“Soup?” Phoebe asked.
“Logan’s mate, Bailey, is the alpha-mate of our pack. He’s a fantastic cook, but don’t tell him I told you or he’ll insist I participate in more pack dinners.” Koios smiled at his…sister. What a strange word to call someone he’d only met a few minutes before.
“Our pack, huh?” Logan teased. “I’ve finally brought you over to the dark side.”
“You have cookies. And soup.” Koios returned, and they both laughed. The tension of the past few minutes required a good laugh to dissipate it. Koios’s shoulders lowered. He hadn’t even realized he’d been so tense they practically touched his ears.
“Your pack is…unusual,” Phoebe said.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Ben said. “But if you decide to come with us, we’ll have a nice long five-hour drive to catch you up. Trust me, it’ll probably take at least that long.”
Phoebe stared at Koios as she considered her options. “When my father left, we had no idea how long it would take for magic in the human realm to stabilize. It’s been a very lonely year and a half. I will join you, Koios, and teach you how to use your magic. After that, I will decide what to do next.”
“Thank you, Phoebe.”
“My father’s magic should not have caused you harm. I will make this right in his honor. It’s the least I can do.”
Koios nodded and leaned back. He wasn’t at all surprised to find Ben ready to support his weight. Phoebe turned and went into the fortress she called home. Koios wasn’t even insulted that she didn’t invite them inside.
Logan didn’t seem to mind either. He turned and narrowed his gaze at Ben. His eyes even flared that creepy wolf blue that meant his wolf was close to the surface. “I told you to stay in the car,” Logan said.
“You did.” Ben lowered his head and tilted his neck to the side.
“Whoa now. Wait.” Koios moved away from Ben’s warmth so he could get a good look at both of them. “Are youchastisingBen?”
“He didn’t follow orders.”
Koios closed his eyes. “I know. And I know how important it is to listen to you when a mission is ongoing. I do. I also know you’re going to say there’s nobut Logans, except in this case, there is. But Logan, if Ben hadn’t realized Phoebe was my sister and put a stop to the fight before it really got started, someone could have gotten hurt.”
“But Koios,” Logan said, his voice the same stern one he’d used to lecture every single member of the pack at one time or another, “Ben could have stayed in the van and achieved the same result.”
“What’s the first rule of pack club?” Ben said, his voice soft and apologetic.
“Listen to the alpha,” Koios replied.
“And I didn’t. Logan deserves my apology, and he has it. I should have followed his order, especially as someone not accustomed to being on missions with the pack. The rules are there for a reason, and I broke the most important one.”
“Thank you, Ben. I appreciate it and accept your apology. Now tell me how the hell you figured out the firstborn thing so fast? Because I’ve got to tell you, even after you yelled it, it took me a minute to catch on.”
Ben moved closer to Koios, and his hand came to rest at the base of Koios’s back. He didn’t realize how much he needed Ben’s support until he had it again.
“The valravyn’s curse has been playing in my head, over and over again. None of the stories about it made any sense. It bargains for a firstborn child in exchange for some sort of vengeance. But how would that work in Koios’s case? Vengeance against whom? And how could there be a firstborn? Then I saw a glimpse of Phoebe’s wings and I just knew. Twins. She was the firstborn, and whoever made the bargain for her passed the curse on to Koios as the price.”
Koios leaned against Ben. “She seems confident it’s not a curse. I’m not sure what that means, exactly, but I’m feeling pretty confident we can figure it out.”
“Me too,” Ben said and pulled Koios closer.
Logan didn’t even bat an eye. “Once we’re on the road, I want the twins to erase all details of us coming here. Everything connecting us to this location needs to disappear. If Phoebe decides to leave, we need to make sure there’s not a trail leading anyone else to her.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Koios said.
Phoebe came out of the house a minute later with a suitcase in one hand and a large duffle in the other. From the clinking of metal, at least one of her pieces of luggage contained weapons.
Koios grinned. He really liked his twin. She was a badass.
“She’s scary,” Ben whispered. “She reminds me of Aunt Calli.”
Oh yeah, Koios could see it too. The beta of the hellhound pack had helped in multiple training exercises with Logan and the others. Koios had watched from a safe distance as she methodically kicked each and every one of their asses.
