Page 3 of No Honor Amongst Shifters (It’s a Psychic World #9)

ALCOTT WAS STILL THINKING about what Roslin had said the next day. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do. He’d tried turning on the TV last night, but he couldn’t focus on anything, so he’d turned it off. It was still off, although maybe it would be nice to have some background noise.

But Alcott wanted to hear if anyone came. He didn’t think whoever did would hurt him, but he needed to be ready. He’d been surprised when Roslin, of all people, had come into his bedroom yesterday, but Roslin had kept his promise. He’d been the one to bring Alcott dinner, too, although he hadn’t lingered.

Alcott was glad for that, or at least, that was what he tried to convince himself of. It had been nice to talk to Roslin. He truly didn’t seem to be angry at Alcott the way the people who’d brought him his food before had. Maybe it was because of Misha, or maybe because Roslin was human and had only recently become a clan member. Either way, it felt good to act almost normally for a few minutes.

But when Alcott heard a knock on his door, he knew it wasn’t Roslin. The man had already visited earlier with breakfast, and while he’d talked for a few minutes, it was probably hard for him when Alcott barely answered. Alcott didn’t know what to say when Roslin asked him completely normal questions, like what he usually ate for breakfast and what he wanted for lunch.

Alcott swallowed and glanced at the door. Misha was behind it, no doubt hoping to talk to him. What was there to say, though?

The door opened even though Alcott hadn’t told Misha to come in. Alcott rolled his eyes because that was exactly like his brother. He didn’t care what Alcott wanted. He wanted to get through to him and get him to talk, and he’d push until Alcott gave in.

“Hey,”

Misha said as he walked in.

“Roslin said he brought you breakfast this morning.”

Alcott swallowed. He could tell how hurt Misha was by the fact that he wasn’t talking to him. “He did.”

Misha blinked, and his smile widened.

“That’s nice. I want you to get to know Olsen’s family.”

Alcott didn’t answer. He wanted to get to know Olsen’s family, too, but what was the point? He wouldn’t be staying with the clan once this was over. He would never be part of that family the way Misha was now.

Alcott was glad that his brother had found someone to love him. He hoped that all of Olsen’s family had welcomed him, but even if they hadn’t, Misha had Olsen. He deserved all the love Olsen would give him. Alcott knew his brother. Misha had been yearning for something like this since they’d left their birth clan, and he’d finally found it.

Alcott wasn’t going to ruin it. He almost had, and he was lucky that Olsen’s family didn’t seem to care that Misha was a traitor’s brother. Alcott needed to be careful, though. Misha wanted to help him, and he’d do anything for him. Alcott couldn’t let him hurt himself or his chances of having a family.

Misha chatted for a few minutes, but Alcott was careful not to answer or even react to what he was saying. He could see the smile slip off his brother’s face more and more as the seconds ticked by, and by the time Misha was done speaking, he looked sad again.

“I’m worried about you.”

Alcott almost rolled his eyes. He knew that Misha was worried about him. Misha told him every time he visited, which he did every day. He was bent on being there for Alcott, but Alcott couldn’t allow him to do that. He wasn’t going to drag his brother into his mess.

Misha sighed.

“Fine. But you know I’ll be back tomorrow. I’m not going to stop coming around until you finally talk to me.”

Alcott shrugged one shoulder. Misha was stubborn, but Alcott had always out-stubborned him. Between the two of them, he knew he’d be the one to win the fight.

He couldn’t afford not to. He couldn’t drag his brother down again. Misha had even more to lose this time, and Alcott wouldn’t be the reason he did so. Alcott had made a mistake, but Misha didn’t have anything to do with it. Alcott would make sure that his brother was happy, no matter what he had to sacrifice for that to happen.

ROSLIN COULD SEE FROM Misha’s expression that things hadn’t gone well with Alcott again. Misha looked worried and angry at the same time, which was usually how Roslin felt about his brothers, so he understood.

Misha flopped onto the small couch next to Olsen. They were in Olsen’s room, where he and Roslin had been wasting time. There wasn’t much for anyone to do while they waited for Elijah to decide what came next.

Roslin started getting up from the armchair he was sitting in.

“I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

Misha sighed.

“There’s no reason for you to. You already know what I’m going to say.”

Rosen settled back down and grimaced.

“He still isn’t talking to you?”

“He said a few words, but that’s it. It’s like he realized he’d spoken and decided to stop. I just don’t know how to get through to him. Why is he behaving like this?”

Olsen wrapped an arm around Misha’s shoulders.

“He’s probably afraid that you’re angry with him. Everyone else is.”

“But he’s my brother. I just want to understand why he did what he did.”

Through all of this, Misha had supported his brother unconditionally. Roslin suspected he would continue doing so no matter the reason behind why Alcott had betrayed the clan. Besides, he didn’t believe there was another explanation to what they already knew. Some people might not believe Alcott, and others might think he was an idiot, but it didn’t change the fact that he’d been trying to help someone he thought loved him.

Roslin wanted to help both Misha and Alcott. He wasn’t sure how to do that, but since he’d decided to be the one to bring food to Alcott from now on, he might have an opportunity to do something anyway. Misha was trying his hardest, but he was probably too close to the situation, and he and Alcott shared a complicated relationship. Maybe that was why Alcott didn’t want to talk to his brother, or maybe there was more to it, but Misha couldn’t see it. Either way, Roslin didn’t mind helping. It would be a distraction from waiting, and it would make Misha happy.

He got up from the armchair. When Misha frowned, he shook his head.

“I’ll leave the two of you alone. It’s clear you need some time to rant and be sad.”

“Thank you.”

“You have nothing to thank me for.”

Not yet, anyway. Roslin hoped to change that, and the first thing he’d do was talk to Alcott again. Roslin could wait until he had lunch ready to bring upstairs, but he’d gone to the grocery store earlier, and he’d bought some things for Alcott. He wasn’t sure if Alcott would like them, but it was worth a try.

He stopped by his bedroom before heading to Alcott’s. They were on the same floor, so he didn’t have to go far. He knocked on Alcott’s door, knowing that Alcott wouldn’t answer, then grabbed the key from where it hung on the wall and unlocked it. He slipped in, locked the door again, and turned to Alcott.

Alcott was watching him. His gaze caught on the bag Roslin was holding, and Roslin dropped it onto the dresser.

“I got you some snacks from the grocery store.”

Alcott stared. “Why?”

At least he was talking. It wasn’t much, but it was somewhere to start.

“Because you might want a snack. I just talked to Misha.”

Alcott turned toward the window. He clearly didn’t want to talk about his brother, but Roslin didn’t care.

“He’s worried about you,”

he continued.

“You should let him in and tell him what happened.”

Alcott snorted.

“Everyone knows what happened.”

“We do, but I’m sure we don’t have all the details. You don’t have to tell anyone, but you should think about talking to your brother. If there’s one person who’s on your side, it’s him.”

Roslin hesitated. He wasn’t sure how Alcott would take what he had to say next, but he’d come here especially for this.

“Misha talked to me and my family and explained a bit of what happened to you two before you got here. I know that you only had each other for a long time, and it doesn’t feel right to take that from Misha. He loves you, and he wants to help you. Not being able to is stressing him out. He’s sad and worried, and we already have enough things to be sad and worried about without adding this to the weight he has on his shoulders.”

“I don’t want him to be worried about me,”

Alcott murmured.

“What you want or don’t want doesn’t matter when it comes to that. I worry about my brothers constantly. I care about them, just like Misha cares about you. Just think about it, okay? Misha isn’t going to stop trying. He’s going to continue coming to your bedroom every day and trying to talk to you. Give him a chance.”

Roslin wasn’t sure he’d gotten through to Alcott, but he’d tried. For now, that was all he could do.