Page 35 of Elf

“Your income?” Ezra shot to his feet. “You mean Brian’s business? You were working with him? How long, Ezekiel? Because if you worked with him, you worked with our father. How long were you a part of our father’s world?”

“The whole time, you ridiculous moron. We kept my involvement carefully hidden, but you lived here.Shouldhave been aware.” Ezekiel shook his head. “So. Fucking. Blind. So Father didn’t think me weak, like you. He started teaching me the business when I turned twelve. I made my first kill at fourteen. By eighteen, I was his partner while you were off taking photos with your silly camera. You were, and always have been, a mistake.”

Alaric was going to enjoy killing this man.

Ezra was shaking with anger and grief, his hands balled into tight fists at his sides. “You didn’t expect me to be in the will atall, did you? You were just as surprised as I was when it was read to us.”

Ezekiel inclined his head. “True. It’s mine. It should all be mine. I’m the one who worked for it.”

“What could you possibly need with my share in addition to yours?”

“I plan to follow my father’s dream of expansion. Not just running a few territories.”

“What? You want to rule the entire country?” Ezra barked out a short laugh. “I think you’ve read one too many comic books if your dream is to be some kind of super villain.”

“You couldn’t possibly understand. My father always knew you didn’t have the right mind for what we do.”

“You keep saying that he wasyourfather. He was mine, too, whether you like it or not.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“I may not have his eyes, but I look just like him. A fact I always hated.”

“So did I. I. But I didn’t mean biologically. I mean, you, as a person, did not fit into our world. It was apparent when you were a child. Always asking for hugs. Seeking affection at all times. You drove our parents crazy. At least you finally stopped that at some point.”

“Happens when you realize your family doesn’t love you.”

“Love is a silly emotion that gets in the way of progress. I don’t expect you to understand that.”

Ezra didn’t say anything for a few moments before he let out a shaky breath. “Mother knew you were trying to kill me.” It wasn’t a question.

“She was even more surprised than I was at the reading of the will. She believed the will she’d seen was the final. We’ll never know just why Father changed it before he was killed. Like me, she doesn’t deem you worthy—and if you think she didn’t knowexactly everything Elijah did, you’re very wrong. The business we shared with Kemper was, after all, her idea.”

Ezra put a hand on his stomach.

“Still vomit when you don’t like something?” Ezekiel’s lip curled. “You have never had the constitution to be a Forsberg. You’re useless.” He lifted his knife and touched one finger to the tip.

That bit of grandstanding was so damn silly, but Alaric had reached the end of his patience. “Enough.”

Ezekiel looked at him and blinked in surprise, like he’d forgotten Alaric was even there. “You would do best to leave. I guarantee you have no idea just how…talented my associates here are.”

“I know exactly what they are,” Alaric responded. “And they know exactly what I am. I can lay them flat before they could get any closer.”

“Really.” Ezekiel looked back at the shifters. “He’s one of you?”

“Elf,” one answered. “Powerful magic.”

“Is that so?” Ezekiel looked back at his brother. “No wonder you’ve survived this long and were able to take out Kemper. That’s actually smarter than I expected. So you know about the creatures in our midst?”

“They prefer the term preternaturals.” Ezra’s voice was no longer shaking. “Alaric can easily take on your furry help.”

True surprise widened Ezekiel’s eyes. “You can see what they are?”

“Guess that makes me a little more special than you, Ezekiel. This is ridiculous.” He kept his gaze on the others as he walked to stand beside Alaric. “You’re going to prison just like my ex, so you might as well stop monologuing. I know you have this super villain fetish thing going on, but I don’t need to hear any more. My family is and always has been shit.”

Without warning, the two shifters dropped to the floor, each crawling in a different direction, trying to circle Alaric. His magic built, surprisingly stronger than it had ever been, and he quickly shoved a tumor into one of their brains that would instantly make him blind. The preternatural howled and curled on his side, cradling his head. The other let out a roar and shifted entirely into his wolf form so he could leap through the air. Alaric ducked and spun on his heels, feeling the brush of fur as the shifter jumped past him.

He pulled harder on his magic and flung a spell that snapped the shifter’s spine. He crashed into the wall with a whimper before slamming to the floor and lying still.

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