Page 56 of Worse Fates

Jace will suffer, he’ll beg for death long before I rid him of his pathetic life.

Kai shakes his head. “I’ve already said too much. But you have to remember something about Golden; he likes being around people. That boy is like a fucking kitten with the way he always wants to be petted. For him, human touch is better than a cup of coffee.”

“His need for touch hasn’t gone unnoticed.” It’s ridiculous to be over six hundred and thirty years old and jealous of this slip of a man. I’ve seen Golden and Kai together, they have the sexual tension of two bricks. But nothing makes a vampire more irrational than his mate.

“I bet it hasn’t.” Kai scoffs, looking me over, eyebrow cocked. “But listen, if you’re someone Golden cares about he’s soft as marshmallows and if you push enough, he’ll give in.” Kai’s glare is hard, protective. “The way my best mate looks atyou scares me. Because if you asked—if you pushed enough—he’d give you everything. And I’m not saying that can’t be sweet, but I need you to respect it and not twist it. Golden needs people to be happy, ya know. But when I see the way you look at him, I think you just need him.”

“I love my brothers, but…” Already my protective instincts are on high alert, and I cannot deny that in my eyes Golden’s life outweighs everyone else's.

“But your love could rival two orbiting suns or something else ridiculous and poetic?”

I snort. “To put it bluntly.”

Kai pats the braids covering the left side of his face, subtly reassuring himself the burned half remains covered.

“Golden is going to hate that I’m going all ‘big brother’ on him, but…Lucero, he’s never flirted with anyone let alone be in a serious, committed relationship. So maybe this is unfair of me to say, but I kinda don’t give a shit—if him being happy means you’ve gotta suffer a bit, then so be it. Encourage him to see his friends, alright? You can’t be his whole world all the time. I’ve seen what happens when someone tries and…” Kai looks away, eyes becoming wet. “I couldn’t pull him out of it…”

I will always have Golden’s back. However, “Whatever that bastard did to Golden, I have a feeling if you could’ve stopped it, you would have.”

Kai’s eyes shut, his chin wobbling. For the first time I see him not as an extension of Golden, but as a man who’s fought his own battles.

I’m reminded of Ramy, always the caretaker. I’ve been a bad brother to him, but at least I try. And if Kai is forever the big brother, who, I wonder, looks after him?

“I want to horde his attention like a dragon,” I confess and Kai looks back at me. “The world does not deserve him. However, he deserves the world.”

Kai smiles, big and infectious and I can’t stop the corners of my mouth from tugging up.

The door opens and Golden comes out looking less flustered.

“Kai, hey.” He sounds awkward to my own ears and I watch Kai’s grin grow.

He claps Golden on the back and drags him towards the sofa. “Alright, mate. Lemme freshen all this mess up.”

Kai sits and Golden places himself on the floor between his legs. “What happened to the fucking sofa?” my mate asks, frowning at the ripped open arm.

“I have no idea,” I say as I stroll closer.

Frowning, Golden shrugs. “My hair has become more frizz and less curl.”

Kai grabs hold of the water bottle and sprays his hair wet. “Wanna learn how to take Golden’s hair from fluff ball to pretty curls, Luc?”

I sit beside Kai, holding my hand out for Golden who takes it like he’s been placing his palm into mine for centuries.

“I look like one of those brushed out pomeranians,” Golden jokes.

“You look beautiful.”

My soulmate looks at me from the corner of his eye, and smiles.

Chapter Twenty - Lucero

In the afternoon, I drive us towards the farmhouse. Golden sits beside me, turned in his seat so he can chat animatedly with Kai and Ramy in the back, he even includes Rurik. Who Golden spent all morning glaring at over his breakfast.

However, it seems Golden is incapable of holding onto a grudge. I’m proof of that.

Tension digs its sharp claws into my hands, wrestling for control of the wheel, urging me back towards the safety of the mansion. Yet for a reason, that feels like utter madness, I’m leading my mate towards possible danger. If only Golden were willing to wait until Vidar was more himself. But my mate is a stubborn one.

“You don’t have a favourite flavour of blood?” Golden asks Rurik, who’s pointedly glaring out the window.