Page 54 of Brutal Alpha

“Hey guys,” she said, her hands landing on their black curls. “Have you grown while I was gone? I think you’ve grown!”

They squealed in delight, with Emmy releasing Julia so she could stand up straight and show just how tall she was, while Jack hid his smile against Julia’s leg. She was so good with them; I couldn’t wait to see what she’d be like as a mother.

“Auntie Julia’s probably tired from her journey, babies. Give her a little space, come on now.” Alyssa looked no less happy to see us as she and Caleb emerged from the kitchen. It only took a few seconds for her eyes to widen as she took in our matching marks, and she quirked an eyebrow at Julia, who shrugged, smiling.

Caleb, however, was not smiling. His stern, aristocratic features—so like his sister’s—were fixed in a frown as his gaze flicked from me to Julia and back again.

Before he could say anything, Julia decided to take charge.

“There have been some developments since I left home,” she said, reaching out to take my hand.

“I can see that,” Caleb replied. His voice was even and calm, but there was tension in his jaw. He was consciously holding back, probably for the sake of the twins. I was not above using his children as human shields, so I took the plunge.

“So uh… we’re mates,” I told him, and for a moment, I was overwhelmed with Julia’s joy. I supposed this was the first time she’d heard me say the words out loud.

“And I’m pregnant,” she added. Maybe I’d been wrong: maybe this was actually an elaborate plan to kill Caleb. He certainly looked as though he might keel over from shock at any moment.

“You’re—” Caleb started, but then Alyssa’s hand was on his belly, stroking his abs gently as she cooed,

“Deep breaths, honey. You’ve got this.”

Caleb did as he was instructed, taking several slow breaths in and out, his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he looked marginally calmer, and his voice was level when he said,

“You’re pregnant?”

“Yep,” said Julia, popping the “p” as she met her brother’s gaze, unflinching.

“And he’s…” Caleb nodded toward me. The fact he wasn’t addressing me directly was not a positive sign.

“Yep,” Julia repeated. “Oh, and we’re married.”

“What?” Caleb looked more distressed with every fresh revelation. “I thought you guys hated each other.”

“You’re the only one who thought that,” Alyssa muttered, catching my eye and winking.

“I had to marry her to get her away from Arbor,” I volunteered. “It’s not really—I mean, it’s not really relevant, but we are. Also married.”

“I’m going to need so much more information,” said Alyssa, who was clearly trying not to grin, and Julia delivered the final blow:

“I’m also a witch.”

“You’re what?” It was Alyssa’s turn to be shocked, but this time it was clearly mixed with elation. “You have to tell us everything right now. Come on, come on.”

She swept Jack up with one arm and took Julia’s hand with the other, dragging her down the hall and into their living room, Emmy toddling after them. That left me alone with Caleb, and as ever, I could not find the right words.

“Look, Cal—” I started, but he was interested in my (probably awful) explanations.

“She seems happy, and that’s all that matters,” he said. Clearly, he was trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince me, but that was something, at least.

“Don’t bother telling me you’ll kill me if I ever hurt her,” I told him. “Firstly, I’m really not planning on it. Secondly, she’d kill me first.”

That seemed to soften him, and he smiled for the first time since we’d walked through the door.

“You’ve got me there,” he admitted, moving aside so that I could step past him into the house. I heaved a sigh of relief as we followed the women into the living area, where Julia was already telling an enraptured Alyssa and the twins about the burgeoning of her magic.

I stopped on the threshold, just looking at her. She was animated in the telling of her tale, her blue eye bright and her full mouth smiling around every word. Everything might not be perfect—Caleb and I would need to debrief about the ongoingthreat from Arbor—but it was far closer than I’d ever considered possible.

When I finally looked away from my mate, Caleb’s gaze was fixed on me, intent and searching. He gave me a small nod and a smile before going to join his family. We’d likely be here for a while; there was a lot of story to tell, and I was more than content to sit curled around my mate for the rest of the afternoon. Julia reached out for me as I approached the couch, threading her fingers through mine without pausing her storytelling. It was easy to drop a kiss on her shoulder as I sat down next to her, settling in for the long haul.

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