Page 55 of Whispers of Wisteria

I scrambled to my feet, pausing only to swallow down the two white pills that’d been left beside my plate. I wasn’t about to miss this for the world.

9

Julian POV

Damenand I had been summoned to the Stephens family estate, which could only mean one thing.

Bryce had gone and opened his big mouth.

The butler walked us through the house, to the second floor, and to Gregory’s office door.

Damen didn’t say a word as we entered.

Gregory and Declan were there already. Gregory was seated behind his desk while Declan loomed at the bookcase. Bryce was sulking in the corner on the opposite side of the room.

I glared at him. This was all his fault.

“We have a problem,” Gregory stated, looking between us. “One that you three knew about and neglected to disclose, for whatever reason.”

Bryce stiffened, no longer as cocky—so he’d gotten into trouble too—while Damen braced himself.

“What?” Damen asked.

Nice. Vague enough to not give anything away. We had many problems. I’d have to question Bryce later on the full extent that he’d spilled.

He met my glare and frowned.

“We understood, of course, that Bianca has been suffering certain medical conditions and has refused to be seen. But, until Dr. Kohler approached us, we had no idea that the situation had turned critical.”

Damn it, Mom.

“You cannot force her to get an exam.” Damen stepped forward. “It will retraumatize her.”

Gregory shot him an annoyed look. “Do you think I’m an idiot? Don’t lecture me on behavior patterns I’ve been studying since I was your age. I’m not suggesting you force her.”

“Oh…” Damen blinked.

“How can you say that?” Bryce asked, stunned, as he looked at Gregory. “She needs medical care. She’s passing out. We can’t just ignore it.”

“No one is ignoring it,” Damen said, voice low. “We knew there was an issue, which was why we’d gotten prescriptions. She’ll never ask for help for herself.”

“Bianca and I have a Soul Bond. Miles has one with her too. He’s been absorbing her pain. I’ve been monitoring things and helping where I can,” I added. “But this is the first time she’s been this bad since we’ve met. We’ll readjust.”

“Yet, you don’t have a real plan to find out what’s wrong!” Bryce rebutted.

“She will not consent to an exam,” I said, crossing my arms. “Mom’s already talking about taking it to Jameson, and that’s the last thing she needs.”

Damen looked at me in alarm.

“Jameson will be involved only whenweallow it.” Gregory’s expression tightened. “But she still passed out. If the situation is escalating, then we can’t put this off much longer.”

That was… surprising. Not that we disagreed—we’d been trying to keep this from Jameson too. But Gregory was usually more concerned with following processes. “So you’re okay to go against him?”

“Jameson was made her godfather before she was born,” Declan spoke for the first time since we’d entered the room. “You know how he is—when he finds out she’s alive, he would try to force medical intervention. However, while he might outrank us as Officers, I am her father. I will not let him overrule me.”

“He won’t like that,” Damen warned.

“I don’t care,” Declan replied. “She is a Dubois, and she is a Stephens. My brother will oversee her medical care, and my nephew under him.”