Page 131 of Aine

“He promised nobody heard,” I shout, mentally planning his murder.

I refuse to make eye contact with Alex as he cackles. I’m going to kill him.

“I’m the only one who heard,” he spits out between hearty laughs. “I went to grab some food from the pantry and quickly realized it was occupied. Don’t worry, though. I stood outside like a good guard dog and made sure nobody else entered.”

These men are going to be the death of me. I still can’t believe I practically bullied Damien into having sex in such a public place. His office, sure. The house, sure. The pack’s pantry, where anybody could have entered at any moment, absolutely not.

“It’s not that funny,” I say when Alex continues cackling.

I contemplate seeking out Damien when Alex doesn’t stop, but he finally calms himself down when I move to get up.

“I’m done, I’m done,” he promises as he senses my anger. “You’re just so easy to tease. Our parents would’ve loved you.”

The mention of his parents has me stilling, and I meet his eyes to see if he’s lying. Other than the one brief story about his father, Damien’s never talked about his family. It’s probably a sore subject he avoids speaking about, but I can’t resist prying for information through Alex.

“You think?” I asked. “I thought they would’ve hated me.”

I assumed Damien’s hatred of humans is something passed through his parents. Detesting an entire species is a learned behavior and given the openness of the rest of his pack, it makes sense it was his family who put the idea in his head that we’re too weak to be respected.

“What makes you think that? You’re their son’s mate. Of course they would’ve loved you.” Alex’s fingers tap idly against the counter.

“But I’m a human.”

Alex hums quietly before standing from his chair. I’d pay to know what’s going on in his head, and I sit quietly as I wait for him to continue speaking.

“What does being human have to do with anything?” he asks.

I shrug, beginning to regret saying anything in the first place. “I assumed Damien got his hatred of humans from your parents.” I hope he doesn’t take offense.

I’m glad when he frowns, appearing more confused than offended. His eyes trail down the length of my body before he turns and looks out the back door.

“Has Damien ever told you how our mother and sister died?”

I nod. “They drowned.”

“Beasts don’t drown,” Alex says. “Our mother was human, and our sister carried more of her traits than beast ones.”

I have no response. Why didn’t Damien ever mention this? I know he’s uneasy talking about his family, but this feels like a big thing to conveniently leave out. Especially since that’d make him and Alex half-human.

Alex gives me a few seconds to absorb that information before continuing.

“Damien loved our mother, but our sister was his world. His attitude toward your kind changed after she died. I know having a human as a mate terrifies him, and so does the possibility of having human children like Jess. Beast genes are dominant, and most hybrid children will reject the human attributes and come out almost entirely beast, but there’s always a risk.”

I’m speechless, and stare open mouthed.

“Is that why he pushed me away?” I ask.

Alex shrugs. “I’d assume so, but you’ll have to ask him.”

“I wish he would’ve told me this.”

Alex nods, continuing to stare out the door. I take the opportunity to look him over, noting the slouch in his posture and slight bags under his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

He huffs, shoving his hair out of his face.

“Olivia’s mad at me. She asked if my beast is upset I’m not with Freya, and I hesitated.” He grunts. “I can’t control how he feels, and our beasts cherish their mates above all else. He’ll grow to see Olivia as his with time, but I can’t force it on him.”

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