Page 15 of No Honor Amongst Shifters
Alcott shook his head.He didn’t feel like he’d ever pay enough for what he’d done, but this was a good step toward that.He’d help the clan by talking to the cockatrices and convincing them not to help the coven, be it the last thing he did.“I’ll be fine.”
Misha crossed his arms over his chest and glared.“And what will you do once all of this is over?Even if you’re fine, you’re still leaving me behind.”
“You have to see that I can’t stay.It would make people hate me even more and hateyoubecause you’re my brother.Besides, I don’t deserve to be a clan member.I betrayed the clan.I don’t blame the people who don’t want me here anymore.”
“If you leave, I’ll go with you.”
Alcott was already shaking his head.That wasn’t what he wanted.It wasn’t what Misha deserved.“This is your home.”
“You’re more important than any home I can ever find.You’re my brother.”
“It doesn’t mean you should pay for my mistakes.I allowed you to do it when we left our birth clan, but I won’t let you do it now.You have too much more to lose.”
“It’s my decision whether or not to lose it.If you leave, I’ll follow.I’m warning you now just so you know.”
Alcott would have to leave without Misha noticing it, then.He could do that.He’d been sneaking out of the house for weeks.
Misha’s glare deepened.“And don’t even think about sneaking out.I’ll find you, whatever you do, and I’ll stick with you.You can’t get rid of me, Alcott.”He dropped his arms, and his expression softened.“It’s me and you against the world, right?”
It had been once.When Alcott had been kicked out of their birth clan, Misha hadn’t hesitated.Alcott had asked him why he was so willing to leave everything behind, and Misha told him that there wasn’t much to leave.Their parents hadn’t stood up for Alcott, and Misha wanted nothing to do with them.He wanted nothing to do with anyone who hadn’t argued against what their leader was doing.
It hadn’t been the same, though.The leader had kicked Alcott out because he’d found him with his son.Alcott hadn’t betrayed their birth clan.
But he had betrayed Elijah’s.
“Why did you do it?”Misha asked gently.
Alcott didn’t want to say it out loud, but his brother deserved to hear it.Besides, he wanted Misha to understand before he did something stupid like leave the clan for him.“I thought Damien loved me,” he explained, looking away from his brother.“He said he did, and I desperately wanted it to be true.When he told me that he and his clan were just trying to find a place to call home, that he wanted it to be close so we could be together, I believed him.I knew there was a chance he could be lying, but I was so lonely.”
“So you did it for love.”
Alcott snorted.“I was an idiot.Damien never loved me.”
“But you loved him.”
“I just wanted what you have with Olsen,” Alcott whispered.“I wanted someone to love me and who I could belong with.”
“Youcanhave what I have with Olsen.You just need to give it a chance.”
Alcott had given it a chance with Damien and look how that had ended up.No matter how much he liked Roslin, he couldn’t afford to do it again.His heart was already in pieces, but maybe if he was lucky, he could put the pieces back together eventually.That wouldn’t happen if he allowed anyone else in.
* * * *
ROSLIN WAS GRATEFULthat his brothers waited until Misha had left the living room to start teasing him.He’d suspected they would, but he had to tell Misha what Alcott was planning.He’d known Misha wouldn’t be happy that Alcott wanted to leave, and he’d been right.As soon as Misha had heard the words, he’d marched out of the room, no doubt on his way to Alcott’s room.
“So, you and Alcott,” Donahue said.
He was sprawled on one of the couches, watching TV, or rather, he’d been watching TV until he’d found something more interesting to focus on than the reality TV shows he was obsessed with.
Roslin.
Their family had taken over a small living room on the second floor of the mansion.From what Elijah had said, it had seldom been used before, which was good.They hadn’t kicked anyone out, but it was nice to have a space they could use as a family.Even though they were part of the clan, Roslin still felt like an outsider.He wasn’t a dragon or dating one.
Not yet anyway.
“There’s nome and Alcott,” Roslin told his brother as he pushed Donahue’s legs off the couch so he could sit down.
Donahue poked at Roslin’s thigh with his socked toes.Roslin pushed him away again, but he wasn’t a fool.He would have to answer questions.
