Chapter 33
Blade’s parents were thrilled with the news.
After their initial shock at learning that two Sems could bond with one female, Shade and Runa had offered their congratulations, and they’d immediately started planning a party.
And when Mace, Idess, Lore, Serena, and Wraith showed up, the planning turned into a party.
Then his aunts, Sin and Tayla, arrived with his uncles, Eidolon and Con, and shit got wild.
Blade and Mace had been lucky enough to be raised by very sex-positive people…which made sense for Seminus demons. But humans were tricky. Fortunately, even the humans who had joined the clan had adapted to—and even celebrated—the sensual part of life. Some things just made life worth living.
Everyone was happy. And everyone was sworn to secrecy until Scotty’s parents—mainly, her scary-ass father—were told.
Now, a couple of hours later, Blade arrived home, disappointed that Scotty wasn’t there. She’d said she was going to talk to her sister to get some advice, and that she’d come straight back.
They’d all agreed that the three of them would be present when she told her parents at their ancient Greek manor. Ares wouldn’t respect anything less.
Blade and Mace might wait outside, though. Near the Harrowgate.
He paused in the living room as a warm sensation flowed through him. It was strange but comforting, and he drew in a startled breath when he realized what it was.
Scotty.
He’d been so busy that he hadn’t noticed the tingly sensation of awareness in the back of his mind and in the center of his chest that belonged to his mate.
It was different than the brother link he shared with Crux and Rade.
And Stryke—before he’d broken the connection.
Those links were based on the intensity of emotions.
Or death. When Chaos died, breaking their connection, Blade had felt as if a hole had been drilled through his core. One that had never been filled.
Until now.
The back door squeaked open, and he wheeled around, his pulse pounding in anticipation. But the hope of seeing his new mate died a painful death when the pounding footsteps didn’t belong to her.
Stryke stopped at the threshold between the kitchen and living room, the twitch of one dark eyebrow the only giveaway of his surprise to see Blade.
As usual, when he visited family, he was all business-casual in black slacks and a half-tucked, purple button-down that screamed of his mate, Cyan’s, influence.
She was the light to his dark, the sparkles to his drab, the fun to his boring.
Blade nodded in greeting. “You here to see Crux?”
“Good guess.” Stryke brushed past Blade and headed toward the game room.
“Wait.” Blade caught up, cutting him off at the entrance. “He says he’s going to ask if he can be there for Chasm’s birth.”
“So?”
Gods, Stryke could be difficult. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up so you don’t crush him when you say no.”
Stryke scowled. “I wouldn’t do that. Cyan and I both think his presence might be the best thing for him and the baby. Maybe their souls can reconnect.”
Something clogged Blade’s throat. A lump? Why, yes, it was. He’d grieved the loss of Chaos for so long, and while he’d never get his little brother back—not the child he was—Blade welcomed his return to the family.
“That’s actually really cool,” Blade said.
“Approval?” Stryke gave Blade a quizzical look. “From you? Miracles do happen.”
Blade snorted. “Like you give a shit about my approval.”
“No, I never have,” Stryke said with his trademark brutal honesty. “But this time, yeah. I might not care much about what you think, but I do care about you, Blade.”
What a joke. “Do you? Do you really care about me or my life?” Blade reached up to touch the new rings around his neck. “You haven’t even said anything about my mate mark.”
“Why should I bother? You’ll just tell me to fuck off.”
Blade’s head snapped back as if he’d been punched. Stryke had never been one to hold back, and he’d just let Blade have it with a knock-out blow of truth.
Stryke was right, the bastard.
Just a few weeks ago, Stryke had apologized to the family for pulling away from them following Chaos’s death and had offered to restore the brotherly link he’d severed. Rade and Crux agreed, but Blade had refused.
All this time, Blade had blamed his brother for all the tension between them.
He’d blamed him for not engaging with his family after Chaos’s death.
But in truth, Blade had shut him down every time he tried—not that he’d tried often, which was also part of the problem.
But for the first time, Blade understood his role in the estrangement.
You pushed him away.
Rade’s words from a few months back rang in his ears. That brother was right too. All he needed now was for Crux to come downstairs and deliver an ego-crushing judgment.
“Well?” Stryke prompted. “You gonna tell me about your mate, or are you gonna tell me to fuck off? I don’t have all day.”
Blade sighed. Stryke would never not be Stryke. “It’s Scotty.”
For a long moment, Stryke stared. It wasn’t the dead-eyed stare Rade had, but it wasn’t the one Stryke usually had, either—the one that looked right through you, as if he was looking at an insect. This one was contemplative. Curious.
“How does Mace figure into it?” Stryke asked. “Isn’t that his eagle perched on your sword?”
“We’re both mated to her.”
“Hmm.” Stryke studied Blade’s new symbol even more closely. “I didn’t know it was possible for two males to bond with the same female.”
“I don’t think anyone did.”
Stryke’s eyes went dark and focused, the way they always did when he went into a hyperfocused thought mode that would distract him even if the world was crumbling down all around him.
“I need to look into this,” he murmured. “If I can isolate the—”
“Yeah, I’m outta here,” Blade said, figuring Stryke wouldn’t even notice. So, it shocked the shit out of him when his brother stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder.
Stryke smiled, just a twitch in the corner of his mouth, but it counted. “Congratulations. Scotty suits you. She suits you both. Somehow, I’m not surprised that it turned out this way.”
Blade had heard that more than once today.
Not one to stick around for personal conversations, Stryke started past Blade, but he stopped his brother again.
“You should know…” Blade took a deep breath. Bringing up this topic was like lighting a fuse. “The day Chaos died—”
“I don’t want to talk about this. Not again.” Stryke wheeled around.
“Stryke, listen. Please.” It killed him to beg his brother for anything, but this was important and long overdue.
Stryke paused, but he didn’t turn around.
“We’ve always wondered why. Why the demons attacked that day.
Why they were so driven to kill. Why they were even in the human realm. We know now.”
Stryke swung back to Blade, his features tight. Guarded. “Tell me.”
“Harvester figured it out. You know she’s back, right? She thinks it was Lilith’s doing.”
“Why would—?” Stryke snarled. “Logan. Lilith was after Logan.”
“Yeah.”
Stryke’s demeanor turned dark. Murky. Deadly. “Tell whoever needs to know that my company will provide any assistance necessary to find and end her.”
“I will.” Blade shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and shifted uncomfortably.
So much more needed to be said. And yet, what could be said?
They’d lost so many years to anger and bitterness, leaving a gulf of separation between them.
Bridging it wouldn’t be easy. Maybe even impossible.
At this point, words meant little. “Hey…I was thinking.”
“Trying something new?”
Had…had Stryke actually attempted to use humor? “Look at you, making a joke. Talk about trying something new.” He nearly fell over when Stryke smiled. Well, it was a smirk, but that was close enough.
“You’ll find that being mated comes with personality changes,” Stryke muttered, but there was an underlying affectionate note in his tone. “So, what were you thinking?”
“It’s about your offer to reconnect our brother link. Um…if it’s still good, I’m cool with it.”
A few moments passed, enough to make Blade feel like an idiot for bringing it up. But when Stryke finally spoke, his hesitation made sense.
His voice was thick with emotion.
“I’ll have Cyan do it today.” He reached out and gave Blade’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze.
In Stryke’s world, that was a hug.
Stryke took off before shit got weird, but Blade’s eyes still stung with almost two decades of pain being flushed from his system.
He skimmed his fingers over his sword glyph, truly understanding it now. There was still a lot of work to be done in his life, but like his sword, he was finally whole.