Page 13 of Dante's Circle Reborn

He passed the nursery on his way and looked in on the three children sleeping in a little puppy pile. Not that any of them were puppies. They sure did look comfortable. They had pulled all the pillows and blankets from their respective beds and had made a massive pile in the middle of the room. The little kit was safely ensconced in the warm arms of the dragon and the bear, each in their human form, clearly protective of one another.

The kit was safe here, and for that, Liam was grateful.

He kept going until he reached the back door of the house and headed towards the guest house. He could sense Alec there, could feel his frustration, his anger, and his healing. Alec would be safe soon. Well. And that’s really all that mattered. Because in the morning, they would have to find Charlie and kill him. Something neither of them really wanted to do, yet something they would have to do, no matter what.

Alec was lying in bed in the small guest house that was more of a studio. It had antique furnishings and all the comfort you could want for an overnight stay when you were on the hunt.

His best friend and the person that he thought about far too much sat up, shirtless, with blankets pooled around his waist. Alec didn’t look any worse for wear. Liam figured even with the bandage on his arm, and the now mostly healed cuts on his face, they could probably go out right now to track the rogue. Darkness didn’t matter, not with their wolf eyesight. However, he didn’t want to start the hunt. Not yet. He needed to make sure Alec was in the right headspace. That they both were. And that meant taking their time for now and figuring out what they needed to do with the rogue. And with each other.

Others might have a different plan. But they were the ones on this hunt. This was Alec and Liam. Two names that had gone together for as long as he could remember, and yet they kept fucking things up. So, he was just going to have to fix that.

“You’re looking better,” he said as he cleared his throat and closed the door behind him.

“I feel better. I’m pissed off I got hurt at all. I wasn’t thinking clearly.” Alec looked down, and Liam wanted to reach out and touch him. He couldn’t, though, so he fisted his hands by his sides.

“You’re going to think clearly next time. You won’t be surprised.”

“I hope to hell he doesn’t have another child in his grasp that we’ll be trying to keep safe at the same time.”

“That is true. I’m sorry I wasn’t much help before. I needed to get little Kit.”

“Do we know her name yet? Calling herKitwhen she’s a baby fox seems a little ridiculous and too on the nose.”

Liam just shrugged. “She hasn’t said it yet, not that I know of anyway. Maybe Nadie knows. We’ll figure it out. And we’ll find her family.” There was a long silence. “Or another demise that might take her in.”

“We both know that won’t happen. Demises don’t take in other shifters. Unless it’s by mating or marriage.”

“Well, maybe she’ll be the exception to the rule.”

“Maybe.”

Neither of them believed that. You could tell just by looking at them.

“Since we’re here, though, maybe we should talk?” Liam wasn’t even sure he’d said the words until they were out.

Alec’s brows rose, and Liam stuffed his hands into his jeans’ pockets. “Or not. Sorry. I might have overstepped.”

“No, no, not overstepping. I’m just surprised. Not that I should be. Because we do need to talk. Hunter sent us out together for a reason. And not just to find my twisted brother and kill him.”

Liam winced. “Let’s not talk about Charlie right now.”

“What should we talk about?”

“I don’t know.”

There was more silence, and Liam knew if he didn’t say something, he wouldn’t. Because they were so worried about hurting each other’s feelings, they constantly fucked up what was going on between them. And that’s why they were on the verge of being kicked out of the Pack. That’s why they were on this mission to catch the rogue to begin with.

As he looked at Alec, the thought of almost losing him filled Liam’s mind, and he knew we had to say something. Because it hurt.Everything hurt.

He loved him. He had loved Alec for as long as he could remember and hadn’t done a fucking thing about it because he’d been so scared of where he had come from and who he was supposed to be.

Because of that, he hadn’t said anything. Alec hadn’t either. If Liam didn’t just open his mouth and say it, tell Alec what he was feeling, this would be it. There’d be no going back. He would lose his best friend and his soul mate.

Because Alecwashis soul mate. His other half. The one person in the world who completed him in every way possible. And he was going to lose him if he wasn’t careful.

He took a deep breath and leapt over the edge into the abyss.

“How about we talk about the fact that we’re soul mates, though we haven’t actually said anything about it?”

---