LOGINNIKOLAI Derek goes still. River stops moving. For a moment, nobody speaks. Then Derek closes his eyes and exhales through his nose. “Damn.” I scoff. “That’s all you’ve got to say?” “What do you expect me to say?” “I expect you to understand that he had no right.” Derek's eyes sharpen. “None of that justifies almost killing your brother.” Caleb makes a sound from the other side of the room. “Thank you for realizing that I’m the victim.” “Shut it, Caleb,” Derek says without looking at him. To me, he says, “You knew this day would come. You knew that if you let Julian get close enough, eventually he'd need to know.” “Not from Caleb.” “Then from whom? You? Would you have told him?” I say nothing. Derek's expression hardens. “That's what I thought.” I try to move past him and he blocks my path. “Get out of my way.” “No. You're not going anywhere until you calm the fuck down.” “I swear to God—” “And I swear to God, Nikolai, if you throw another punch, I'll knock you uncon
NIKOLAI I see red and I lunge at Caleb. He twists aside, and we crash into the dresser together. Pain shoots through my shoulder, but I barely register it before Caleb drives his fist into my ribs. I stagger backward. He uses the opening to shove me away. “I was trying to help you!” he shouts. I slam into him again. “Shut your fucking mouth.” We hit the floor in a tangle of limbs and fury. I land a punch against his cheek. He catches me across the mouth. I taste blood, and the metallic tang only makes me angrier. He tries to shove me off. I grab his shirt and punch him again. “You don’t get to make decisions about my life!” “Someone needs to. You’re clearly insane.” I drive my fist into his stomach. He grunts, doubling over, and I take the opportunity to slam him against the floor. “Say that again,” I growl. “Go on. I fucking dare you.” Caleb spits blood onto the rug. “You're proving my point, you maniac.” I hit him. He hits me back. And suddenly it fe
NIKOLAIFor a moment, I go numb.The ice seeps into my veins, my entire body going cold. My head throbs even harder, almost keeping the same rhythm as my loud heartbeat.My skin tingles and I curl my fingers into fists, trying to regain feeling in them.The barrage of emotions going through me is almost too difficult to deal with.I want to do a lot of things.I want to run. I want to hide. I want to grab Julian and lock him up somewhere so he can never run away from me. I want to burn the whole world down.I want to scratch out my skin, until there’s nothing left of it. Until all the guilt, the anger and the contamination goes away.I want to scream until my throat gives out.“Who told you?” I ask tightly.Julian doesn’t answer immediately. He shifts on the bed, and I can feel his discomfort.I don’t want Julian to see me like this. I don’t want him to see this monstrous, dirty side of me, but I can’t help it.I’m too far gone.“It doesn’t matter who told me,” he says finally. “I jus
NIKOLAII never thought I could be someone who could enjoy someone else’s company this much. But the past few days with Julian have been nothing short of perfect.I smile to myself as I climb the stairs, a paper bag of art supplies dangling from one hand. Sure, I spent nearly three hours in a store arguing with an incompetent employee who didn’t know what the fuck he was doing, but all in all, the trip wasn’t a complete waste.I acquired everything I need, and I even bought Julian his favorite pastries from the bakery on the way home.He likes the chocolate ones. It was obvious by the pleasure on his face the last time I bought them for him, even though he pretended it was nothing special.He thinks he’s subtle. He’s not.I reach my bedroom door and push it open.“Miss me?” The words leave my mouth before I even look at him.Julian is sitting on the bed, his laptop closed beside him. He’s staring at the floor, his hands clasped loosely in his lap.He looks up when I enter.His express
JULIAN The world seems to stop. For a wild moment, my brain struggles to comprehend what it’s hearing. I stare at Caleb, waiting for the punchline. Waiting for him to laugh and tell me he’s messing with me, that this is another questionable joke that only he seems to find funny. But Caleb doesn’t laugh. Or look away. He just sits there, watching me absorb the words. “And I know that because I helped him bury the body,” he adds. “No,” I whisper. It’s all I can manage. Caleb’s expression hardens. “It’s the truth.” “No. You can’t just—” I shake my head, trying to make sense of what I just heard. “Nikolai wouldn’t…” I stop. Because what was I about to say? Nikolai wouldn’t kill his own mother? The same Nikolai who had told me, without the slightest trace of remorse, that he’d strangled his foster father with a belt when he was fifteen? The same Nikolai who spoke about murder as though it were something so simple like choosing what to have for breakfast? I press my lips toge
JULIAN I decide to turn the conversation around before he can say anything else I’m not prepared for. “And you?” He tilts his head. “Me?” “I thought you and Nikolai hated each other.” For a second, Caleb just stares at me as though I’d just told him the sky was green. Then he laughs. “Of course not. We’re brothers.” “He has called you annoying multiple times. He told me he’s thought about replacing you and bringing in a new brother several times.” Caleb places a hand over his chest, pretending to be wounded. “Several times? I’m hurt. I thought we were keeping our family drama private.” I can’t help smiling. “That’s the nature of our relationship,” he says. “I annoy him because it’s fun, he threatens to kill me because he’s dramatic and violent, and then we go back to being brothers.” “That sounds like a very healthy dynamic.” “It is very healthy. You should see us at family dinners.” I laugh softly, and for the first time since he’s entered the room, I feel some of the t
JULIANThe words settle between us, heavy with something unspoken.It sounds like a warning. Or an invitation. I’m not sure which.I just know, even with my senses tingling, I still don’t step back. I don’t walk away like I should.Around us, the party is still going on, loud and messy. But at that
JULIANHe walks across the room like he owns it. Like everything around him bends to his will.People move out of his way wordlessly as he passes, as if under a spell, creating a space for him to walk freely.His eyes flick over my face as he approaches, slow and assessing, like he’s cataloguing so
JULIANI hate going to parties. Always have, ever since I was a kid.Maybe it’s the noise, or it’s the being around people, or maybe it’s the forced social interaction.Whatever it is, I do my best to avoid parties.But one thing I can’t do is say no to Theo.Which is how I find myself in Rose Cla
NIKOLAIThe saws whir to life, drowning out the sound of anything else.The thick metallic smell of blood hangs in the air, almost overwhelming the rest of my senses.I focus on the process, not the body beneath my hands. I concentrate my attention on making clean lines, on making accurate, control
![The mafia King's Pet [M×M]](https://www.goodnovel.com/pcdist/src/assets/images/book/43949cad-default_cover.png)






