Page 127 of Unravel Me

I press my lips into a thin line, but Rocco ignores Ennio completely and turns back to me.

"I heard from the Ring guys that Mark had a little something going on with their surrogate. Apparently, he couldn't keep his hands off him and ended up causing quite a mess because of it. Things between him and Jared are supposedly pretty icy these days. Sometimes I wonder if their marriage's going to fall apart… So. Better get ready, little brother, because if that happens, we're both entering the race, right?" He bursts into another revolting laugh.

Anzo ignores him and calmly continues eating.

Ennio looks like Rocco has crossed every possible line of decency, but he says nothing. Luca watches Rocco the way someone might look at a rotting carcass, with nothing but disgust and contempt.

Only my youngest brother, Eliano, who has always had more courage than anyone else when it comes to standing up against this family's filth, finally speaks.

"You're a disgusting pig, Rocco."

"Wow," Rocco laughs. "And that's only the first of my many charming qualities. Want to hear the rest?"

I want to punch him in the face, but that would only give him exactly what he wants, especially with Anzo sitting right there. I can't take it anymore. I shove my chair back, get to my feet, and walk away from the table, boiling inside.

Even after all these years, Rocco has never forgotten that because of me he lost access to Jared, that I stopped him from finishing his sick, murderous little game.

Instead of going to my room, I head into the garden.

It's the only place around here with trees and plants, and right now I need to be near them. I need their presence to ground myself.

I wander for what has to be half an hour, letting my thoughts settle and taking slow, measured breaths. Eventually, I lean my back against a tree and let my mind drift into the endless green, merging with nature, drawing strength from it.

Because if I'm honest with myself, the thought that Jared's marriage might be falling apart has awakened a tiny spark of hope I'd buried. I force it back down because I know that now they have a child, he won't make reckless decisions, and I have no right to expect otherwise.

That's when I hear soft footsteps behind me.

I turn and find myself looking at Moon, Anzo's husband.

Since the day he arrived in this house, we've barely exchanged a single word. There simply wasn't any reason to. When he first came here, he spent most of his time high out of his mind. Only recently has he started getting better. According to Anzo, he supposedly possesses some extraordinary abilities my uncle wants to study. None of that has anything to do with me, so I've never cared.

Moon tilts his head slightly.

"Rocco is a piece of shit, ain't he?" He sighs, not waiting for my response. I guess that's obvious to everyone. "Listen, that Jared Rocco was talking about… he's your True Mate, right?"

I freeze.

How could he possibly know that?

Then I remember. I told Luca, and Luca and Moon seem to have become good friends.

Still, I don't see why I should confirm or deny anything to him, so I simply stare back in silence.

"You know," he says quietly, "it's incredibly hard to know who your True Mate is and still not be able to do anything about it. I know exactly what that's like because I have the same problem. And yeah… I'm still working on solving mine."

I keep staring at him because I just have no idea why he's talking to me at all. What's the point of this conversation? If anything, I just want to get up and walk away so he'll leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for small talk.

Then, without warning, Moon crouches down beside me against the tree, so close that his shoulder is almost touching mine.

I instinctively shift away to put a little more distance between us, but before I can move any farther, Moon reaches out and grabs my forearm, the one with Jared's name tattooed across it.

The instant our skin touches, Moon's entire body jerks violently, as if he's been hit by an electric shock, and his head snaps backward, his eyes rolling back. Well, I sense nothing interesting.

Again, I try to pull away.

I don't want to fight with him or roughly tear myself free because, after all, he's a small omega, but despite his appearance, his fingers close around my arm with astonishing strength, something that doesn't seem omega-like at all. I realize that I might actually have trouble freeing myself from his grip because it's unbelievably firm, almost like steel.

Suddenly, Moon's eyes open.