But there were some who preferred to remain unattached, hunting where they willed, relishing the constant chase and conquest of new human prey.
Kade himself was in no rush to lock himself down with a Breedmate of his own, another point of contention with his father and mother, who had been blood-bonded and happily mated for more than a century. Instead they'd pinned their hopes on Seth. He'd been the studious one, the cerebral one, who it was assumed would one day take the reins as the leader of the family Darkhaven or form his own. Kade had always been the raucous opposite of his brother. It was that reckless streak that had likely condemned him in his father's eyes, while Seth's careful outward control had given him seemingly limitless freedoms.
"Well," his father said after a prolonged silence. "Since you've come to your senses and returned home now, I trust this means you're ready to try to be part of the family once more. As it seems you've come back with barely more than the clothes on your back, I'll make arrangements to transfer some funds into your old account."
"I didn't come here for a handout," Kade bit off, his anger spiking at the assumption. "And as for staying, it's not in my plan--"
"Where is my son?" Kade's words were cut short by a petite cyclone who threw open the doors of the study and breezed inside. "It really is you! Oh, Kade!"
She pulled Kade into a fierce embrace, her body vibrating with emotion. His mother was just as beautiful and vibrant as ever--more so, her glow enhanced by the large, expectant swell of her belly beneath the loose-fitting, winter-white sweater and pants she wore. Ebony-haired with pale silver eyes that matched both his and Seth's, Kade's mother, Victoria, was a breathtaking woman. Like her mate, she, too, appeared no more than thirty years old, her aging halted by the blood bond she shared with Kir.
"Oh, my darling boy. I've been so worried about you! Thank God you've come back--and will you look at me, just in time." She smiled, positively beaming. "You'll have two new brothers in less than a month. Identical twins again, just like you and Seth."
Although she seemed delighted by the prospect, Kade felt a sick twist in his gut. The talent that he and Seth shared, the ability to communicate with and command predator animals, was a unique skill passed down to them genetically from their Breedmate mother, in the same way that Seth and he shared Victoria's smooth golden skin, dark hair, and exotic eyes. But unlike her, in Kade and Seth, with their father's Breed blood running hot through their veins, the talent had a dark side. He hated to think that the pattern might repeat itself in another set of brothers.
"You look well, Mother. I'm glad to see you so happy."
"I'm even happier now that you're here. You'll see I've kept your quarters just as you left them. Not a day passed when I didn't hope and pray that I would have both of my beloved sons safe and sound, living under our roof again as a family."
She threw her arms around him once more, and Kade felt all the worse for what he had to say. "I ... I don't know how long I'll be staying. I didn't come back to live here, Mother. I'm here on business for the Order."
She drew back, her expression falling. "You won't stay?"
"Only until my mission is complete. Then I have to return to Boston. I'm sorry if you thought--"
"You can't go," she murmured, tears welling in her eyes. "You belong here, Kade. This is your home. We are your family. You have a life here--"
He gently shook his head. "My life is with the Order now. They need me, and I have important things to do. Mother, I am sorry to disappoint you."
She sobbed behind her hand, and took a few steps back on her heels. She wobbled unsteadily with the sudden movement, and Kade's father was right at her side, wrapping her protectively under his arm. He spoke softly to her, tenderly, private words that seemed to soothe her somewhat. But her tears and sobs did not stop completely.
Kade's father escorted her carefully to the door, pausing only to lift his head and level a hard look on his son. Their gazes met and clashed, neither one of them willing to back down. "You and I are not finished here, Kade. I will expect you to wait for me until I finish looking after your mother." He waited as ordered, but only for a minute. Time away had made him forget what it had been like to be in this place. He couldn't live under his father's roof any more than he could live under Seth's shadow. It killed him to cause his mother distress, but if he'd needed a reminder that he didn't belong here, he'd gotten it as clearly as possible in the look his father gave him as he was walking out the door.
"Shit," Kade hissed, as he grabbed his duffel bag and exited the study. He walked outside, thinking the frigid air would help clear his head. Instead his gaze was snagged by the sight of his brother's cabin. He knew he shouldn't go inside--he had no right, actually--but the need for answers was more powerful than any sense of guilt at invading Seth's privacy. Kade opened the door and walked inside.
He wasn't sure what he'd expected. Some sense of chaos or the scattered clutter of a troubled mind?
But Seth's quarters were as neat as ever, not a single thing out of place. All of his furnishings and belongings were orderly and precisely arranged. There was a philosophy book on the reading table beside the sofa, a collection of classical music on rotation in the stereo CD player. On Seth's computer workstation, a file folder containing spreadsheet printouts he was obviously working on for their father lay neatly closed underneath a crystal paperweight.
Seth, the perfect son.
Except, the more Kade looked around, the more the cabin seemed staged rather than lived in. Things were too neat. Too carefully arranged, as though put there on the chance that someone might be poking about, searching for something amiss. Or for some overt sign of deception, just as Kade was doing now. But Kade knew his brother better than anyone else. He was a part of Seth, unlike anyone else could be because of the inextricable bond they'd been born with as identical twins. From the time they were boys they'd been two parts of one whole, inseparable, with an unspoken mutual understanding of each other. Kade had believed that he and Seth were alike in every way ... until the first time he saw his brother command a wolf pack to pursue and slaughter a grizzly.