And she’s livid. At Mom. Livid like she overheard a good portion of our conversation.
Livi glances our way as Mirth and I step through from the mudroom. She gives me a cursory once-over — like she might be triaging me for damage — and comes up with a smirk. Then shepivots like the masterful dancer she is as she executes a perfect bow to Mirth.
The princess at my side snorts delicately. Then as mockingly as she can, Mirth flicks her fingers for Livi to rise.
She hates people bowing to her. Always has.
I should do it more often.
“Olivia,” Mirth says.
“Your Royal Highness. You look … well.”
Well fucked.
I almost say it out loud. Though my smirk most likely speaks for itself. Because Livi shakes her head at me before turning her attention back to our mother.
“So …” Livi says. “Who is Rian?”
“Our half-brother,” I say, tugging Mirth close enough to the island that I can steal one of the sausages my mother is now plating. I catch the moment she thinks about swatting me with the metal tongs she’s using, then stops herself.
“A kid Dad had before he died?” Livi asks, her tone still level like she isn’t almost as angry as I am.
I sniff the purloined sausage, confirming it’s turkey, then offer it to Mirth. For her to bite. To eat from my hand. My princess gives me a quelling look, then delicately nips the end off the sausage, chewing it.
I chuckle, somewhat amazed that I can be so livid and so fucking overwhelmingly in love at the exact same fucking time.
“Really?” Livi sighs. “I get to watch this unfold right now?”
I stuff the rest of the sausage in my mouth. To stop the cocky, completely inappropriate shit that wants to fall out of it.
“Rian?” Livi prompts.
My mother throws a dark look at me. “Just leave it.”
“Rian was born after your father died,” Mirth says, her tone edged in defiance. She’s just as tired of not speaking her truth as I am.
“You know him?” Livi asks, head tilted.
“Yes.” Mirth is calm despite the energy pouring off my mother now. Off all of us. She looks at me, those purple eyes feeding my soul even as they pin me in place. “He’s mine. Like Bolan is mine.”
I can tell she expects me to protest. To demand that she choose between us.
I’m not that fucking stupid. “Yeah,” I say, grinning like the cocky asshole I am. “Catching you straddling him in bed, all naked, made that crystal fucking clear.”
Livi’s mouth drops.
My mother’s cheeks flush. In disapproval.
Some pieces of our past family dynamics start clicking together for me. Like why we were never sworn to a shifter pack.
“There was nothing to catch,” Mirth says coolly. “I’m not hiding any of you.”
“Any of you?” Livi echoes. “How, um, I mean … you mean there’s more than just Bolan and this Rian?”
“That is also none of your business, Livi,” my mother snaps. Her head tilts, listening.
I catch the murmured strains of Sophia and Emily arguing from the front hall a moment later.
