Seeing Melanie's stunned, almost horrified expression, Xarion lazily lifted his gaze.
"What, your hearing gone with your age?" His tone dripped with undisguised mockery. "He called me father."
As if that wasn't enough, he casually slung an arm around Aren's shoulders and arched a brow.
"Go on, son. Call me again. Let your mother hear it clearly."
Aren nodded obediently.
Then, in a bright, crisp voice, he exclaimed, "Father!"
Melanie and the elders behind her froze completely. Their mouths hung open, eyes wide with disbelief.
The young master of the succubus clan… calling the Snow Wolf King his father?
Had he lost his mind?
Melanie was the first to snap out of it. She pointed at Aren, her voice sharp with fury. "Aren, have you gone insane?"
Her voice rose into a shrill pitch. "Your father has been dead for years! Not even bones left!"
She stared at him, her thoughts in chaos.
If Xarion was his father, then what was Rory? His mother? Then what did that make her?
