Rejected by the Alpha, Claimed by his Brother

I could only fake my casual act for so long before my whole body started shaking like a plucked guitar string.

I needed to get the hell out of here before my eyeballs did a full somersault from stress.

"Alright, bro," I said, pushing myself up from the couch, trying to make it look relaxed and not like my legs had just turned into overcooked spaghetti. "I’m gonna leave you to your beauty sleep. I’ll come see you soon, yeah?"

Luis didn’t answer.

Of course, he didn’t. He just lay there like the world’s creepiest wax figure, frozen in that same position, like someone had hit Pause on his very soul.

Yes. That ’someone’ was my Father.

A shudder tried to claw its way up my spine, but I swallowed it down and forced a smile that probably looked more like a grimace.

I backed toward the door like some idiot in a horror movie, keeping my eyes wide open just in case something decided to materialize out of thin air and chew my face off.

The room pulsed around me, thick and wet like the inside of a beast’s belly. I was just starting to realize the meaning behind my mother’s worry about coming over here.

I was just starting to feel it—the darkness.

Every step toward the door felt like dragging my legs through syrup.