Page 52

“In my office,” he clarified with a half-smile.

“Lead the way.”

Stephan led me up the stairs to the door next to his bedroom. The space inside was well-organized, with a big desk by the window, bookshelves lining the wall, a plush rug, and a couch. It was homey for an office. It suited him. I could see him looking out over the trees in the front yard as he pored over the accounting books for all the businesses he couldn’t tell me a damn thing about.

“What is it?” I sat down on one side of the couch and curled my feet up under me. Stephan sat down next to me with a heavy sigh.

“I was meeting with my brother. Sean. I don’t know if you remember?—”

“I remember.” Stephan had told me about Sean, once. His estranged twin brother. Ten years ago, I’d seen how much it pained him. How even bringing up his brother’s name sent a pang of hurt across Stephan’s face.

“It hasn’t gotten any better,” Stephan said. “If anything, it’s gotten worse. He’s a maniac. His lackeys interrupted some deliveries the clan was expecting. We sorted that out, but Sean won’t let go of this fantasy he has. We’re twins, but he’s the elder—he believes he should be the alpha of our clan. He always has. And he’s only getting more and more entrenched in that belief.”

I took a small sip of wine as I turned that over in my mind. “That’s why you showed me the security system.”

“I don’t trust him or his lackeys. Sean… he can be unpredictable.”

“What does he want? Does he want to hurt us? Hurt Dylan?”

“No,” Stephan said sharply. Then he took a breath, calming himself. “No. He’s only concerned with me. I’m handling it, but…” He sighed. “It’s an ongoing process.”

“What does that mean? Handling it?” I was almost afraid to hear the answer, but I had to ask. Stephan had never been so open about clan business with me. I had so many questions, and he might clam up again at any moment.

Stephan gazed out the window into the dark night beyond it. I waited as he gathered his thoughts. “When we met, I didn’t want you to have any part of this world,” he said.

“Mm. You made that pretty clear.”

He shot me a knowing smile. “Yeah, I remember. I wanted to keep you safe, then. I knew my world was dangerous, and I wanted you far away from it.”

I nodded.

“But it’s different now. We have a kid, Harley. That doesn’t just affect us. It affects everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Dylan’s a clan member, my blood. He’s my heir.”

I set the wine glass down on the side table. Was Stephan talking about royalty now? “Heir? What do you mean?”

“I mean that when I’m gone, the clan is his by birthright. He’d be the alpha.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Stephan, he’snine.And he’s new to all of this. You can’t just make him yourheir.I mean—we’re going back to Atlanta after all of this! This isn’t his life.”

“I know that. But that doesn’t change the clan rules.”

I raked one hand through my hair. “Steph…”

“Hear me out.”

His hazel eyes were warm. He looked somewhere between determined and apologetic.

I leaned back against the couch armrest and nodded. “Okay. What does this all mean?”

“I want to introduce him to the clan,” Stephan said. “When I was his age, my dad started preparing me and Sean to eventually be the alphas. I’m not going to do that to Dylan. I want him to enjoy being a kid, and I want him to have a normal life with you—whatever that means. But I also want him to know his roots, and I want him to know he has a place here in Lakeview.”

“Are you going to tell him he’s the heir?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Do you want to?”