Tasting 323

323–Home Sweet Home

Ryker:

“Welcome back home,” April rushed out of her car to greet me with a hug, but I barely

acknowledged her scent. The minute the lockdown ends, she appears with her annoying face and

voice.

I had been away with my brothers for a few months. Or should I say, I have been under a strict

lockdown in this mansion. And the first thing I did when the lockdown ended was to go and inform

the council I am back. We undertook this activity every few years to ensure we didn’t unleash our

darker sides on our pack members. My brothers had arrived home a few hours earlier, while I was

just now returning.

“Thank you,” I replied curtly, not hugging her tightly. I swiftly freed myself and walked into the

mansion.

“Your brothers are resting. I came by earlier too but I wasn’t let inside. The warriors told me

everyone is resting. You should, too,” she followed me upstairs to my room. So she had been

coming to the mansion nonstop?

“Your phone,” the moment she held my phone out to me, a frown formed on my forehead.

“I kept it while you were leaving,” her nonchalance irritated me. I bet she noticed it when I kept

glaring at her, waiting for an explanation. I didn’t have anything on my phone, but why had she kept

it for months? And

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obviously, I never found out. I didn’t even know what day or night it was for the past few months. But

how the fuck did she get her hands on it?

“You accidentally left it outside your room before leaving,” she quickly explained, her smile fading

under my intense stare. Why the heck would she take my phone with her if I left it outside

my room?

“Don’t touch my stuff again,” I warned her, sending daggers through my gaze. We brothers left the

mansion for a day months ago so that everyone thinks we are leaving before we sneak back inside.

“And did someone contact me?” I stopped myself from walking away, needing to know if anyone had

reached out.

“Why? Were you expecting someone to contact you?” Her tone was mild, but her scrutinizing gaze

suggested she knew exactly who I was referring

1. to.

“Just answer what I asked,” I groaned, grinding my teeth.

“No, she didn’t contact you,” April conceded, her bitterness evident.

I scoffed and walked toward my new room–Nora’s room. We brothers had waged a whole battle

over who would take that room. It wasn’t because we lacked our own rooms, but because deep

down, we all wanted to relive the

memories with her.

I opened the door and stormed inside, inhaling the air where she used to breathe. Her bed, her

closet, the shower she used. If I had magic, I would keep it all safe. April didn’t dare enter this room

because she knew I didn’t

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like anyone coming into what used to be Nora’s space, especially not when I had just returned and

was exhausted.

“I’ll swing by later,” she called from outside the room, her voice tinged with concern.

I sat down on Nora’s bed and sighed just as my brother Cain arrived. He was holding a paintbrush,

shirtless, and only wearing brown pants. I didn’t realize he had come and started painting almost

immediately. He must. have missed his passion during those months away.

“I heard about Nora,” Cain muttered, cleaning his paintbrush with a cloth.

in his hand.

“What happened?” It broke my heart that she had left us.

“April told me she spoke to her cousin Brody. Nora and Brody got married. the moment she arrived

at his pack. She never once mentioned us, as if we didn’t exist for her,” the hurt in my brother’s

voice shocked me. I had

never seen Cain so worried about anyone.

It was the same for me. Before Nora, no girl had managed to make me feel

this way.

“You know what hurts more?” I raised my head, even though I knew my brother could see the tears

in my eyes.

“I made Natalya and April lie about Nora being with them the night of the

murder. I was the one who told April I would leave her if she didn’t get Nora out of trouble,” I

watched as my brother closed his eyes, looking

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323Home Sweet Home

deeply disturbed.

We had promised never to break our rules for anyone else, only for each other. But Nora was not

just anyone. Or at least, I thought so.

“I convinced them, and they went into her room. April came out and you know what she told me?

She said Nora wanted a deal, too. She wanted to leave with Brody if her name was cleared,” it felt

as though someone had

crushed my heart right before my eyes when Nora didn’t even

acknowledge how it would make us feel.

“I had a feeling. It struck me as a surprise when she was thinking about

Brody, even while her name was being used in the murder trial. It was as if she only loved Brody all

this time,” Cain swallowed hard and then

smiled, “We were fools.”

I nodded but that didn’t mean I was over her.

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