Page 6

“There she is!” Carlo, my eldest brother, beamed when I walked into the kitchen and held his arms out wide. He always greeted me like months had passed since our last union.

I saw him on Friday afternoon. Less than forty-eight hours ago.

“Hi.” I didn’t bother fighting him off. He was bigger and stronger, and Mom didn’t like weapons being drawn in her kitchen.

“Don’t look so happy to see me.” Cayo, my second brother, winked at my glare. They weren’t twins, but you couldn’t tell them apart at first glance. They had the same height and build, tall and ripped, same long black hair pulled back into disheveled buns, and wicked glints in their dark eyes. The major difference was Cayo’s two sleeves of tattoos versus Carlo’s one. Cayo also had a howling wolf wrapped around his neck.

“Tia!” Beni, Raquel’s toddler, ran over, reaching for me with his chubby hands.

I bent down and picked him up, grateful to use him as a human shield from more hugs. My siblings were oddly affectionate, especially considering we were trained killers. Well, the boys and I.

Celestina stepped out of the pantry with her hands on her back and a grimace across her face. She was like eleven months pregnant with her fifth, or maybe sixth, baby. I couldn’t keep track these days.

Her only greeting was a head nod before she moved next to Mom at the stove.

“Emilia.” Joey put his hand on my shoulder as I turned with Beni cuddled against me.

“Hey.”

My younger brother was the most tolerable of them all. Probably because, like me, he accepted his place and tried to stay out of the way. If we were quiet enough, we could usually slip out early while Mom got distracted fussing over the girls and her soccer team of grandkids and Dad and the other boys watched whatever sport was on TV.

“Last night okay?”

I nodded. “Took longer than expected, but I didn’t have to improvise.”

His brows furrowed. “I’ll call Jasmine tomorrow and see if she can send a new batch, just in case.”

“Dean asked about you again,” Raquel said instead of a normal hello. “You really should give him a chance.”

“Or he really should learn what no means.” I mentally rolled my eyes. Despite knowing me my entire life, neither of my sisters accepted me as the person I was.

To them, it was simply a matter of time until I’d wake up one day with a completely different personality and outlook on life. Their only hope for me was to be like them, a wife and mother. The only aspirations they ever had.

That life was fine.

For them.

And for the vast majority of the women in our Pack. It was the only life they were ever taught to want or expect.

I was the freak.

“Dean couldn’t handle our Emilia. She needs someone that can match her.” Carlo tossed a handful of raspberries into his mouth.

“You mean control her,” Celestina muttered just loud enough for us all to hear.

Cayo grinned at me. “There’s no controlling her. She needs a man who will stand at her side, not try to push her behind him.”

Raquel scoffed. “We don’t stand behind our husbands.”

Cayo laughed but covered it quickly.

“Boys, stop,” Mom snapped with a spatula in her hand as if it were a viable weapon. “There is nothing wrong with the path your sisters have chosen.”

“Raquel and Celestina, or does that also include Emilia?” Carlo challenged.

Mom turned back to the stove. “All of my girls. As long as they’re happy, I’m happy.”

What a load of bullshit. If my brothers weren’t here, she’d still be harping at me about going out with Dean or some other weak male.