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“Our Bel,” Wyatt murmured, pressing a kiss to Bel’s temple.
“Fantastic. Lovely. I need a fucking drink,” Rafe muttered. He crossed the room to a small wet bar Bel had placed in his living room just for his twin. But he couldn’t argue with Rafe. He could do with one as well.
Slipping away from Wyatt and River, Bel moved to stand beside his brother. Rafe was filling two glasses with ice, but he added a third when Bel arrived. They didn’t say anything for a second, so Bel bumped his shoulder against his twin’s.
“Are you happy?” Rafe asked as he picked up a bottle of bourbon.
“You know that look Marcus gets on his face? The one where he just stares at Ethan…”
Rafe grunted. “As if Ethan was his own personal sun shining in the sky.”
“Yes. You get that look with your Philippe.”
“Because mon ange is my everything.” Rafe said it so matter of factly, as if it were common knowledge, the way skies were blue and water was wet.
Bel grinned over at his twin. “That’s how I feel.” He paused and tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing on Rafe. “Why do you find it so surprising?”
“That you would be involved in a throuple?”
Bel’s nose wrinkled. “Is that a real word?”
“Yes, and I feel that I’d have been taken aback even if it were only one man. You’ve never shown any interest in sex or relationships. It all detracted from your work or science or your animals. If it wasn’t family or science, it didn’t matter.”
He couldn’t argue with that. There had been a clear hierarchy in his brain of important things. Family always came first, followed by his work. The rest…it all just seemed too messy and tedious.
“Wyatt and River changed that for me. Made me see that there’s more to life than science. I’m happy.”
Rafe placed the stopper in the bottle and handed his brother a glass. He picked up one for himself and clinked his against Bel’s. “Then I am happy for you too. That is all I want for you.” Rafe grabbed the remaining glass and carried it over to Philippe. “We just need to figure out how to keep your darling wolves safe and out of trouble.”
“We aren’t looking for trouble,” River interjected. “We’re happy to stay in Bel’s house and on his land, away from the rest of the world.”
“Mmmm…yes, why leave your cozy little den of debauchery?” Rafe purred.
“Rafe,” Bel grumbled in warning, but there was really no point.
He settled on the center cushion of the sofa next to Ethan while Wyatt sat beside him. River settled on the floor, between Wyatt’s legs but with one hand wrapped around Bel’s ankle, as if he were only comfortable when he was touching both of them. Bel couldn’t argue with that when he’d dropped a hand onto River’s shoulder.
“You and Wyatt can’t live your life like that, cooped up in the house. You need to be able to get out, see other people, and live your own life,” Bel countered.
“You are our life, Bel,” Wyatt said, but Bel was shaking his head.
“I agree with Bel.” Ethan leaned forward so he could see around Bel to look at both Wyatt and River. “I adore Marcus, and learning how to be a vampire is interesting, but I still need more. I’m going to school online, finishing my degree. I’ve got people I talk to online and when I get older, I’m going to meet other vampires.”
“I still can’t believe Marcus agreed to that,” Rafe muttered.
“Don’t ever doubt my ability to negotiate with your brother,” Ethan said with a smirk, then turned his attention to the wolves. “Bel wants you to have happy, rich lives.”
“But how can we have that if it comes at the cost of risking his own? Or the lives of his family?”
“That’s what we’re here to figure out,” Philippe said.
“If Winter will ever show up.” Rafe lifted his glass to his lips but lowered it again without taking a drink. “Did he tell you what news he’s got?”
“No. I—”
There was a brief knock on the front door before it was opened, announcing the arrival of the youngest of the Varik brothers. But he was not the first person to step into the living room.
A young woman with chestnut brown hair and large grayish-blue eyes slowly stepped into the room, followed by Winter. Everyone was silent as she looked them all over, her hands twisted together in front of her.
Wyatt jumped to his feet, his face frighteningly pale. “Casey?”
“Who—” Bel started, but River filled him in before he could even finish the thought.
“One of Wyatt’s sisters.”
Bel watched the discomfort of his wolves. Wyatt couldn’t look away from the tense woman, who was now keeping her eyes locked on the floor. River had stood and reached for Wyatt as if to comfort him, but his hands dropped down to his sides, as if he were afraid to touch his lover while in the presence of another wolf. And Bel was not going to put up with that shit in his own house. In their house.
