Page 1 of No Honor Amongst Shifters (It’s a Psychic World #9)

ALCOTT’S LIFE WAS OVER, and it was all his fault.

He should’ve known better.

He should have known that Damien was lying and that the only thing he wanted from him was information.

He’d thought Damien was it for him, and now, he was locked up in his bedroom, in pain, and it would be a miracle if he survived this war.

He probably wouldn’t.

For now, he was a prisoner, but he didn’t think Elijah would keep him around for long.

He couldn’t afford to kick Alcott out of the clan while they were still fighting with the cockatrices and the coven, but Alcott was sure that as soon as they weren’t a danger anymore, he’d be on his way out.

He deserved it.

He’d betrayed his clan and his leader.

He’d wanted a home and someone who would love him, and instead, he’d lost everything because of his own stupidity.

He bumped his forehead against the window.

He supposed it could be worse.

The house where the clan lived had cells in the basement, but that wasn’t where he’d been taken.

He was in his bedroom, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost believe that everything was back to normal. He could forget that he’d betrayed his clan and his brother.

But he had betrayed them, and he would pay for that.

He just wasn’t sure when.

Maybe there was something wrong with him and that was why people couldn’t love him.

The only one who did was Misha, but he probably regretted it by now.

He’d found a home with the clan.

He had a boyfriend and everything. He’d followed Alcott when Alcott had been kicked out of their birth clan, but he wouldn’t follow him this time. He belonged here.

Alcott didn’t.

A knock on the door pulled Alcott out of his thoughts.

There was only one person who knocked when they visited now that he was a prisoner, and Alcott didn’t want to talk to him.

He knew that Misha wanted an explanation and to make sure that he was okay, but Alcott wasn’t sure he was.

He wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

Except for one thing.

He’d messed up, and he would have to deal with the consequences of that.

He ignored the knock and pressed harder against the window.

He wasn’t surprised when he heard the door open even though he hadn’t called out for his brother to come in.

It closed softly, and Alcott wasn’t alone anymore.

He still didn’t turn.

How could he face his brother after what he’d done? He felt humiliated and angry, even though it wasn’t his place to feel angry.

Misha should be pissed, but Alcott knew that if he turned to his brother, he’d see that he was worried.

That was Misha.

He worried about everyone, which was why choosing him as the leader’s personal assistant had been a great idea on Elijah’s part.

Alcott had been so proud of his brother when he’d found out about it, and he still was.

Misha was really making something of himself.

Unlike Alcott.

“How are you feeling?”

Misha asked.

His voice was softer than it ought to be. Alcott didn’t deserve to be treated with kid gloves. Hell, he didn’t deserve to be in his bedroom. He was surrounded by comforts when he’d betrayed the people who’d given him these comforts.

Misha sighed heavily.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay. You’re pretty banged up, and you haven’t allowed anyone to check you. You could have internal bleeding or something. You haven’t been eating a lot.”

Alcott hadn’t been eating because he wasn’t hungry. It had nothing to do with internal bleeding.

“I’m fine,”

he croaked.

Misha sucked in a breath.

“Are you sure? I can call the doctor.”

“I don’t need a doctor. I’m fine.”

Alcott wasn’t. He’d been beaten, and the man he’d thought loved him had watched without saying anything. He was bruised, and most of his body hurt. There were scrapes on his knees and the palms of his hands.

But he’d survive. Some days, he wished he wouldn’t, but unfortunately, his wounds weren’t bad enough to kill him.

He knew that Misha would be sad if he were to die, but he had other people in his life now.

Eventually, he’d forget about Alcott.

He’d be distracted by his boyfriend and his job and friends, and that was what Alcott wanted for him. It was what needed to happen when Alcott left.

He didn’t think Elijah would kill him.

Any other leader would have, but it wasn’t the kind of person Elijah was.

No, he’d just kick Alcott out of the clan, as he should. Alcott didn’t deserve to be here. He didn’t deserve for Misha to worry about him.

He’d been so terrified of being alone and not having anyone love him that he’d burned his life to the ground and pushed away the one person who did care about him.

ROSLIN THREW A POPCORN at his brother’s head.

He quickly dropped his hand and acted innocent, but he didn’t think Victor was fooled.

Thankfully, he didn’t say anything. He turned back to his boyfriend to continue their conversation, and Roslin threw another piece of popcorn at him.

“Seriously?”

Victor asked.

“You’re too old for this.”

“Who are you calling old?”

Roslin argued.

“You. You’re the eldest, yet here you are, throwing popcorn around. Why are you wasting food to be annoying?”

“It wasn’t me,”

Roslin said, even though it had been him and they all knew it.

Olsen rolled his eyes. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. Victor shook his head.

Roslin relaxed against the couch. Even though his life was in danger, he couldn’t regret being pulled into the mess that was the dragon clan. His brother was here, and he wasn’t going anywhere. Hell, none of them were. Victor, Donahue, and Olsen had all found love within the clan. That meant that this was their home now, which, in turn, meant that Roslin was staying, too.

Even though he was desperately single.

He didn’t mind much, or rather, he hadn’t minded until his brothers had gone and fallen in love. He was happy for them, and he didn’t really care that they didn’t have as much time for him as they did before. He was jealous, though. Would it be too much to ask the universe to throw him a bone? To give him someone to cuddle with on the couch like Victor and Tim, or to share popcorn with like Donahue and Terrence? Only Olsen was here on his own, but Roslin was ready to bet that Misha would be coming around soon.

And then, there was him, alone with his popcorn.

The living room door opened, causing all of them to turn. Misha stepped in, and from his expression, Roslin could tell that his meeting with his brother hadn’t gone well. They never did. It made Roslin want to go find Alcott and give him a good shake, but he didn’t think it would help, unfortunately. Whatever was going on between Misha and his brother, they probably needed to fix it on their own.

That didn’t mean that Roslin didn’t want to help, especially when he saw how distraught Misha was. Misha was his brother-in-law, and that meant something. It wasn’t like Roslin had anyone else to focus on anyway.

“It didn’t go well?”

Olsen asked as he got to his feet.

Misha made a beeline for him, ignoring everyone else in the room. Roslin wasn’t offended. Of course Misha wanted his boyfriend to comfort him.

Misha pulled Olsen back onto the couch and pressed against him. Olsen wrapped him in his arms, and for a second, they all waited. Misha had the attention of everyone in the room, something he would probably be horrified about when he realized it.

“He doesn’t want to talk to me,”

Misha eventually said.

“I’m worried because he’s still so bruised, but he doesn’t want anyone to check him. I offered to call the doctor, but he said no, and that’s the only thing he said to me the entire time. I tried talking to him, but he won’t answer.”

Olsen pressed a kiss on top of Misha’s head.

“I’m sorry.”

“I just don’t know how to get through to him.”

Roslin wanted to ask questions, but he knew better. He might be curious about Alcott, but he didn’t want to hurt Misha by reminding him of his brother’s behavior.

Not that it looked like he had to.

Roslin didn’t understand Alcott, although maybe that was because he didn’t know him.

Alcott was Misha’s brother, but Misha and Olsen had only recently gotten together, and while Roslin had noticed Alcott around the house before then, they’d never talked.

Alcott had everything anyone could hope for.

He had a home, a clan, and a brother who loved him.

Why had he betrayed all of that? Why had he risked losing everything and putting people in danger? His betrayal didn’t make sense, and Roslin wasn’t sure he’d ever understand.

Even Misha didn’t, and he was Alcott’s brother.

But Roslin was curious, and it didn’t look like Misha would get any answers out of his brother.

Maybe Alcott would want to talk to someone who wasn’t as close to the situation as Misha.

Or maybe he’d tell Roslin to fuck off if Roslin tried talking to him.

He wouldn’t be wrong.

The fact that their brothers were together made them kind of family, but it didn’t mean they had to be close or even talk to each other.

Besides, why would Alcott talk to anyone? The entire clan knew what he’d done.

He was probably terrified of what they thought of him.

That was why his betrayal didn’t make sense.

It was clear that he cared deeply about Misha.

Why would he want to hurt Misha’s family? Why would he want to put his brother in danger by betraying him, and what would he obtain from doing that?

This was why Misha was trying to get answers and why he was confused, and so was Roslin.

Unfortunately for Misha, unless Alcott decided he was ready to tell the truth, he wouldn’t get closure.

Roslin wasn’t sure what would happen once this mess was over, but he didn’t see how Alcott could be allowed to remain with the clan even if they won the fight against the cockatrices and the coven.

He’d betrayed them.

He’d gone straight to the enemy.

He would have to pay for that.