“Yeah, like four of ‘em,” he says breezily. “They're in the box marked Snake Shit. Why?”
She closes her eyes and exhales slowly through her nose. “Let me get this straight. You see my name on dozens of envelopes, and never once thought to mention it?”
Frowning, Devlin points at Zayd. “I thought the vampire noodle was like your other pet. You know, how he wraps himself in your blanket while you're at work so he doesn't lose his shit and murder everyone because he misses you. I figured you made, like, little scent pillows that had your hair or something inside for him to sleep on.”
Gods, he sounds like-
My brain audibly screeches to a halt.
No. No, no, no. It can’t be. Not him.
But no matter how I look at it, the pieces fit too perfectly to deny.
He really is Arson's brother. And if he’s Kiara’s mate too?
There’s no escaping the demon that’s haunted me all these years.
Chapter 37
Devlin
“You’re really Arson’s brother?” the wraith whispers, and I hate him even more for it. For whispering the information like it’s a dirty little secret.
“I haven’t exactly confronted him yet, so I’d appreciate it if you kept that between us.”
“What about Myles?” he asks, gripping his knife like he’s still debating driving it into my heart, and I frown in confusion.
“Who the fuck is Myles?”
My beautiful mate offers a sympathetic look that raises my hackles, bracing myself for the inevitable blow. “Yourotherbrother,” she says gently. “He’s the reason Arson left the Shadow Knights, and now they’re both mated to my friend, Ever.”
I feel like I’ve been punched in the chest, all the air rushing from my lungs. My voice is a guttural croak. “They had another baby?”
Havoc watches me warily, dipping his head in a shallow nod. “Traded him away as a newborn, so he didn’t have to live with your parents for long. Was raised by a couple that love and adore him, and they’ve embraced Arson with open arms as well. I’m sure they’d be thrilled to meet you.”
Vision going spotty, I fist my hair, sucking in ragged breaths and murmur, “Why would they? Arson is their son in law, while I’mnothing.Never good enough. Always forgotten.”
Kiara’s face falls. “Devlin-” but I can’t face her disappointment too.
“I have to go,” I mutter before disappearing into the nearest wall. Out of sight, out of mind, like always.
The frigid wind bites at my face, yet I can’t bring myself to move from my perch. The edge of the rooftop is making my legs numb, but it offers the perfect view of my brothers’ house across the street. It’s better than I dreamed, and equally devastating, seeing Arson again. He’s hardly recognizable from the toddler I remember, and Myles is a curveball I never saw coming. But they’re both so… sohappy.Clearly in love with their mate, and completely unfazed at my absence from their lives.
Eventually, Havoc mists into the space beside me, but I can’t bring myself to react, much less care. So he kills me; so what? Who would even miss me if he did? My brothers? They don’t even know that I exist.
“You should talk to them,” he says after some time, and I chuckle humorlessly.
“What would I even say? ‘Hey, nice to meet you. I’m your big brother you obviously haven’t missed and have clearly forgotten about.’ I’m sure that’ll go over swimmingly.”
When he says nothing, I turn to face the man that’s given me more of a purpose in life than I want to admit. “Arson was a toddler when I was kicked out of the house. He doesn’t remember that I read him stories in the middle of the night when he had nightmares because our parents couldn’t bebothered. Or that I always added a few drops of vanilla into his bottles before bed so he’d finish them, otherwise he slept like shit. Once I was kicked out, he just…forgot me. And by the time I was old enough to take care of him on my own, you’d already taken him away. He was safe, and loved, and… didn’t need me anymore.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “You stole my brother and gave him a life better than I ever could have provided back then. But you don’t get to steal my mate away, too. I can take care of her, now. I have money saved up, and whatever she needs that I don’t have, I’ll find a way to get.”
Angrily swiping at my eyes, I snap, “You can’t take her away from me. She’smine.”Sucking down a few ragged breaths, I stare off into the setting sun. “I need her.”
After a weighted moment, Havoc eventually makes a humming sound under his breath and stares off into the sunset beside me. “I don’t want to take her away from you, I only want to make sure she has everything she wants and needs.”
Asshole.
