Page 96 of Nest Of Lies

And I have five alphas who can teach me how.

Chapter thirty-four

Lia

I’m in the kitchenlicking the spoon clean of the cake batter that Mills whipped up when I hear a shout. It’s not the usual sounds, so I stop licking and turn, tense and watchful.

Ranger comes rushing in and kisses my head. “Gotta go, lovebug. Stay here and be safe, okay? We won’t be long.”

My enthusiasm for the day fades as I watch him leave. The others rush out, waving at me. Zaden pauses and points a finger at me.

“A single hair on her head is damaged, and I’ll put you in a mincer.”

The two prospects, Nick and Kyle, stare at me and blink wide eyes. “A single hair? Now that’s a bit hard, Zaden. Look at her. She’s accident prone.”

“I am not!” I scowl at Nick, who pulls a face at me, obviously disagreeing.

“Malone is in charge,” Zaden snarls and walks out the door, pulling it shut.

He threatened to mince someone for me. He’s so damn cute. I turn back to the spoon and huff a laugh.

I wrap my arms around myself and lick the spoon again.

Kyle snickers and pulls himself up on the counter. He swings his legs and watches me intently. He’s got dark chocolate brown hair, with deep brown eyes, and a spray of freckles across his nose. But it’s innate trustworthiness, the open guileless, genuine kindness that makes him a favourite amongst the club. And me, too.

“What?” I snap, defensively.

“You remind me of my little sister.”

Warmth washes through me. A happy feeling that is so unusual that it takes me a moment to recognise it.

“I’ll call you brother from now on, then. What’s your sister like?”

“So, if I’m your brother, it’s only right I point out that you have chocolate all over your face, right?” Kyle snickers.

Nick has gone somewhere else, so it’s just the two of us.

“My sister is a ratbag. She is rebellious and stubborn and so independent. But I love her.”

I slap my hand to my face and wipe while I laugh. “Just you wait. I’ve had years to think of evil things to do to brothers. I might need to meet your sister.”

Kyle laughs. He’s such a chill, happy guy.

“Why did you decide to join the Mirakills?”

He shrugs. “Why not?”

I study him.

“I didn’t have many friends. I used to get along with my brother’s mates or my mum’s boyfriends. One of them taught me how to ride, and I’ve always loved it.”

I open my mouth to ask something else when Nick walks in with his hazel eyes wide open, he’s ghost white, and it’s startling because his hair is almost white, but his skin is now whiter. My immediate thought is that something is wrong. Is it the pack? His hands are stretched out away from his thick body. I straighten, dropping the spoon as my body fills with buzzing nerves. Kyle whips his head around, but it’s Nicky I’m focused on. His expression is more frightened than I’ve seen on anyone, and he looks so sad.

“Nick?”

“You need to not do anything stupid right now.” The voice doesn’t belong to Nick.

I blink as Malone comes into view, a gun casually pressed to the back of Nick’s head. Oh, my god, Malone has a gun pressed to the young beta’s head. How do I fix this? His flat blue eyes seem extra shiny with the excitement of the coming violence, and his black hair is on end like he’s been raking his fingers through it over and over. I can’t see any mercy or empathy in his expression. He seems…happy.

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