Page 153 of Sweetheart: Part One

He dropped it in my lap, then turned on his heel and left the room.

I stared at the door that had just slammed, unsure. He’d wanted to prove I was an omega—he’d seemed so sure. Now he had proven it… Fuck. He hadn’t been expecting the scent match. He was re-evaluating his plans. I just needed them to land in my court.

I also had to pull myself together quickly. Today was the Diamond Tides Gala.

It was the first official public event I would go on as their Sweetheart. But if Ebony went to Love right now and told him the truth, I would never make it to this evening.

LOVE

“What’s wrong?” I demanded, catching Ebony as he finally arrived home. He’d vanished this morning—a part of a new set of habits he’d formed now Vex was here. Only, we were leaving for the Diamond Tides in less than an hour, and I’d never seen him cut it this close. He took his image as seriously as Rook.

Ebony shrugged, trying to slip by me up to the hall to his room. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

“You’re off balance,” I said. “You’ve been out all day.”

He paused, turning back to me with a cocked eyebrow. “So?”

“What happened last night?” I prodded. That had been the strangest flash of fear from him. It had broken through the bond for the briefest second before he’d locked it shut again.

“Last night?” he asked.

“Was Vex…withyou?” I asked.

“Should she have been?”

“She wasn’t in her room.” Drake had texted, asking if I’d seen her at around midnight. Then she’d turned up this morning, and apparently hadn’t told Drake a thing. Drake had shrugged it off, but I was suspicious.

Ebony shrugged. “She’s scared of storms. Did you check under the bed?”

I frowned, not sure what to make of that. “How do you know she’s afraid of storms?” There was a bubble of anxiety in my chest. I didn’t like Ebony knowing Vex’s fears.

“Sent her packing when she tried to hide in the theatre,” he said.

“Oh.” Hehadbeen sending scathing reviews of Rook’s performances to our group chat.

But there was something off about this conversation. He was acting too… normal. Usually, he’d have told me to fuck off by now—and I don’t know why he would have volunteered the information about Vex. Weaknesses were secrets to him—ones he’d try to take to the grave.

“Anyway, gotta get ready for Rook’s big night.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’ll fucking behave.”

He flashed me an unnervingly sweet smile before he turned and headed back to his room.

It was fine. He would behave. Both Rook and Ebony were scheduled for a Dragon Hunter’s Q&A next week. It was in Ebony’s best interest that our pack be on its best behaviour at least until then, which was better than any threat I could make.

I returned to the living room, settling into my chair to continue the crime fiction book I was almost done with. It had been slow going, and I kept finding myself out in the living room to read it—a place that was full of distractions. Sometimes Drake and Vex came by, and I wasn’t at a point where I could lie to myself about the fact that catching a glimpse of the two of them together wasn’t the reason.

Still unable to focus on the words, my mind drifted to my brother.

What was he hiding?

Something had changed last night… I knew it. I just hoped Vex would be enough to finally make a difference with him. He was more tense than usual these days, but I thought that might be a good sign. Sometimes I had to take a breath and trust in my instincts, the ones that had got me here.

But I had to believe in Vex, just like I’d believed in this path—this career—for my brother. Its power was waning, but it had carried us this far, even when I’d never wanted it.

Because the truth was, Ebony’s misunderstanding of humanity was his fuel just as much as it was his downfall. From the moment we’d gotten our auras, career application began, entering us into gruelling programs designed to spit out elite packs.

One day, when we were teens, Rook told me Ebony was making another attempt at a career for us both. I’d already shot down law school and med school, cringing at the idea of that kind of power in his hands.

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