Page 64 of The Blood Witch

“Well…” Alastair shrugged. “Maybe if you weren’t such an ass, I would actually bother with what’s customary.”

Cassiel curled his lip in disapproval.

“What did you want?” Alastair prompted.

“What do I want? I want to talk to my son,” Cassiel said. “Is that such a crime? To want to speak to you, to know what is going on in your life?”

“You’ve never wanted that before.”

“This ‘woe is me’ act is past tiresome, Alastair,” his father told him. “I have wanted that, have always wanted that. I wasted years when you were younger trying to get you to be a part of this family.”

“So sorry it was such a waste, Father,” Alastair sneered. “But you know where I stand when it comes to this family.”

“It doesn’t always have to be this confrontational, Alastair,” Cassiel said, sounding almost a little sad. “We’re not enemies, son.”

“But not friends, either.”

Cassiel’s eyes narrowed. “You know… there will come a time when I’m gone, and you’ll be expected to take over this family. A time when my title as deSanguine will pass on to you. And it will make it much easier if you stop fighting me every step of the way.”

Alastair laughed. “Yeah, well,” he said, his words dripping in disdain, “there’s no chance in hell that’s going to happen.”

“And why not?”

“Well, first off, fuck that,” Alastair said. “Secondly, I’m not your heir. Never have been, so the title is never going to pass to me. And third, fuck that.”

“You already said that one.”

“It was important enough to bear repeating.”

Cassiel exhaled loudly, drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair in irritation. “Alastair… your sister was my heir, yes. But she is no longer with us. Delilah is gone. That makes you next in line to inherit the family title.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Alastair insisted. “Callum will inherit your title. Whether you like it or not.”

Cassiel scoffed. “Oh please, son. No matter what yousay, I don’t believe your brother is more powerful than you are. The title won’t transfer to him, Alastair. It will go to you.”

“That’s always been your problem,” Alastair said. “You’ve always seen him as weak. You think strength means being cruel, and Callum doesn’t have a cruel bone in his body. You’ve never bothered to consider that his kindness is what makes him stronger than me. Stronger than either of us.”

“Enough,” Cassiel said, waving Alastair’s words away. “I didn’t call you here to rehash this fight again, son.”

“Then, pray tell, why did you call me here, Dad?”

“I wanted to talk about that Witch of yours.” He waved his hand toward one of the heavy armchairs seated near his desk, motioning for Alastair to join him.

“I think I’ll stand,” Alastair said. “I don’t think this will take long…”

Irritated, Cassiel rolled his eyes. “Just sit down, for God’s sake, Alastair. I want to talk without you looming over me like this. It’s unproductive.”

Alastair took a deep breath and walked to the chair, sinking into it.There, he said to his father with a look,happy now?

“I was… surprised when you first told me about her,” Cassiel said. “Not unpleasantly surprised, mind you. I hadn’t thought you were capable of…”

“Of what?” Alastair interrupted. “Of love?”

“Of commitment,” his father answered, shooting him a glare. “With all the rumors, and with you fucking everyone from every family we ever brought here over the years, I hadn’t thought you capable of the maturity necessary for a committed relationship.”

He hadn’t fucked everyone from every family who visited the estate, Alastair thought sourly. Hadn’t even fucked all the women, let alone the men, and anyone else in between. Though, he supposed, he’d fucked enough of them that the rumors weren’t entirely untrue… A few of the men, too, come to think of it. He wondered if his father had ever heard about that. He hoped so. He hoped it made him choke.

“I was happy to hear of your relationship with her, is what I am trying to say,” Cassiel continued. “Happy again to hear that the two of you are still together after so many years.”

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