I nearly had a heart attack when we flicked the lights on to reveal a tall, shadowy figure in the middle of the living area. In a dark blur of lightning-quick motion, he tossed something aside too fast to discern it, then he froze.
“Holy shit, Viol, are you trying to kill people?” Saffron blurted. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Same,” I muttered. “What are you doing here?”
Viol scowled at us. “Nothing,” he spat, likewewere the ones intruding onhim. Then he focused on Mylo, his gaze softening. In a genuinely curious voice, he asked, “Who’s this?”
I checked Mylo’s reaction, hoping my crazed brother’s random presence hadn’t scared him, but Mylo smiled as if entertained.
“Hi, I’m Mylo. I’m, um, Aurum’s mate.”
Viol’s dark brows arched. He glanced over me. “That right? Congrats. Didn’t think the little snot was ready to be an alpha, but he looks more mature already.”
“Thanks for the backhanded compliment,” I mumbled. “Anyway, I dunno what the hell you’re doing in our room, but Mylo’s tired and needs to sleep, so...”
“I’m not doing anything,” Viol retorted.
His blatant defiance practically confirmed he was lying, but I was too tired to care why. I yawned, ready to collapse into my bed and cuddle with Mylo, when my mate suddenly looked over at our media zone and gasped. His eyes lit up, and every scrap of his former fatigue vanished.
“Is that the newest HyperStation console?” he demanded.
“Yes,” I said slowly, a great feeling of passion trickling over me. “You play video games?”
Mylo radiated joy like a supernova. He skipped two steps ahead of my question. “Do you have DreamHunt 14? Are you playing it?”
My jaw dropped. I stared at Mylo like he was an angel sent by Holy Drake himself.
“Dude,” I said. “I’m literally at the secret boss right now.”
Mylo squealed. “Me too! I was fighting him—and I almost won—when my parents barged in and distracted me.” His face fell as he shook his head. “I wiped.”
“Theywhat?” I roared. “No. You know what? We’re gonna do this together. You and me, and our whole party.”
Stars gleamed in Mylo’s eyes. He looked so happy he might float away.
“What the hell are they talking about?” Saffron mumbled to Viol.
He shrugged. “No fucking idea.”
“Hey, gamers,” Saffron called. “You can’t stay up late, remember? Jade?”
I groaned loudly. All I wanted to do was plop on the couch with my arm around Mylo and play our game together.
Viol glanced at the console, then back at me with a grunt. “Why don’t you just tell Jade to center the third challenge around video games?”
A light bulb went off in my head.
“That’s... actually a really good idea,” I admitted. “Man, I wish I’d thought of that earlier. Who knows what kind of bullshit he cooked up?”
As we spoke, Saffron seemed distracted. He squinted at the floor as if searching for something. Viol’s shoulders were rigid as he watched Saffron from the corner of his eye.
“Ugh, I’m too tired to go find him right now,” I complained, wiping a hand over my weary face. I hoped my whining would inspire either of my brothers to talk to Jade on my behalf, but to my dismay, neither of them listened to me. “What are you guys doing?”
Nobody responded. Saffron frowned, kneeling over in the corner of the room, while Viol tensed his jaw so hard I was surprised it didn’t shatter.
A moment later, Saffron replied in a tone full of vindication and disgust. “I’m discovering a crime scene.”
“What?” I asked.
