Chapter 58

Declan’s POV

Something is going on with Wes.

Usually, he seems somewhat pensive, his nose always buried in a book or his focus entirely dedicated to one of his many hobbies. The past few days, however, he’s been walking around like he’s trapped in a daydream, easily distracted and aloof.

That’s not all. He’s also been unusually happy, smiling and laughing with relative ease over the silliest things.

As we were walking to university just this morning, he smiled at the blue sky and pointed at the clouds. “Isn’t the world wonderful?”

“Are you on something?” I asked.

That sobered him and lowered his head. “No.”

Hugh then cleared his throat and changed the subject.

While the topic moved on to other things, Wes’s strange behavior continued to draw my curious suspicion.

He’s overly happy about something, but he’s not immediately sharing what it is.

If he’s not doing drugs – and other than the happiness, I have no reason to suspect he is – he must have some other secret.

I don’t like secrets. Often, I make it my habit to discover what they could be.

Wes is trustworthy, typically, but as one of the Alphas of this pack and as our quadruplet, it is unusual for him to keep anything from us.

But as he’s my brother and not a stranger, my first action is not to snoop around and discover what he’s up to on my own. He deserves a chance to tell me first, to come clean on his own. If he lies to me… Well, then I will find out on my own.

I wait until I see him coming out of the kitchen. What is a quick hallway chat between brothers?

Still, he jumps when he sees me. “Gosh, you are quiet, Declan.”

I know. I’ve practiced and perfected the art of moving without making a sound. It’s ever worked in my benefit, even now.

This might be a brotherly chat, but catching him off-guard still puts me in the advantage. Perhaps it is cynical to strategize every conversation and encounter, but it’s just my way of doing things.

“Wes,” I say. “Something is going on with you. Tell me what it is.” Blunt, precise conversations are the ones I prefer. Far too many people use too many words to convey their point. Oftentimes, it feels like they delude the topic, hiding their true meaning in a sea of useless words.

Wes, I hope, will not do this.

“What do you mean?” he asks, though his eyes slide to the right, looking down the hallway and not at me. There is nothing there; he is just purposefully avoiding my gaze.

“You are happier than normal,” I say.

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Wes replies. “Maybe I’m just having a good day.”

“You’ve been like this for several days.”

“Several good days then, all in a row.”

He’s being purposefully obtuse, of that I am thoroughly confident now.

He has a secret that he doesn’t even want me, his brother, to know about. That is troubling.

“A guy is allowed to just be happy, yeah?” Wes says. He pats me on the shoulder good-naturedly. At the same time, he glances at me. Seeing the flat expression on my face, he quickly glances away. “Don’t worry about it.”

With that, Wes sneaks past me and walks away.

I let him go, but I watch him.

Fine. I gave him a chance to tell me himself.

Now that he has refused, I will find out what he’s hiding on my own.

Ollie’s POV

Was it cowardice to sneak out to go to work while the brothers were all out of the house? Maybe. But that’s what I did anyway.

Now, at work, Nancy asks me about Sylvia, and I fill her in on some of my troubles. Nancy has come to be someone I trust, another friend that I so sorely need.

When I tell her about the flowers Jake sent and the card, Nancy becomes visibly irritable, her face scrunching up.

“He said he wanted to be the father of your children?” she scoffs. “You don’t even really know each other.”

“It’s definitely too much,” I say. “But so is all of it.”

“It’s not like him,” Nancy says. “I’ve known him a while. We went to school together. I’ve seen him have crushes before, but he’s never been so brazen.”

“I’m not sure he thought of this on his own,” I tell her.

She gives me a look. “Sylvia?” she asks.

“She left right after he did. She might be stirring the pot to cause me trouble,” I say.

“We need to talk to him,” Nancy says.

“I will,” I tell her. “Maybe I’ve been too kind. I thought he was just being friendly. But I’ll make it clear that I’m just not interested in him like that.”

Nancy nods. “That’s probably for the best.”

We quickly work out a plan, and when Jake comes through the door like clockwork, we put it into action. Nancy takes over the whole counter, covering for me while I take a break and pull Jake aside.

We sit at one of the two-person tables near the window. Grinning from ear to ear, he passes me a box of chocolates.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“Another gift,” he says. “Did you like my flowers?”

I don’t want to hurt him, but I feel I need to be blunt so he will understand.

“No,” I say.

He sits back in his chair, surprised. “No?”

“Jake, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I don’t know how to tell you this in a way that’s kind.” I take a small breath. “I’m just not interested. I’m sorry.”

I expect his smile to fall, or for him to get defensive or bottle up. Instead, he just smiles wider.

“You don’t have to be like this, Ollie,” he says. “I know you are shy, but I’ll prove to you I’m dedicated.”

“I’m not being shy,” I say. “I am trying to tell you that I am genuinely not interested.”

“I’ve heard you like to play hard to get. Don’t worry, I get the picture,” he says with a wink.

He’s not listening to me at all. “Jake…”

“You don’t have to be like this, Ollie. I’m not afraid of the Alphas or what they think about me. I don’t care how long it takes but I’ll prove myself to them. And to you. I’ll win your hand fair and square and you will all see how capable I truly am.”

I don’t want his persistence or for him to try to win my hand.

“I’m telling you that I just want to be friends,” I say. I push the chocolates back to his side of the table.

He immediately pushes them back. “Keep them. I’ll have more gifts for you too.”

“Jake, I need you to listen –”

“I keep telling you it’s okay. Sylvia told me everything. I understand you are stuck and can’t say how you truly feel. Just trust me, alright? I’ll fix this for us. You’ll be my official girlfriend before you know it.”

“I’m not –”

“Interested,” he says, finishing for me. He laughs as he stands. “I know, I know. Keep pretending if you have to, to fool the Alphas, but I know where your heart truly lies.”

“Whatever Sylvia said to you, it’s a lie,” I insist.

“She said you’d feel pressured to say that,” he tells me. “But don’t worry. I won’t give up on you, Ollie. On us. After I prove I’m capable, you won’t have to pretend anymore.”

He doesn’t wait to hear any more arguments from me. Instead, he winks, then turns and walks out, leaving the chocolates on the table.

I don’t want to waste them, but I don’t want to eat them myself. So I give them to Nancy.

“What happened?” she asks.

I only have one word for an answer. “Sylvia.”