Page 19 of Devil May Hunt
“You’ll eat, and then I’ll drive you back to the Academy,” Gunho stated, but of course, Brennon was far too stubborn to go along with that, even if it was the easiest exit.
“I’ll eat,” he said, “and then I’ll take a cab back to the Academy.”
Since it still involved the important part, Gunho conceded.
It was fine if his mate didn’t want to be locked in the same car with him for now. What mattered was sticking to the plan and ensuring he secured his future. Gunho would be unapologetically brutal if that’s what it took. He didn’t just want Brennon, he needed him.
After this, once his pretty lover was well and truly caught in the palm of his hand, Gunho wouldn’t have to fear his grandfather.
The old bastard wouldn’t have the chance to call him a broken alpha or attempt baby trapping him ever again.
Chapter 6:
Brennon wasn’t the greatest at picking his battles. He knew it, his friends knew it, and his trainers at the Academy knew it as well. A part of him felt like he should be praised for managing to compromise here, as he sat at the kitchen table and stirred the porridge he’d been served with a literal golden spoon.
“Please tell me you didn’t bring solid gold cutlery all the way from Glyph?” he was mostly joking, and only in an attempt to fill the awkward silence the two of them had slipped into.
This house was nice, but far too small and intimate with just the two of them in it. At least with the hotel, there’d been a layer of comfort knowing all he had to do was step into the hallway, or at worst, make it to the lobby, to bump into another person. It was too quiet, with only the low hum of the refrigerator in the corner and the occasional sound of a hover car zooming past.
“Why would I do that?” Gunho asked. He was seated across the small rectangular table, eating from his own bowl with more grace than Brennon would have given someone nicknamed the God of Death credit for.
“I don’t know why you’ve done any of this,” he admitted.
“For you. I’m doing all of this for you. If you don’t like the house, we can put it back on the market and go find another one together.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Because you do like it?”
“Because I won’t be living with you.”
Gunho sighed. “I’m patient. I’ll wait.”
“I won’t change my mind.” Brennon didn’t get why the alpha was being so pushy about this. They’d only just met, and barely. “Just because you know I have Venus dimples, doesn’t mean you know me. Even if I were interested, this would never work long term.”
People didn’t show a lasting interest in Brennon. That was simply a fact, and something he’d thought he’d long since accepted. His brush with Rin forced him to realize a part of him was still clinging to the childish notion of being understood and having a person, but he was better now.
If nothing else, it’d been an eye-opener.
If Rin, the guy he’d spent the most time with, couldn’t accept him, no one was going to. His friends had each other and their love interests. His parents had their work, and now their retirement.
What did he have?
When he’d confronted his parents about the family business and told them he was going to join the Academy instead of attending Vail University, he’d sort of hoped for a little pushback. He’d wanted them to argue and tell him he couldn’t. That he needed to take over the family business that had been passed down through generations.
That they wanted him to stay.
He’d set himself up for it. All those times he’d acted out and ignored their instructions to spite them, he’d been leading them to it. He knew part of their rejection of him was his ownfault. But he didn’t know the way back, wasn’t sure how to open and tell them he’d overheard their conversation, knew they didn’t trust him, and was hurt by that fact.
So every day for two years, he’d stuck to his guns and attended the Academy. He pretended he didn’t care, that it was where he wanted to be. That he saw a future for himself.
The military training facility was where people went to become agents working for the I.P.F., or the Intergalactic Police Force. Brennon had never shown an interest in joining prior to that night he’d confessed his plans, but if they’d noticed that detail, his parents never called him on it.
No one had asked him what he planned to do with his life. It came up in conversation amongst his friends a time or two, and he’d join in on the conversation, but no one had ever posed the question to him directly.
Brennon didn’t have any lofty goals. He didn’t want to become a detective or inspector, positions that would require him to renounce his citizenship and relocate to a planet specifically designed to house agents. His friend Daylen and he had agreed to work together after graduation. They were going to form their own special forces division here on Vitality. Daylen would take care of the groundwork, while Brennon would remain at headquarters and act as the eyes and ears in the sky.
But even that was a dream borne of Daylen’s passion, not Brennon’s. He’d only offered his services in the hopes of growing closer to the other cadet. He’d also wanted some of that excitement to rub off on him.
