It wasn’t like he was scared of his brothers. No, he loved them, and they loved him. It was just that they tended to be overprotective at times and very skeptical of outsiders. They had lived and acted as a single-family unit for so long. How could anyone else understand them? And how could they risk an outsider’s life to Julianna’s mercurial moods?
Mother.
Bel’s hand automatically went to his chest, rubbing over his heart. The old wound had healed. There wasn’t even a scar to mark where she’d tried to tear his heart out, but there was a phantom ache that never quite went away. It pulsed to life whenever he thought about Julianna.
After she’d tried to kill him, there had been a dark part of himself that was glad she was gone. Glad she could no longer threaten him or his brothers.
And he’d hated himself for feeling that way.
A strong hand settled on his shoulder, and Bel blinked. He hadn’t even realized he’d stopped walking in the middle of the hall. Flashing Wyatt a smile, he continued to the library. This was no time to think about old ghosts.
Conversation came to an abrupt halt when Bel entered with Wyatt and River on his heels. While their looks weren’t unwelcoming, they were all very…curious. Bel had never brought anyone into their small world. He’d never even spoken of associating with anyone in the past. Most of his scientific contacts were handled electronically.
It seemed only natural that Aiden, his father and sire, was the first to speak. He pushed to his feet from where he’d been reclining on a dark-brown leather couch and walked over.
“Bel,” he started smoothly. “You’ve brought us guests. That’s excellent.”
Aiden wrapped his arms around Bel, pulling him in for a tight hug. Bel closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Aiden’s shoulder. Aiden might not be his biological father, but he’d been the man to care for him and guide him since he was a child. Aiden loved him like a father, and his father knew he was nervous.
When Aiden released him, Bel was centered and stronger. He turned toward the wolves. “These are my friends, Wyatt Campbell and River Stone.”
Aiden shook their hands as he took over the introductions. Bel watched him closely, trying to see if he noticed the same difference that Ethan had. There was something, a small twitch at the corner of his eye, but his warm smile never wavered.
“My, my, my,” Rafe drawled, his smile turning positively wicked. Bel could feel his face heating before his twin even finished making his teasing remark. No doubt his brother noticed the resemblance between Wyatt and the man he’d fed from at Blush just a month ago. “I think I underestimated you, my sweet Bel. I had begun to think you didn’t even notice men at all, and here you found two lovely ones for your—”
“Rafe!” Marcus barked in warning and Ethan snickered.
“It’s not like that!” Bel quickly said. “Wyatt and River are together. I’m just…just…”
“I think you better explain…everything,” Aiden said. And yes, he knew.
It didn’t help Bel feel any more settled when he saw that Aiden hadn’t returned to his previous seat on the couch. No, he was now sitting in the ornate high-back chair they’d used when Lola, Ryder, and Gideon had become official members of the Varik clan. The chair looked more like a throne and had quietly become Aiden’s seat of power within the clan. Add in the blond man’s impressive height, wide shoulders, and his regal bearing—he just looked like a king in that chair. Bel had no idea if this was a good sign or bad. Probably bad.
“As Ethan noticed downstairs, Wyatt and River aren’t vampires. They’re werewolves,” Bel started.
“This is a joke, right?” Winter said. “First, Rafe with his witch talk—”
“Don’t mock Zelda. She is a witch!” Rafe snapped.
“And now you’ve got werewolves,” Winter continued as if Rafe hadn’t spoken.
“Werewolves exist?” Ethan demanded.
“No, they don’t,” Marcus said firmly.
“They are very real,” Bel countered.
Winter scoffed. “This is ridiculous. Let’s just invite Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny in for a family dinner—”
“Silence!” Aiden shouted above the cacophony. He stood in the middle of the room, frowning at the assembled group.
Yes, his brothers had enjoyed a little too much mocking and joking, but it was clear to Bel that Aiden understood the gravity of what they faced.
“Bel, please explain to your brothers everything.” Aiden turned his glare on Rafe. “You will be respectful and listen.”
His twin sighed and cuddled with Philippe. Winter moved over to sit on the couch with Ethan and Marcus, while Aiden returned to the thronelike chair.
Glancing around quickly, Bel ushered Wyatt and River to an oversized leather chair. River sat while Wyatt perched on the arm, his hand resting just on the back of River’s neck. The younger wolf turned worried eyes up, and Bel couldn’t stop himself from touching his cheek. “It’s going to be okay, I promise,” he whispered. He turned his attention over to Wyatt to find a look of banked anger, but also hard resolve. He would not leave Bel’s side. He would protect him, even from his own family.
Bel moved carefully to the center of the room. In all his younger, human years, he’d been called onto the carpet to face Aiden only a few times. All of them had been in relation to antics and stunts he’d gotten drawn into with Rafe. And sometimes, with Winter. Never alone.
“Yes, they are werewolves. They are the same werewolves we faced against the MacPherson clan, but they are my wolves now. And…I’d like them to be Variks.”
Rafe suddenly leaped to his feet and stalked toward Bel and his companions, his face twisted with rage. “Those are the fucking wolves that attacked me!”
“Yes, but—” Bel tried to say.
“We had no choice,” Wyatt replied calmly.
“Bullshit! How about I take a chunk out of your hide—”
“Enough, Rafe!” Aiden’s voice was a sharp whipcrack, and silence resumed again. “Explain, Bel.”
Bel twisted his fingers together as he closed his eyes and took a deep, fortifying breath. It was always so much easier to organize his swirling thoughts when he was working on the computer or on paper. But he could do this for Wyatt and River.
As clearly as he could manage, Bel told his family about them being ejected from their pack, their lives threatened. He told them about the deal they made with Brett MacPherson and their forced servitude with the clan. He went into detail about their horrible life and the commands they had no choice but to follow. And finally, their brief freedom before coming to seek Bel’s assistance.
His family’s expressions changed as he spoke. Ethan looked sad and while Marcus’s expression remained stern, he pulled Ethan a little closer to him. Winter was unreadable; but then, his youngest brother was always impossible to read unless he was annoyed with Rafe.
His twin…his twin still looked angry. He could feel the rage boiling off him and through their connection. Only Philippe looked moved by Bel’s words. But was it enough that he would intercede with his lover, get him to see reason?
Aiden simply appeared worried, which did not help settle Bel’s fears.