Page 113 of Demon's Desire
“Good, because we want you in our lives, too.” Ollie smiled softly, and Harper nodded. “Your history with Luc goes so farback that I can’t even imagine it. That’s not all going to disappear. Wanting to hear Luc out doesn’t mean you’re okay with what he did. I get that. You’d never condone his actions, and what you decide to do about your brother isn’t going to affect your friendship with me.”
“Me either,” Harper agreed.
Onyx’s heart almost gave out at the sheer compassion. “You two are better than any of us deserve.”
“Hardly.” Harper rolled his immaculately done-up eyes.
“No, you are. And you deserve my love. Unlike my brother.”
“Luc doesn’t deserve your love,” Ash rumbled, setting his sandwich aside. “But he loved you, Onyx. I can’t speak to any of his feelings now, but back in the Eternal Realm, I know he did. You don’t really think he loved me more than you, do you?”
Onyx’s pulse skipped. “What?”
Ash shrugged. “Isn’t that why you can’t stand me?”
Onyx stiffened in Nico’s arms. “That’s what you think?”
“You’ve said it before, and you always seemed jealous of me and Luc.”
Onyx squirmed. “I was. His love for you was different. He chose you. But that’s not what bothered me.” Fuck this was hard. Onyx reached for Nico’s reassuring presence and found nothing but encouragement radiating off his mate. “It wasn’t all about Luc. I wanted you to like me, too.”
“I do like you,” Ash said automatically.
“Do you? If I wasn’t Luc’s little tag-along brother, would you have cared? We wouldn’t have been friends at all.”
Ash turned to Harper, a pleading glint in his eye, and Harper squeezed his knee. Ash swiped a hand over his face. “I disagree. I’ll always have been Luc’s friend first—we were born the same year, and I can’t help that you’re a few centuries younger—but I want you around. You don’t see Luc here, do you? I came toyourhouse to seeyou.”
Onyx’s insides cramped. “You did, and I appreciate that. Especially since it’s the first time you’ve sought me out without an agenda in who knows how long. I want you and Dante to see me as something other than Luc’s brother.”
“We do,” Dante said softly. “But I gather you never felt it. Maybe we did a poor job of showing it. You’re one of us, Onyx. You always have been.”
Was he? Why had he always seemed to be on the outskirts?
“I never wanted to come to Earth,” Onyx admitted in a rush, covering his face with his hands.
Nico rubbed his back, making the stunned silence almost bearable.
“You didn’t want to fall?” Harper asked.
If it were anyone else, Onyx might have stayed hidden. He lowered his hands. “I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t let these assholes leave me behind.”
Ash and Dante were wide-eyed. Ash shook his head. “Fuck, Onyx. I’m sorry. I can’t imagine leaving you behind now, but back then, we were so set on our mates, you’re right. We wouldn’t have stayed for anything.”
Dante placed his uneaten cupcake on the table. “We’re glad you followed.”
“More than glad,” Ash agreed. “I’d have hated losing you. You begged us not to go. I’m sorry.”
Onyx sniffed, and Harper handed him a tissue. “It’s never felt like you wanted me here.”
Dante made a pained sound. “I’m sorry, Onyx. We do want you here. We should have done better to remind you.”
“I haven’t made it easy for you,” Onyx admitted. “But when you don’t even think to tell me something big—like a witch finding out about us—it’s hard to believe I’m part of the group.”
“Yet every time we try to include you, you push us away. There’s no excuse for not keeping you in the loop, and I getwhy that hurts so much, especially now, but you haven’t acted like you wanted us around in a long time.” Dante retrieved the cupcake and took a bite. “It seemed better to give you space.”
“Fair.” Onyx couldn’t deny it. It was too petty to admit he’d been testing them. Some of the responsibility for their distance undoubtedly lay at his feet.
Yet, Nico had seen through him. He’d read Onyx’s behavior like a book and responded to the needy desires driving him. He’d also encouraged Onyx to communicate. To ask directly when he needed support rather than lash out.
