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She pulled Kade into a fierce embrace, her body vibrating with emotion. His mother was just as beautiful and vibrant as ever—more so, her glow enhanced by the large, expectant swell of her belly beneath the loose-fitting, winter-white sweater and pants she wore. Ebony-haired with pale silver eyes that matched both his and Seth’s, Kade’s mother, Victoria, was a breathtaking woman. Like her mate, she, too, appeared no more than thirty years old, her aging halted by the blood bond she shared with Kir.

“Oh, my darling boy. I’ve been so worried about you! Thank God you’ve come back—and will you look at me, just in time.” She smiled, positively beaming. “You’ll have two new brothers in less than a month. Identical twins again, just like you and Seth.”

Although she seemed delighted by the prospect, Kade felt a sick twist in his gut. The talent that he and Seth shared, the ability to communicate with and command predator animals, was a unique skill passed down to them genetically from their Breedmate mother, in the same way that Seth and he shared Victoria’s smooth golden skin, dark hair, and exotic eyes. But unlike her, in Kade and Seth, with their father’s Breed blood running hot through their veins, the talent had a dark side. He hated to think that the pattern might repeat itself in another set of brothers.

“You look well, Mother. I’m glad to see you so happy.”

“I’m even happier now that you’re here. You’ll see I’ve kept your quarters just as you left them. Not a day passed when I didn’t hope and pray that I would have both of my beloved sons safe and sound, living under our roof again as a family.”

She threw her arms around him once more, and Kade felt all the worse for what he had to say. “I … I don’t know how long I’ll be staying. I didn’t come back to live here, Mother. I’m here on business for the Order.”

She drew back, her expression falling. “You won’t stay?”

“Only until my mission is complete. Then I have to return to Boston. I’m sorry if you thought—”

“You can’t go,” she murmured, tears welling in her eyes. “You belong here, Kade. This is your home. We are your family. You have a life here—”

He gently shook his head. “My life is with the Order now. They need me, and I have important things to do. Mother, I am sorry to disappoint you.”

She sobbed behind her hand, and took a few steps back on her heels. She wobbled unsteadily with the sudden movement, and Kade’s father was right at her side, wrapping her protectively under his arm. He spoke softly to her, tenderly, private words that seemed to soothe her somewhat. But her tears and sobs did not stop completely.

Kade’s father escorted her carefully to the door, pausing only to lift his head and level a hard look on his son. Their gazes met and clashed, neither one of them willing to back down. “You and I are not finished here, Kade. I will expect you to wait for me until I finish looking after your mother.”

He waited as ordered, but only for a minute. Time away had made him forget what it had been like to be in this place. He couldn’t live under his father’s roof any more than he could live under Seth’s shadow. It killed him to cause his mother distress, but if he’d needed a reminder that he didn’t belong here, he’d gotten it as clearly as possible in the look his father gave him as he was walking out the door.

“Shit,” Kade hissed, as he grabbed his duffel bag and exited the study.

He walked outside, thinking the frigid air would help clear his head. Instead his gaze was snagged by the sight of his brother’s cabin. He knew he shouldn’t go inside—he had no right, actually—but the need for answers was more powerful than any sense of guilt at invading Seth’s privacy. Kade opened the door and walked inside.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Some sense of chaos or the scattered clutter of a troubled mind? But Seth’s quarters were as neat as ever, not a single thing out of place. All of his furnishings and belongings were orderly and precisely arranged. There was a philosophy book on the reading table beside the