Page 62 of The Chosen Son

I was about to tell my dad about the renovations we’d started on the new house when I paused, a shiver traveling down my spine. I knew it was him even before I saw him, the temperature in the house dropping several degrees; my twin had arrived, and he was not happy about it.

Standing, I passed Damon over to my dad. “Just in case,” I muttered under my breath.

“Like I would really hurt a baby,” Phobos gritted out from the doorway, because of course he heard me. “I’m notyou.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh please, you didn’t actually believe I would do that, did you?”

“No, of course not, it was just a ploy to kidnap someone,” he snapped.

“Who is now my mate! It all worked out in the end. Can’t we get past this, already? Cameron has.”

Phobos took a wide step into the room, closing the distance between us. “If you hadn’t interfered, he would’ve been my mate instead, but you couldn’t just let me have him, could you!”

I groaned, rubbing a hand down my face. “Letyou have him? He is his own man and makes his own decisions. He never loved you, Brother. Can’t you just be happy for me for once?”

“For once? I have always supported you. Always! Even when you were being a right jackass!” he seethed, pointing a finger my way, sending an arc of energy that crackled between us and snapped the stem of one of Mom’s wine glasses clean in half. Oops.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dad shielding Damon, while backing toward the kitchen, no doubt to get Cameron. I didn’t want to involve my mate, though. Phobos was my brother; no one was closer than we were, but something had broken between us, and I wanted to be the one to fix it.

Without giving myself a chance to doubt the action, I closed the remaining distance and wrapped my arms around my brother. He went rigid on instinct. “What are you… doing?” he sputtered.

“I’m hugging my brother,” I said, propping my chin on his shoulder. “I miss you.”

Almost instantly he sagged in my grip, before bringing his arms up to hug me back. “I miss you too,” he admitted softly. “I just wanted the happily ever after, you know? I always seem to come in last.”

I pulled back to look at him. “What are you talking about? You always win. You’re the good guy, the literal superhero. You’re thechosen son,” I tacked on, gesturing to where our parents were in the kitchen.

Phobos jerked back, frowning. “What are you talking about?”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Oh, please. Like you don’t know you’re Dad’s favorite.”

His jaw dropped in genuine surprise. “Yeah, right! Dad is always telling me how skilled you are on the battlefield, that I should try to be more like you.”

“What? But…” There was this strange ethereal, untethered sensation going on, and I felt like I was in danger of floating away. “But he told me—"

“Uhhh… I can explain,” our father said, tiptoeing back into the room, and I was glad to see he’d left Damon out of harm’s way. He held his hands up, stalling us. “I just thought if I could generate a little bit of friendly rivalry between you, that you would both strive to improve your game. You know, a bit of competition is good for you.”

Phobos came to stand beside me, and we both crossed our arms and glared at the man who’d driven a wedge between us so deeply that we’d very nearly come to blows. You didn’t toy with family.

“I’m sorry! I never intended to make either of you feel like you weren’t enough. I love you both, and I’m infinitely proud of all you’ve achieved. Let me make it up to you,” he pleaded. “Anything at all. Just please don’t tell your mother how epically I screwed up. She only just let me back into her bed after last time…”

I shared a look with my brother, mischief creeping into our expressions. “I dunno, Dad, how many years have you been messing with us? I don’t know if that’s something I can forgive.”

Dad groaned. “Any chance you’ll take cash? I have no qualms about buying your silence.”

I tapped a finger on my lips in thought. “How about babysitting every Friday night for the next decade?”

Phobos interjected to say, “I don’t have kids, so I’ll take that cash to startwith.”

Our negotiations were interrupted when Mom and Cameron came back from the kitchen, Mom carrying a platter of taco fillings. “If you’re going to get feisty, you can take it outside. It’s dinnertime.”

“No, we’re done,” I said, turning to my brother. “We’re good, right?”

“Yeah… we’re good,” he said, smiling softly as he clapped a hand on my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. I suspected we still had a ways to go before we were truly good, but it was a step in the right direction.

Cameron smiled back and forth between us before taking his seat beside me with Damon in his lap. It was a juggle, now that Damon was reaching for everything, so we took turns holding our son and eating quick bites of food.

Toward the end of the meal, my foot brushed Cam’s under the table, and I got a tiny shock. I froze, taco halfway to my mouth as the tingling sensation crawled up my calf, and my cock immediately got hard, conditioned to know that with power came pleasure. Cameron was due for a transfer of energy, and through trial and error, we’d found the most fun way to do that was with sex. My brain and body now saw the two acts as entirely entwined.

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