If they have a problem with any of that, I'll kick their asses. You would have died if Krispin had not done what he did, he said firmly in my mind.
He took my hand.There's only one way to find out why they’re here.
We finished coming down the stairs and entered the kitchen. Seated at the table were my three brothers, laughing and talking with Ben and Krispin.
Finding my voice, I said, "Good morning."
I smiled as they turned to look at me. Two of the three wore matching grins on their faces. Aaran kept his expression flat.
“Hallelujah! They finally did it. It's about time. You must be hungry," Ben said, standing up and motioning us to the table. “I made a ton of food. Your brothers eat a lot, Roarke.”
They blushed at his comment, and I laughed. "Try growing up with them. I had to fight for every scrap of food."
"Ah, don't be like that, runt. It toughened you up," Angus replied, standing up and walking toward Devin and me. He had a broad smile, and like always, wore his black shirt and kilt.
"My name's Angus. You must be the unlucky sod that is saddled with this one," he said with a grin, reaching his hand out in greeting to Devin.
"Devin. It’s nice to meet you," Devin replied, shaking Angus' hand, "but I think I was lucky to find Roarke."
Addison quickly stood and introduced himself to Devin, shaking his hand following Angus' lead. Aaran, on the other hand, stood examining my mate with a scowl. Without offering his hand, he simply tipped his head up and said, "I'm Aaran."
I growled low at the disrespect but was pulled from my anger by Angus, who turned to me and gripped me in a hug.
"Congratulations, brother," he whispered.
I hugged him back. Of the three, I was closest to Angus. I knew they all had my back if ever I needed anything, even Aaran. However, Angus had always been my champion against Aaran and our father.
"What are you three doing here?" I asked as I hugged Addison in greeting. I even hugged Aaran, even though I wanted to strangle him.
"You haven't called or texted us in nearly five weeks; what did you think was going to happen? Da has been going out of his mind with worry, and if Da is not happy, Father gets involved," Angus said.
"Why didn't you tell us you’d found your mate? Or at least responded to our calls or texts?" Aaran, the asshole, asked rigidly.
I hedged; I didn't want to mention my injury or how I was recovering. Luckily, Ben interrupted, giving me time to think about how to respond.
"Here, sit down. You and Devin had a busy night, and you need food," he said, placing a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast on the table.
It smelled incredible. Devin and I practically raced to sit down and devour the food. I scooped a big helping into my mouth and groaned; it tasted as good as it smelled. After a few moments of silently eating, I lifted my head from the plate and saw the amused smirks of everyone at the table. Even Devin had a smirk. He whispered through our bond,The sounds you were making almost caused me to take you back upstairs.
I blushed at his thought. I looked at my brothers; they still had grins on their faces.
"Sorry, was hungry," I mumbled.
That caused everyone to laugh.
"We could tell, little brother," Angus said with a grin.
Then he suddenly looked very serious. When he got that look, it usually meant our father had done something that would affect us.
"What?" I asked, tensing.
He cleared his throat, another sign that he was uncomfortable. This was going to be bad, and I was really going to hate what he was going to say. Devin, picking up on my feelings, sat up straighter and stared at Angus.
"Since we couldn't reach you for nearly five weeks and Da was worrying, Father ordered us to find you and bring you back to Glenfinnan," he said flatly.
That couldn't be it. There had to be more. It would be as simple as calling up my dad and telling him why I was out of contact. He would understand. The way Angus looked, there was definitely more to it. He cleared his throat again.
“Spit it out, Angus.”
