Page 177 of House of Pain
“Alecto, who do you mean?” Jolene asked gently.
Alecto shook her head, squaring her shoulders.
“What are you talking about?” Blaze asked, looking back at the corridor where they came from. “You’re interested in my father all of a sudden, Black?”
Alecto whirled on her heel. “Did you know about it?”
“For fuck’s sake, I don’t know what you are even talking about. What am I supposed to know?”
“This woman.” Alecto pointed at the memory orb. Blaze eyed the blonde woman whose smile was wide and dazzling, long white hair waving down her shoulder like a waterfall. “This woman is my mother.”
Alecto’s mother was a mortal. There was no chance that Galliermo would be standing with her in that memory orb.
They looked intimate. Definitely intimate.
This couldn’t be.
Galliermo hated mortals. He hated Alecto for being half-mortal—
“Son of a bitch,” Blaze cursed.
“You didn’t know your father dated my mother at Venefica back in the day?” Alecto asked, her voice filled with fury, but there was a line between her eyebrows as she eyed Blaze. “You know what, never mind. I don’t care.”
Before Blaze could say anything, Alecto whirled and walked away from them.
“Where the fuck are you going?” Blaze shouted, following her as she walked away from the main corridor. “We’re not supposed to split up.”
“I need to fucking pee,” Alecto snapped back. “Are you going to follow me into the bathroom now? Why don’t you fuck right off, Leveau!”
Blaze stopped abruptly, anger simmering in his chest.
Alecto flipped him off and pushed the door to the bathroom open with her shoulder.
“I don’t know what’s been going on between you two,” Jolene said, coming to stand at Blaze’s side. “But I’m pretty sure it’s your fault.”
He couldn’t argue.
Minutes passed as Jolene and Blaze waited for Alecto, but she didn’t come out.
“I’m gonna check on her,” Jolene said, biting the inside of her cheek.
Blaze leaned against the wall as Jolene went into the bathroom. After a moment, the door swung open, Jolene’s face pale.
She didn’t need to say anything.
Alecto was gone.
A string of whistles came from the main hall, followed by a mocking laugh.
“Rogue’s here,” Blaze said, and then both were running back.
Blaze almost ran straight into Andro once they reached the main foyer.
“You heard that?” Andro asked. “Where did it come from? Where’s Alecto?”
Blaze shook his head. “Gone.”
“For fuck’s sake, how can you lose a girl like that?” Val said. “You were supposed to stick together.”
