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Santee was still reeling from learning about Beckett’s parents as he walked into the house. He stopped in his tracks when he saw everyone at the table. He’d expected to spend time with Beckett but not his mate’s family.
“Sit here.” Bran patted the empty chair next to him. “We mates have to stick together.”
“Against what?” Milly asked as she set steaming plates of food in the center of the table.
“Not against you,” Bran said to her. “You’re amazing.”
“And I’m not?” the guy who’d been in the forest with Beckett asked.
“Santee, this is Hayden, Duncan, and Cormac,” Beckett said. “I know you’ve seen them, but you haven’t been properly introduced.”
What was Santee supposed to do? Everyone was staring at him, and he felt like some artifact on display. “Um, hi.”
Thankfully, after greeting him, everyone turned their attention away from him and began to talk. Santee slipped into the seat next to Bran and then looked up at Beckett, who was talking to Milly.
“It can be overwhelming,” Bran whispered to Santee. “I felt the same way when I first met everyone.”
It wasn’t just the fact that Santee felt overwhelmed. He saw the way the brothers were interacting and wondered why he couldn’t have the same at home. No one was belittling anyone, smacking them around, or acting aggressive. Although Santee could see how powerful these men were, they seemed to respect each other.
That made Santee wonder why Marvell was a jerk to him. This was what Santee had wanted his entire life, to just get along with his brother.
“Here you go.” Bran handed Santee the plate of scrambled eggs. Santee had never seen so many in his life. The plate was piled high, and he noticed that the mates were served first.
Santee looked to where Milly stood at the counter, relieved to see that she had her own plate already filled.
After Santee scooped some of the eggs onto his plate, Bran dropped four sausages onto Santee’s plate, as well as bacon, French toast, and slid a bowl of grits toward him.
“There’s no way I can finish all this,” Santee said to Bran.
“You don’t have to,” Bran replied. “I just wanted to make sure you had enough before the attack kitties dig in.”
Attack kitties? Santee had no idea what that meant.
Finally, Beckett sat down right next to Santee. Although his mate spoke to his brothers, Santee somehow knew that Beckett’s attention was on him. Not that his mate was looking at him, but Santee felt it.
“Jake decided to make Wednesdays karaoke night,” Duncan said. “Anyone else want to go with me to Fearless Fox tonight?”
“Since I have to work tonight, I’ll be there, listening to people try to make my ears bleed,” Hayden said.
“I want to go,” Bran said as he bounced in his seat.
“You sure, gatito?” Hayden asked, though Santee didn’t know what that Spanish word meant. But he did notice the concern in Hayden’s gray eyes.
In fact, all the brothers had dark gray eyes except for Beckett. His eyes were the bluest Santee had ever seen. Now that he looked at all four brothers, he noticed that Beckett and Duncan looked alike. Cormac and Hayden shared similar traits, like their long hair, but it was as if Beckett and Duncan had different parents than Cormac and Hayden.
“I’m sure.” Bran reached next to him and took Hayden’s hand. “I’ll have a two-drink maximum.”
Santee looked at Beckett.
“I was abusing drugs and alcohol because of my past,” Bran said to Santee, but he didn’t go into any details.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” There were times when Santee wished he had a bottle of Red Spanking. Since shifters couldn’t get drunk off of human alcohol, Red Spanking had been made for preternatural.
From what Santee had heard, because he’d never had a drop, Red Spanking knocked a preternatural on his butt. Though, if a human drank the stuff, it would kill them.
Bran smiled at him. “Thanks, though it really wasn’t the alcohol that nearly did me in.”
The table grew quiet. Santee felt like he was missing some major pieces to the puzzle, but he didn’t ask.
