Page 173 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“Is it arrabbiata sauce or Bolognese?” I asked, genuinely curious as to what she’d made.

Harley’s face scrunched up. “It came from a jar, so…”

“I suppose that will do,” I said with a chuckle.

“Glad Mr. Fancy Pants approves,” Harley said, rolling her eyes.

An hour later, we were all waiting on the porch. Anxiety stirred in my stomach. What would this guy be like? Part of me was worried he’d be a carbon copy of Eren. God, what if he was just as much of a dick? If I told him what was up, maybe he’d ally himself with his half-brother. That would make everything that much more difficult, a nightmare scenario.

But I trusted Ivy. If she’d heard the whole story from Carter’s mother and thought it was a good idea, I had to go with it.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we saw headlights turning into the driveway. The sun was just beginning to slip behind the mountains, and we could make out the outline of a pickup truck trundling up the gravel toward us.

Kirsten and I walked to the edge of the porch, the others hanging back near the door. A moment later, Kirsten stiffened.

“Do you feel that?” she whispered.

I did. A blanket of power washed over me, and goosebumps sprang up on my arms.

“Damn,” Waylan said from behind me. “Is that the guy’s aura?”

“Yeah,” I said, eyeing the car warily as it drew nearer. The accompanying aura was even stronger than mine. The person in that truck was an incredibly powerful alpha.

My nerves calmed a bit when I sensed no malice or aggression in the aura. If anything, it had a peaceful, calming quality.

“It’s like the sun,” Kirsten said, voice awed. “Is this normal?”

“Nope,” Langston said. “Dude’s got major mojo.”

The truck stopped about twenty feet from the porch, then the door opened.

All of us gasped or inhaled sharply because Donna hadn’t been lying. The resemblance was uncanny. Flynn looked exactly like Eren and his father. The only difference was in the eyes and body. Flynn had bright blue eyes as opposed to Eren’s brown ones, plus he was huge, with rippling muscle and massive, broad shoulders. I was big, but he was the size of Langston or Tank.

“Hey there,” he said in a deep and sonorous baritone, much different from Eren’s nasally whine.

“Holy fuck,” Kirsten whispered.

I snapped my head around to look at her, raising an eyebrow. She blushed and fought back a laugh, shrugging at me feebly. I wasn’t a jealous guy by nature, but Flynn was impressive.

“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” Flynn said, stopping to take in our group. “I’m Flynn Edgerton.”

“Yeah, you are,” Harley said appreciatively under her breath. From the corner of my eye, I saw Waylan shifting around and adjusting his shirt uncomfortably. He’d obviously heard her.

I stepped off the porch, extending my hand. “Jace Stone, alpha of Crestwood.”

Flynn’s grip was rock-hard, like steel bands around my fingers. “Good to meet you.”

“Come on in. We’ve got a lot to discuss,” I said.

Inside, Flynn took a seat on the couch, and Kirsten and I sat on the loveseat across from him as I filled him in. He looked beyond surprised at the news that there were two witches in the house. His eyes snapped to Kirsten and Tinsley as they introduced themselves. When we told him about Eren turning the children into feral wolves, a growl left him that nearly made the house rumble.

Nearing the end of my story, I leaned forward, elbows on knees, and said, “The reason we asked you to come here is because we’re fairly certain that—”

“I’m Eren’s brother,” Flynn said nonchalantly.

“Wait,” I said. “You knew? Your aunt Donna told us you were unaware.”

Flynn nodded, looking down at his hands. “Yeah. My mother told me when I was a teenager.” He looked up at me, a sad look in his eyes. “When I came of age, I thought about challenging Eren for control of the pack. I’d heard enough rumors about him back then to know he would make a terrible alpha. I even went so far as to send my dad a letter telling him I wanted to challenge him for it.”

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