Page 163 of Sire

Loch shrugs like he doesn’t care. It’s done; Axel’s dead. “Six years ago.”

“Did Axel know you were in love with Alena?”

“No one knew.”

“And Alena didn’t knowyou?”

“We had met, but she had no idea who I was.”

“So, she didn’t know that you were Axel’s baby brother?”

“Not until she found out about everything else, no.”

“Okay, with all due respect…” I let Onyx chew on my curls. “This is all B.U.”

He jerks back. “B.U.?”

“Yeah.Before you. No one is guilty of who they fucked before you.”

“But Axel should’ve told me.”

“Maybe. But maybe he had a good reason not to.”

The veins on his inked neck pop. “A good reason forlyingto his brother?”

I swallow. For a second, I had forgotten my pain. My lie. Sire’s lie.

“Maybe your brother did it to protect the family,” I hint. “To protect Alena. I mean, how did it happen? Because I can’t ever see Axel betraying Nash.”

Loch sighs, falling back in the black leather chair. He fills it like a king, just like his brother.

“Alena said it was her, thatshecame onto Axel. She was tired of being a virgin, and she trusted him.”

I slap the leather sofa like I’m wielding a gavel. “As a former virgin myself, I can testify in her defense. I get it. Some say virginity is a gift, but for others, it’s a burden. Or it’s a process when we’re ready to mature. And despite his many flaws, Axel is hot as fucking hell to … uh …process.”

“Not helping,” Loch huffs at the ceiling. “Where’s my pastor when I need him?”

Don’t. Don’t cry. I need him so much, too. I need Sire to be okay. I need our family to be okay.

“He’d tell you the same thing.” I choke, “To forgive.”

That draws Loch’s scrutiny. He aims his sexy eyes at me. “What did I say? Shit, Wren, are you upset?”

“Yeah.” Tears bite at my eyes. “Because you love Alena. You can have a life with her, and it’s that simple—be with her.”

“What about killing Axel?”

“Based on what you just told me? Nash will beat you to it. Does he know?”

“Not yet. Alena doesn’t know if she should tell him.” He cocks a thick brow. “I think she should, but?—”

“But it’s her body, her sex life. We’re not men’s property anymore. She doesn’t have to tell her father who she fucked, or?—”

“True.” He nods. “But Nash is more than a father. He’s a king. He’s like our brother. We don’t lie to each other. That’s what makes this hurt so much; Axel lying to me.”

This is what Axel was hiding.

That evening on the yacht with The Six when Axel said he’d hope for forgiveness from his family, it was for this. For Alena.