Page 106 of Sing Sweet Nightingale

“Yeah, I remember.”

“Well, she’s . . . been more to deal with than I expected.”

I narrow my eyes at him, trying to read between the lines, which is nearly impossible to do with him. But I try. His shoulders are tight, and he keeps flexing his hands. His eyes keep shifting rapidly all over the place but always seem to stray back to one area, expecting something or perhaps someone to appear.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“What?”

His shifting eyes lock on to me and finally hold still for two seconds. In them, I read surprise and guilt? My brother hasnever felt guilty for anything in his life, including breaking my arm when he pushed me off the roof. Or so I believed, due to his indifferent and detached nature. Perhaps there’s more to his emotions hidden under the surface that he doesn’t share with anyone.

“You seem like you’re waiting for someone. Expecting someone special?” I ask carefully.

He grunts and shifts on his heels, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. That girl, Tess. Well, she sort of figured out what we are, and to keep her from exposing us, I promised she could come tonight. To see the shift and maybe prove to her we aren’t as horrible as she thinks we are.”

I’ve rarely been angry with my brother, but right now, I’m fucking furious. He was supposed to get her out of town and out of our hair. I don’t need this shit tonight, not when it could turn into the best night of my life.

“What the fuck, Ryder? You were supposed to get her to leave town, not share all our secrets with her. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I don’t know, okay!” he barks back at me, growing angry right alongside me. The only emotion he rarely shows. “She’s under my skin. She drives me fucking insane, but I also can’t tell her no. I’ve tried; trust me, I’ve fucking tried. But I always end up giving in. I couldn’t just dust her. Her obsession with shifters goes back too far, and it wouldn’t work. I thought . . .”

He huffs out a reluctant breath, trying to gain control of his emotions. Something I’ve never seen happen before. He’s always calm and controlled. To be frazzled and disoriented is uncharacteristic of him. I think about what he’s said about this girl; maybe there’s something special about her. Special like Lottie.

“I thought if I could show her shifters aren’t the horrid beasts she thinks we are, that we’re just normal people, she might give up her quest to expose us.”

I watch my brother with quizzical and wary eyes. Depending on the circumstances, this could either end really well or very badly.

“So, you just thought you would bring her to a blood moon lunar eclipse with dozens of shifters and non-humans, and she wouldn’t expose us after running a paranormal conspiracy theory website for years? Yeah, that makes sense.” My tone drips with derision. I thought my brother was smarter than this.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy; I’m pretty sure I’ve lost all my marbles at this point. Just trust me, okay. I won’t let anything happen to anyone or the town.”

Gripping his shoulder and squeezing, I see the determination and need in his expression.

“I do trust you.”

“How did you . . . how did you know Lottie was your mate?” Ryder asks sheepishly.

The question’s surprising. Ryder never believed in love and all the sentimentality that comes along with it. Accepting a mate would be a big step for him. It’s based on equal trust and exposing all your insides to the other. Something he’s not very good at.

“I just did. I trusted my instinct to show me the right path, and it did. Once I learned it was possible for her to be my mate as a human, I stopped fighting it. Stopped fighting myself and gave in. That’s all you can do. Allow it to consume you, and you never know, you might like it.”

From his grim, sour look, he doesn’t seem to like my answer, but it’s the only one I have.

He huffs out a breath, and the tension in his shoulders slackens with . . . defeat? It instantly returns when his eyes catchon something and stick. I don’t immediately turn to see what, instead inspecting my brother.

His flaring nostrils and dilating pupils, the tensing of his muscles, and the grinding of his jaw all indicate something more. His scent, although minimal compared to Lottie’s, still lingers in my nostrils, it’s sharp and musky. Desire, anticipation, anxiety, excitement, and anger linger together in a maelstrom of emotions. More than I’ve ever scented on my brother before.

Only after studying Ryder for a long moment do I turn to seek out what’s drawn his attention. A tall, lean redhead is skirting around the yard's edges, avoiding contact with anyone, but watching curiously at everyone enjoying the food and drink. The moon hasn’t fully risen in the night sky, and no one has shifted yet, except for one or two pups who are in wolf form, playing and running between legs.

She’s dressed in all black, and I’m pretty sure I see the hilt of a knife in her boot. A rumble rolls in my chest, a small warning she can’t hear, but Ryder can.

Turning back to my brother, I pin him with a sharp look. It takes everything in me to hold back the alpha command in my voice. I don’t want to use it on him; I shouldn’t have to.

“Keep her away from the others, especially the pups, and if she dares to try to use that knife in her boot, I will personally take care of her.Understood?”

A deep, agitated, and protective growl curls Ryder’s lips. He dares to disrespect me and challenge my command?

---