Page 40 of Secrets in the Shadow

“Yes.” He buried his face in Cody’s neck, inhaling deeply, his arm around Cody’s waist.

“Son?”

“Yes, Ethan, Raziel is your father,” Stewart said then glared at Killian. “He’s going to eventually find out, and I don’t want to lie to him.”

Killian grunted but didn’t look happy. Cody understood the man’s need to protect Ethan, to protect Stewart from the devastation of having Ethan taken away from him.

But Raziel had given his word, and Cody believed his mate would honor it.

Raziel pulled away then lowered to one knee. “You are my son, Ethan.”

Cody had never seen so much pride and gut-wrenching pain flow through someone at the same time. It radiated off Raziel, as if the weight of that single admission was both his redemption and his undoing.

Ethan stared at him with wide, curious eyes, his tiny hands clutching the air as if trying to grasp the enormity of those words. Raziel seemed to crack, revealing a fragile core that had been hidden beneath so much pain.

It was a moment Cody would never forget. Not because of the words spoken but because of what they meant. Raziel wasn’t just a powerful being or a broken angel. He was a father. A protector. A man who had fought through hell, literally and figuratively, to stand here and claim what was his, even if he hadn’t known Ethan existed. He was here.

And Ethan, in his innocence, reached forward, his voice a whisper filled with awe. “You fudder?”

Raziel choked on a sob that came out as a laugh then nodded, his head bowed in both reverence and regret. “Yes, Ethan.”

Cody’s chest constricted as if trying to contain something too large. He didn’t know whether to cry, smile, or wrap them both in his arms. The depth of love and heartbreak in Raziel’s voice was enough to unravel him, and he could only imagine what Ethan was feeling.

But as Ethan stepped closer, small hands touching Raziel’s bearded face, Cody knew. This wasn’t just a moment for Raziel. It was a moment for Ethan too. A child finding the missing piece of his world.

Ethan kissed Raziel’s nose. “I stay whiff Uncuh Stewalulu. Lub Uncuh Kill.”

To his right, Cody heard a sob wrenched from Stewart’s throat and a hard, throat-clearing from Killian.

Raziel wasn’t there to tear them apart. He was there to heal. He kissed Ethan’s nose with a watery smile. “Yes… son. It’s better that you stay with them. But I’m a part of your life now.” He touched the bear clutched in Ethan’s small arm. “All you have to do is whisper my name to the bear and I’ll be here, okay?”

“Fudder?”

A bark of laughter escaped Raziel. “Yes, fudder.”

“I stay whiff Uncuh Kill. You pay whiff me.”

Was Ethan asking Raziel to be his playmate? It was the cutest thing Cody had ever witnessed. Then Ethan looked up, and Cody smiled at him.

“Hi, kiddo.”

“Coby.” He grinned. “You pay whiff me?”

He hunkered down to Ethan’s level. “I work with animals. Do you like animals?”

“I da bear,” Ethan snarled.

Cutest kid ever. “If I have to work and you want to play, ask one of your uncles to bring you, okay?” Crap, Cody was getting emotional as well. The toddler was wrapping him around his finger.

Raziel rose to his feet. “We have a problem.”

When Cody stood, he saw tears in Stewart’s eyes, but Killian, Quinton, and Ryker weren’t without their own.

“What problem?” Quinton asked, his brows furrowed.

“There’s a Sollis dwelling inside Ethan’s head. It’s the reason I told him to pull me in there. Ethan said Cody’s name too perfectly. It was taunting me.”

“What’s a Sollis, and how did it get in his head?” Stewart asked in alarm.

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