Page 10

I 've barely latched the door shut when Dolos rams into Eris like a freight train. “What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” he shouts, completely and totally exasperated by his twin. “Like, I knew some shit was bothering you, so I kept covering, but this is getting fucking ridiculous. Can't you feel how you're hurting her?!” Dolos looks out of his mind with worry. Likely for both his brother and his mate.

Eris slaps Dolos' arms away and shoves him back. “Go! Take care of her. Make her happy. All that shit. I. Can't.”

“Why?” I demand.

“You two won't get it. Just back off and—”

“You're not rejecting our fucking mate, you asshole. Why the fuck would you even consider that?” Dolos shuts him down.

I've never seen these two like this, and we've been together since the beginning. They can be serious when the situation has called for it, more like a mask than actually taking something seriously, but I've never seen Eris this serious and down on himself like this. I’ve never seen Dolos this devastated. “Will someone just tell me what the fuck is going on before I make you?” I level them both with a stare that says I'm serious, but it's apparently not as good as I once thought.

“You wouldn't,” Eris scoffs, and I see red.

“I absolutely will if you force my hand. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Dolos shuffles his feet and crosses his arms over his chest. “There are bits of our past we haven't shared. Shit we grew up with. I mean, yeah, the shit sucks, but it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't accept my mate…That's what's pissing me off; I don't know what his deal is…”

“Like I fucking said, you two won't get it, and I'm not fucking talking about it. Use your Alpha shit on me if you want, but if you do…I'm going to need some time away…I might anyways.”

Eris doesn't even stop to look at Dolos and me as he stomps out of the room, slamming the door and leaving us in shock.

It takes us a minute to gather our bearings. “What the fuck just happened?” I growl.

“I'd really fucking like to know.” Dolos stares at the door like he can see his brother through it. “I know he hated our parents and went through some shit on some of our missions, but none of it explains the way he's acting.”

I sit and allow everything that just happened to take root in my mind. “Whatever he's going through has to be enough that he's willing to go through an unimaginable amount of pain by avoiding your mate. While having the same mate might be part of it, it's definitely not all of it.”

Dolos only nods.

“New plan of action. We're going to have to back off. I don't want to force him to deal with whatever demons are haunting him if they're going to drive him away from us. You're going to continue to get to know Runa and soothe her worries the best you can. We'll give Eris time while we deal with the rest of the shit we've got going on and hope that by the time we've reached a place where we can tackle whatever's going on, he’ll be ready to move forward. I'm sorry, but I think it’s best that you don’t complete your mate bond without your brother. I don't think that would be a good idea.”

Again, Dolos just nods, clearly not expecting his brother's outburst.

“Go try to calm him down. We've still got a game to pl ay.”