Page 154 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

“She can’t keep her mouth shut,” Killian grumbled, and ran a hand down his face. “It’s like she gets worse instead of better. She used to only be this bad with Olive.”

Olive—his late sister. She’d died a couple of years ago, along with the rest of Killian’s family. He rarely spoke of them, so for him to say her name startled me.

Griffin sighed, making it clear that he wasn’t happy. “Let’s give Sterlyn a few minutes alone withhim.”

“You wolves have such a weird sense of humor,” Rosemary said as she crossed her arms and stared at Griffin. His somber expression didn’t change. “Wait…you aren’t joking?”

“No, unfortunately, I’m not.” Griffin’s voice was strained, and he stomped over to Julius, sneering, “But one wrong move, and we’ll be back in here in a flash. Don’t get any stupid ideas.”

Julius’s irises darkened to gunmetal as a stormy expression crossed his face. “I’m here with a stronger silver wolf and an angel. That alone would give anyone pause.” He made it clear that he wasn’t scared of Griffin and Killian.

Great, these guys were going to have a power struggle, which wouldn’t result in anything good. Just more anger and tension. “Okay, we got it. You’re both strong alphas. Noted,” I said. “Now I’d like to have a few minutes with him.”

Rosemary strolled over to me and spoke into my ear. “Do you think that’s wise?”

“Yes, I think it might help,” I replied, and placed a hand on her shoulder. “But thank you for your concern.”

Her face tightened, and she picked at her nails like she was suddenly uncomfortable. “I just…like you better than most. Even those of my own race.”

My heart seemed to keep growing, making room for more people. Whether the angel admitted it, she cared for me and probably every other person in this group. She and Killian didn’t argue nearly as much as they had when I’d first met her, and she’d even smiled at some of Sierra’s absurd comments. This was one reason the great divide among the races had to come down. Inherently, we’d always remain more separate, but we didn’t have to work against each other. “I feel the same way about you, but I need you to trust me.”

“Fine. Shout if you need me.” She nodded and marched out the door, not even giving a backward glance.

Why couldn’t Killian and Griffin be that conciliatory?

“If you so much as fart weird, Griffin and I are in here,” Killian warned Julius as he pulled me into a huge hug, wrapping his arms securely around me. “And I swear, you’re trying to see how far you can push us.”

I returned the embrace, knowing that this whole situation had been hard on him, too. “Not on purpose. I promise.”

“All right, let my mate go,” Griffin grumbled, and he kissed my cheek. “You don’t have long. That’s even pushing it, considering the way I’m feeling.”

That was something to start with. Julius and I wouldn’t be able to discuss everything in one conversation, anyway, and I was exhausted. Now that the bed was only a few feet away, all I wanted to do was climb into it with Griffin. “Okay.”

One thing out of line, if he’s even breathing funny, you let me know.Griffin linked, staring deep into my eyes, looking like he could see into my soul.I can’t chance losing you again.

I’m not going anywhere.I kissed him gently.He has to be my brother. I need to talk to him and connect with him. Otherwise, he’s not going to help us. He’s vulnerable right now, and he needs me.

Griffin nibbled on his bottom lip and looked away. “Come on, man,” he said to Killian.

The two of them exited, and Griffin glanced at me one last time before shutting the door.

The room somehow seemed overwhelming with just Julius and me inside, despite there being fewer people.

He didn’t acknowledge me, but instead kept flipping the pages of the photo album. I casually walked over to him, trying not to seem threatening. This was something I couldn’t alpha out of him. He needed to come to grips with it on his own terms,but that didn’t mean that nudging him in the right direction was out of the question.

Pictures of me at my first birthday party was where he’d gotten to in the book. A birthday he should’ve been a part of.

“I didn’t know you existed until I found the album and journal barely a week ago.” I sat next to him and pointed at a picture of me with pink icing and chocolate cake all over my face. Mom and Dad stood on either side of me. My eyes had been more purple then, before the silver set in, and my silver hair was pulled into short pigtails. I had a large smile on my face, proving that I was happy and loved. However, now that I knew about my brother, I noted a sadness in my parents’ eyes. That must have been both a horrible and joyful day for them, remembering the death of one child while celebrating the life of another.

His jaw flexed, and he flipped the page to the next set of pictures. “Do you think that makes me feel better? It makes it worse.”

“Did you know that you’re my brother?” And yet, he’d still tried to hand me over to God knew who.

“My parents gave me up because they only wanted you. The girl alpha.” Disgust and hatred rang clear in his words. “I was reminded daily by the person who took care of me that I should be grateful that I had them, since my parents didn’t want me. That despite my uselessness, they still took me in.”

My heart hurt for him, but he couldn’t be angry with me over that. “Did you not hear the part about me not knowing you existed until a few days ago?” Maybe Rosemary was right. Could he be hard of hearing?

“And what’stheirexcuse?” He pushed the picture album away. “They didn’t even tell you about me.”

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