Page 114 of Visions of You
Jaron squeezed his shoulder and got up. It was time to sort things out with his parents.
Jaron stood in front of the mansion door, heart pounding hard. Keegan squeezed his hand. Jaron glanced at his mate, incredibly grateful that he didn't have to do this by himself.
"Are you ready?" Keegan asked.
Jaron took a deep breath. "I'll never be ready," he admitted. "But I have to do this. There are so many things I need to know."
Keegan nodded, and together they stepped inside. Instantly, Jaron's father thundered down the stairs, his face a mask of fury.
"Where are my sons?" he demanded, ignoring Keegan completely.
Keegan raised an eyebrow. "One of your sons is right here."
But Jaron's father only had eyes for Jaron. "You said they were with you. Where are they?"
Jaron's mother joined them, her expression just as frantic. "Jaron, please. Where are your brothers?"
Jaron steeled himself and stood his ground. He could tell the two of them were genuinely worried, but if he gave in to their demands, they wouldn't listen to him. He'd learn nothing. "I won't tell you anything until you answer a few questions of mine."
His parents stared at him in disbelief.
"How dare you," his father growled. "You have the audacity to keep information from us at a time like this?"
"I think I have every right," Jaron shot back. "Considering what I just learned about our family."
His mother paled. "What are you talking about?"
"Malkira told me some interesting things," Jaron said, fidgeting with a ruby bracelet that went with his ridiculous outfit. "About how Casca and Fei were conceived."
For a moment, neither of his parents spoke. Then his father's face hardened.
"That woman is a liar and a criminal," he spat. "I don't care what she told you. Nothing she says can be trusted."
Next to him, his mother wrung her hands. "Jaron, please. Just tell us where Casca and Fei are."
"They're safe," Jaron said. "But I want to hear the truth from you before I let you see them again."
"Let us?" his father practically roared. "You can't keep us from our children."
Somehow, Jaron kept himself from flinching at his father's tone. "I don't want to do it, but there are things I learned that would make the relevant authorities think twice about letting you have custody. Things that could ruin the reputation of the family business." He stared fixedly at the sparkling gems on his mother's necklace.
Jaron's father's face turned an alarming shade of red. "How dare you threaten me, boy? Who do you think you are?"
Jaron felt all of five years old, faced with his father's wrath, but he kept his voice steady. "I think I'm your son. The one you never wanted to have. The one who was never enough."
Keegan inched closer. Jaron brushed his fingertips against Keegan's, drawing strength from the touch. He would be okay. He'd accepted long ago that he'd never live up to his family's expectations. He'd just never known the far-reaching consequences that sentiment had for his parents.
His mother swallowed hard, eyes darting between Jaron and his father. She didn't deny anything. "You have to understand," she said. "We only wanted another chance."
Another chance at a capable heir. She didn't say it, but Jaron knew that was what she meant.
"You injected yourselves with a terrible virus for that chance," Jaron accused. "How many laws did you break in the process? Did you even care what might happen if that virus escaped?"
"Fei and Casca were miracles," his mother insisted.
Jaron shook his head. His brothers hadn't been brought about by miracles but by mad experiments. He didn't love them less for it, but he needed his parents to see that what they'd done was insane.
Jaron took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger in check. "The virus lived on in Casca and Fei," he explained. "That's why Malkira took them. She was trying to fix the mistakes she'd made."
