Page 11 of Knot Your Karma
“He’s a walking disaster who makes terrible decisions and expects you to clean up the mess,” Adrian says with his usual brutal honesty. “Being your brother doesn’t make him less of a catastrophe.”
“Adrian’s not wrong,” Reed adds. “Blake’s track record with responsibility makes a tornado look organized.”
My free hand curls into a fist. “Look, I know Blake’s not perfect?—”
“Not perfect?” Adrian’s voice goes flat as concrete. “Dec, the guy’s been making catastrophically bad decisions for years while you play cleanup crew. That’s not,not perfect.That’s using you.”
“You don’t understand the whole situation.”
“I understand enough.” There’s a pause, and I can hear Adrian’s controlled breathing. “I understand he calls you every time he screws up. I understand your parents treat him like he’s made of spun gold while expecting you to be the responsible one. And I understand you’ve been carrying guilt about his mess-ups since high school.”
Each word hits like a physical blow. My jaw clenches so tight it aches, and I have to force myself not to hang up the phone.
“Dec, we’re not saying this to hurt you,” Reed says, his tone warm but firm. “We’re saying it because we love you, and watching Blake use your sense of responsibility against you is like watching someone kick a puppy. A really big, alpha puppy who could definitely fight back but chooses not to.”
“He’s family.”
“So are we,” Reed shoots back immediately. “Chosen family. Pack. And the pack looks out for each other without the guilt trips and emotional manipulation.”
I turn away from the window and sit heavily on the bed.
“Blood family is different.”
“You’re right,” Reed says. “Blood family gets away with way more shit because people think DNA makes bad behavior acceptable.”
“Reed—”
“No, seriously. If Adrian or I pulled half the crap Blake pulls, you’d call us on it immediately. But because he’s your brother, you keep making excuses and cleaning up his messes.”
“Why are you still planning to drop everything and help him?” Adrian asks.
I drag both hands through my hair hard enough to leave it sticking up.
“Because I can’t abandon my family, even when they’re...” I search for the right word.
“Disasters?” Reed suggests helpfully. “Train wrecks? Walking cautionary tales?”
“Shit,” I finish.
“You’re not abandoning him,” Reed says. “You’re letting him face the consequences of his own actions. Revolutionary concept, I know.”
“And if the consequences destroy his bonding ceremony?”
“Then maybe he should have thought about that before he screwed around and lost a priceless family heirloom,” Adrian says without missing a beat. “Dec. How many times has Blake faced actual consequences for his choices?” Another pause. “I’ll wait.”
I lean forward, elbows on my knees. “I know that. But I also know that if I don’t help him, no one else will. Our parents will blame me for not doing enough. Blake will spiral and probably make even worse decisions. And some innocent omega will end up dealing with the fallout.”
“Nova?” Reed asks.
“Yeah.” I think about Blake’s girlfriend—sweet, trusting, completely unaware of what she’s getting into. “She seems really nice. Sweet. She doesn’t deserve to have her bonding ceremony destroyed because Blake’s an idiot.”
“Ah,” Reed says with understanding. “So this is about protecting Blake’s girlfriend, not Blake.”
I pause, considering that. The tight knots between my shoulder blades start to ease.
“Maybe. Partly. But it’s also about doing what’s right. The compass belongs to our family. It should be part of familytraditions, not sitting in some collector’s private display case.”
“All right,” Reed says, and I can hear him shifting into planning mode. “So what’s the actual plan? And please tell me it’s more specific thanwander around asking antique dealers if they’ve seen a compass.”
