Page 15

As soon as Pan showed talent for the piano, a skill his late father possessed, our parents’ attention locked in on cultivating him. Our fractured relationship only worsened when my best friend became enamored with Pan as well. Now we were in a pack together, a family we chose. But it was as dysfunctional as the one I’d been born into. I didn’t know how to comfort my brother. To be honest, I struggled to even try.

He was a hurricane, leaving debris in his wake.

Breathtaking, magnetic, and deadly.

He wasn’t any of those things at this moment. Walden’s distant manner made him forlorn. His shoulders crumpledinward, and his face was strangely vulnerable. He caught his wobbling bottom lip between his teeth.

“I didn’t mean to hit the stupid glass,” Pan muttered.

The knot in my stomach tightened.

“I know. It’s just, after last time… Pan, please,” I groaned as my brother stalked away from me and got in the passenger side.

Why did everything have to be so combative between us? The buzz he cultivated from the shots could quickly get out of control. I considered arguing with him, dismissing the thought as it flashed through my mind. Pan was an expert at sparring with words, and my skin was thick to everyone but him.

Walden tapped his fingers on the car door, interpreting the look on my face correctly. “Don’t bother.”

Walden knew firsthand how wild Pan could get. He tried so hard to control him, to help him, but Pan was unpredictable. I don’t know what happened to my brother to make him stop playing piano and become intent on drowning his genius with oblivion. I’d lived my whole life with his dark, mercurial energy. Shadows clung to my brother, and he used them like whips on the people he loved.

“Another night for the books.” I shook my head as I hopped into the car.

My chest burned, wondering why it felt like abandonment when Pan shut me out.

4

Walden

The leather steering wheel warmed underneath my strangled grip. What a disaster of a dinner and despite everything, I blamed myself.

It wasn’t like I didn’t know my faults. I poured myself into the foundation of this pack, and it still wasn’t enough. I had a great blueprint. My parent's pack had been married for over thirty years. I wasn’t a naturally warm person, but I had a big heart. I showed my love by working so hard that my packmates worried about my health. They didn’t understand why I pushed myself so hard. But I enjoyed having someone to look after and care for.

Growing up with triplet omega sisters would do that to an alpha. Maybe I didn’t look it, but I wanted to care for everyone around me. It was the reason I started the Baylark Foundation.Caring for an entire city satisfied the need I had to nurture someone.

The alpha in the seat beside me made my chest cave in.

The only romantic connection in our pack was between Pan and me. But could this pack survive the tension between us? Pan found my affection suffocating, and the harder I pushed, the further he drifted away.

What was he thinking? I bit my tongue as I overtook a truck. I could never tell, I needed directness. That’s what I loved about Pan. He saw something he wanted and took it. I wished he could apply some of that energy to our floundering relationship.

Pan stared out the window for the rest of the drive. His bouncing knee was the only sign of guilt. His hands were curled like claws on his lap, and he clenched and unclenched them.

I pulled into our exclusive estate, flipped through my identification for the guard at the gate. He gave me a bright welcome as he waved me through. I shot him a tight smile, not trusting myself to talk. I let out a shuddering breath as our house came into view.

The elegant sprawl of it still took my breath away, like the first time I’d seen it. I swerved through the breezeway and the tires screeched with my impatience. The gentle curve of the house and the manicured bushes were too civilized for the despair that bubbled under my skin.

Ajax and Lloyd scattered from the car and fled into the house. Who could blame them? The night started horribly, and it would end the same way.

Pan slunk around the car, trailing his fingers on the hood.

“My bedroom,” I ordered.

Pan didn’t argue, and I prowled up the white, glossy staircase after him. Every breath steamed my nostrils. I felt pulled apart at the seams, and the manicured house did nothing to contain me.

The top floor had five bedrooms, one for each of us, and a guest bedroom. I hoped it would be perfect for a new packmate. We needed some feminine energy in our pack.

My stomach churned at the thought of someone else seeing the mess I tried so hard to hide. Everything I erased from the media. I passed by the dedicated nest and my jaw clenched. Ajax decorated that room specifically. He thought ahead, and I was grateful for it now.

Would an omega push me to the edge like Pan?