I wasn’t sure what to think when we pulled up to my grandfather’s house. It was a small ranch that was clean and neat in appearance, yet the buildings showed signs of age and disrepair. I pointed out a rotting porch step to Sammy as we walked up to the door, shaking my head at the idea of a man with my grandfather’s amount of wealth sitting back and allowing his home to rot around him. I lifted my hand to knock at the door, but it flew open before I touched it.

A slim, young omega who bore a startling resemblance to my dad slipped out, quietly closing the door behind him. He stood still for a few seconds, looking almost like a meerkat watching for predators as he listened with an ear to the door, his eyes looking from side to side as if worried about someone or something coming along, before finally smiling and visibly relaxing. His bright grin was like sunshine that warmed my heart all the way to the soul. Bright chocolate-brown eyes twinkled merrily as he looked around our group before settling on me.

“Greetings, friends. My name is Chitavake, but please—call me Charlie.” He turned and wagged his finger toward me with a thoughtful frown. “I feel like you’re family and perhaps I should know you, yes? I saw you in my dreams last night, both you and your mate. Your friends, too.” He nodded politely toward Ian, Destiny, and Toby. “We never have visitors here, so I am quite excited to see you all. Was there something I can help you with, friend?”

“I’m looking for my grandfather, Sejun Alvi. This is his home, I believe. Is he around?” I looked around curiously, wondering who the heck this kid was.

“My babu is your grandfather? Then you must be one of the twins! The sons of my elder brother, Ansh. Is he well? I’ve long wanted to meet him, but Babu says that my brother has no interest in our family.” The boy spoke hesitantly, his eyes questioning even as he repeated the lies his father had told him.

“Wait, do you mean to say that you’re Kyle’s uncle? No shit?” Toby stretched out a hand to shake Charlie’s, accidentally elbowing Destiny in the side and nearly knocking her over in the process. “That’s super cool. Uncle Ansh never mentioned having a baby brother before.”

I was stunned, and it took me longer than normal to find words. “Charlie,” I said, shaking my head as I stared at him with wonder. “Believe me when I tell you that my dad has no idea that you even exist. If he did, he would have been an active part of your life. My dad loves family, it’s everything to him. It’s just that he doesn’t have the best relationship with his parents.”

Charlie started to say something when the door flew open. A short, stocky alpha stepped out, roughly shoving Charlie to the side with his elbow and nearly knocking the poor kid down in the process. He glared around at us before his eyes settled on me. “So. You must be one of my oldest son’s brats. If you’re here for money, you’ve wasted the trip. I’ve got everything locked down in trust funds. Nobody’s touching my money while I’m here to say otherwise. And thanks to your grandmother, I’ve got a long life ahead of me. You’d think the silly wench would’ve thought to tell a guy he’d be gaining a double lifespan when she was asking him to commit to forever with her snotty ass.”

“You’re not from a legacy family then?” Destiny asked politely.

“Hell, no. There’s a reason that people are given one lifetime. All this extra living bullshit is ridiculous. Whatever you kids do, don’t get sick of your mate. One thing they don’t tell you when you agree to a claim with one of you is that you’re locked into a double lifespan with one mate—whether you end up liking them or not. Fated or not, once you’ve locked in with the bite, you’re stuck and can’t even look at another person if you try to break up. Stupid, if you ask me.” He stopped talking to give a choking cough before he turned and spat a wad of phlegm onto the porch, barely missing the toe of my mini-uncle’s shoe.

Charlie stared down at his feet while he spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. “My parents weren’t fated mates. Theirs was an arranged marriage, from what Babu has said. He’s now cursed to a double life with no wife, so you can see his dilemma.”

His father turned and slapped him across the face. “Didn’t nobody ask you, brat. What’s the rule in this house?” When Charlie didn’t answer, his father gave his shoulder a shake. “What’s my number one rule, brat? Answer me when I speak to you, boy.”

“Don’t speak unless spoken to,” Charlie replied softly.

My fingers curled into fists, and judging by the cloudy look on Sammy’s face, he was right there with me. My grandfather wasn’t just a bastard, he was a miserable old man who had no business raising a kid. I was counting backwards from ten, trying to remain calm, when I realized the fucker was talking to me.

“Well, I ain’t got all day. Which one are you and what the hell are you doing on my porch?” He stepped in front of Charlie, as if to shield him from view while he stared up at me expectantly.

“I’m Kyle, Grandfather. And I’m here—”

“We’re here to visit,” Sammy interrupted in a bright, cheerful voice before I could finish my thought. “Hopefully you have enough room for the five of us, because there isn’t exactly any lodging nearby. Although I suppose we could shift and sleep in the barn, if necessary. You should probably know that I’m pregnant with your great-grandchildren though. We’re having triplets, if you’re interested.”

My grandfather grunted. “Let me know when they’re here, and I’ll add them to the family trust.” He looked around our group suspiciously before jerking his chin toward the door. “I ain’t having no kin of mine sleeping in no damn barns. You’ll sleep here in the house, but you’ll keep to yourselves and stay out of my way.” He started to turn toward the door, then looked back as another thought occurred to him. He wagged a finger at me as he spoke. “And don’t be putting none of your fool, modern notions into Charlie’s head. He knows his place and I’ll not have him spoiled by the likes of you city slickers.”

He waited until Charlie rushed in the house ahead of him, then pushed the door wider for us to follow him in. The house itself was clean enough, I supposed, but just like outside, everything looked worn out and dilapidated. The rest of my group was quiet, as if letting me take the lead while we got our bearings. Once the old man disappeared around the corner, Charlie beckoned for us to follow him.

“The guest room is in my part of the house, but it will be big enough for all of you. Babu’s room is in the upstairs loft, so maybe we’ll have a chance to talk after he’s in bed.” He bit his lip for a moment as if trying to decide something before surprising me by rushing forward, flinging his arms around my waist and hugging me tightly. My arms immediately wrapped around him, hugging him back.

“I’m happy to meet you, Charlie,” I whispered in a choked voice. “I don’t care what your babu says, you haven’t seen the last of me. You’re family, and the rest of my—our, I should say—family will be here to meet you too, I guarantee it.”

I was livid, completely pissed over the way this child was bullied and mistreated by the one person who was supposed to love and care for him. When Charlie broke our hug and looked around as if to make sure that his father hadn’t seen, it only made me angrier. In what world was it not okay for a kid to hug a family member or to be afraid to show affection?

After that, Charlie showed us to our room, a large dusty space with two double beds and a cot tucked up against the wall that would unfortunately go to Toby. He may have been the largest member of our group, but he was also the only unmated one. Charlie had to rush off after apologizing for leaving us on our own as he explained that he needed to have dinner ready by five o’clock. After he scrambled off, everyone started talking at once while I pulled my phone out and quietly called my dad.

“Your dad is going to freak the fuck out,” Destiny snarled. “Did you guys see that man slap that boy in the face? He’s lucky I didn’t kick his ass myself.”

“Thank you for your restraint, cousin.” Sammy shook his head. “I feel like we need to proceed with caution and not let the man freeze us out. We can’t help Charlie if we’re not welcome on the property.”

Ian flopped down on our bed, lying on his side as he leaned on his elbow. “I don’t know. I feel like we could just take the old bugger out and that would settle a lot of problems, if you ask me.”

I wanted to laugh but got distracted when my dad answered the phone. Speaking in a rush, I told him about where we were and what we’d discovered. Dad started screaming into the phone before dropping it with a clatter. After a moment, my father, Cody, came on in his place. “Why is my mate screaming about his bloody fucking parents and talking about suddenly having a surprise brother? Start at the beginning and talk slowly, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Taking a deep breath, I motioned for Ian to scoot over when I saw that Destiny had stretched out on the other bed. Ian playfully stuck his tongue out but quickly moved over so I could sit down at the foot of the bed. “So, I’m at my grandfather’s place in Nepal, following a clue for the quest. I met a young teen omega named Charlie. Apparently, he is my uncle because Dad has a younger brother that his parents never told him about.”

My father sucked in a breath. “Are you kidding me? Damn. And he’s with that miserable old coot? I only met him the one time, but the way he treated your dad? He’s nobody that I would want to have raising a kid.”

A growl escaped before I could stop it. “Precisely, Father. I don’t know how to tell Dad this, but my grandfather is obviously abusive to the boy. He slapped his face right in front of us because he dared to speak.”

I could hear my dad screaming in the background to my papa about his dysfunctional-ass family. Somehow, that brightened the mood for me. I chuckled into the phone. “Tell Dad to tell us something we don’t know. Having met his father in person, I can attest that there’s no fun in the dysfunctional here. It’s just all bad, Father.”

“I’m going to go talk to your dad, but do me a favor? Give your uncle a hug and tell him that his brother and brothers-in-law will figure out a way to help him. Now that we know he exists and how he’s living, we can’t allow this to continue. I could never look at myself in the mirror every day if I did.”

After a sleepless night spent tossing and turning in the dusty guest room after a simple meal of fried black beans and buffalo curd, we were sitting around the breakfast table eating a vegetable and potato soup with a fried bread that Charlie called roti. As strange as the breakfast meal was, apparently it was typical for the area.

Sammy couldn’t get enough of the delicious milk tea they served. He was on his fourth cup when my grandfather pushed his own plate aside and shot me a fierce glare. “When did you say you’re leaving, boy? There’s supposed to be a storm tonight, so you might want to get a move on if you’re flying.”

I shook my head. “We don’t actually have a planned departure date just yet. We need to visit the new brotherhood up on the mountain so that we can inspect the tree of life. Do you think they’ll mind if we visit?”

My grandfather shrugged. “Don’t see why not, seeing as how they’re all dead. The last one died off a year ago after a round of influenza ran rampant around the compound up there. I haven’t gotten around to doing anything new with the place yet.”

Sammy’s mouth dropped open in shock and he was clearly aghast but was keeping his mouth shut. I heard him clearly in my head though. “Is he being serious right now? Doesn’t he know that our parents promised that place would never sit idle? Even if the tree doesn’t produce fruit anymore, it’s hallowed ground and needs to be protected. I want to scream at him and call him out for not contacting your dad, but… I know it’s not my place.”

I subtly shook my head. “Baby, please quit doubting yourself. You’re absolutely right to think that my gramps is a dick who should’ve called my father when the new crop of monks died. He should have told him about a lot of things, especially my mini-uncle. Let’s just get through this and see if he’ll give us the keys to the compound. My dad can deal with the rest of it all when he gets here. If I were a betting man, I’d say my parents are probably en route as we speak.”

Turning back to my grandfather, I tapped a finger on the table as I tried to think of the best way to ask what I wanted without starting anything with the old jerk. “Hmm. Well, I guess if it’s standing empty, then the only one we need to clear a visit with is you, right? Would you mind giving us the keys to the gate so we can get in? Or would you like to accompany us?”

My grandfather waved a hand and jerked his chin toward Charlie. “I hate going up that hill anymore if I don’t have to do it. My joints are too old for that shit. Do you know how cold it gets up there? Forget that noise. The kid can do it, he has my permission to go along; just don’t get any wild hairs up your ass to go anywhere else. You can take him straight to the compound and right back home, or he doesn’t go.”

“We can do that; we’ll be pleased to abide by your wishes, sir.” Sammy spoke in a pleasant, respectful voice to the old coot. He tipped his head to the side as if trying to pick up on something then turned to me. “We should probably go right now, because everyone else will be arriving soon.”

“What are you talking about, baby?” I asked curiously. “Who is everyone and how do you know? Did you have a vision or did someone text you?”

Sammy giggled and held up his phone. “Both? I had a vision of everybody arriving right when we were leaving and Charlie was with us, so… I’m guessing it’s now? And my brother Jon texted a few minutes ago and said that he and Connor both had the same vision last night that we would need them today. Our whole group is coming.”

My grandfather stood and reached for a weathered cowboy hat that hung from a hook on the wall over the dining room table, of all places. He shoved it down on his head and jerked his chin toward the door. “If there’s that many strangers afoot, I’ll be coming along. The damn fool kid can’t be trusted to look after the place with more people sticking their noses in than just the five of you.”

“Is it me, or does your grandfather talk like an American redneck? Do you think he sees himself as some cowboy from a century ago? That would explain both his abusive, surly nature and his king of the world attitude, depending on what type of redneck he’s modeling himself after.”

I bit back a laugh as I rolled my eyes at Sammy. “If you’re going to mindspeak me, you can’t say shit that’s going to make me laugh—it will give away the fact that we’re having a telepathic conversation.”

Sammy just blew me a kiss and stood to wrap his arm around Charlie’s shoulders while my grandfather wasn’t looking. “Come on, kiddo. Even if your babu is along, you’ll still have fun. Besides, wait until you meet my brothers. If your babu acts like a jerk in front of them, they might just levitate his ass a few meters in the air until he screams for mercy.” As I followed them out of the house, my heart lifted just a little at the sound of Charlie’s soft giggle.