Redemption: Brothers best friend, page 1
Redemption
Copyright © 2021 by Samantha Barrett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Cover design by Kuro Ishi
Editing by Kiezha Ferrell at Librum Artis
Proofreading by Willie Field at Darmara Grammar
First Printing, 2021
Stone Cold Steve "Austin"
11 years of loving you wasn't long enough.
You were the best dog and my first baby.
Xxxx
Chapter 1
Dominic
Fuck my life!
Seriously. My life sucked hairy balls right now. I didn’t want to fucking be here, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to take over for my dad. I never wanted this life. I never had any desire to lead or be tied to anything. I just wanted to be free and live my life on my own terms.
I hated living in this fucking concrete jungle; the air is thick and tangy, there is never any silence, and tall buildings block your view of the sky. It was like living in hell. I missed my home, I missed my friends, and I missed my freedom. Above all else, though, I missed her. I longed for her, even though I had no right to want her or even miss her. Sophia Stone was the biggest pain in my ass growing up…then one day she stopped being my best friend’s bratty sister and became so much more.
My phone vibrating in my pocket pulled me from my thoughts. I pulled it out and groaned when I saw the caller I.D but still answered the damn call.
“Five minutes, that’s all I fucking asked for!”
“Watch your bloody language, Dominic; you’re not too old for me to kick your ass.” I smirked; I would love to see him try.
“What do you want, Pops?”
“I need you back here now, son, we have some guests.” I stiffened at the tone of my dad’s voice. I knew something was wrong. I told him I was on my way even as I turned and opened a portal that would lead me straight to my dad’s house. I emerged in the woods that surrounded our property in New York. Some of my father’s pack, mostly the women, were accepting of my dual abilities to shift and to do magic, but of course most of the other bastards wanted me burned at the stake for being an abomination.
As soon as I cleared the tree line, one of the pack assholes started with their fucking insults.
“You’re not natural, you shouldn’t even be alive––“ I cut the dick off before he could finish.
“Yes, yes, I know. You have said this like a hundred fucking times before. Think of a new insult and then come back to me, ‘kay? I have a fuck ton of shit I need to do, so fuck off and—“
“DOMINIC! Language.” I flinched at the sound of my father’s booming voice. That fucker always seemed to appear whenever I was on a roll with my swearing. It was like he had a GPS tracker on me or something. I turned to see my father standing on the back porch with
his forearms resting on the railings. Ian Silver was one big son of a bitch, over six feet tall with the body of a linebacker. Dad and I had the same silver-blond hair, but dad had green eyes; I had my mother’s violet color eyes. Before I could sink into the downward spiral of thinking about my mother, dick-face spoke up.
“Alpha, I know he is your son, but he isn’t natural.” I smirked when I saw my father stand to his full height and make his way down the porch toward us. The dumbass gulped loudly when Dad stopped a foot away and glared down at him.
“You think my son is not natural, Louis?” Louis looked between me and Dad, clearly at a loss for words, so I threw him a bone.
“You should tell him about wanting to burn me at the stake. Oh, no—what about how you and the others wanted to drug me and then tie cinderblocks to my ankles and throw me in the lake. That one is my favorite. It gives me mobster vibes, you know?” Louis paled and shrunk back a step. My father was vibrating with rage.
“Is that true, Louis?” Louis looked to me like I would help him—fuck that. I smiled and waved and gave him an encouraging nod. He shot me a look of outrage and I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled out of me. Dad turned and scowled at me, so I mimicked zipping my lips and throwing away the key.
“You dare threaten my son?” Dad thundered, his booming voice garnering the attention of other pack members. It didn’t bother me; I loved the attention—thrived on it, even. What can I say, I’m a conceited prick.
“I-it’s not like that, Alpha,” Louis stammered out.
“Then what is it like? He is to be your alpha, and you dare disrespect him like that?” I felt the tiniest trickle of empathy for Louis; my dad is a scary fucker when you get on the wrong side of him. Louis reeked of fear, and I’m actually surprised he hasn’t pissed himself yet.
We had gathered quite the audience now. I smiled and waved at the gathering pack members, who glared back at me. It didn’t bother me what the fuck they thought. I am comfortable with who I am and what I am. I struggled for years with being the first half-breed or hybrid—whatever the fuck you wanted to call it. Meeting Ryan, another hybrid, changed that for me; I saw how afraid she was of herself, and my heart hurt for her. Ryan was a force to be reckoned with, and now that she had accepted what she is, she is powerful beyond measure. “We would feel better about your son’s leadership if he mated with a full shifter.” My blood turned to ice; I could feel my pulse thrumming in my ears. No, I would do anything but that. I turned pleading eyes to my father, but he wasn’t looking at me—he was looking at the shifters that had gathered. More than half the pack was here now. Heads were bobbing in agreement, each of their nods feeling like another nail in my coffin. Haven’t I given up enough already? My father turned his gaze back to a shaking Louis.
“I will take that into consideration, and we will address it at the next pack meeting.” My dad didn’t wait for a reply; he turned and headed back to the house with me hot on his heels. This conversation was far from fucking over!
Chapter 2
Sophia
Watching Lucian learn new things has become my favorite pastime. He learned how to ride a bike last week when we went to the Yukon to visit Ryan’s grandparents. It was heart-warming to see the love Marcus and Bethany Knox had toward Lucian.
Currently Lucian was rolling down the steep hill with Ryan, like a pair of human burritos. Once at the bottom, they both staggered to their feet, stumbling into each other and laughing like hyenas. I smiled at the pair. Ryan, half fae and half witch—only one of her kind—balanced Lucian in a way I would never understand. Lucian was also the first of his kind, but I was the only one who knew that.
Footsteps approached from behind, and I didn’t need to look to know it was my brother. He never left Ryan’s side for more than an hour. It was endearing to see the change in him; he was finally relaxed and didn’t take things so seriously since he found his hugacko. Ryan balanced Nico, and he grounded her. They were the perfect fit for each other—fate got their pairing right. I wish I could say the same for myself.
Nico sat down beside me and stretched his long legs out in front of him, resting back on his elbows. My brother is rocking the casual look these days—jeans and a fitted shirt. He even wears Chucks now. I smiled and shook my head. He changed his sense of style because he knew his wife liked the look on him.
“How long have they been doing that?” I looked at my brother and smirked. He rolled his vibrant violet eyes. His jet black hair had stayed long on top and shorter at the sides, but the five o’clock shadow was also new and at the request of his wife.
“Guess.”
He scoffs. “Shall we bet on it?” I smiled widely. Nico and I have been betting each other since we were younger. It was just our thing, I guess.
“Okay, what are the stakes, brother?” A devilish glint entered my brother’s eyes, his pearly white teeth on full display.
“I win, you have to answer one question honestly; if you win, I’ll give you whatever you want.” It was my turn to smile, and he groaned. He knew what I wanted. I stuck my hand out to him, and he placed his much larger one in mine, and we shook on it.
“Okay, on the count of three, we say it together.”
Nico nodded his understanding, and I had to hold back my glee. There was no way he knew how long they had been doing this. We had to sneak away to ditch the training; Ryan hated training without her cousins and Tyler, so she was always looking to skip out whenever the opportunity arose.
I began to count, and on three we both said, “Ten forty-five a.m.!”
I gasped, and the look on his face told me everything I needed to know: the fucker had cheated. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he just shrugged his shoulders and leaned back on his elbows.
“Don’t pout Soph, it’s not cute.” I clenched my teeth together and turned my gaze back to Ryan and Lucian.
“You cheated!” I snapped, and Nico tutted at me like I was some annoying kid.
“You never stipulated the rules, little sister.”
“How the hell did you know?”
“A magician never reveals his secrets.” Nico chuckled at his own stupid comment.
“Let’s get this over with. What the bloody hell do you want to ask?” Nico sat up straight, all traces of humor gone from his face. The look made me want to squirm. We sat there staring at each other for a tense moment before Nico asked the one question I wish he hadn’t.
“Why didn’t you tell me you’re my best friend’s mate?” I pulled my gaze from his and looked back to Lucian and Ryan. They were still running up the hill and then rolling back down. How they hadn’t exhausted themselves or vomited from dizziness, I would never know. “Stop stalling Soph;, Dom told me. I just want to know why you and he thought it was a good idea to hide it from everyone…from me?” I snapped my gaze to my brother so fast I heard my neck crack. God, he was so thick.
“Why in the name of God would I tell you about me and Dom?” Nico returned my glare.
“Because I am your fucking brother, Sophia!” I clenched my hands into fists. How fucking dare he?
“I never fucking told you because Dominic rejected me! You were too busy being king to notice anything was happening between us!” Nico recoiled at my words and jumped to his feet. Not wanting him to have the dominant ground, I stood as well. We were an inch apart, him glaring down at me and me glaring up at him.
“I was never too busy for you, Sophia! I would have made the time for you. Instead you shut me out!”
“I didn’t have a fucking choice!”
“Hey, what the hell is going on?” Both Nico and I turned to see Ryan and Lucian standing nearby, both of them wearing looks of concern. I moved back a step and so did Nico. I hated fighting with my brother, but there was still so much he didn’t know; so much I couldn’t yet say.
“Why do you look so pissed off, big guy?”
Nico deflated at the look of concern on his wife’s face. Ryan may be tiny and fragile-looking, but the girl could sure as shit hold her own. The tiny brunette with strange eyes, my brother’s fated mate, was a powerhouse who had saved our homeland. Like so many of us, her green eyes with the yellow ring were a hint to her dual nature of witch and fae. Nico quickly closed the distance between him and Ryan, engulfing her in a hug and then capturing her lips in a searing kiss., Lucian and I tried to look everywhere else but at them.
After a minute, Lucian finally had enough of his best friend sucking face and cleared his throat. Lucian looked older than his years; his beautiful violet eyes with a gray ring around his pupils was a dead giveaway for his heritage as well. He had his father’s hair: silver-blonde with streaks of black through it. Lucian had the cheekbones of a model and a perfectly straight nose to match. He had his height and build as well. The similarities between them hurt me to see. I shook myself out of my thoughts and focused on the three people in front of me discussing the disagreement between me and my brother.
“Little one, I just asked a question. I swear!” I scoffed at my brothers protestations of innocence; he was such a suck-ass when it came to getting back into Ryan’s good graces. Nico turned his head to scowl at me, and I smirked.
“Soph, what did he do to upset you?” Nico groaned at his wife’s question, and she turned and gave him a look that had him snapping his mouth shut and crossing his arms over his chest. Lucian chuckled at him; everyone knew: Nico may be the king but Ryan was the one who held all the power. Ryan speared me with her intense gaze, and I decided to help my brother out and not make a big deal out of this.
“He just wanted to know about my love life and I refused to share.” Ryan gasped and then spun around to slap her husband on the chest. He looked down at her, shocked, and threw his arms up in the air.
“The fuck did I do?”
“You were being a nosy ass, Nico! You know Soph doesn’t like to talk about that shit. Now say sorry.” I tried to mask my laughter with a cough, and Nico glared daggers at me.
“I’m not saying sorry, because I’m not. She is my sister, and I have a right to know!” Lucian, Ryan and I all pinned death glares on Nico. Everyone hated it when he demanded shit from us and acted like he had the right just because he was king.
“I swear to fucking all that is holy, Nico, if you do not say you’re sorry, the Slip’n’slide is shut for a week!” Nico reeled back like Ryan had hit him. However, his look of shock quickly turned into a look of seduction, and I cringed. I could have gone my whole life without seeing that look on my brother’s face.
“You wouldn’t dare withhold sex from me love, you enjoy it too much.” Ryan closed the slither of space between them and ran her pointer finger down my brother’s chest and stopped just above his jeans. She leaned up on tip-toes to kiss him. Nico leant down to grant her easier access, but at the last second, before their lips connected, she pulled back and scoffed.
“Try me, big guy.” Lucian busted out laughing at Nico’s expense; I tried to cover my laughter but couldn’t. Nico huffed and muttered curses under his breath before turning his gaze to me. He was so far beyond pissed off.
“Fine. Sophia, I’m sorry.”
“No, that was a shit apology, Nico, do it again.” Nico’s face turned red as a beet and he glared down at Ryan, who simply shrugged at the intensity of his glare.
“I’m sorry, Soph, I won’t do it again,” he growled, then turned to his wife and picked her up and threw her over his shoulder like a caveman. Ryan shrieked in surprise, and Nico slapped her ass, turned, and started making his way back toward the castle.
Chapter 3
Dominic
I storm into the house, hot on my dad’s heels. I gave up my freedom because of some stupid fucking vow that would send my wolf crazy, but I would not marry in order to keep these fuckers in line. Dad stormed past the kitchen and sitting room, making his way down the hallway toward his study. I slammed the door shut behind me, Dad already standing behind his desk, gripping his leather chair from behind. If he doesn’t release his grip soon he will leave a permanent imprint on his favorite chair. It would serve him right. I drop down into one of the chairs in front of my dad’s desk and cross my arms over my chest.
“I won’t do it.” Dad sighs and then pulls his chair back and sinks into the worn leather seat. It was my grandfather’s chair, and someday it would be my chair. I didn’t want the fucking chair. I didn’t want to be alpha. I just wanted to be free and live my own life.
“I know you don’t want to, son. But Louis may have a point; an engagement might be the best way to get the pack on our side.” I growled low in my throat. My wolf hates being told what to do. I don’t take orders from others, not even my father.
“Unless you want my wolf to come out and play, you better take that bass the fuck out of your growl, Dominic!”
I throw my hands into the air. “So you can say fuck, but I can’t?” Dad narrows his eyes at me.
“You are the child, not me.” I glare at the old shit. He has always hated whenever I cussed. God only knows why, when he has the mouth of a fucking sailor as well.
“Yeah, good logic, Dad. I’m a grown ass man––“
“Who still behaves like a child.” I sink back into my chair and push my bottom lip out in a pout. He chuckles at my childishness; we sit there lost in our own thoughts for a long while.
“Shit!” Dad jumps to his feet in a rush, and I do the same, looking around the room for the threat, but I see nothing. Dad makes his way toward the study door and yanks it open. He steps out, but stops and turns back to me. “Come on, I forgot about our guest.”
We exit through the front door, and no sooner has my foot hit the front porch, I see a blur jump at me. I catch her instinctively and wrap my arms around her, pulling her close. She still smells the same—wildflowers and sweetness. I pull back and cup her face between my hands, smiling down at her. She has the biggest smile on her face, and I can see her eyes tearing up.
“I know I’m beautiful, love, but you don’t need to cry over it.” She pulls back and swats me on my arm. I chuckle and look in the direction she came flying from and see none other than my best friend, Nico.
I make my way over to him and hug the burly prick. Fuck, I’ve missed him. We pull apart and smile at each other. He looks so happy. Ryan makes her way over to us and slides her arms around his narrow waist, side-hugging him. They look good together, and they deserve to; they went through hell to be together. I’m man enough to admit I wanted what they had. I knew what it was because I had it, but I ruined it.
