“Not true,” Colter replied. “He hasn’t asked me to look for Dante.”
“Because Marcus is handling that,” Zeke answered gruffly. “You know how hard he took his twin’s betrayal. He can’t handle anyone else but himself bringing Dante back to face clan judgment.” He shrugged. “It’s a matter of principle.”
“See? Obviously you’ve got an issue that needs solving,” Jasper continued, a light flashing in his eyes that usually meant he was ready to annoy the hell out of Murphy until he got answers. “So what is it?”
Too bad for him that Murphy wouldn’t be divulging anything to his little brother. What Nessa shared with him was private,and he didn’t want his brother taking any information back to their mother. “This isn’t clan business, and therefore, it’s not your concern.”
Jasper grinned. “You’re so easy to read, Murph. If it’s not ‘clan business,’”—he air quoted—“then that means it’s about Nessa. But since Nessa is your mate, and you two are now official, that makes her part of our clan. Ergo,clan business.”
“I’ll shove that ‘ergo’ right up your ass if you keep hassling me about this,” Murphy bit out.
Jasper’s grin disappeared, replaced with a worried expression Murphy rarely ever saw from the male. “Is she okay?”
“Nessa is fine,” Murphy answered softly, appreciative that his brother cared about her welfare, especially when he barely knew her. But his youngest brother had always been empathetic toward those he considered family, and Nessa was no exception.
“But you want Colter to dig something up,” Jasper guessed, undeterred by Murphy’s response. “He ran that background check on her a while back. Is it related?”
Murphy cocked his head toward Colter before leveling a hard stare at Jasper. “He told you about that?”
Jasper grimaced. “Well, not exactly.”
“Hell no, I didn’t tell him,” Colter argued, obviously offended at the accusation. “I wouldn’t betray your trust like that.”
“I’m sorry, Colter. After Dante, it just brought up a lot of bad memories,” Murphy admitted. “I shouldn’t have implied anything nefarious. I know you would keep whatever we discussed in confidence.”
“Damn right.” Colter nodded. “And I accept your apology. Nowyou.” He glared at Jasper. “Tell us how you found out about that.”
“You all know I like to nap in my bear form,” Jasper began sheepishly. “One day, after patrol, I was tired, and as I was walking home, there was this big pile of leaves up against theside of Murphy’s house. So I crashed on it for a few hours.” He looked up at the ceiling. “We all know my hearing is the best in the clan. Well, Imighthave woken up to you two discussing a background check you’d run on Nessa.”
“What?” Murphy gaped at his younger brother. “How often do you sleep outside my house?”
First, Murphy found out his brother had willfully spied on him for their mother for weeks, and now the little shit was admitting to spying on him just for the hell of it?
And why had Murphy never suspected a damned thing? It was one thing to be consumed by mating sickness, but it hadn’t even set in yet when he’d had Nessa investigated. How had Jasper gone undetected on his property, right under his very nose?
Jasper scoffed, his brows pinching together in frustration. “As often as any bear, Murphy. Damn.”
Zeke and Colter exchanged amused looks.
Colter snorted out a laugh. “We don’t do that, dipshit. Just you.”
“What? No way.” Jasper shook his head in denial. “All bear shifters nap outside.”
“I mean, I guess. But not on a pile of leaves beside Murphy’s house like some kind of weirdo,” Zeke chimed in. He shuddered a second later. “You were probably covered in ticks by the time you woke up, huh?”
Jasper sniffed. “Of course not.”
Zeke cackled. “That’s so disgusting.”
“I bet if I asked Marcus, he’d back me up,” Jasper stated quickly. “I’m not a weirdo.”
“Well, Marcus didn’t want to come with us, so you’ll have to ask him about that later,” Colter suggested.
Murphy furrowed his brow. “He didn’t want to come?”
Colter shook his head. “Said he wasn’t feeling well. I offered to send Tabitha over since I was at the clinic for a checkup, but hesaid it was just a small cold and that he’d feel better in a day or two.”
Shifters didn’t often get sick, but sometimes when the seasons changed, like now, it messed with their sinuses, causing minor ailments. Usually, when that happened, it affected them all, though. Not just a single bear. Still, Marcus had been under a lot of stress lately regarding his brother, possibly making him more susceptible.
