Fated for Her Wolves - Tara West Page 0,62

go into the veil after you.” Andrei placed a hand on his heart. “We swear, brother.”

“I believe you,” Tatiana said, squeezing Dimitri’s hand.

Pressing her hand to his lips, he smiled at her before nodding his agreement. “So do I, brothers. I’m sorry I doubted you.”

Constantine shook his head. “Say no more on it. We saw your wounds and know how much you had suffered.” Kneeling beside Dimitri, he clasped his shoulder, his eyes misty. “Thank you.”

Dimitri nodded curtly, unable to say more. He wished he could forget that time in the haunted forest, but he’d do it all again to save Tatiana.

“What happened to the demon?” Dejan asked.

Dimitri held Tatiana close when she shuddered. “He went back to hell.” Along with the other demons he’d killed, he wanted to add, including one with their mother’s face, but he wasn’t ready to go into detail about their ordeal and doubted he’d be able to revisit those nightmares anytime soon.

“Good,” Andrei grumbled. “He belongs there, along with our wicked mother.”

Tatiana gasped. “You know about her?”

“We know,” Constantine answered, his eyebrows drawn low.

Dimitri looked from his brothers to Tatiana. “What about her?” Had there been some new development with their dead mother? He tightened his hold when she shivered again. “It’s okay,” he murmured in her ear.

She looked guilty. “She came up from hell with the demons.”

Dimitri froze at that. His mother had conspired with the demons? The wicked bitch! He seethed with anger, managing to hide most of it when Tatiana’s tremors worsened. “Did she help them try to bring us down?”

“Not all Amaroki,” Tatiana said. “It was Eilea she was after.”

“Our stepmother? While she was pregnant with our baby brother?” Dimitri could hardly believe what he was hearing. Their mother had always been vindictive, but this was too much even for her. He was ashamed to have her blood flowing through his veins.

Constantine grimaced. “It was awful.”

“Are Eilea and the baby okay?” he asked.

“They are fine,” Andrei answered. “Resting after their ordeal.”

“What happened to our mother?” he asked, then cringed, almost afraid to know the answer. Was it wrong that he hoped she’d been sent back to hell? He didn’t think that demon in the haunted forest had been her. It was known among the Romanian Amaroki that the demons in the Hoia Baciu liked to pretend to be dead ancestors to try to lure shifters into the veil.

Constantine looked more haggard than Dimitri had ever seen him, way beyond his twenty-six years. “Eilea said she was crushed to death, most likely by the demon Sitri.”

“She was.” Tatiana paled. “I remember.”

Dimitri heaved a sigh. Just the mention of that woman and a heavy fog settled in the room, blotting out all joy. How long would her memory plague them? “She can go back to hell, where she belongs.” Dimitri cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. “She’s not worth any of our tears, especially yours.”

Tatiana sniffled and nodded.

“You should’ve seen Eilea’s magic.” Dejan flashed a slanted smile. “Something changed, and now she’s as powerful as a god.”

Dimitri silently thanked his brother for changing the subject. “Good.” Dimitri laughed. “Maybe those demons will think twice about messing with us again.”

Constantine sighed and Andrei fidgeted while Dejan stuck his hands in his pockets, looking uncomfortable.

“What is it?” Dimitri asked.

“Our father Jovan has not forgiven our stepmother for putting herself and the baby at risk,” Andrei said.

Dimitri didn’t understand why Eilea had tricked them all and had gone off to fight the demons alone. “I can understand why he’d be mad.”

“Sitri would’ve raped me if she hadn’t shown up when she did,” Tatiana said.

Dimitri and his brothers gaped at her. That put things in an entirely different perspective.

“I will be sure to tell our father this,” Dimitri said.

Tatiana smiled sweetly and squeezed his arm.

“He’s moved out his things,” Constantine grumbled. “He’s staying at our house.”

Dimitri jerked upright. “What the fuck?”

Constantine elbowed Dejan and Andrei. “That’s what we said.”

“He’ll have to move back before our honeymoon,” Dimitri said. “We’re not letting him ruin it.” He cast a surreptitious glance at Tatiana, hoping there would be a honeymoon soon.

“No, we’re not,” Constantine said, also giving Tatiana a hopeful look.

Dimitri turned to Tatiana, nearly losing himself in her large, amber eyes. “Maybe I should explain to him it’s not wise to stay angry with your mate.”

“Maybe you should,” she said.

His heart swelled with joy. After years of blaming herself for their mother’s death, was she finally going to be theirs? He hoped she’d finally realized