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.
“No, she’s not the first ghost I’ve seen. Won’t be the last either,” Winter admitted.
“Do you see any now?”
Winter let his eyes drift away from his brother. There was one older gentleman scanning over the books that lined Marcus’s shelves while another woman was yelling at him in what sounded like German. He was naked while she was dressed in what looked like an old robe. A child sat on the floor near Bel’s feet, playing with a ghostly set of jacks. Happily, they all seemed oblivious to him. It was harder to pretend they weren’t there when they were determined