Page 1 of Devon

Chapter One

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WHEN RYAN OPENED HISeyes, he didn’t wonder where he was.He knew.

He wasn’t home, or at least, not in the place he’d called home for the first eighteen years of his life.He supposed that he should call Kendrick’s house his home, at least for now.

He rolled to his side and stared out the window.The trees were green, and the birds were singing.He didn’t know what time it was, but the sun wasn’t yet high in the sky, so it was probably early enough.He needed to use the bathroom, but he didn’t want to wake up Kendrick and Jonas.Jonas was a Krsnik, but Ryan wasn’t quite sure what that meant yet.

Did Jonas sleep during the day because he couldn’t be in the sunlight?That couldn’t be right.He’d seen Jonas in the daylight.Did he sleep during the night like most people, then?He’d still been awake when Ryan had fallen into bed, but that was probably because Ryan had been exhausted and in pain.The only thing he’d wanted was to close his eyes, and he had no idea what time Kendrick and Jonas had gone to bed because he’d been out as soon as his head had touched his pillow.

He closed his eyes and listened.The house was silent.He could hear his own heartbeat, the sound of the house creaking, but that was it.There were no signs of Jonas or Kendrick, so he definitely might wake them up if he left his bedroom to go to the bathroom.

His bedroom.Thiswashis bedroom, even though he’d only arrived yesterday.It was the place where he would live for the foreseeable future.It was exciting but also terrifying.He had no idea what would happen.What if Kendrick and Jonas decided they had enough of him in a few weeks or a month?What would he do then?He didn’t have anyone else.He was only eighteen, and even though he’d had a job before, he’d just moved into a small village.What was he supposed to do here?

He’d find something.He didn’t actually think that Kendrick and Jonas would kick him out or even ask him to leave.Kendrick was nothing like their father.Even if he got fed up with Ryan, he would give him time to get his feet under him.He wouldn’t demand most of his paycheck.

Not that Ryan had a paycheck at the moment.He wasn’t sure where to start, but he’d find a way.He was willing to do pretty much anything.

Something creaked louder.Ryan sucked in a breath.They were footsteps, which meant that someone was awake.He and Kendrick hadn’t lived together in a long time, so he had no idea if it was his brother or Jonas.Considering how small Jonas was, it was probably Kendrick.It was a relief because at least Ryan knew his brother.

Ryan didn’t have anything against Jonas.In fact, he liked the Krsnik.He was glad that Kendrick had ended up being someone’s mate because it meant that he’d have someone who would love him for the rest of his life.After getting kicked out of their home at eighteen like Ryan had been, Kendrick deserved it.He hadn’t gone into details when he’d picked up Ryan, but Ryan could tell that his life hadn’t been easy.

It was their father’s fault.It was like he’d stopped being a father when they’d turned eighteen and had become a landlord instead.Ryan would’ve understood asking for help to pay the bills and even rent, but that had been much more.His father had asked for the impossible, and Ryan had faced the very real possibility that he’d end up on the streets.

That was what had happened to Kendrick.He hadn’t been able to pay what their father had demanded of him and hadn’t had a big brother who’d picked him up as soon as he’d called.He’d had to survive on his own, and Ryan couldn’t even imagine what he’d had to do.He was glad he would never have to find out, and he’d always be grateful to Kendrick for that.

A soft knock on the door made him look in the direction.“Yes?”

The door opened.Ryan sat up, biting his lower lip as he watched his brother walk into the room.For now, it was just a guestroom.Ryan had arrived yesterday, and he hadn’t had time to unpack.He’d showered and gone straight to bed.His body still ached after what had happened before, and he kind of wished he could stay in bed for a bit longer.From Kendrick’s expression, he wasn’t sure he’d be allowed to.

“How did you sleep?”Kendrick asked.

“Great.”

“That’s good.How are you feeling?Any pain?”

“I feel like I was in a fight, which is normal, I guess.”Ryan licked his lips.“I hope this doesn’t happen often.”

“To me, it does.I’m a hunter.”

Right.“I don’t know anything about you except that and that you’re Jonas’s mate.”

Thankfully, Kendrick didn’t seem offended.“We can fix that.How about some breakfast?”

“Is Jonas awake yet?”Ryan asked as he pushed away the sheet.

“No.He’s a Krsnik, so he tends to sleep during the day.”

“Really?Because you picked me up during the day.”

“He makes exceptions.To be honest, I tend to sleep during the day, too.Kudlaks don’t usually come out while the sun is out, so if I want to hunt them, I need to be awake at night.”

“So I messed up your schedule.”

“You didn’t mess up anything.I’m awake sooner than I normally would be, but I’ll just request to be allowed to stay home for the next few days.I don’t think Clay and Rowan will mind.They have plenty of other hunters to choose from.”

Ryan swallowed.He had so many questions, but he wasn’t sure he should ask them.Would his brother even answer if he did?He wanted to know about hunting and how Kendrick had ended up in that line of work.He wanted to know about Krsniks and Kudlaks.He wanted to know about the Kudlak who had attacked them yesterday.The man had been incredibly strong, so much so that even Ryan hadn’t been able to do anything against him.Of course, part of that was because Ryan had panicked and hadn’t thought to shift while he was being attacked, but still.He doubted it would’ve changed anything.The Kudlak had been too strong.

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