Page 56 of Forbidden

Lucien had been so focused on keeping a smile on his face as he entered the ballroom that it took him a while to notice that someone had approached him.

He stiffened when he caught a whiff of the person’s scent.

His heart beating faster, he turned his head and looked into a pair of eyes very much like his own.

Lohlan Deveraux was no longer the strong, physically imposing alpha he had been when Lucien had left his home. There was gray in his hair and a few deep lines around his eyes. He was thinner now too. But he exuded the same air of confidence and authority as the man Lucien had looked up to all his childhood.

“Lucien,” he said, his voice very neutral.

Lucien blinked, bewildered and thrown off balance. It was the first time his father had acknowledged him by name in two decades.

“Mr. Deveraux,” he said, just as neutrally. Hewas acutely aware that there were many eyes on them. No doubt people were as baffled by this development as he was.

A muscle jumped in his father’s jaw. “There’s no need for such formality. I’m your father.”

“Are you?” Lucien said with a crooked smile. He hated that there was a small part of him that felt raw, vulnerable, and disgustingly hopeful. He hated that he hadn’t managed to completely eradicate the fourteen-year-old boy who had once worshiped this man and missed him so much.

His father’s lips thinned as he regarded him for a moment. “You should smile more sincerely if we’re to do this or no one will buy our ‘reconciliation.’”

Lucien stared at him. “What?”

His father huffed. “Don’t pretend you don’t understand,” he said, his voice pitched very low, only for Lucien’s ears. “I don’t know how you convinced the Cleghorn whelp to part with such a huge sum for you, but I’m a man of my word and I intend to keep my end of the deal.”

It took Lucien a moment to understand what he was saying. Aksel had paid his father to make nice with him in public. Lucien wanted to laugh. Or maybe cry. Or both.

He did none of those things, of course.

He knew better than to waste Aksel’s money.

He smiled. “You know me, Father,” he said. “I’m very convincing. You always said I could catch a king with my smiles if I wanted to.”

His father looked at him sourly. “You could. I had high hopes for you. That’s why you disappointed me so much.”

Lucien smiled brighter. “Sorry for having the gall to get gang-raped during my heat. That was naughty of me. I understand your disappointment. Poor you, being saddled with a soiled, pregnant omega of a son. Of course you had to throw me out.”

“Don’t take that tone with me, child.”His father’s jaw worked.“I admit that I might have... overreacted at the time. But I did have high hopes for you, which was why I might have overreacted.”

Oh, wow. By Lohlan Deveraux’s standards, that was practically an admission of being wrong. It was almost an apology. Almost.

Too bad Lucien didn’t feel charitable enough to accept a half-assed apology two decades later.

“You’re a bit too late, Father,” Lucien said with a wry smile. “I neither need nor want your excuses. I’ve grown up. I’ve moved on with my life.”

His father’s eyes bored into him. “You’ve always been a good liar,” he said, taking his hand and putting it on his elbow. “Come.”

“What are you doing?” Lucien hissed, barely moving his lips.

“Young Cleghorn has paid my debts in exchange for me making nice with you in public. A stroll around the room should do it. Smile.”

“I don’t want to smile at you.”

“The Cleghorns must have been incredibly soft if you think it’s fine for an omega to be so rude toward his father.”

“Only fathers that kick out their teenage children,” Lucien said through his teeth, but he did put on a smile and didn’t resist as his father led him toward a group of socialites. His father joined their conversation, with Lucien’s hand still tucked in his elbow.

People stared. But none of them said anything about Lucien’s presence. And none of them excluded Lucien from their group. After a few minutes, Lucien found the courage to make a comment—and for once, it wasn’t completely ignored.

The next hour passed like that, with his father guiding him around the room and letting everyone see that they had reconciled.