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Al Nicholas wanted to do was haul ass upstairs and get to his mate But his brothers had insisted they talk with hi with an irrepressible need that he kneould always be with him, he stood just inside the doorway to the library in the SoHo house, his aret on with it, Duros," he said i upstairs for ht of it made his cock pulse She&039;d whispered it in his ear, al low and sweet before she&039;d taken the boy upstairs to put hi, he looked from Alexander to Lucian "Out with it before I disown the pair of you"

Standing beside the fireplace, Alexander spoke first "It&039;s about the balas"

"My son?"

"Yes, and wel you and al of us real yAw, shit,"

Alexanderhis head "This is hard, and i Band-Aid off already," Lucian said, dropping into a chair

Nicholas growled "Okay, so on with my son or-"

"He&039;s not your son, Nicky"

Nicholas whirled on Lucian, his head pulsing with an all-new and terrifying pain "What did you say?"

"Bronwyn came by today She hadn&039;t told Alexander the whole deal-"

"Bul shit She did tel Alex and he told us-"

"No," Lucian said too harshly He looked unco up on her before she could explain the ful result of the DNA test Before she-"

"She told hi his fist back into the door

"And he is of your blood," Lucian said, his own nostrils flaring "But he&039;s not your son"

Nicholas stil ed, grinding his molars as he tried like hel to keep hiritted teeth

"Your DNA and Ladd&039;s DNA had so ht you were the father," Lucian said, "but when she looked closer, tested further, she found that there was one marker off"

"Then she made a mistake," Nicholas said on a bitter chuckle "One ht so too," Alexander put in, his e hi others froer "She did another test, and another" His gaze flickered to Lucian, then hit Nicholas ful force "The last marker identifies conclusively that another Roman paven fathered Ladd"

It was as if the room lost al its air "What? What the hel are you-"

"You were not born alone, Nicky," Alexander said "Your e in words that were ancient and impossible, Nicholas shook his head It was a lie Had to be He would know if there was anotherHe would fucking know!

"I don&039;t-" He could hardly get the words out "It&039;s not possible-"

Lucian carasped Nicholas&039;s shoulder "You have a twin, Nicky"

With the balas sleeping soundly, Kate had returned to the room next door, undressed, and slipped into a hot bath

As the water flowed over her feet and ankles, soothed her weary skin, and washed away the hours she&039;d spent in a prison she&039;d sworn she&039;d never return to, she wondered ould present itself next Freedo on the days living had see Al she had to do was reach out and grab it

And yet

The ht breast hummed for its mate, just as her body hummed for his touch

Nicholas

He was here

When she heard the bedroom door open and close, heard determined footfal s move across the room, saw the door to the bathroo hi the sun after months of rain

He came to stand beside the bathtub, tal and dark and beautiful But when she studied him further, she saw confusion and pain in his black eyes

She sat up "What&039;s wrong? Is it the Order?"

He shook his head "It is ht hers and held "There is another part of me out there so "Yes, and he is wel and is fast asleep in his room"

A soft smile touched Nicholas&039;s hard lips "Yes It&039;s true"

"Nicky?"

He shook his head "No Later, sweetest one Right now, I need you I need to be inside your body, your soul"-he locked eyes with her-"inside your unbeating heart, where it&039;s warm and safe"

His words made her ache, yet worried her too But she nodded and said, "Colorious inch of his heavily aze

He stepped into the tub and sat opposite her

"You are free now," he said softly, though his eyes drifted doard to the mark above her nipple "Free to do what you hen you want, and ho, if that is what you wish"

"Is that what you wish?" she asked, then held her breath