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“Your cheeks flushed . . .” he cleared his throat, spearing his fingers through the top of his short blond hair, slicking it back.

I pressed the back of my hand against my cheek. It suddenly felt too hot in my new matching matcha-colored silk pajamas.

“Oh.” What else could I say? I stepped back. His focus made me nervous. He was the quickest to anger. If I spat the truth out to him about Peter, then I could release this suffocating weight on my shoulders. Also, he would stop looking at me like that. He needed to go back to his glaring. “I had my brother leave.” I set my jaw in a stubborn tilt, daring him to come at me. Jax’s lips twitched.

What was his problem? He’d never reacted this way. I expected an explosion of accusations flying at me. This though? It caused somersaulting in my stomach.

“You guys look cozy,” Asher said, smugness coating his tone. I jumped back, putting space between me and Jax, but I kept shooting him furtive peeks from the corner of my eyes. Angry twin grunted.

I opened and closed my mouth, at a loss for words.

Jax hummed, not taking his attention away from me. I had no idea how to even place meaning to that, but this was Jax. A more mercurial vampire I’d never met. “She did as we expected and had her brother leave.”

“It took her much longer than I thought it would.”

My head ping ponged between both of them.

“Y-you knew?”

Asher raised his eyebrow with a droll expression on his features.

“Pet, you can’t be serious. We have centuries on you.”

I rolled my lips inside my mouth. I’d underestimated the situation. Clearing my throat, I clasped my hands in front of me.

“Are you guys going to go after him?” I forced the question out. My throat felt like it was closing.

Asher closed in on me and clasped my chin.

“Relax, no one will go after your brother.” My sight blurred. “No tears.” Asher tsked.

“Why is she leaking from her eyes again?” Ren’s voice bounced off the walls.

“Why?” I repeated. I couldn’t wrap my head around the why.

“She’s touched.” Asher grinned.

“Catalina is of sane mind, there is no need for name-calling,” Tobias said haughtily as he walked in and adjusted his sweater vest.

“Not that type of ‘touched,’ Priest.” I’d never seen Jax smirk without it having a malicious or bitter edge. He seemed different, calmer, relaxed. “You must never mention anything about your brother. Especially about him knowing of vampires. We can be called before a council if anyone discovers we know of an unclaimed human knowing about our existence.”

They weren’t going to hurt me? Or chase Peter down? I expected to be on my knees begging for their mercy. Not whatever this was.

“There’s a council?” It sounded daunting. “I didn’t know you guys had a ruling body.”

“No, no, Pet, vampire Covens are self-ruling. There is only one thing that unites us to seek order: The existence of vampires remaining a secret. Under no circumstances are we allowedto expose ourselves and if there is an accusation, a council is created to vote on the?—”

“Don’t worry yourself with the pesky bureaucracies of vampires, Cat, we will protect you,” Ren said with a grin. Those words comforted me more than I wanted them to.

“Where’s Bastien?” I wove around Jax and Tobias to peek down the hall.

“I locked him in the basement,” Tobias said.

“But why?—”

“I didn’t chain him up, I simply locked the door. Understand, Catalina, no one knows about the state he is in.”

I scowled at him.