Chapter 45
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
LOCH
In the Bible, Cain murdered his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy.
Understood.
Because standing beside my brother, Axel, knowing he fucked Alena. First? It’s taking strength of biblical proportions not to kill him.
What’s summoning my restraint?
The tears he’s crying at the stunning sight of Ruby walking down the aisle. The asshole is so fucking in love with her, it makes me glance at the bride’s side.
Alena’s seated there, as Ruby’s guest, because that’s how our queens roll. Giving. Gracious. Getting in your face with a pistol if you turn their idyllic wedding into a bloodbath.
So I wink at Alena and twist my fist.
I’ll knock Axel’s teeth out another day.
Besides, I glance at Nash, standing beside me, and for the first time, I understand his impulse to procure a golden chastity belt for Alena.
Yes, Alena was an adult. No, Axel didn’t know how I felt about her. Hell, neither did I.
Am I still beating the shit out of Axel for it? With glee. Will I have to keep Nash from killing him?
I roll my eyes. Fine, you fucking morals. I won’t let Nash kill Axel.
I’ll never hurt Alena, so I behave. I make it through the wedding, the reception, a late-night dinner, and to our final family breakfast before all depart today.
“Please don’t start something.” Alena touches my thigh under the table.
“Hmph.”
“Loch.” Her tone warns. “You’re glaring at him.”
“He won’t melt.”
“But I’ll melt if you respect my wishes.
” I turn, and Alena presses, “You’re big enough to break any king in half, but you won’t, and that’s what makes you the biggest man of all.
Save your violence for the real enemy, not your brothers.
It killed me when you, my dad, and Axel fought, so please don’t do it again, and I will forever melt for you. ”
Well, shit. My Babygirl knows how to quell her beast.
Still, I seethe over my beauty.
Sitting at our round tables, surrounded by our family, I wait until Axel’s done nuzzling Ruby’s neck. Glancing up from his smiling wife, he senses my silent seethe, looking dead at him…
I know.
Now.
He knows.
Slowly, he sets his linen napkin on the table, kissing Ruby’s cheek before jerking his chin toward the balcony overlooking the beach.
Sunshine sparkles over the ocean. Laughter from my family fills the air. Love bubbles in our veins filled with Aphrodise, Greek rosé.
It’s a good day to fuck shit up because I can’t stop this storm inside me.
Axel studies my approach. Warily, not warning. Warmly, even, which is weird for our inked King who’s usually the icy one.
Once it’s just me in earshot, he raises his left hand. “I’m so sorry, man.” His new wedding band must be a talisman, bestowing upon him sudden peace and shit. It’s shocking. And fucking sweet, the dick. “I never wanted to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” I close the distance. Nose-to-nose, it’s hard to hate him. Easy to punch him. “You should’ve told me.”
He reaches for my arm, his eyes so imploring I don’t jerk it away. “It was her right to tell you, not mine. I was protecting her,” he whispers. “It’s all I’ve ever done.”
“Fuck you, you did way more with her, and you know it.”
“What was I supposed to do?” His throat bobs. “She was crying and saying she felt ugly and unwanted and—”
“Did you want her?” My nostrils flare, my pulse a goddamn jackhammer, my fists sweat.
That’s the part I can’t stomach.
Has Axel harbored a secret desire for Alena?
It’s not our bond with our other queens. It’s not how I feel about Wren, Ruby, Delphine, Zar, any of them. Loyalty. Not lust. That’s our bond.
His face falls, his hand dropping. “All I wanted that night was to stop her heart from breaking. That’s not desire, it’s devotion. I couldn’t reject her. I couldn’t hurt her even more.”
“Like I’m hurting now? Like I did for months, when I lost her? All because I didn’t want to lie to her, but you made me do it?”
He studies me, not like a lawyer, but like an older brother, the one who tried to be the father I never had. “So,” he asks sagely, “if you had to do it all over again, who would you pick? Your queen or your kings?”
“My queen, Alena,” I snarl. “Every. Fucking. Time.”
He nods. “Same lesson I’ve learned with Ruby: Be loyal to your queen above anyone else. That’s our code. But Alena was our first princess, the first child of a king, and we’ve been learning this shit as we go: when do we protect them from the truth, and when do we tell them.”
I swallow. “Do you love Alena?”
“The same way you do Delphine. You know our bonds. I’ll die for our queens, but my love lives for Ruby. I can’t breathe without her.”
Axel doesn’t show his vulnerability. But he’s sharing it with me. Growing up, he guided me, pushed me even, but he never punched me, never hurt me.
He reads my pain.
Snaking his arm around my neck, he yanks me near.
“I won’t be sorry for helping Alena, but I’m sorry you had to lie to her.
It was a mistake. Protecting someone from the truth is another way of hurting them.
We should’ve told her sooner. You should’ve been free to love her all along.
” He grins. “Beat the shit out of me if it makes you feel better, and still, I’ll always love you, you big little lion. ”
I mutter into his shoulder, “Offer accepted, you big old lion.”
“Just wait until after my honeymoon.” He pats my back. “I need to get Ruby pregnant, and you’ll need to run from her bullet if you maim me before I do.”
I pull away. “I’m not kidding. I’m fighting every urge to flatten your face.”
He tsks. “Nah, it’s too pretty. But you can have a field day with my ribs.”
Asshole. Joking to make me forgive him. It works. A little.
“Nash is going to kill you.”
“That’ll suck because then Ruby will kill him.”
Axel’s resigned. Regal even, anticipating his punishment. It’s not the sentiment of a man who was overcome with lust for his best friend’s daughter. It’s the mark of a king, loyal to his queens, above all men.
“It will suck,” I grit out. “It’ll tear this family apart, and Alena’s dreading it. So, let her tell him.”
He nods. This ain’t no kumbaya moment. Won’t be for a while. But the instinct to smash his skull open has passed.
I turn before it changes, but he summons me, “Lyov.”
I glance back.
“You’re the strongest king of all of us. You’re truly his son.” He swallows. “And I’m fucking proud to be your brother.”
I pivot with emotions choking my throat.
Axel once told me he watched Maxim tie a red ribbon on my crib. It’s a Slavic tradition, believed to protect new babies from evil spirits. And my brother was there because he was protecting me too. I don’t remember my real father, but I’ll never forget everything my brother has done for me.
It makes me return to my seat, lifting my chin, meeting Axel’s glacial eyes again.
I don’t hate you, you fucker.
Reading my glare, he grins back.
“How did it go?” Alena side murmurs.
“It’s a truce until he’s done breeding Ruby. Then, I can shoot his dick.”
She laughs, huffing. “God, that’s what I thought about the guys at work. Shooting dicks if they don’t protect Sasha Sheremetev. It’s a wonder it doesn’t happen more often: Dicks downed by bullets.”
I whip my gaze toward her. “What name did you just say?”
“Sasha.” Her brows pinch.
I tuck my chin. “No, you said Sasha Sheremetev. Like Valetin Sheremetev.”
She nods. “Yeah, Sasha Sheremetev is married to Russian diplomat Valentin Sheremetev. No doubt she was forced and being trafficked. The Feds said he took his wife into his custody, and now they’re in the wind.” Her eyes bulge. “I told the whole station about it.”
My pulse climbs. “No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I told Paul. I followed the chain of command. He said he’d tell everyone, and you and I weren’t exactly speaking back then.”
“He didn’t tell me.” My logic races. “I didn’t know, but I know who Valentin Sheremetev is.”
“Who?” Alena pulls back. “And… why didn’t Paul tell everyone?”
“Fuck knows.” I jump up, grabbing her hand. “But come with me.”
“Wh… where are we going?”
“To enrage The Queen.”