Page 39 of A Chance at Redemption for the Alpha

“Please tell me you at least got an hour of sleep,” I prompt Silas while I prepare us some coffee.

“That would be a lie,” he says, dropping down on one of the chairs at our kitchen table. “I hate liars, and I certainly won’t become one now.”

“How are you holding up?” I ask.

“No reprimands?” Silas asks. “No pointing out that a good night’s sleep is important? Then you must really be worried.”

“Your cynicism is not going to distract me this time,” I say, putting a cup of coffee in front of him.

Silas sighs, pinching his nose. “Sorry for being bitchy. I didn’t expect to see Durant again so soon.”

I try to hold back any snarky comments. I’d have a lot to say about Silas’s backstabbing younger brother, who was so obsessed with their oldest brother that he didn’t care who else he hurt. I only know what Silas shared with me. He doesn’t like talking about his family much, which I can empathize with, because I don’t talk about mine a lot, either. Sunset Hills is a new beginning for both of us, and we don’t want to wallow in the past all the time. However, I do know bits and pieces about his family. There are thirteen siblings, with Aloysius being the oldest, and clearly a complete nutcase, and Silas being the second-oldest, which is why both of them possess the most authority in their family, and with the vampires.

Just that Silas doesn’t abuse his power.

Silas chuckles. “Your eyes are saying it all.”

“Don’t worry, I will behave,” I reassure him. “If you want to reconnect with your brother-“

Silas coughs and almost spits up his coffee again. “Who said anything about reconnecting? By the creator, if it were for me, I’d have punched Durant and put him in a vampire-proof cell. Unfortunately, Alex is right. We need him.”

“And he’s truly stopped working for your older brother?” I ask.

“He claims he stopped,” Silas sighs. “I don’t know what to think. He was always so loyal to Aloysius, kissing up to him and doing everything for just a word of praise. It’s true, however, that he also really respected and liked Julianus.”

“Your ex, right?”

He nods. “Julianus is a lot of things, but he certainly isn’t stupid. I am sure he was fed up with Aloysius’ views and left thecoven for real. Durant, on the other hand, isn’t as smart, and he loves Aloysius.” Silas furrows his brows. “My head is spinning.”

“I can only imagine,” I mutter. “I am not directly involved, and even I am confused, trying to figure out who is screwing over whom.”

Silas chuckles. “Family drama is like a telenovela sometimes, right?”

“You are talking to the guy who was mated to his brother’s girlfriend,” I say. “My own telenovela was pretty dope, too.”

Silas takes my hand, pulling me closer and tugging at my arm. I get down on my knees to be on eye level with him, smiling when he leans into a kiss. “I lost everything that night five years ago,” Silas says to my surprise. “But it made me meet you. You are everything I thought I’d never be able to have.”

“It’s the same for me,” I say quietly.

For a moment, we just look at each other before Silas clears his throat. “When I was with Julianus, I thought that was it, the perfect relationship. We never argued, we were always of the same opinion, he gave me presents and complimented me all the time, but then he betrayed me in the worst way possible. It was only perfect on the surface. With you, it’s different. We bicker and annoy each other sometimes, and you can’t compliment anyone to save your life, but you are genuinely kind and honest, and that’s worth much more than what Julianus could have ever offered me.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” I ask. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but…“

“I will probably need to work together with Julianus for this, too. Alex told me he probably has some intel,” Silas explains. “And I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. There is no way I’d ever go back to him. You and Sunset Hills are my home now.”

This must have been lying on his mind heavily, or he wouldn’t have opened up to me the way he just did. Silas is a greatpartner, incredibly smart, truly caring and with a lot of secret powers, and I’m deeply in love with him, but he is also pretty closed off usually and doesn’t share his feelings just like that. “Listen,” I say. “You don’t need to worry. I am not that insecure that that loser intimidates me. And since we are already on it… well… you know, you and I…” I pause. Fuck! Why is it so difficult? He just said it bluntly, and I can’t seem to find the right words. “I hate olives because I never liked them. They are gross. It has nothing to do with my former mate.”

Silas looks at me confused, then chuckles. “I see,” he says. “I am glad to know.”

“I don’t think of her anymore,” I say, realizing the more I talk, the worse I make it sound. “The only reason I sometimes do is because I wonder if it was really worth it that my brother and I had this fallout over her.”

Silas seems to understand my ramblings, though. “I don’t feel threatened by her existence,” he says, before he furrows his brows. “But if you meet her again, you’d better make it clear that you have a new mate now, and she can run off and screw your brother.”

“Got you,” I grin. “And just for the record, I have no intention of letting go of my current mate.”

“That’s good,” Silas says. “Because your current mate wouldn’t take that lightly.”

“I want to drop thecurrent,” I say bluntly. “Current indicates that in a couple of years, I might have a new mate, and that won’t do.”