At the end of the evening, Brian and Risa found Ruslana. Lana out of the corner of her eye was watching them through the evening and felt relieved seeing as they seemed to have a great time with the others. But now her brother's face was somehow insecure, and Risa held his hand, apparently not allowing him to take up the old habit again.
Lana got anxious and rose to meet them. But Brian didn't give her a chance to ask. Exhaling, as if before a jump from a cliff, he began in a low, messy voice.
"Listen, sis, I know it's quite late now and ... All in all, it can be very selfish on my part, but I really want to see my nephews. I have not seen them all their lives and one more day is too long. Please. "
Lana's heart sank immediately. He looked at her with such a pleading in his eyes that it was just impossible to refuse. But ...
" Bri, I understand everything. But I had absolutely no time to prepare them. You went through a lot, and I don't want them to hurt you." - Lana replied carefully.
" It's nothing. They have every right to do so. Just give me the opportunity to apologize. I do not want you to sweeten the truth. I want to start everything open with them, and if I have to kneel for this, then I'm ready to do it and much more."
Lana flinched. She did not want to go through the confrontation between the people she loved. But if it helps the children to get a few more people who would cherish them with their whole heart, then it is probably worth a try.
***
On the way home the car sank in heavy silence. The situation was so tense that it seemed that the air itself would begin to sparkle any minute. Lana sat in the front seat and kept throwing a worried look in the rearview mirror. Brian in the backseat seemed calm enough, but his eyes kept flashed yellow, again and again, as if he had been fighting with his beast the whole time. And that was a bad sign.
All the psychological problems of Brian in childhood began partly because of this. As if two creatures with entirely different personalities lived in him. When Bri was a quiet and demure boy, his wolf was a wild and uncontrollable predator. After several accidents, Bri began to fear losing control, so he always kept himself in check. But when his second half took the lead ...
How wonderful that he was lucky enough to find Risa, a girl who not only managed to warm her way to the unapproachable Winterbourne with her affection but also tame his wild wolf.
Meanwhile, their car had already passed through the main gate and stopped at the entrance to the villa. Greg muted the engine and turned to Brian and Risa in the backseat.
"I didn't have time to say this before, but actually this morning I had a talk with Nikki about you. Most likely, Vicky also knows everything by now."
Brian threw a startled look at Greg. One question was clearly read in his eyes, and Greg did not torment him further.
" Nicky is bitter." - He simply answered, noting the grimace of pain that flashed on the man's face. - "But I tried to explain everything to him in general. I didn't go into details, it's on you. But I think he already had enough time to digest everything."
"Thank you," - Brian responded quietly.
" I didn't do it for you. Nicky is my family, and I do care." - Greg shrugged and left the driver's seat. Brian spent his surprised look in which there were definite sparks of respect. Risa could not resist and turn to Lana.
"You know, the first time I heard that your Mate was just a human. I had doubts. But now ..."
"I know," - Lana replied softly, not letting her finish and smiled gently, watching her man's wide back from the window. Her heart, as always, started to pound faster.
They did not have time to climb the porch, as the entrance door opened abruptly. Nicky froze in the doorway, arms folded across his chest. Despite his young age, he looked quite menacing. Greg and Lana looked at each other, and Brian froze in his tracks, never taking his eyes off a young man. Their eyes crossed and Lana even thought that she saw electrical discharges sparkle between them.
"Hey, sweetheart! Sorry, we're so late." - she began in a slightly exaggerated cheerful voice and turned to her brother. - "This is ..."
"Brian Winterbourne. I know. Our so-called uncle." - Nicky finished for her in an icy tone.
"Okay, let's not waste time on cockfighting now. Nicky, you can try acting all sinister watchdog the next time," - Greg said ascending the top step. Nicky immediately bared his fangs and snarled at him, but Greg did not look at all impressed. - "We have a lot to discuss, and the time is already late. You can fight tomorrow after you do your homework, of course." - Nicky's stare immediately ignited, and a throaty roar came from his mouth. But Greg has already lived with this guy for some time and got used to his tricks. Therefore, in response, he only raised one eyebrow, showing with his whole attitude that this would not work on him. Nicky gritted his teeth, turned on his heels and disappeared behind the door, leaving it wide open.
Lana could not resist and approach Greg, planting a grateful kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you," - she whispered in his ear.
"Save your thanks until the night. I will find a good use for it." - Greg winked at her, with a sly grin. With a sign inviting Brian and Rice to come in, he led Lana after them.
Vicky was already waiting for them in the hall. She was unusually quiet, and there was apparent confusion in her eyes. Nicky stopped a little further at the entrance to the living room and closely followed each movement of the new relative with his eyes.
Here, Lana decided to take everything into her own hands. Going to her daughter, she firmly hugged the troubled girl and quietly whispered.
" Give him a chance. Please, for my sake. "
Victoria's eyes immediately shone with tears, and her lower lip began to treacherously tremble. Brian at the sight of this was utterly taken aback. His eyes full of panic, but he couldn't take them off his upset niece. Risa nudged him slightly in the back, and the man took two steps forward, frozen like a statue in front of his sister and her daughter. His lips moved as if he were trying to find words, but there was only white noise in his head. And his hand visibly shook.
But Vicky was always a brave girl, so with a sob, she let go of her mother and stepped forward, tightly embraced Brian, who became paler than death. And like this, he remained standing with his arms ridiculously spread to the sides, not knowing what to do next.
The situation was saved by Rice, clearing her throat loudly enough, she met her boyfriend's floated look, and widened her eyes with meaning, raising eyebrows, as if pushing him into further actions.
Brian finally stirred and bent around awkwardly. Moving so stiffly as if breaking the icy spine, he wrapped his arms so very gently around weeping girl. Hiding his gleaming eyes in her hair.
Like this, they stood for another two minutes as if trying to overwrite the new connection between each other. Risa, meanwhile, decided not to interfere and indicated with gestures to Lana and Greg to the living room, where Nicky's tense silhouette could be clearly seen. He had already taken his place on the sofa, waiting.
As soon as they entered, he immediately looked at Greg. Not a trace remains from the past annoyance. Now his eyes were serious and focused.
"Kiki called." - Without further ado, Nicky spoke. Greg looked at him with the obvious question, and he continued. - "He could not get through to you, so he called me. The question was urgent."
"What happened?" - Anxiously asked Lana, sitting down next to her son. He hesitated, picking up words, but answered.
"The Park is closed. On this full moon, which by the way is already on the weekend, we will have to look for another place for our shift."
"This is not a problem," - Greg shrugged, taking a seat opposite. - "I have a house in the mountains on the south from here. It's a quiet place and there are no human lives for a few dozen miles around in the area. All forests and mountains as far as you can see. I think an excellent opportunity to arrange a small family trip." - He finished with a smile, winking at Lana. But the smile quickly slipped from his lips when he caught Nicky's sharp gaze.
"That's not all. The Park was closed because for the second time they found the dead body of the shifter there. He was shot several times in the head. And Kiki said that the bullets are the same caliber as those that they took out of the corpse of another shifter recently."
"What does it have to do with us?" - Greg asked cautiously, a bad premonition made a chill run down his spine.
"The first corpse from which the same bullets were taken belonged to the shifter you killed, Greg."