Instead, he was greeted by a sharp smile, laughing eyes, and a face remarkably like his own. But more somehow. Like Adrien was just an echo of a complicated but stunning song.

Nathan was handsome. No, dashing.

He turned the pages slowly, questions heavy on this tongue. Too heavy to actually speak them.

Every picture revealed a confidence that Adrien had always lacked.

Nathan’s casual, languid poses, his mischievous gaze, and a certainty in his expression that whoever was behind the camera—Heath, it had to be—was absolutely besotted with him. And yet there was an edge of cruelty in the set of Nathan’s mouth and the slant of his stare. Like he knew he could hurt Heath and get away with it. Like he knew that he could and he had.

No, he did.

Adrien’s hand trembled as he turned another page and another.

Fashionable clothes. Fancy yachts. Mountain lodges. Tuxedos. Photos with Heath. Photos alone. Photos of Nathan nude. Photos of him posed. Casual photos and professional ones, too.

Pages of pictures of a man Adrien could never know, or love, or understand. A man Heath had loved before Adrien—did he even love him?

Or was he just a piece of Nathan that Heath had managed to scavenge? Like Lidell and Ned had implied?

“Why did you love him?” Adrien finally asked, lingering on a photo of Nathan with his head tossed back, laughter creasing his handsome face, and a glass of champagne held loosely in his hand. He was standing by another alpha, a tall, dark man with wide hands, who had them all over Nathan’s hips.

Adrien wondered how Heath had felt about that then. How he felt about it now.

“He was an asshole,” Heath said sadly. “A beautiful, cruel asshole.”

“That’s the kind of man you love?”

“No. I love you, and you’re kind, gentle, trusting. Nathan was never trusting.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been either,” Adrien spit out, shooting Heath a dark glare.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. When I—”

“I don’t want your excuses again. I want the truth. Why did you love him?”

“Because he was—” Heath waved at the album. “I was bewitched.”

“And when you bought my heat, it was to have a piece of him?”

“Yes.”

“And when you fucked me in the heat cabin, you wanted to knock me up because I was Nathan’s son.”

Heath swallowed, a confused expression flitting over his face. “At first.”

“When I came here, did you want me here because I was Nathan’s son or

—”

“No! That’s not why I wanted you here.”

“Why not?”

“At the cabin. That’s when it changed for me.”

“While we were fucking,” Adrien said acidly.

“Yes. No. Just there. In the cabin with you.”

He’d never heard Heath sound so lost. “So why didn’t you tell me then?”

“What was I supposed to say? You were scared and needed me to guide you. Was I supposed to tell you while you were out of your mind in heat, ‘By the way, I fucked your omega parent years ago, but now he’s dead, and I’m hoping you can bring part of him back to me’?”

Adrien’s throat tightened. He couldn’t breathe. He bent his head over the photo album, the scent of the old pages filling his nostrils, and he choked on it as a tear splattered next to the picture of Nathan laughing.

“He wasn’t kind,” Heath said. “He was unfaithful and drove me mad. He was like a drug to me.”

“Like you’ve been a drug to me.”

“I hope not. You’ve made me feel complete. He made me nuts,” Heath said. “Our lovemaking was violent and consuming. But while you were pregnant, what we shared kept you calm, brought you joy. It’s not the same.”

“So with him, my omega parent— Nathan.” Oh, how that name tasted bitter in his mouth; thank God Heath hadn’t agreed to it for Michael. “With him, it was the thrill of the chase.”

Heath rubbed at his forehead. “Nathan would give himself to me completely. I’d feel high, wild with joy. Then he’d pull away from me. Say he needed time alone. Go off with another alpha. I’d go insane.” Heath squeezed his eyes shut. “Then he’d come back to me. I’d be angry at first, but

he’d flash his smile. He’d take off his clothes. Promise to make a child with me during his next heat.” Heath swallowed thickly. “It’s shameful how I let him treat me.”

“But you loved it.”

Heath shook his head. “It was an obsession. I see that now.”

“And I’m part of that obsession. Michael and me.”

“No! You and Michael are the best things I’ve ever done.”

“We’re just a new obsession. Thanks to Nathan.” He wished the name didn’t burn to say, but every time it came out of his mouth, it hurt.

“Yes,” Heath said, taking the photo album out of Adrien’s hands and slamming it shut. “Thanks to Nathan.”

Adrien stared in shock as Heath stood up and paced in front of him, ripping at his hair as he spoke in rapid, angry tones, but clearly meaning every word like fire means to burn.

“It’s true! If not for Nathan, we wouldn’t be here right now. Michael wouldn’t be here now.” Heath stopped in front of him, glaring down, but his anger hurt more than it intimidated. “If not for Nathan, I wouldn’t know what it is to hope for a normal, happy future with a kind man who loves me, or to finally have my feelings for a man returned. I wouldn’t know the joy of being a father. Of being your lover and alpha. Of wanting a life with you. I wouldn’t have you at all!”

“Because you wouldn’t have bid on me.”

“Because he gave birth to you!” Heath roared.

Adrien blinked at him.

“He gave birth to you. And, yes, maybe he walked away and left you with your father—who raised you to be the kind of man that Nathan would never have raised you to be. He’d have done the same thing to you that he did to me. You got a clean break from him. That was his gift to you. He didn’t torture you for years with promises of love and then yank it away. He let you stay with a man who adored you. So your father was too religious and kept you more innocent than he should have, but he loved you. He had kind eyes.

That’s what Nathan always said about why he left you with him. ‘He had kind eyes.’ ”

Adrien’s chin trembled. His heart ached, and he covered his face with his hands.

“So go on and blame him if you want. Blame me. Be angry. But none of

what we had—have, could still have—would exist without Nathan. I don’t love him anymore. Not just because he’s dead. But because he was a cruel man, and he treated me terribly. I understand that now. But I am grateful to him, because he made you, and then I found you, and now we have Michael.”

He stopped a moment. “And, Adrien, I love you. Our life could be beautiful.

Please—” Heath’s voice was gruff. “Try to forgive me.”

“I want to,” Adrien whispered. “I want to forgive you. I’ll try. But…”

“But?”

The big clock in the nest ticked as Adrien’s mind raced. Finally, he said,

“I need to try somewhere else. I can’t stay here. In this nest.” He looked around the room and it felt exactly like what Heath had denied it was: a comfortable prison.

“So you’re going to leave me, too?”

Adrien squeezed his eyes shut. “Maybe. I am Nathan’s son after all.” He stood, hauling the bag he’d packed while they’d waited for Simon to take Michael over his shoulder. He’d known even then, deep down, what he was going to do. “I’ll contact you when Michael and I are settled in. We can arrange for you to visit.”

“Where are you taking him?”

“I’ll call you when I get there.”

Adrien walked toward the door leading to the rest of the castle. Some part of him expected Heath to tackle him, to force him to stay, but he pulled the door open without any effort at all. As he did, he heard Heath roar with pain in the living room. It made his knees weak, but he forced himself forward.

Simon stood outside with Michael in his arms and his cheeks wet with tears.