“Any news from the Montgomery clan?”
Bel shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard. David only popped in for a moment to pick up Wyatt on their way to my house.”
“You mean the hole in the ground,” River muttered.
Bel threaded his fingers through River’s hair, brushing it from his face with a patient smile. “It’s more than a hole. The first floor has walls now.”
Winter wandered over to the chair and dropped into it, barely holding back a smirk. “Marcus’s house getting too crowded? I thought werewolves liked living with big families.”
River sent him a dark look. “It’s not bad living here. Ethan and Gideon are fun. Aiden is nice. Marcus is…serious.”
Winter snorted. “Yeah, Marcus has always been serious.”
“I just want our home,” River complained.
Bel wrapped an arm around his lover and pulled him in tight. “Soon. The builder said only three more months, and they should be done.” Winter swore he could see longing in his brother’s eyes even while he tried to cheer up River. Bel likely wanted to get back to the life he’d been building with his wolves as well.
The former leader of the local werewolf pack had attacked Bel’s house during the day, setting it on fire. It was the stuff that comprised Winter’s worst nightmares. At the time, he’d been in a place where he couldn’t safely leave during the day to reach his brother. Panic and anger had nearly eaten him alive as he’d counted each fucking second until the sun set. Bel, Wyatt, and River had barely escaped, retreating to Marcus’s home to heal.
Months later, Bel was determined to rebuild his house on the same plot of land. Stubbornness was definitely a family trait, and Bel would not be run from his home.
“Speaking of, Rafe is usually late, but where are Ethan, Aiden, and Marcus?”
“Rafe is getting things settled at Blush. I think he’s coming alone and should be here shortly. There’s some kind of big party, and Philippe is staying behind to oversee things until Rafe returns,” Bel said, referring to his twin’s nightclub.
“Ethan is finishing up an online class. Aiden and Marcus are talking about whatever they talk about,” River added.
“River, why don’t you go get the new guitar that arrived?” Bel said before brushing a kiss against his mate’s temple. “I know Winter would love to see it.”
Not subtle. Not subtle in the least, but he could guess what was on his brother’s mind.
“Please,” Winter added. “I haven’t picked up a new one in years. I think my collection is getting dusty.”
River sniffed, not at all fooled, but he still rose. “Sure, but you owe me a look at this so-called collection one day.”
“Definitely.”
River pressed a quick kiss to Bel’s lips and strode out of the library, whistling some random tune to himself. Bel smirked and rolled his eyes.
“They keep you on your toes,” Winter teased.
“You have no idea.”
Winter automatically held up one hand. “I don’t want to know.”
Bel chuckled lightly, but Winter was dead serious. He loved his brothers and was incredibly happy they had found love. Their mates were good people. But Winter had no hopes of finding love himself. His life was too complicated, and he was just hard to love. All he wanted was peace.
“Do you still see her?” Bel asked the moment they were alone.
Winter didn’t need to ask who Bel was referring to. When Winter had pulled his brother into the dead world in their little experiment, Bel had unfortunately caught sight of their mother’s ghost. It had been a shock to see her outside Marcus’s foyer. He didn’t know why she’d gone into the woods that night with them, but he could have done without it.
“Occasionally,” he admitted. Not exactly a lie.
“You need to tell the others.”
“Why?”
“Why?” Bel repeated like he’d lost his mind. “Because they deserve to know.”
“To know what?” Winter snapped. He shoved upright in the chair until he was balanced on the very edge of the cushion. “To know that I see our mother’s ghost? She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t have some great wisdom to impart. She’s dead. What you saw is just a pale echo of the woman we once knew.”
“I know,” Bel said softly, and Winter instantly felt like an ass. “She’s not coming back. I just didn’t expect to see her. I thought…I thought she’d be at peace.”
“I think she is.”
“Really?”
Winter shrugged. “You saw her. She was smiling. Every time I see her, she’s smiling.”
Bel’s shoulders slumped a little as he fell into thought. Winter knew this wasn’t the end of it. Bel was a scientist at heart. He had to study and analyze everything.
“You called it ‘the dead world.’ That place you took us,” Bel started slowly. “She’s not the only ghost you’ve seen.”
He nearly smiled at his brother, the first to uncover part of his truth. He was putting the pieces together fast, but Bel didn’t need to know more than he already did. Unfortunately, he would have to tell Bel something, or his brother would keep pushing. He’d also tell their other brothers, and this was not what the family needed to focus on right now.