Chapter 289: Brothers in the Shadows

Zahliver’s POV

The fine hairs on my arms lifted, and a tight coil formed low in my gut familiar, sharp, and unmistakably wrong. I had felt this strange sensation before in my life. It never came without a solid reason behind it.

That sudden flash of bright yellow in his eyes was not normal for werewolves, and it was definitely not normal for pureblood Lycans like us. Something about that unnatural color simply did not sit right with my inner wolf. But then he blinked once, slowly, and the strange yellow glow slipped away into the shadows, replaced completely with his usual deep blue-green gaze. That was far more familiar to me. Much more like my brother.

"Zahliver," Joshua greeted me, his voice dropping into a low, flat tone. His body remained entirely stiff, his posture unnaturally and oddly formal. He stood straight as a board with his hands clasped tightly behind his back. He was slightly smaller than me in physical build, but he looked suddenly subdued in a way that set off quiet, persistent alarm bells inside my head.

I stepped into the dim room carefully, my boots mindful of the broken shards of shattered glass scattered right at the threshold. I did not bother to ask him about the mess on the floor I had seen plenty of rooms look exactly like this after angry wolves completely lost control of their temper. And Joshua had definitely been furious about something.

"There is no need to act so formal with me, Joshua," I said calmly, coming to a full stop just a few feet in front of him.

He gave me a single, quiet nod of acknowledgement, but my voice quickly turned hard and unyielding.

"And there was certainly no need for what you did yesterday morning."

The heavy tension inside me that I had been trying to bury since yesterday morning rose up once again, cold and sharp. My brother tilted his head slightly to the side, blatantly pretending not to understand what I was talking about. But through the silence, I clearly saw the subtle shift in his blue-green eyes the sudden way his posture tightened up in visible defense.

That subtle flicker of guardedness instantly triggered my primal Alpha instincts to rise right to the surface.

"I am not referring to your sarcastic comments during breakfast," I said pointedly, taking another slow step forward as a small piece of broken glass crunched loudly beneath my heavy boot. "I am talking about the dark thoughts you were intentionally projecting through the air. Do not act like I merely imagined them in my head. I know exactly what you were insinuating about her, and I know for a fact that you meant for me to pick up on it."

The cool air inside the room seemed to drop a few degrees instantly as a heavy, uncomfortable silence settled between us. Then Joshua exhaled a long, slow breath, his broad shoulders shifting under the heavy weight of whatever he was about to say to me. I did not move a single inch. I needed to know what dangerous game he thought he was playing in my house.

"You are right," he admitted at last, his voice careful, his dark brows drawn tightly together. "I... was not entirely myself. I wish to apologize to you for how I acted yesterday morning. It was not right of me. I will speak with Vivian too, when the time is right."

He looked directly into my eyes as he said the words, his face completely serious. I gave him a slow, deliberate nod. Joshua was never the type of male to apologize for anything unless he truly meant it in his heart. And I knew my brother better than almost anyone. We had always been two halves of a long-term strategy he laid out the complex plans, and I executed them on the field. There was always a clear, hidden intention behind every single one of his calculated moves.

But I still needed to know the truth why. Why had he deliberately crossed such a dangerous line with my mate yesterday?

"So why did you do it?" I asked him directly, refusing to let his quick apology excuse his complete lack of an actual explanation. My sharp eyes scanned the dim corners of the messy room. Something felt deeply off in this space. It was far too dark in here unnaturally so. Even with the bright morning sunlight beating down outside the pack house windows, it was as if this dark room actively refused to let any light inside.

"I would say it was simply the unwanted presence of someone unfamiliar," he answered, his voice clipped and cold, his eyes narrowing slightly at me. "Or maybe I just do not particularly enjoy socializing with people I have zero intention of ever befriending."

Blunt. Sharp-edged. A little too defensive.

His harsh words did not surprise me in the slightest. They did not even really bother my pride. But what those words did do was piss me off to my core. I knew classic avoidance when I saw it right in front of my face, and Joshua was blatantly ducking the real issue between us. And as Alpha, I never repeated myself lightly to anyone.

"You still have not explained to me why I should not treat this situation exactly like an Alpha would," I warned him, letting the cold command in my voice echo through the dark space. "Like I would with any regular pack member who dares to disrespect his Luna. You openly insulted Vivian. You belittled her character. You actively tried to undermine her standing on her own ground, right in front of her friends, on a special day that meant everything to her."

I leveled my gaze directly at his face, letting the freezing chill in my tone reflect the dangerous anger pulsing through my veins.

"I do not care if you are my flesh and blood brother, Joshua. If you have a real problem with me, or if you have a problem with her, you come to me privately like a male and state your piece. But I will never, under any circumstances, sit back and allow you to disrespect my mate."