Page 106 of Grave Beginnings

“Or worse. What’s wrong with you?”

“Rude. Nothing. I’m ordinary, is all.”

“You are far from ordinary, Jude. And I’m not talking about your variance. Yeah, that’s weird, and I’ve been variant my whole life. You could have left me to Xavier that day our folks were kicking me out. We might be blood related, but you don’t know me.”

“I wouldn’t have left you. I remember how terrible it felt when they threw me out,” I said. “You don’t throw away good people.”

“How would you know I’m any good? I’m just some screwup.”

I glared at my kid brother. “How many times did our father have to tell you that before you etched it into your heart?”

He flinched.

I put the toothbrush down and stepped close enough to pull Ivan into a hug. He stood stiffly in my embrace for a few seconds, then finally relaxed and hugged me back.

“You’re too nice to be a cop,” he grumbled.

“So I’ve been told.” I let him go and pulled my wallet off my dresser and a card out. “Use my card. Just don’t buy a car or something without calling first.”

He stared at it for a moment before accepting it.

“No obligation. Get stuff for your room that you like. Once my lease is up, we’ll find a bigger place that gives you more room. Been thinking about it a while anyway. I hate Grandpa being on his own.”

Ivan pulled out his wallet and shoved it inside. “You’ll talk to Angel?”

“Oh, I will talk to Angel,” I promised.

“Don’t get mad at him,” Ivan said. “You were dying.”

“You don’t know that.”

He tapped the side of his nose. “I do.”

“I’ll try to be reasonable.” I stared at him. “Shifters have fated mates? Like one particular person?”

Ivan nodded.

“Does that mean you’ll have one, too? When you’re older? Or is it, like, a rare thing to find your fated mate if you’re a shifter?”

“Not rare. Usually something links our paths with those we are meant to find. Or, at least, that’s my understanding since the Veil split. Before then, I have no idea. Did shifters exist then? Or their mates? I know NHVs have mates a lot of the time.”

“Oh, that’s good, then. You’ll have someone who’s crazy about you, eventually.”

“Yes. But I’d rather you focus on the guy who’s crazy about you first.” Ivan pointed toward Angel, who was chatting with Keanan with a tape measure in his hands. Keanan was taking notes. The size of Ivan’s room, maybe? I still felt bad it was so small.

“I think he hated me when we first met.”

“You are sort of a lot sometimes,” Ivan said. “All small and blond with a lot of personality.”

I glanced down at my outfit, the clothes ordinary enough though a better fit than most straight men aimed for. “How am I a lot?”

“You drive a hearse.”

“I love that car.”

“And listen to metalandK-pop.”

“K-pop is addictive. Metal is mentally soothing.”