Page 166 of Chaos At Second Sight

“For months, I watched a procession of men leave my parents’ room. She didn’t even bother hiding them. It was always the same story—Dad bleeding on the floor, me patching him up, doctors coming and going, and ending with him making peace with her. All she had to do was cry and apologize. It was pathetic. I tried to stop her from making Dad bleed and fought her lovers away.”

Yvaine’s face drained of color. “What happened?”

“Francisca got furious. Said I was a problematic child that wanted her attention. After that, when she had her lovers at home, I ended up locked up in the attic so I wouldn’t hurt her friends,” I snarled, airquoting. “She’d sedate me to keep me up there for days on end. Once she left me there for a full week because she had someone home every day. I was six.”

“That’s terrible! Where was your dad? And your grandma?” Her tears soaked the sheet as I held her to me.

“Hospital. His heart almost collapsed from her cheating. Grandma was with Grandpa, who was sick at the time. When he passed, she was…gone for a while.”

“But how could you be without food for⁠—”

“Oh, Killian and Callum snuck in and brought food. Mostly waffles. All they could steal from the packhouse.”

She was sobbing now, watching me with those beautiful blue eyes. “That’s why you love waffles so much?”

I nodded, unable to speak.

She cried, holding onto me as I held her.

“We can finish another time—” I started.

“No.” She lifted her head, swiping her shirt over her eyes, sniffling. “Tell me about Daniel. Lucien told me that he was hurting Bella⁠—”

“That’s a lie.” I shook my head, growling. And it was my growl, not Lucien’s. “Daniel was always there for me. He was a lycan, like me. He showed me things. We shared. We were the same.”

My breathing grew heavier, my heartbeat as crazy as my beast.

“The day Daniel died…I also lost my father.”

“Jonathan?”

I stared at the ceiling. “Francisca left for good after everything with Daniel. Bella was devastated, but Dad…” I swallowed. “Dad had to be put in a coma. His heart almost gave out when she rejected him as his mate. Grandma, still mourning Grandpa, took care of us from then on.”

“I was nine when Dad finally woke up. That was when we started living normally. No more Francisca.”

Something wet landed on my hand. A tear. My mate’s. I reached over and stroked her cheek. “No more crying.”

“Why not?”

“Because it changes nothing.” I lay down, turning onto my side and pulling her against me. “I cried when I felt Lucien hurting my brother. And he still died. If only I’d been able to control him…” I closed my eyes. “I still dream about that day.”

Her hand found mine. “Lucien acts on instinct. And he was a pup, just like you were. He lost control because someone was hurting his little sister.” More tears slipped down her cheeks. “Maybe Daniel tried to hurt Lucien too and Lucien just didn’t…tell you?”

“He did not!”

She flinched in my arms and I mouthed an apology, cursing myself.

“Okay. Fine. But maybe Daniel was hurting Bella when you weren’t there and she never told you. Maybe, deep down, you knew something was wrong.”

“Daniel wouldn’t have. She was his fucking sister.” My voice broke into something harsher. “And even if he did…bully her, which he didn’t, that wasn’t a reason to kill him! He was a lonely kid. He didn’t have his real father. He had a crazy mother that only doted on him because he reminded her of Magnus.”

Her next words shook my reality. “But, Logan, don’t forget that Lucien is part of you. Just like you’re part of him.”

I went still while inside, beliefs and truths collided.

“You two aren’t completely separate beings. If Lucien was driven to kill his half-brother, something terrible must have triggered that reaction. Something beyond simple bullying.”

I stopped breathing; my heart stopped with it.