Page 180 of Caelum

Trouble was, I wasn’t a very likeable person.

Sure, Reed and Frazer liked me. I’d hazard a guess and say that they loved me. I was their brother, just as they were mine. But this was different.

It was as easy for me as it was with Reed and Frazer where girls were concerned. Caelum made females hard, and they were always on the lookout for strong Packs to cling to. But Eve wasn’t like that. She wouldn’t suck my cock because, on the off chance, it might lead to something and she could sign her star with a Beta Unit.

Eve probably didn’t know what a Beta Unit even was yet! She wasn’t impressed by the same shit as the others and, if I were being honest, I was glad for that. It would have been boring as hell if she’d been like them.

I rubbed a hand over my face and mumbled, “I’ll try.”

He slapped me on the back. “That’s all I can ask for, bro.”

My lips twitched as I reverted my focus to my screen and cut off the live feed to my family home, moving onto the Forex graphs I should be studying instead. When Frazer didn’t leave, I noticed he was studying them too.

“You’ve done well,” he pointed out, and a part of me wanted to preen because he wasn’t wrong.

“I was just checking shit out. We’re going to need a lot of funds,” I told him under my breath, “if the fallout is major. I’m just shifting things around to make it easier to liquidate our assets if need be.”

He nodded. “I’m just grateful we’ll have the cash. How far away is the boat moored?”

“Currently about six hours away.”

That had him wincing. “Shit. So far?”

“You know what it’s like here. They’d pick up on it and investigate.”

He grunted. “We need somewhere to hide out on the island if everything goes to shit.”

“The best person to ask is Reed. You know he knows the bays like the back of his hand.”

“True. I’ll talk to him.” He clapped me on the back again. “Well done, bro. Keep up the good work.”

My lips twitched. As he got to his feet, I called out, “Good luck figuring out something for the birthday girl.”

He hesitated, hovering for a second before he admitted, “I think I have something for her.”

I didn’t ask because he’d have told me if he wanted me to know, but I watched him go and wondered what he had up his sleeve.

NINETEEN

STEFAN

“You sure you want to go?”

She shrugged. “I’ve never been to a bonfire before.”

“It’s a pile of wood that we set on fire, Eve. If you want, I can make us our own without half of Caelum being there,” Nestor grumbled, and I had to hide a laugh. Mr. Introvert hated these things on a good day, after all.

Eve pouted. “If you don’t want to go, you can stay here, grumpy.”

Nestor winced. “You know how many steps I’m going to have to go down to get to the beach?”

Her face fell. “There are steps?”

“Lots of them, and don’t let him guilt trip you. It will be good for him to exercise,” Eren interjected cheerfully, slinging his arm around Eve’s shoulder and hooking her close.

He’d been cheerful ever since they’d both bounced into Nestor’s room with the news he’d received his mark, and I couldn’t be anything other than overjoyed for him, if I were being honest. All of my Pack was now tied to Eve, and my happiness was twofold.

I wanted them to feel the way I did now that I had her. It was like I was no longer adrift and she anchored me, even if she hadn’t completed the union. There was, after all, a difference between being Chosen and being Claimed. And Christ, I couldn’t wait forthatto happen.

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