Page 82 of Twisted Mates

The door creaks open and Kai sticks his head in. “Y’all decent?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

My cheeks flush and I roll my eyes. “Yes, doofus, come in.”

He steps all the way inside the room and rolls Xander's desk chair to the side of the bed so he can see both of us. ‘You okay, Lex? I was getting kind of worried about you for a bit there.”

“Yeah, I guess getting hit head-on by a car then beat up took it out of me,” I joke, slipping off my mate’s lap and sitting beside him instead.

Kai sobers and leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “I’m so sorry. For leaving, for what Carrington and my dad did.”

I shake my head. “No, Kai, it’s okay. I’ve already forgiven you for leaving and you can’t be responsible for your father and sister’s actions.”

“I do feel responsible though. Carrington and my dad did all that behind my back and I didn’t even know. How is it possible I didn’t know?” he says, running his hands through his hair and gripping it at the roots.

Getting to my feet, I let the blanket fall away and squat in front of him, grabbing his wrists and pulling them away from his head. “Look at me, Malakai. None of us saw it coming. If youthought Ieverexpected Carrington to betray me like this, you’d be dead wrong. This is not your fault. You have to believe me.”

“I just want you to know I’m sorry, and I would have never left the way I did if I thought I was putting you in danger. After I saw Sophie and knew she was my mate, I realized something was very wrong, and I needed space to figure it out. I just went about it the wrong way.”

I look back at Xander and smile. “You left me in good hands.”

The brothers speak at once saying, “I did,” and “He did.”

Kai grips my elbow, guiding me to my feet as he stands. “You need to call your mom. She has been blowing my phone up and is demanding to know what’s going on. I haven’t given her much information. I figure you need to do that. She doesn’t know about...” He wags his finger between me and Xander.

I grin sheepishly. “Yikes, okay.” I look back at Xander. “Will you take me over there?”

“Of course, baby,” he says, taking my hand and kissing the back of it.

Kai shakes his head and smiles. “This is still really weird.”

“Yeah, it’s also weird that you’re mated with mycoworker!”I shoot back. “Xander only told me the bare minimum right before I passed out last night. Don’t think you’re getting out of telling me details. You’re my new best friend since Carrington tried to off me, you know that, right? Get ready to hearallthe gross details about my sex life with your brother.” I’m teasing, but only halfway. I really do want to hear all the details about Sophie. That was a complete shock to hear but completely explained his odd behavior at my office that day.

He laughs. “Let me get everything straight with Sophie. Evenwedon’t know what’s going on there. Then we’ll set up a double date and I’m sure she’ll be happy to hearallthe gory details.”

“You got a deal.”

I inch the front door of my parents' house open and slip my head inside. The familiar aroma of perfectly spiced food fills my lungs. Everything is just as it was before I moved out. The high gloss stone floors are spotless and a fresh bouquet of flowers rests on the accent table by the stairs. My mom always loved a monochromatic room with tiny bursts of color.

“Mom? Dad?” I call out while motioning for Xander to follow me inside.

“Thank the goddess, Alexia. You had me worried to death,” my mother says, rushing around the corner. She stops dead in her tracks when she sees Xander. Her eyes dart between us before she yells over her shoulder. “Bradley, you better come in here.”

My father enters the foyer through the entrance to the dining room. His black and gray hair stands on end, like he has been running his fingers through it. Dark circles frame his eyes, and he looks like he hasn’t had a wink of sleep in days. He ignores Xander, walking right past him to pull me in his arms.

“You had me terrified, Alexia,” he says, his voice breaking as he squeezes me tight.

My mom snaps out of her shock and flings her arms around me and Dad. “We heard you were in a head-on collision, but no one would tell us anything other than you were alive.”

I open my mouth to apologize but Xander beats me to it. “That’s my fault. I’m sorry you were given so little information, but I thought it best that Alexia talk to you before anyone else.”

My parents step away from me, leaving me and Xander in what feels like a face-off with them. Dad slides one hand intothe pocket of his jeans while wrapping the other around Mom’s shoulders. This has to be confusing for them. The last they saw me, I was leaving arm in arm with Kai, and now, I stand before them with his older half-brother—Olivia's son who our people believe abandoned her during her final hours and never came to show his respect when she was laid to rest.

Goddess, they all have it so wrong.Ihad it all wrong.

“What’s going on here, Alexia? Where is your mate?” Dad asks.

His harsh tone shouldn’t shock me. My father may be understanding, kind, and empathetic, but he’s also traditional, loyal, and has little patience for dishonesty. This must look so, so bad.

“Can we go sit down in the living room and talk? I clearly have a lot to tell you,” I say, my heart pounding so hard I’m afraid they can hear it. But Xander’s hand tightens around my waist as if he can sense how nervous I am, and his reassuring touch instantly calms me.

---