It’d been exactly three hours and forty-two minutes since I’d first spotted Seth sitting in that cell next to Talisen. In that time, I’d gotten exactly zero information from him on where he’d been the past eight years.

I sat at the kitchen table in the house I shared with Willow and Talisen, Dax on my right, Seth on my left. Willow and Talisen were across from us and Link was in shih tzu form on Willow’s lap.

After Allcot had freed Willow from her cell and Talisen and Seth and I had joined everyone outside, Allcot had invited us all back to his mansion for brunch and some serious R and R. Imogen had taken him up on the offer, but the rest of us had declined. Willow needed to be in her space and, more importantly, sleep in her own bed with her husband. I, of course, hadn’t any interest in staying at Allcot’s house, though my opinion of him had softened some. And I just downright liked Pandora. She was a vampire with some serious sass and gumption. Definitely my kind of woman.

I took one look at Dax and practically ordered him to come home with me. After forty some odd hours of nonstop turmoil, I was ready to give in and take some comfort. I didn’t know what that said about our relationship, but I knew he was the only one I wanted in my bed… whether the director liked it or not.

And that had left Leo the odd man out. He’d been living at the pack compound, but after everything he’d learned and done over the past few days, it was not a good idea to head back there, so Dax had thrust his keys at him and told him to stay at his apartment. He’d told him he could stay as long as he wanted because Dax was going to be with me. And that was cool… for now. We’d see.

“Anyone want more bacon?” Dax asked.

I raised my hand, feeling as if I was never going to get full again. Had I eaten at all? I couldn’t remember.

Seth laughed. “For such a small girl, you were always one that could pack the food away.”

I scoffed. “With you in the house, it was just self-preservation. Any food that was put on the table was gone within minutes.”

“Fair enough.” He winked at me and pushed his chair back as he stood. “Thanks for breakfast, Talisen. It was delicious. Best meal I’ve had in years.”

Talisen raised one eyebrow. “You’re welcome, but I’m questioning your meal choices since all I made was scrambled eggs and bacon.”

Seth laughed. “I’ve been… out of pocket.”

“I guess so.” Talisen stood and snagged Seth’s empty plate. He glanced at me. “Looks like we need to take your brother on a restaurant tour while he’s in town.”

“Sure,” I said. “Just as soon as we find out how long he’ll be here.”

“Not long. I don’t want to impose,” Seth said.

“It’s no imposition,” Willow, Tal, and I said at the same time, then laughed. “Really,” I finished “We don’t have an extra room, but the couch is yours for as long as you want it.”

“I appreciate that.” He bowed his head in thanks and snagged the mug off the table. “I’m just going to grab a refill, then get that shower I’ve been dreaming about.”

“You can use my bathroom,” I called after him. “First bedroom on the right at the bottom of the stairs.

“Got it.” He waved and disappeared down to the first floor.

I let out a slightly frustrated breath and glanced around, so grateful to have my chosen family back home safe and sound. I eyed Willow and Talisen. “You guys doing okay? Anything you need?”

“Just sleep,” Willow said with a yawn.

“Okay, well—”

Willow put her hand up, stopping me. “Enough, Phoebs. We appreciate your taking care of us. And damn, everything you did over the past few days. You know I never doubted for a second you’d find us.”

“That’s because she’s the best damned tracker at the Void,” Dax said, covering my hand with his.

“Damn straight,” I agreed with a grin. “Though I might’ve had a little help.”

“Just a little,” he said, grinning.

“Well,” Willow said, humor in her tone. “Aren’t you two cute. Is this a revival of that great affair y’all had a few months ago?”

“Wil!” I said, feigning offense.

“Yes,” Dax said. “And as soon as her brother gets the heck out of her room, we’re going to make it official.”

Heat crawled up my neck, but I didn’t deny his words.

Willow let out a cackle that actually turned into a yawn, and her eyes started to water.

“Okay, that’s enough ribbing our friends about their relationship. Time for bed, Mrs. Kavanagh.” Talisen held out his hand to his wife. And once she was tucked safely in his arm, he glanced back at us. “Remember, safety first.”

Dax chortled. “On it.”

The two fae rounded the corner, Link chasing after them, and a moment later, I heard their bedroom door close softly behind them.

Still chuckling from our exchange with Willow and Talisen, Dax helped me clean up. And when we were done, he led me downstairs. Seth was already curled up on the couch, his head buried under a blanket.

I eyed him, longing to talk to him. To finally get answers, but Dax tugged me into my bedroom, shut the door, and locked it behind us.

“We’re going to need some privacy,” he said.

One side of my mouth twisted into a smile. “Is that so?”

“It is. I have a lot of time to make up for.” He backed me up against the wall and swept a lock of hair off my shoulder. “I’m going to need extra time to get reacquainted with every inch of you.”

A shiver of desire tingled low in my belly, and I licked my lips in anticipation. “I think we’re gonna need supplies for this.”

A gleam of interest lit his dark eyes. “Supplies?”

“Yeah, you know, water, snacks, extra lube. We don’t want to get dehydrated or weak or—”

“Dried out,” he finished and dipped his lips to my neck, nipping gently at my delicate skin.

“Yeah, that,” I said with a sigh, running my hand up the back of his shirt. He felt so damned good, his body pressing into mine, his lips tracing my skin, his hands digging into my hips. “Dammit, I want you, Dax.”

“You’ve got me, Phoebs. In every way that matters.”

I pulled back and met his heated gaze. Emotion and something that looked an awful lot like love stared back at me. His eyes softened as he studied me, and I could only imagine what he saw when he looked at me. Probably much the same, only I wasn’t ready to go there. Not today. Not after such an emotionally charged weekend.

We needed time to process, to get to know each other, to just love each other in the moment.

I cupped his face with both hands and pressed up on my toes to kiss him. It was gentle at first, tender. Then he sucked in a sharp breath and deepened the kiss, taking it from sweet to hot and almost desperate in a matter of seconds. Our hands were everywhere, each of us fumbling with each other’s clothes, tearing at each other, needing to feel skin on skin.

And finally, when we were free of our restraints, Dax stared down at me, his dark eyes molten with so much desire he made me quiver with anticipation.

“Now that you’ve got me here, Mr. Marrok, what do you plan to do with me?”

A slow, sexy as hell smile claimed his lips. Then he let out a growl and said, “Make every inch of you mine.”

---

I woke amid the darkness. Dax was beside me, warm and naked and perfect. I stared at him, remembering the way he felt hovering above me, pressing down into me, filling me, branding me with his hot kisses and staying true to his word when he said he’d make me his.

He’d succeeded. Because as I lay there in the darkness, running my fingers through his thick dark hair while he slept, there wasn’t any other man I wanted beside me. Dax knew me. He understood me, and he for damn sure respected me. Add in hot sex and it was a combination I’d never be able to pass up.

I shifted forward, pressed a kiss to his lips, and then rolled out of bed. Then I threw on a fresh change of clothes and headed out to find my brother.

Seth wasn’t on the couch. I glanced up at the clock. It was just past seven p.m. Had he slept most of the day like the rest of us? Or had he left? The thought sent me into a mild panic, and I took the stairs two at a time and rushed into the kitchen.

There he was, sitting at the table, munching on the largest sandwich I’d ever seen.

“Some things never change,” I said, sitting down next to him and grabbing a chip from his plate.

He watched me munch and nodded. “It’s true, some things never do.”

“How’d you sleep?” I asked, not wanting to launch into the deep end of my questions right off the bat.

“Good. Comfy couch. You?” he asked, his voice inflecting a fair bit of innuendo.

“Perfect. Thank you.” I got up and made myself a cup of tea. By the time I sat back down, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Dammit, Seth. You have to tell me where you’ve been all these years. Undercover? Locked up? Amnesia?”

He let out a sad chuckle. “No. Those are all great theories though.”

I slammed my mug down, not caring that the tea spilled all over the table. “I don’t want to play this game. Do you have any idea how much pain I’ve been in? Or how long I looked for you? I just heard the other day that you’d been sighted a few times within the past couple of years. Do you have any idea how much that hurts? To know you’ve been out there and yet didn’t come see me?”

“I did come to see you, Phoebs. I just…” He ran a hand through his thick dark hair. It was the same color as mine, only his had a curl to it I used to covet. Now I wanted to grab it and yank some sense into him.

“You just what, Seth? Just what!”

“It was too hard… I couldn’t explain. It’s…” He sighed. “I shouldn’t be here.”

“Of course you should. I’m you’re sister. We’re family.” I placed my hand over his, and for the first time I noticed a platinum band on his ring finger. I stared at it, my heart nearly cracking in two. “You’re married.”

He nodded. “Listen, Phoebe. This is important.”

I squeezed his fingers. “I’m listening.”

“I don’t belong here anymore. The only reason I came back was because I knew about the ritual—”

“You knew! And you didn’t tell me? What the hell, Seth?”

“Phoebs, please. I don’t have much time. I didn’t know it would involve you or your friends. I had no idea about that. But I did know about Carter and Bandu. I’ve been trying to stop them for the past eight years. I failed the first two times, and then I’d say third time’s a charm, but you were the one who made it happen. I just got captured.”

I shrugged. “It happens to all of us at some point.”

“True. But I’d been working this case for the better part of a decade. Not the best way to end your last mission, right?”

“Your last… What does that mean? You’re leaving the Void?”

“I left a long time ago, Phoebs. Surely you knew that.”

I shook my head. “Actually, I didn’t know. All knew was that you were missing. Then I heard from some vamp that you hacked something for him, and I thought you were undercover. Didn’t you just say you were working this case for eight years?”

“Independently. It was the one I wanted to finish.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, now I have and it’s time for me to go back.”

“Go back where?” I demanded in frustration.

“Home,” he said simply. Then he stood and opened his arms wide. “Give your brother a hug, will ya?”

I practically threw myself into his arms, holding on tight as tears stung my eyes. We held on to each other for a long time, and when he finally pulled back, I noted he had tears in his eyes too. “I love you, Phoebs.”

“I love you too, Seth. Please don’t be a stranger.”

He gave me a sad smile and turned and walked out of the kitchen.

“Seth!” I called after him. “Wait. I have something for you.”

He paused at the bottom of the stairs, and I held up my hand in a wait motion as I hustled down the stairs and slipped into my room. It took me a moment to find the small photo album I’d kept for him just in case he resurfaced again someday. It was an album of the two of us, then pictures of me over the past eight years, documenting the milestones in my life.

I rushed out of my room, holding it up. “Found it.”

Only Seth was nowhere to be seen, and the front door was cracked open. I ran outside and spotted him near a tree in the park across the street. Relief rushed through me with the knowledge that he hadn’t just disappeared again as I stepped off the curb and headed toward him.

Seth glanced up, his brown eyes meeting mine just as I stepped onto the sidewalk.

“Hey, I found—”

“Goodbye, Phoebs.” My long-lost brother sent me a sad, wistful smile, blew me a kiss, and with a pop he vanished into thin air.