Page 126 of Lightning Angel

Jude smiled tentatively in greeting, shifting on his feet. He wore a white tee that contrasted with his golden skin, paired with dark jeans. “Hey.” His eyes slid past her, and the smile strained as they fell on Tristan.

“Hey…” Alexa greeted him back uncertainly. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I came to seeyou,actually,” he said to Tristan. “I knew you’d be here when I couldn’t find you at your house.”

Alexa stepped aside and looked between the two of them surprised, whereas Tristan’s eyebrows rose in bewilderment. “Do I even need to know why you want to see me?”

“We need to talk.”

“About…?”

Jude glanced at Alexa and then back at Tristan. “Does she know about you?”

Alexa’s breath hitched. “I’m sorry?” What didheknow about Tristan?

Jude ignored her and raised a questioning eyebrow at Tristan.

“There’s no secret between us,” Tristan said, slowly and cautiously. “But whatever do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t.”

Jude sighed impatiently. “Man, I knowwhatyou are.”

There was a long beat of tense silence before Tristan broke it. “How?” he gritted through his teeth.

Jude glanced at Alexa. “May I come in?”

Alexa composed herself from the shock and stepped back without a word. Jude entered and closed the door behind him. The tension in the air grew thicker.

“I don’t know if you know this,” Jude began, glancing at Tristan. “But we’re related.”

“Related how?”

“We’re second cousins,” Jude said seriously. “Our mothers were cousins.”

Tristan’s entire demeanor hardened. “What are you talking about?”

“Merissa is my mother.” Jude spared a glance at Alexa and added, “My birth mother.”

Alexa gasped and Tristan stiffened.

“She told me everything about you,” Jude continued, his face apologetic. “I got in touch with her not soon after our breakup—” he looked at Alexa again “—and when I told her that your new boyfriend is the infamous Dr. Knight’s son, she freaked out.”

Tristan stepped forward with fire in his eyes and sized him up. “What do you want?” he demanded. Though Jude was taller and broader than Tristan was, in all his basketball player glory, it did little to make Tristan look any less intimidating with the fury emanating from him.

“Dude, chill out. I’m getting there.” Jude held up his hands in front of him, palms forward. “I know you hate her for what she did to you. I apologize on her behalf for what you’re going through because of the—”

“If you’re here to pity me, the door is right behind you.” Tristan made a gesture to the door.

“Tristan,” Alexa called him softly, placing a hand on his arm to offer him some sort of calm. She knew how much the mere mention of Merissa blazed his anger. “Let’s hear what he has to say, alright?” She turned to Jude. “We’re listening.”

Jude’s eyes trailed to where Alexa’s hand rested on Tristan’s arm. His eyes hardened slightly, but he composed himself and met her eyes with a tight smile.

“Merissa regrets her actions.”

Tristan scoffed. “It’s easier to believe that this curse is supposed to kill me one day rather than believing in Merissa’sregret,” he said with a hollow laugh. “Do you even know what led her to curse me?”

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