Page 228 of The Heart of Winter

"Oh. Bay, right?"

Winter’s brother stood right behind me, oddly close. He hadn’t made a sound. His dark green eyes were locked on mine, unblinking, glassy, cold. When he smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes at all. His hair was an intense shade of dark red and shaved on the sides.

"Yeah…" he muttered, pulling out something that looked like an e-cig. But the smell that hit me was off—medicinal, heavy. Something closer to a tranquilizer. A strong downer, usually prescribed for high anxiety, from what I could tell. Blue had those sometimes too.

He took a drag and muttered, "Congrats. Welcome to this… fucking perfect family."

My mouth opened slightly. What was with this guy?

"Th-thanks," I said, edging to walk past him, trying to shake off the unsettling energy radiating off him. "They seem really okay."

"Sure. Just peaches and butterflies."

That was a bit too bizarre, so I tried to remove myself from his vicinity.

But then, his hand caught my arm. His grip was like iron. My eyes dropped, and I saw his sleeve was pushed up slightly. His forearm was covered in scars. So many of them…

I stared, unable to stop myself, and that’s when his lips pulled into a slow, feral smile.

"Send my regards to your uncle Blue," he said. "His breakthrough allergy research has helped my friend a lot. Really something, having a genius like that in the family."

I swallowed hard. "Yeah. He’s brilliant. But he’s got enemies too… a lot of people hate him. They want to see him fail."

Bay’s lips twitched. He shrugged casually.

"Send them my way. I’ll deal with them."

He said it seemingly joking, and yet there was something threatening buried in his tone. It was an impossible mix of casual and menacing.

"Well, it’d be a whole army, but thanks. I’m sure he’d appreciate the offer."

He let go of my arm. This guy had serious strength. I assessed him. He was wearing a black long-sleeve, but underneath it, his muscles were bulging.

Bay cocked his head. "In any case, he’s got Gabriel now, so he’s safe for sure. Anyway, I’m glad our families are linked. If you ever run into trouble, let me know."

"Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind."

Something made me hesitate and ask this one question. "Do you practice martial arts?"

Bay’s face changed slightly. Some shadow moved across it. "Digging into my secrets, Lowen?"

"Naaah, wouldn’t dare," I grinned innocently. "Just a thought. You seem so… compact and solid. Winter mentioned, when we were on the island, that none of his brothers were into martial arts."

Bay took another drag and… didn’t answer. His unmoving eyes fixed on my face.

"Ooookay. I better get back to Winter." I sent him another sheepish smile and quickly rushed away, leaving him standing on the patio.

Dinner had already wrapped up.

I dropped onto the couch next to Winter, who was sipping tea. His eyes searched my face, and he could tell something was off.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Your brother Bay is… a character. And here I thought Snow was supposed to be the creepy one."

Winter shrugged. "Don’t worry about him. He’s just… lonely. Hopefully, Storm finds him a True Mate someday."

I didn’t reply. It wasn’t really my business. But one thing was clear: I’d be avoiding situations where I could end up alone with Bay.

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