Page 58 of Pain

Pride surged through me, warming my chest and making my knees a little weak. Even though she didn’t have her powers, my mate was still miraculously wrapping a cocoon of protection around me. A cocoon of love.

“So you came here to gloat?” my mother asked, still enraged. “To rub it into our faces that your mate is nothing more than a pathetic, disgusting mongrel?”

“I came here with a glimmer of hope that maybe you’d seen the light,” I saidwith a shrug, only feeling the love from the woman beside me, and not the hate of the people in front of me. “But you’ve got too much darkness within to ever be able to see the light.”

My mother banged her small fists on the table, her long dark-red hair flying wildly around her. “Guard! Get me out! Guard!”

The commotion she caused drew Quintella’s attention away from Drak for just a moment. “Gwinn. Shut up, you loud-mouthed witch!” She pressed her hands to her forehead. “That mage gives me such a headache.”

I snorted.

You and me both, sister.

The door to the waiting room opened and a gnarly-looking guard stepped in, having to duck to enter he was so damned tall.

“I wish to leave,” my mother exclaimed, unable to stand because she was secured to the table by her handcuffs. “I have nothing more to say to my son. Or his …” she shuddered, “mutt of a mate.”

The guard came over, giving Omaera and me a quick glance, but nothing more. He unlocked my mother, then immediately handcuffed her again once she was free of the table. He turned to my father. “You too, Nulon?”

My father shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Nulon!” my mother shouted. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Just go back to the cell, Gwinn. I’ll be there shortly.”

Her eyes went wide with hate at both my father and me. But then she shifted her focus to Omaera, and if my mother had any powers in that room, Omaera would have been in trouble.

Then again, maybe not. My mate was not only a stone-cold fox, but she was the most powerful demon I’d ever met. She could probably lay my mother flat in seconds. In the short time we’d been in Hell practicing with Kenvin, Omaera’s skills had developed and strengthened in miraculous ways. She still had a long way to go, but she was able to direct and control them a lot better than when we first arrived.

“Nulon!” my mother said again in protest, digging in her heels. All the prisoners wore drab, gray coveralls. The type mechanics usually wore on Earth,though theirs tended to be blue.

“Gwinn! Will you shut it!” Quintella said, raising her voice above my mother’s with an air of aristocratic authority that had even the guard’s back going a tad straighter.

The guard finally got my mother out of the room and the door closed gain. Like dust settling after a sudden gust of wind, calm and quiet drifted around us.

Eventually, Drak and his aunt began murmuring again. Quintella seemed to be doing the majority of the speaking. I wasn’t here for that though. I wanted to know why my father stuck around, when my mother was probably already muttering curses against Omaera under her breath in the hopes some of her magic worked.

“You look happy, my son,” my father said, pulling my attention back to him. His brown eyes shifted to Omaera. “Who was your father?”

“Why do you use the past tense?” she asked.

“You used it first,” my father replied flatly. “I take it he is dead?”

Omaera’s tone was even, just like my father’s. “Both my parents are dead. I never met him. All I know is that I’m half demon and half human.”

My dad blinked a few times, keeping his focus on my mate. “My condolences.” His gaze shifted for only half a second to me before returning to Omaera. “You love my son?”

Her head bobbed ever-so-slightly. “With my whole heart.”

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I could have sworn my father’s lips twitched, like he was considering a smile. His focus bounced back over to me. “My mother is well?”

That made me smile. “She is, Dad. Gran lives in Australia now. She runs a rehab center for injured animals. Nurses them back to health.” I wrapped an arm around Omaera. “I can’t wait to take my mate to meet Gran and to cuddle some wombats.”

My father’s eyes warmed a little, and a glimmer of hope filled me. Maybe he wasn’t as forgone as I thought. Perhaps he didn’t share my mother’s undying lust for murder, mayhem, and vengeance. “How long have you two been mated?”

“Not long.” I pressed a kiss to the side of Omaera’s head. “It’s still new. But I’m looking forward to a very long and happy life with my mate.”

She glanced up at me, pride and love shimmering in her green gaze.

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