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How can you judge someone full of childish youth? You can’t.
And yet, they expect me to just throw away my three years of history, to let them in, to let them replace the man I love.
But when I see him so regularly, when I get to spend time with him and let him meet his daughter… when Ryan still isn’t gone, how am I meant to just move on and forget?
“We know,” Alex says gently. “We didn’t keep this from you out of a desire to… deny the connection you two shared.”
“We didn’t? I only cared that my cousin fucked my mate,” Ben mutters, but nobody pays him any attention. He’s upset, and I know the tension is eating away at him.
And also, acknowledging him in this mood only eggs him on.
“At the time, the biggest reason for us denying we knew him was because we didn’t want to push you away. It was selfish, but we’re already on such uneven footing,” Alex says quietly. He’s maintaining eye contact, not hiding the pain in his words. “Our wolves hate Ryan’s connection to you. We can’t deny that.”
“And we hate Ryan for our own reasons, and we won’t deny that or even pretend otherwise,” Topher says.
“But,” Alex interjects, giving Topher a stern look before turning back to me, “We’re sorry for making that your issue. I beg one thing from you, even though I have no right to do so.”
“What is it?” I whisper, unable to gather the strength to talk any louder. Their actions and their words are two different behaviours, and I don’t know which to trust.
They confound me.
They’re beautiful, and kind, and gentle… and selfish, and willing to lie to get their own way.
But when their own way is getting me…
I bite my lip, looking up at the ceiling to collect myself. I hate the way my body betrays me, I hate how easy the last three weeks have been… I hate the cards I was dealt.
“We’re going to be sharing some family history with you, difficult family history, and we’re probably going to say some very mean things about Ryan.”
“I see.”
Alex grimaces. “Don’t take it personally, please. Don’t let it fuel your anger with us. We have our feelings, just like you have yours.”
“Even if you were conned by the ultimate—” Ben starts, but both Topher and Alex snarl. Ben pouts, crossing his arms over his chest as his hazel eyes meet mine. “I hate that his dirty hands have touched you. I hate him.”
“So I can see.” I’m exhausted. Mentally exhausted. With a deep sigh, I turn to Topher, and raise an eyebrow. “Start at the beginning, I suppose. Tell me… why do you hate Ryan?”
“Ryan is my cousin, through my fathers. Ryan’s dad, Henry, is part of the quadruplet bond with our dads—George, Edward, and Charles. Ryan’s father, Henry, fell in love with Ryan’s mother, Aurora, a year or so before my fathers found my mum,” Topher says.
My eyes widen. I thought when they said cousin, they meant on Julie’s side of the family—not their dad’s. I thought… with how they’ve explained it, the bond between the brothers born from one pregnancy means they share a soul, and thus they share a soulmate.
“We’ll get to your questions, little butterfly,” Alex says quietly. I nod, biting my tongue as I turn back around to Topher.
“Aurora was special. She’s the only child of the previous Alpha and Luna Grey, and thus her mate would be the alpha of their pack upon their mating. Sadly, her fated mate died when she was just young. Being a wolf-born female, which, of course, even back then, was rare, her allure was strong,” Topher continues. “She’s a few years older than my uncle and my dads, and he chose to leave the harem with his brothers in order to actively pursue her.”
I frown, not understanding how that’s possible. Ben explained how werewolves don’t form sexual connections when they know they have a mate out there. He implied that it was more than just bad form—that it was something their wolves couldn’t do differently.
How could this man both reject three quarters of his soul and his fated mate?
“But what about your mum?” I blurt out my question without even thinking and give Topher an apologetic look. He shakes his head, not minding.
“My mum came onto the scene, and my fathers immediately fell head over heels in love with her. But, by then, my uncle was already in love with Aurora. He took one look at my mum and denied the mate bond. He rejected her and chose Aurora.” My jaw drops, and Topher has a grim expression. “Their love might not have been fated, but to them, it was true.”
“It still is,” Ben says. “They’re still together, in all their fucking miserable love.”
“Any questions so far?” Alex asks.
I nod, repeating the things they’ve said to me about their souls being so entwined. “I just don’t understand how it’s possible. How could he do this when so many of you then just follow the path set out?”
