Page 64 of Cursed Love
“What’d he say?” Ryan asked after a pregnant pause.
Peter’s eyes landed on Brandy with sorrow. “Volark wants her so he can open the portal and release Damian.”
“Fuck,” Ryan muttered under his breath.
“Who’s Damian?” Brandy asked.
“Someone we want kept locked up and off our plane.”
“Oh…” she muttered.
Serena cut through the circle and walked toward the front door. “It’s been fun. Thanks for the heads-up, Peter.” She paused and spun on her heel. Her finger wagged back and forth between Ryan and Brandy. “Your mating wasn’t an accident. I suggest you two study your families a little deeper.”
Before he could question her, she was gone. They needed to handle things one at a time, and their family’s genealogy, while interesting, did not trump the fact Volark wanted Brandy, and it sure as hell didn’t rate higher than Brandy being pregnant.
***
“Bran, you need to call him back,” Ethan told her for the hundredth time since they left Peter’s place.
She did not bother glancing up at her brother, or Ryan, or even down the aisle at Peter and Xander standing sentry. After Serena had left, Peter spent the next five minutes barking orders at Xander. Brandy figured it was as good a time as any to go to the pharmacy she had spotted on her walk and buy a pregnancy test or three.
“I’ll call him later,” she told Ethan again.
She grabbed a box with three tests and took two steps before snatching two more boxes and walking down the aisle in Peter’s direction. His brow raised, and his lips twitched with amusement.
“Not one word.”
Peter raised his hands, telling her he was done trying. For the entire walk to the pharmacy, the men had been adamant the test would show negative. Not enough time had passed. “Don’t trust my accuracy,” Peter said a third time.
Xander only chuckled before explaining male werewolves knew the moment their women were pregnant. Something about a hormonal shift in their body chemistry made them smell sweeter.
Ryan refused to let her pay for the tests. He grabbed the bag, wrapped his free hand around her waist, and led her out into the open. Peter signaled to them the moment no one was around, and Ryan cast the cloaking spell over himself, Brandy, and Ethan. To any stranger walking past, there were only two attractive males walking down the sidewalk.
Ethan walked on her opposite side. “Seriously, Bran. If you don’t call him when we get back, you’re going to make things worse.”
“E, it’s better he stays away.”
Ethan sighed. “I agree with you—”
“Then it’s settled. I ignore Junior, and we keep him out of it.”
Ethan looked past her at Ryan. “You don’t know our brother. Talk some sense into her.”
Brandy stopped in her tracks at the sight ahead of them. Junior leaned one foot against the building, his arms crossed over his chest. “Shit!” she hissed.
Peter glanced back, his eyes just over her head since he couldn’t see her. To Junior, it would only look like he stopped to look down the street.
“Peter Rawly?” Junior asked, pushing off the wall.
Ryan raised a brow as Ethan shot her an I-told-you-so look. Peter tightened with tension. She was not sure if he’d been paying attention to their sibling bickering or not.
“Who’s asking?” His voice, deeper than normal, was threatening. There was an edge of violence to it she had never heard.
Junior was not a small man by any means. He enjoyed working out, and you could tell. It was how he’d met his wife, Debbie. Junior narrowed his gaze as he took in Peter. “You’re the owner of Alumbra Fitness?”
Peter gave him a short nod as Xander stood stock still. The beta would attack at the slightest wrong move, no hesitation at all. “Again, who’s asking?”
“I’m looking for one of your workers. A Ryan Palfrey?”
