He just wanted one minute of peace.
Why was that one thing so hard to find? Surely it should be simple and yet it was the most elusive target he'd ever known.
Before he could move, Vane appeared there before him in the room. He pulled Fang up from the bed and grabbed him in a hug so fierce he felt his ribs crack.
Fang fought the hold. "Get off me, you fucking perv!"
Vane let go, then punched him hard in his arm.
Grimacing, Fang shoved at him and would have returned the blow with one of his own had Vane not dodged it. "What was that for?"
Vane snarled at him. "For not telling me what happened to you, you asshole." That last word was loaded with enough venom to bring down a raging bull elephant.
Completely confused, he scowled. "What are you talking about?"
Vane grabbed him by the shirt and held him with two angry fists. "Aimee told me where you were all the months I thought you were in a coma. What pisses me off most is that you should have been the one who told me. Not her."
Pissed at his tone and hold, Fang shoved him back again. "Yeah, well you should have been the one helping me get my soul back. Not her."
"I thought I was dreaming."
Fang snorted. "Vane, come help me," he said coldly, using the words he'd tried repeatedly to get his brother's attention. "Not exactly subtle."
A tic worked in Vane's jaw. He gestured toward the rumpled bed. "And when I came in here to see you, you looked comatose. Everyone told me that's what was wrong with you. How was I supposed to know otherwise?"
How indeed. Fang glared at him and his obtuse stupidity. "You should have known better. When have I ever laid down and licked my wounds? Really?"
Vane looked away, his features sheepish as he realized the truth. Fang wasn't a coward. He was a fighter through and through. "You're right. I should have known better. I should have thought better of you. But I know how much Anya meant to you. I just assumed-"
That Fang was weak and incompetent. It was what Vane had always thought of him and Fang was tired of being in his shadow. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. What's done is done. Thanks to Aimee and her brothers, I'm back."
Bully that, given the way Fury and Vane had shafted him. But for better or worse, he was here in the human realm.
Come to think of it, he'd basically traded one hell for another. Tell me again why I fought so hard to get back here. . . .
Then again, at least here no one was trying to disembowel him.
Yet.
"Let's just forget what happened."
Vane heard those words, but he knew his brother. He'd hurt Fang and it would take a lot of time for both of them to come to terms with what had happened. In all honesty, he hated himself for not being there when he should have been.
But as Fang said, he couldn't undo what had been done. All he could do was make sure that he never let it happen again.
"We're brothers, Fang. You mean everything to me. I hope you know that."
Fang grimaced. "When did you turn into a woman? Gah, if that's what being mated does, I'll do without."
Vane shook his head. "Bride didn't teach me that. Losing Anya did. There are a lot of things I wish I'd said to her before she died. I don't want to make that mistake with you."
Fang made a face. "Yeah, well, please make the mistake. You're creeping me out with the lovey bullshit." He jerked his chin toward the door. "Your woman's downstairs. You shouldn't keep her waiting."
He didn't budge. "We want you to live with us."
Fang still wasn't ready for that. Too much had changed and living with Vane and his human mate . . . he'd really rather not.
"I think I'll stay here for a while. It'll be good for the two of you to have time together without your obnoxious brother intruding."