“Salem, where are you?” my brother, Silver, asks in my head.
One of the cons of being a triplet shifter—my mind is never quiet. I’ve learned to push them out when I need to and block them from my thoughts, but we keep the line, so to speak, open in case there’s an emergency, or whenever they are just being nosy fucks.
Busy, I reply.
“Family dinner at Saylor’s in an hour. Don’t fucking forget.”
“I’ll be there.”
My brothers, baby sister and I try to have a family dinner every week, and there’s no way I’m missing out on her cooking. I don’t care about much, but Silver, Sage, Saylor, and Shadow are everything to me. They know exactly who I am, and they accept me anyway.
Shadow’s mate, Laurel, has also joined our fold, along with Saylor’s mate, Bane.
I didn’t think anyone would be good enough for my baby sister, but the Demon King has grown on me, like a fungus. He also takes care of Saylor, which is a full-time fucking job, so there is that.
My eldest brother, Shadow, had been missing for years. After finally getting him back, everything felt settled for once.
Until I met Peach.
And she rejected me.
I don’t know how this is going to play out, but she is mine. The fates gave her to me, and you bet I’m going to keep her. No take-backs. I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks. She’ll come around.
I mean, she might not like the fact that I beat the shit out of that merman that hit on her the other day, but what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. The fucker shouldn’t have checked out her tits when she bent down to get the cakes he ordered.
Peach needs to stop looking so fucking pretty, though, or she won’t have any male customers left.
Usually, with my invisibility magic, I would be right there next to her, but even though we aren’t bonded yet, I have a feeling she’d be able to sense me.
I didn’t know who her brother was, the one she said I tortured, until my brother Sage reminded me. I did torture that asshole, but I left him alive. That has to count for something, right? How was I meant to know that piece of shit would end up being my mate’s little brother? It’s safe to say, I won’t be getting an invite to her family dinners any time soon, but she can come to mine. I can’t wait to show her off.
With one last lingering look at her through the windows, I zip to Saylor’s house, where everyone is sitting around the table waiting for me.
“There you are.” Saylor beams, coming over to kiss my cheek. Her honey-brown eyes light up when she sees me. No one else reacts that way. Today she’s wearing a bright orange floral dress, and her baby bump looks bigger than the last time I saw her.
My baby is having a baby. I don’t know how I feel about that.
My eyes snap to Bane, and not for the first time, I want to strangle the life out of him. But that would make Saylor sad, and I don’t like it when she’s upset.
She touches my shoulder, pulling me out of my thoughts. She’s the only person that I don’t flinch when she touches me. I hate people touching me. If I initiate the touch, it’s not too bad, but the only time I really do that is if I want to fuck someone. Even then, I’ll try to keep the physical contact to a minimum. I’ll happily eat pussy and fuck, but I’m not one to cuddle and spoon afterward. Hell, I can fuck a female from behind without touching her with anything but my cock.
“I wouldn’t miss this,” I say, lifting my chin to the others as I take my seat next to Silver. He studies me from the corner of his eye while twirling one of his throwing stars with his fingers. He knows what happened with Peach, but I haven’t told my siblings outside of the ones who shared a womb with me. So Silver and Sage know I found my mate and have a plan to make her mine, but Saylor and Shadow have no idea.
“Where have you been?” Shadow asks, taking his mate Laurel’s hand in his. She smiles up at him, her brown eyes filled with an emotion I can’t describe. My gaze drops to the golden mating bands around their wrists. After years apart, they finally got their happy ending. I’m pleased for my brother, and having a seer in the family only makes us even more powerful. Shadow can see the past, and Laurel can see the future. The two of them are untouchable, and no one will keep them apart again.
“Didn’t know I had to report to you,” I reply, leaning back in my chair and cracking my knuckles one by one.
“Have you spoken to her yet?” Sage’s deep voice asks in my head.
“No, but soon,” I reply.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Silver warns, a muscle working in his jaw. His silver hair is braided like Sage’s, but instead of one big braid like his, he has small, tiny braids throughout. I’m the only one with short hair. I’m not as vain as they are, nor do I give the same amount of fucks.
What if Peach likes long hair? I frown as the thought hits me.
“Stop talking to each other telepathically,” Saylor grumbles, pouting. “You know it gives me FOMO. Now, why don’t all of you tell me what you’ve been up to? I feel like I haven’t seen you in so long. What’s new? Shadow?” She looks to our eldest brother.
He clears his throat, then smiles widely. “Lolly and I are having a baby.”
