Page 80 of Fixation of the Mind

When she wasn't back by the time she’d estimated, Rion tracked her phone to the forest reserve. There was no way she was there of her own volition, so Rion pulled up the outside video surveillance and saw our uncle carrying in an unconscious Rin into the office.

Roux and I wanted to bust in, take him out, and get back our girl, but Rion held us back. He’d found evidence that connected the suspicious circumstances of our parents’ and Rin’s parents’ deaths. Among the rubble, he’d found a single wire, something seemingly innocuous that everyone had missed. He sent that piece to the lab and they discovered it wasn’t something used in either car or plane construction. That “innocent” wire, in fact, was specifically used for explosives. All we needed was for him to admit his role in their deaths, or at least admit fault to one of them. That should be enough proof to lay the blame for both murders at his feet.

He had always hinted at it when we were kids, his smug face saying he knew we couldn’t do anything about it, but things were different now.

Rion came up with the plan to make a private live channel for the Foedus council to watch. We knew it would expose that we were triplets, but we trusted our brother. At the very least, they could see him threaten Rin, and it would be worth the risk to protect her. All we had to do was wait for him to bait us to the reserve. He was predictable like that. Once the council heard him trying to use her, to leverage her safety as a means of forcing us to obey him, that would give us enough justification.

It was torture to wait, knowing where she was and who she was with, but we only had one shot at this. When we got the text, we bolted, driving so fast that it took us mere minutes to get there. We took out the men our uncle had covering his ass outside before Rion tapped on the live feed. Once he got the notification that all the council members were online, we went in.

Everything played out how we wanted, but what I didn't expect was Rin’s reaction.

Obsession. Possession. An unyielding will to take what was hers. I was used to seeing those things reflected in mine and my brothers’ eyes, but this time it was shining in Rin's, pointed at us.

Rion’s smiling face confirmed what I knew. My psycho, super planner brother had been waiting for this, slowly crafting a situation where Rin’s insecurities would flood her, forcing her darkness to take over for the sake of her survival, and it was glorious.

Our goddess of light swiftly turned, her golden rays darkened as she succumbed to the side of herself she rarely let out. She shocked me when her eyes, filled with vengeance and pain, bore into mine. They were shining so beautifully it was hard not to fall into a trance. Even as she stalked up to us, raising the gun to Rion’s head, I was still in awe.

My blood pounded even harder when she turned her venomous gaze on me. The gun felt so cool against my heated skin, and I was lost in the sight of what was happening right in front of me. It might be crazy, might be wrong to want it, but having her this out of control, this savage, for us was a dream come true. Like heaven and hell had collided, I was in a perpetual state of elation and desire.

She finally understood us, and if she wanted to end our lives for it, I would gladly take my punishment. Honestly, I was honored that she would be so consumed by her feelings for us that she would take it this far.

The clanking of the gun cleared my stupor as I watched her realize what she did and crumbled to the floor. I flew to her side like she’d yanked on a leash, vowing to never leave her side again. Vowing to make this woman the happiest in the world, no matter the cost.

Now, we had to face the consequences of our actions, but with Rin in my arms, Rion and Roux at my side, I knew everything was going to work out. No matter what happened, we would be ready.

After we dropped off our half-dead uncle, hooking him up to some adrenaline to keep him alive in the basement, we went to Foedus headquarters.

It felt weird having my brothers with me as we went into the building, knowing our cover was now blown. Guards were waiting for us in the lobby, and they quickly escorted us to the courtroom without any conversation. All of the council members were seated up high, looking down on us with their cold, hard stares.

Maria was the first to speak. “We have a few things to discuss with the four of you. The first item on the agenda is that we will be stripping Neil Ambros from the family tree as well as Foedus’ records. It will be like he never existed. You will need to take care of the body. Do the remaining Ambros family members agree?”

“Yes,” the three of us said in unison.

She nodded then passed a piece of paper to someone behind her who scurried off to complete the task. Maria was a ball busting bitch, but she got shit done.

“Now, the next order of business is that the records state only one heir was recorded for Xaden and Margaret Ambros. We will need to test the three of you now to confirm your lineage and obtain your DNA samples for the official Foedus database.”

Three people came in with metal cases, sidling up to each of us. They set the cases down and pulled out syringes, moving almost in unison. Rion was already rolling up his sleeve, as if he’d expected this, so I followed suit.

The sting of the needle was nothing, but the way Rin’s concerned face bounced to each of us made my heart flutter. She cared for us so much that she was worried about a little bit of blood being taken. It was so cute I just wanted to pinch her cheeks.

“We’re okay, my love.” Her gaze slid up to me. Searching my eyes for the truth she couldn't believe from my words, she finally nodded and settled down.

It took minutes for the white coats to turn to the council and confirm that all three of us were Xaden and Margaret’s kids.

Maria blew out a heavy sigh, regret shining in her eyes as she opened her mouth. “In accordance with the rules, we will need to have you three fight to the death to determine the new head of the Ambros family.”

Rin gasped, her hands immediately grabbing Roux’s and mine like she could single handedly prevent them from taking us.

Rion cleared his throat. “That won't be necessary.”

Mateo Maxima bellowed from his seat, “You dare to defy us?!” The other council members glared down at us with the same thirst for bloodshed, but I trusted my brother.

Rion shook his head. “No. We are not defying you. In fact, we are making it easier for you to settle this matter. We’ll be… re-consolidating.” His chest puffed up as his voice came out strong and sure. “The three of us are removing ourselves from the Ambros family line, willingly.”

The whole room stilled as if they couldn't believe their ears. Never in history had anyone disowned their family.

He continued. “In fact, we will be taking the Rose name as soon as we are married, which can happen today if need be.” He glanced at Rin with a smirk. Her jaw had dropped, eyes blown wide, but even with her shocked reaction, this moment was perfect. My brother was a genius.

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