He might even have to seduce it out of her, an idea he considered with far too much interest. Yeah. Tough job, getting close to Alexandra Maguire. Every mission should demand that onerous a task. Thoughts of how he would play things with her the next time he saw her made the hours and miles fall away behind him. In no time, he had reached the huge tract of forested, virgin wilderness that had been in his family's possession for centuries. The familiar smell of the woods and the earth that lay dormant beneath the snow put a tightness in his chest. For so long, this expanse of land had been his home, his kingdom and domain.
How many times had he and Seth run wild and whooping through this very forest, brothers-in-arms, young lords of the chase? Too many to recall.
But Kade remembered the night that the idyll of their shared childhood had ended. He still felt the weight of that moment in the cold hand of dread that clamped down on the back of his neck as he approached the sprawling compound of hand-hewn log buildings that comprised his father's Darkhaven. Unlike most Breed civilian communities, this Darkhaven had no perimeter fence or closed-circuit security cameras. There were no guards posted along the way, either. Then again, this far out in the bush, there was no need. The land itself acted as sentry to the many residences and the people living within them. Harsh, remote, expansive.
If the predators on four legs didn't dissuade any unwanted human visitors from stumbling onto the property, Kade's father and the roughly twenty other Breed males living inside the Darkhaven would be happy to take care of them.
Kade trudged through the snowy path that led up to the large main house. He knocked on the doorjamb, uncomfortable entering the place unannounced.
His father's younger brother came to the door and opened it. "What are you doing standing out there in the snow, Seth ...?"
"Uncle Maksim," Kade said, tipping his head in greeting when recognition lit up the other male's face. "How are you, Max?"
The Breed male was nearly three hundred years old but, like all of their kind, looked to be in the prime of life with his unlined face and thick brown hair. "I am well," he replied. "This is certainly a welcome surprise, Kade. Your father will be so pleased that you are home." Kade resisted the urge to chuckle at that sentiment, but only because he knew his uncle meant it as kindness. "Is he here?"
Maksim nodded. "In his study. My God, it's a relief to see you again and to know that you are alive and well. You'd been away so long without contact, I'm afraid many of us had assumed the worst about you."
"Yeah," Kade said, knowingly wry. "I get that a lot. Will you tell my father I'm here?" His uncle clapped him lightly on the shoulder. "I'll do better than that. Come with me. I'll take you to him myself."
Kade followed the big male through the massive residence to the private study that overlooked the broad western range of the property. Maksim rapped his knuckles on the door, then squeezed the latch and pushed it open.
"Kir. Look who's returned home, my brother."
Kade's father turned away from an open program on his computer, rotating in his large leather chair to face them. Kade watched the stern expression darken from one of surprise and relief, to one of confusion and not-too-mild disappointment when he realized it was the prodigal son who waited at the threshold, not the favored one. The scowl deepened. "Kade."
"Father," he replied, knowing there would be no emotional embraces or warm welcomes as his father got up from his seat and strode around to the front of his long desk. He spared only the barest glance at his brother who stood behind Kade near the door. "Leave us, Maksim."
Kade felt rather than saw his uncle's silent, obedient retreat from the room. He watched his father instead, seeing the harsh disapproval in the dark gaze that pinned him across the distance of the private study. Kade set down his duffel of belongings and weaponry and awaited his father's displeasure.
"You failed to mention you intended to come home when we spoke a couple days ago." When Kade offered no excuse, his father exhaled sharply. "Then again, that's hardly surprising. You didn't bother to say much before you left us a year ago, either. Just walked away with no thought to responsibility or to your much before you left us a year ago, either. Just walked away with no thought to responsibility or to your family."
"It was time for me to go," Kade replied after a long moment. "There were things I needed to do." His father's scoff sounded brittle with animosity. "I hope it was worth it. You broke your mother's heart, you realize that, don't you? Until you called out of the blue the other day, she was certain you'd gone off and gotten yourself killed by joining up with those warrior vigilantes back in Boston. And although Seth would be the last person to speak poorly of you, I can tell you that your leaving broke his heart, too. Your brother has changed since you've been away."
And of course, the blame for that and everything else sat squarely on Kade's shoulders. He shook his head, knowing that it was no use trying to defend himself or the Order. Lucan and the other warriors didn't need his father's support or approval. For that matter, neither did he.
He'd survived without that for a long damned time already, and he had since given up needing to prove himself to the man.
"So, Seth is still away on business for you?"
His father met the question with a narrow look. "He's due back soon. I presume he will also feed while he's gone, which is likely the reason for his delay."
"What about Patrice?"
"They are not yet mated," came his father's clipped reply. Kade grunted in acknowledgment, and wished he could feel more surprise to hear this news. For half a dozen years, it had been accepted that Seth and Patrice, one of the Breedmates who lived in the family Darkhaven since she was a child, would eventually become a blood-bonded pair. At that time, Patrice had chosen him above all the other males in the region, and to his parents' delight, Seth had agreed to make the female his mate. Problem was, he seemed to find one good excuse after another to put her off. Without a Breedmate to fulfill a vampire's need for blood, he was forced to feed off the mortal population for sustenance instead. Most Breed males welcomed the unbreakable, eternal bond that would release them from the slavery of their bloodthirst and provide a steady, loving source of strength and passion for the whole of a male's life.