Pierce’s sudden voice in the hall made us turn towards him. He walked inside, quirked a brow at the scene and at the sight of me half-dressed. He quickly put the pieces together. “Ah, Adriel. Did you interrupt something?”
“It’s not your concern,” Adriel mumbled.
“Well, you were all fighting so loud that even Benji could hear it down the hall, so yes, I think it is my concern,” he said firmly to his brother. He crossed his arms and addressed all of us. “I’ll ask again. What’s going on?”
I frowned. I didn’t want to speak, since that led to my temper flaring up, but I didn’t want Adriel to twist the story in his favor.
But before I could say anything, Maxwell spoke up.
“Adriel walked in on us having, uh, sex. Er, I mean, we had just finished, but I suppose that’s not the point,” he explained. “Anyways, he then proceeded to interrogate Theo about his intentions, which he implied were inappropriate, given the situation about Theo and his ability to control himself.”
Adriel frowned but didn’t interrupt.
“Is this true?” Pierce asked him.
“Yes,” Adriel said urgently. “Pierce, he cannot be intimate with a human.”
“Well, he can and he apparently just was,” Pierce countered, raising a brow. “And we, out of everybody, are the last ones to speak on who should be intimate with humans. Don’t you think?”
“We are older and more experienced than Theo,” Adriel argued. “We can control our thirst.”
“And what makes you think he can’t?”
Adriel paused, then frowned. “Why are you arguing with me now, too? We both know the dangers of an unstable young vampire!”
“I know,” Pierce said gently, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “But I don’t think Theo is unstable. And besides, Adriel. Look at them. They’re in love.”
Adriel’s eyes widened. He glanced over to us in genuine shock. “What?”
Possessively, and while glaring at Adriel, I put my arm around Maxwell’s shoulder and pulled him close to me.
“Are you serious?” Adriel asked, his voice low and steady.
“Yes,” I replied. My grip tightened on Maxwell. “I love him.”
He glanced back and forth between the both of us, like he was seeing us for the first time. Some of the venom disappeared from his expression, mixed with confusion.
“Well, if someone had mentioned that to me earlier, that might have made this a lot easier,” he muttered.
Pierce smirked. “You really are dense, aren’t you?”
Adriel swatted him and growled. “You’re saying you knew this whole time?”
“Of course I did.” Pierce shrugged smugly. “I knew before they knew.”
Adriel groaned and ran a hand through his hair. “So now what? It’s not that I’m not happy for you, but our problem still remains.”
I bristled at being called aproblem.“Which is what, exactly?”
“Your inexperience,” Adriel said bluntly, making me frown. “The handcuffs prove that doubt still lingers in your mind. Am I wrong?”
“Handcuffs?” Pierce asked.
“It was only a precaution,” Maxwell objected. “I didn’t actually think Theo was going to hurt me. And it was his idea.”
I felt a rush of affection for my mate standing up for my sake, but Adriel didn’t seem convinced.
“I understand your concerns, Adriel, but we can’t keep them apart,” Pierce said. “It’s not fair to them.” In a softer voice, he added, “Give Theo a chance. He’s not as immature as you make him out to be, even if he was changed at a young age. It wasn’t like he asked for this.”
