Rafe looked at Valentin and then shook his head. He even let out a breath. "Do you always have difficulty in admitting fault of some kind? Any kind? Because unlike you, I've heard both sides and I'm discussing your behaviour here. This isn't me choosing a side because this isn't a dscussion of who is going to win an argument. Both of you behaved poorly here but you, I expected better from you. I expected you to be a good example of how to react to criticism from another person. But it appears James is your Achilles heel. As soon as he's entered into the equation, you can absolve yourself of any fault. Would you ever speak this way to another person if they weren't James? What if it were a friend? Would it make it excusable then?"
He frowned deeply, "I want to put some things in perspective for you. You grew up in a home with parents who love you. Parents who accept you as you are. They accept you as a vampire, they accept your sexaulity, and they would never leave you penniless, homeless, and loveless because you're either of those. You've never had to feel the shame of wondering why you are the way you are and every person who told you that they accepted you used that to either control you or humiliate you. The only way of survival was Machiavellian tactics. And then there's a sex tape. A moment of intimacy where you can finally be who you are and enjoy some freedom from the watchful eye of your father, your sire, and the world, that's robbed. He's strewn before the world, bare and shamed. Then he loses it all. His father, his name, his future, and his sire."
Rafe paused, feeling a bit of anger when talking about James's sire. The man wasn't the first vampire to use and abuse his fangling but he paid his price and James was still paying the price for releasing all the pain and frustration on the person who denied him the one thing he really needed. Rafe understood James quite a bit. Not perfectly but he had gotten insight into the young man.
"He doesn't have a right to comment on your choices, your life, or your boyfriend, but neither do you. I asked you to be a mentor because I knew you had skills that would benefit others but you could also learn through the experience. I think what's particularly disappointing about this conversation is that the only thing you've learned to do is harm others. James may not be a Standard in need of a helping hand but he is a member of this house and you are his mentor as he is yours."
Rafe stopped, knowing at this point he said enough. Valentin heard enough. "You can go, Valentin. I have some matters to evaluate and I think you would rather be somewhere else. I'm angry, yes, but I'm more disappointed than angry. I misjudged you."