Chapter 25 Jo #2
“Well…” I sigh. I don’t know how much to tell her.
If I simply say that he’s my brother, she’ll assume that means he’s also her brother, which could get complicated if my hunch about them is correct.
But…I don’t want to tell her about us not really being twins over the phone.
That seems more like an “in-person” conversation.
Though, considering I have no idea when I’ll actually see her in person again, perhaps it’s time to bite the bullet.
“Mabel, I got somethin’ to tell you. Somethin’ that Dec and I discovered shortly after I killed Daddy. ”
“I know, Jo.” She sighs, her voice full of sorrow.
“...What do you know?” It would be impossible for her to know that Declan is my brother, right?
“That we’re not blood.” Oh. “Daddy told me when I was fightin’ him on leavin’ with the pack he sold me to.
I told him I wanted to stay with my sister, and he told me that we…
well, that I didn’t come from Mama. That you weren’t really my sister.
He didn’t know where I came from, but Mama told him I wasn’t related.
I thought maybe he was just sayin’ it to get me to stop fightin’, but a whole lotta things make sense now. ”
“You’re still my sister, Mabel,” I say fiercely. “I don’t care if we came outta the same womb or not—if we don’t have a single shred of DNA in common. You’re my sister, through and through.”
Mabel sniffs, and her voice is choked up when she answers. “I feel the same way, Jojo. But…how does that mean we can trust…him?”
Right. The other half of that secret. “As it turns out, Mama was married before she met Daddy. Got pregnant with me. The man she was married to already had a son from someone else. That son…is Declan. So, Declan is my…”
“Half-brother?” she gasps. “How…how did you find him?”
“Remember when Mama told us to look in her room under the nightstand, but Daddy wouldn’t let us in there? I got it after Daddy sent you off…it was Dec’s number. He came and got me after I killed Daddy. He kept me safe, trained me to be how I am now. He saved me, Mabel. Saved both of us.”
“I guess…” she sounds hesitant, “I guess that makes me feel better.”
“He’s the one who got us out of Thornfield,” I say gently, “he carried you out himself. Him and his pack…they’re all like older brothers to me. I don’t know if I would have survived without them. They…they’re good alphas, Mabel-cakes.”
“I s’pose…” Mabel sighs. “I s’pose I should say thank you.”
“Nah,” I shake my head and chuckle, “You can give him hell a little longer. But, Mabel?”
“Yeah Jo?”
“Can you…can you scent anythin’? Like Dec’s scent, or anyone else's?" If she can scent him, then I guess we’ll have our answer right here and now about whether or not they’re scent matches.
“No, Jojo. I…I can’t scent anythin’. Not for a while now. It’s like my omega is just…gone. Why?”
Dammit.
“No reason,” I lie, hating myself. “Just…you can trust them, okay? Dec and his pack have heard so much about you the last five years, don’t be surprised if they act like they already know you.”
Because you might be their true scent match.
Mabel has enough things to worry about without adding mates and the Irish Mafia to the mix.
“That makes sense.” Mabel sighs. “I thought maybe it was a side effect of what Whitmore did to me, with the way I felt like I could trust them, but if you’re telling me I can…then I guess I’ll trust my instincts.”
“I would definitely trust your instincts, especially when it comes to them. I trust them with my life, but more importantly, I trust them with yours.”
“I love you, Jojo. I miss you so damn much.” I can hear the tears in her voice, and I have to hold my own back.
“I love you too. We’ll figure out a way to talk every day, okay?”
She sniffs. “Okay. It looks like Declan has to leave.”
“I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Bye, Jo.”
The phone is passed back to Declan, and his voice is slightly muffled, like he’s cupping his hand over the microphone. “Well?”
I sigh. “She can’t scent anythin’. I had the same thing happen to me. But…she did feel like she could trust you, she just wasn’t sure if it was real or not, on account of all the drugs Whitmore pumped into her.”
Declan lets out a low growl. “When I get my hands on him—”
“Get in line, big brother. I got dibs.” Declan gives a little huff, and I smirk.
“Regardless, she knows she can trust you now. She already knew we weren’t really twins, apparently Daddy Dearest tried to use the information to make her go with her new pack quietly.
She also knows you’re my brother. So, it looks like everyone’s on the same page. ”
Except the whole possible scent-match thing.
“So you think she’ll talk to us now?” Dec says hopefully. “I know I just met her, but she’s ours, I can feel it.”
“You will not tell her that.” My voice is sharp. “I mean it, Dec. You can get to know her if she wants to, but if I find out a single one of you said anythin’ to her about matin’—”
“I know, I’m not an idiot, Jo.”
“Good,” I snap. “And for fuck’s sake, Dec, get Mabel her own phone. She probably feels like a prisoner.”
“Yeah, okay. I can do that. Maeve can be there with the suppressants tomorrow.”
We hang up, and I toss the phone on the bed, sighing heavily.
“Everything okay?” West pops his head in. “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop…”
“But I wasn’t exactly quiet?” I venture, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Yeah, it’s all good. Rory’s sister will be here with the suppressants tomorrow.”
“Rory’s sister?” West takes a seat next to me. “Please don’t tell me they’re equally unhinged.”
I laugh, resting my head on his shoulder. “No, Rory got all the crazy—you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Did you know that he thinks that as a doctor, I have to tell the truth no matter what?”
A giggle finds its way out of me. “You mean he thinks you’re some kind of fae?”
“Fuck, I missed that sound.” Hayden stands in the doorway. “Giggle again for me, Fireball. Pretty please?”
“I gotta have somethin’ to giggle about first, Darlin’.” I arch a brow, and Hayden gets a devious look on his face before launching himself at the bed, taking me down with him. I shriek, but then he’s feathering my face in kisses. “Save me, Doctor!” There’s no holding back the giddiness now.
“I don’t know, Siren, I’m pretty partial to the sound as well.” West’s voice in my ear has a shiver running up my spine.
“That’s enough excitement for one night, don’t you think, Doctor?” I look around Hayden’s shoulder to see Sam, giving us a disapproving look.
Hayden groans and rolls to the side, making me scowl at Sam, who is standing in the doorway with Kole smirking behind him. “Sorry, Dad. I didn’t know it was past our bedtime.”
Shooting to a sitting position, Hayden grins. “Yeah, Dad.”
“Fucking hell.” Sam sighs, wiping a hand over his face. “I don’t know which nickname I hate more. Stud Muffin or Dad.”
That actually makes me laugh until I snort, and then everyone is getting changed into their pajamas, the mood effectively lost.
That’s okay though, because as I eye the cute tanktop-short pajama set that Maeve packed for me, I figure that Sam is bound to break sooner or later, and once he does, the rest will fall like dominos.