Page 36 of Reclaiming Home

The door opened and Kye stepped out. He walked to the edge of the porch.

Max stepped back and moved closer to Ben.

“Kye, these are Max and Ben, my cousins,” I introduced them.

I could tell Max, especially, was taken aback by Kye’s looks. Ben went to shake his hand.

“Good to meet you,” he murmured, clearly feeling a bit awkward for a reason that became evident in Kye’s next words.

“Good to meet you too. Thank you for letting Brodie know my sister was held here,” he said in an earnest tone.

Max’s steps toward him faltered, but he caught himself at the last moment and went to shake his hand as well.

“We should’ve acted earlier, but we didn’t believe the rumors,” Ben, always the spokesperson of the two of them. “I’m sorry it took us that long to act.”

“Better late than never,” Kye replied easily, but I could tell he’d thought of that, too.

Max cleared his throat, his gaze anywhere but on Kye. “We didn’t come by often. Not even monthly. Tried to stay away….”

“And nobody blames you.” Kye walked down two steps so he could look the guys in the eye. “I don’t. Neither does my sister.”

As if on cue, the door opened again, this time with Carys peering out. She stepped out but stayed on the porch. Her gaze was conflicted, but then she smiled ever so slightly.

“I’m Carys.” She gave her full attention to both of the cousins in turn. “I don’t blame you for anything,” she said firmly, in a tone that brooked no argument. “I learned to know your dad, and I know why you didn’t come by more often and why it took you time to alert Brodie and his sister.”

Ben frowned. “I wish—"

“If wishes were horses, right?” she said, smiling sadly. Then she nodded decisively. “I’ll be okay. I promise. Just….” She glanced away and gnawed on her bottom lip.

The cousins stared at her, waiting for anything she might want to say.

After a few heartbeats, she turned her gaze to them, and I saw her steel herself. She straightened her posture and pulled back her shoulders. She appeared proud and capable in that moment,and both Ben and Max’s expressions suggested they would follow her through fire.

“Take care of yourself,” she told them. She smiled at me, then back at them. “If you’re part of this pack, then you make sure you’re the best you can be. I’m sure Brodie has some thoughts on how you can do that.” She took in a deep breath and let it out, then added, “Let’s not let Rusty’s legacy define us.” With that, she turned on her heel and slipped inside the house.

All three men turned to me, seeming a bit stunned.

“And that’s my sister,” Kye said, sounding proud but dumbfounded.

I chuckled. “She’s a great asset to the pack, as are you,” I told him. Then I concentrated on Ben and Max. “You two, let’s take a stroll.”

Kye took that as a dismissal, gave me a smile, and went after his sister.

I headed where the beginning of the perimeter path had once been. It wasn’t there now, it had overgrown and seemed barely trodden by my attempts to keep the territory guarded in the last few days.

Ben made a disgusted noise when he realized the state of it. “Jesus fuck… I know we’re not angels, but did those bastards even care?”

“I think they were more concentrated on cooking.” I snorted. “I didn’t plan any of this, as you know, but now that I’m here….”

“For what it’s worth, we’re glad you took over,” Max murmured quietly.

I patted his shoulder. It couldn’t have been an easy thing to admit for either of them, given that to “take over” I’d killed their father.

“What Max said,” Ben agreed. “Look, we know our dad was a piece of shit. Always knew it, right? But it took Mom leaving him for us to truly realize how bad he’d gotten.”

“How is she?” I asked.

Mickey had tried in our childhood, but she was too submissive of a wolf to have been able to do anything against her husband and alpha’s will.

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