if he’d thought it were possible that you’d ever challenge him for leadership.”

“You swore an oath of loyalty to him long before your sons were born. Spare me that bullshit.”

“I’ve had to swear to him plenty of times that you’d never challenge him, Lorn. You flat-out refused his offer to serve with his most loyal. How do you think that looked? He knows you don’t like him.” Ladius scowled. “He wasn’t comfortable with your strength or skills as a fighter once you fully matured. We had long talks about it. I’ve protected you.”

“You protected your position. We could have left this clan to live with another if he didn’t want me here. I’ve seen him banish other members. Don’t put this on me. You wanted to remain here because you love being Decker’s eyes and ears. No other clan would ever trust you after everything you’ve done with and for him. It would be a miracle if they allowed you to even live amongst them.”

“You should be grateful Decker listens to me. Never forget I was the one who changed his mind about the girl. He wanted to kill her as soon as he could. I pointed out how useful she could be. He could assign her duties no one else wanted.”

Lorn’s temper flared. “You mean you fucked me over and pointed out he could use Kira to keep me in line. You betrayed your own son by handing that bastard a weapon against me.”

“You have no proof of that.”

“I don’t need it. We both know you’re the one who whispered in his ear so he’d know exactly how to leash me. Did you not learn from your good friend’s mistake? His only daughter ran away.” Lorn gritted his teeth. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill you. Thank your mate. I couldn’t hurt my mother that way. You can’t lie to me, old man. I see right through your bullshit.”

Ladius licked his lips. “I didn’t betray you. You wanted that girl alive and I needed Decker to rethink having you killed. It saved you both. You should thank me. She’s still here.”