by Zoe Chant
Connor blinked at him for a second. Then he whooped at the top of his lungs, punching both fists into the air in triumph.
“You’ve been pretending to be me!” Connor crowed. “I knew you’d come round eventually. Go on, do me now. I’ll give you notes. Oh wow, we’re going to have so much fun.”
“That’s not what I meant! Of course I haven’t been aping you. I’m not a child.”
A flash of true anger darkened Connor’s face for an instant. “Oh, right, I forgot. You were born perfect, and you’d never lower yourself to my level. So what do you mean, bro? Remember to use words of one syllable and speak slowly, so I can understand.”
Here it was. The moment he couldn’t put off any longer.
Callum set his shoulders, and forced the words out. “Diana has no idea that she’s met more than one of us. She saw me doing a TV interview, and thought that I was you. She came looking for me—you—and…and I never corrected her mistake.”
Connor frowned. “Why not? And why did she come looking for me in the first place? Sure, we had a fun time, but that’s all it was.”
“Because…” Words dried in his throat. Callum couldn’t say it out loud, he couldn’t. “Look around.”
Connor stared around at the blank walls, then back at him. “I don’t get it.”
“Not like that. With your pegasus.”
Callum knew the instant Connor sensed Beth. His brother went absolutely still. For once, his face lost all traces of laughter.
“That baby,” Connor whispered at last. “That’s...her baby?”
“My baby,” Callum snarled. “No matter what happened that evening, Diana is my mate, and Beth is my daughter, and I will not let you ruin this for me!”
For a moment, Connor just stared at him, frozen.
Then, very slowly, his grin returned, even wider and cockier than ever.
“Okay,” Connor said. He reached for his back pocket. “Now I see why you called me. No wonder you’re so mad. This must be killing you. Wait a sec.”
Callum had been braced for Connor to…he wasn’t quite sure what. Shout, or try to deny responsibility, or go for his throat. He hadn’t been expecting Connor to pull out his phone, holding it up with the camera angled toward him.
“Okay.” Connor nodded at him from behind the device. “I’m recording. Go ahead.”
Callum stared from the phone to his idiot brother.
Connor waved one hand in a rolling, get-on-with-it gesture. “Come on. It’s just two words. You can do it.”
The only two words that Callum could think of at that moment were ‘off’ and ‘fuck.’ Not in that order.
“Thaaaaaank youuuu,” Connor said, drawing out the words with over-exaggerated care.
A conversation with Connor was always an exciting voyage into previously uncharted realms of stupidity. This, however, was overly bizarre even for him.
“What are you thanking me for?” Callum asked.
Connor heaved a put-upon sigh, lowering his phone again. “Not me, dumbass. You. You’re welcome, by the way.”
Pure rage swept through him. Only a lifetime of controlling his impulses stopped him from punching Connor in his smug, smirking face.
“You,” he got out, voice shaking with fury, “think I should thank you?”
“Well, yeah.” Connor’s smile faded, leaving him looking honestly bewildered, and a little hurt. “I mean, I’m the reason you met her the night of the bachelor auction, right? If I hadn’t kept her entertained and laughing all evening, she would have been long gone by the time you sulked back to the hotel. And you wouldn’t even have been in L.A. in the first place if I hadn’t pulled that prank. So come on. Admit it. For once in my life, I didn’t screw something up.”
The world tilted around him.
Conleth hadn’t recognized Diana. He couldn’t be Beth’s father.
Yet here was Connor—idiot Connor, who never knew when to stop, who always partied until he passed out—and he didn’t think he was Beth’s father either.
“Hang on,” Connor said, a frown crossing his face. “If you met Diana all the way back then—and she’s delightful, by the way, and you definitely need to do Gangnam Style as your wedding dance because she can drop some sick moves on the chorus—why are you only telling the family now?”
Before Callum could even think of forming a response, Connor’s mercurial mood flipped back to wicked glee. He threw back his head, laughing out loud.
“Oh, shit,” Connor gasped. “She ran off, didn’t she? It’s taken you this long to find her. Fuck, bro, just how bad in the sack are you?”
Diana had said that Connor had been drinking all that evening. When they’d been younger, Connor had frequently been found in some random field or alleyway after a night out. It wouldn’t be the first time Connor had woken up somewhere, with no idea how he’d got there…
Connor didn’t remember that evening. Just like he himself didn’t remember what had happened. Connor had no idea that either of them might be Beth’s father.
Callum’s pegasus stamped a hoof. Then we must tell him.
“Hey.” Connor was staring at him, his ever-shifting expression changing yet again, to something Callum had never before seen on his brother’s face. He looked almost…concerned. “Are you okay? It was just a joke.”
How many times had he heard that phrase from Connor’s mouth? It was just a joke, why are you so upset, I didn’t mean it…
All his life, Connor had impersonated him. Teased him. Tormented him, just by existing. By so effortlessly being a better version of him. One that people liked.
Connor owed him.
No! His pegasus flattened its ears. We owe our mate the truth! We promised!
“Come on. We’re brothers,” Connor wheedled. “For once, don’t freeze me out. Tell me what happened.”
Callum shoved his inner animal back down. Its advice had always been terrible.
And Beth deserved a better father than Connor.
“Yes,” Callum said. “I will.”
Chapter 22
“This is your big secret?” Diana didn’t know whether she wanted to hug Callum or throttle him. Possibly both. “I mistook you for your identical brother?”
“You can’t blame him for trying to keep it under his hat,” Connor said cheerfully. “I mean, clearly you’re going to be utterly devastated that your mate isn’t the witty, handsome, unbelievably sexy dance-floor god that you thought he was. Instead you’ve got…” He swept a hand at Callum. “Well, that. Feel free to burst into tears. Handkerchief?”
“Connor,” Callum growled.
Connor—who had indeed just produced an astonishing neon paisley handkerchief out of nowhere with a flourish—subsided, dropping his arm. “Just trying to be helpful, bro. No need to bite my head off.”
Diana stared from one brother to the other. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t spot a single physical difference between them. From their curling auburn hair to the slight cleft in their chins, they were absolutely identical.
And yet, completely different.
Now that Connor was no longer mimicking Callum’s stiff, closed body language, she could see the man that she’d met at the bachelor auction. Connor lounged against the cabin wall, posing like a male model; cocky, casual, displaying his body like a dare. His expressive, mobile face showed every passing thought.
Diana shook her head, turning back to Callum. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I should have done,” Callum said. “I’m sorry.”
“Words I have literally never heard him say before in my life.” Connor’s face lit up. “If you’re going to make him grovel, can I record it? For posterity?”
“Connor.”
“Just asking.” Catching Diana’s eye, Connor stage-whispered, “Please make him grovel. Cal never fucks anything up. This is a rare opportunity for him to practice apologizing.”
Callum made a wordless noise somewhere between a snarl and a groan of despair.
“Right, right.” Connor mimed zipping his mouth shut. “Shutting up now. Cross my heart. Not another word.”
Diana rubbed her forehead. She cast her mind back over the bachelor auction, struggling to remember the latter part of the evening. This was difficult, given how much tequila she’d been knocking back.
“So when did you two switch round?” she asked.
“Last thing I remember was heading back to my room to get a shirt,” Connor chirped up, apparently completely forgetting his solemn vow of silence a mere ten seconds after making it. “Next thing I remember, I was in my hotel room and the sun was way too bright. After that, it’s all a bit of a blur of vomit and misery. Ah, good times.”
A memory surfaced from the alcohol-drenched fog. She did remember Connor—or Stallion, as she’d thought of him then—complaining about the air conditioning, very late in the evening. He’d staggered off…and then, when he hadn’t come back, she’d gone looking for him…
“Oh God.” Diana covered her mouth as realization hit her. “Callum, it was you I ran into in the elevator, wasn’t it? You were drunk too. I practically threw myself at you, we made out all the way…oh no, that’s why you initially didn’t let me into your hotel room! And then I turned around and barged back in anyway…oh God. Why didn’t you tell me I’d made a mistake?”
“I knew you were my mate,” Callum said. His words became slower, as if he was struggling to find each one. “From the moment our eyes met, I knew. In that moment, I loved you with all my heart. All my soul. And you…I thought that you recognized me in return. Not as my brother. As your mate.”
Given what the crew had told her about shifters, she couldn’t entirely blame Callum for succumbing to instinct when they’d first met. It must have been overwhelming, to have his one true mate suddenly leap out of nowhere and attempt to climb him like a tree. But still…
“You can’t have thought that for long, though,” she said. “So why didn’t you tell me the truth when I found you again?”
Callum’s gaze flicked to Connor. “I’d rather discuss that in private.”
“What’s the matter?” Connor said solicitously. “Is your pegasus playing up? Well, I might not be the special one with the extra-strong power, but I can still tell that there isn’t anyone within earshot. So go ahead. No one’s listening.”
A muscle ticked in Callum’s jaw. He continued to stare at his brother, pointedly.
Connor looked round behind him, and then down at himself. “Oh. Right. You mean me. You want me to leave now.”
“If you don’t mind,” Diana said, wondering at Callum’s strange rudeness. “I’m sorry, but I think I really need to talk to Callum alone for a bit. I’d love to catch up with you soon, though.”
“As long as you aren’t going to bludgeon me with tableware again,” Connor said, flashing his easy smile. He hesitated, for the first time losing his air of cocky confidence. “But before I go, can I see—can I see my niece?”
“She’s sleeping,” Callum said curtly, before Diana could respond.
“Tomorrow, then?” There was something vulnerable in Connor’s expression, like he genuinely thought she might refuse to let him see Beth at all. “Please?”
“Of course,” Diana said, giving him a warm smile. “I can’t wait for her to meet her uncle. One of her uncles. I’m so happy you’re here.”
Connor’s face broke out into his widest grin yet. “You say that now. But I have to warn you, Conleth is the one who’s going to be the good uncle. He’ll remember all her birthdays and set up sensible investment accounts in her name. I’m going to be the awful uncle.”
“No doubt,” Callum muttered.
“I meant awful from your perspective. Beth is going to think I’m awesome.” Connor threw Callum a mock glare before turning back to Diana. He placed a hand over his heart, as though swearing an oath. “As the awful uncle, it is my sacred right to introduce my niece to all the best things in life, way too young, and behind your back. Like ice cream. And Norwegian death metal. And puns.”
Despite everything, Diana had to giggle. “Those are the best things in life?”
“Definitely,” Connor said solemnly. “I’m pretty sure that’s what Genghis Khan said. Or was it Conan? I always get those two confused. My history essays were legendary at school. All my homework, actually. Some of them became memes. I’ll send you the link to the Buzzfeed article.”
“Connor,” Callum said yet again, in the tones of someone who was starting to think that a life sentence for homicide would be an acceptable price to pay.
Connor held up his hands in surrender. “Going, going. I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll leave you guys to talk.” He raised an eyebrow suggestively as he backed out, grin hooking up even further. “Or whatever you’re really planning to do.”
Callum shut the door in Connor’s face.
Diana started to speak, but Callum made a slight, ‘not yet’ gesture. He stayed with one hand on the door, motionless, head cocked.
Finally, Callum’s shoulders dropped in a sigh. He turned. “He’s gone. At last.”
“You didn’t have to throw Connor out like that,” Diana said. “He may be a little, er, extra, but he seems to mean well. I like him.”
Callum’s jaw clenched. “Yes. Everyone does.”
His face was expressionless, revealing nothing. But Diana could sense his tense misery down the mate bond. He was wound tight as a clock-spring, nearly to the point of breaking.
“That’s the reason, isn’t it?” It was like finding the missing piece of a jigsaw. Now that she’d met Connor, she could see how he’d shaped Callum. “You were scared to tell me that you weren’t him, because you thought I’d like him better than you.”
Callum dropped his gaze, looking away. He started to pace in stiff, jerky steps, back and forth across the small room, as though he had to let out some of that coiled energy, or else explode.
“Everyone always liked them best,” he said. “Connor and Conleth. The impulsive, reckless, charming ones, just like my father. The loveable rogues that got away with everything. And I was…the other one. The quiet one. The odd one. The one who didn’t cause any trouble.”
Some of her irritation with him bled away in the face of that old, deep hurt. “That sounds very hard for you. Being excluded like that. Always being different.”
He shook his head in a sharp, slight motion. “I didn’t mind that. I wanted to be the good one. I could see how my brothers drove our mother to distraction. At least I could make sure she didn’t have to worry about me too.”
“I’m sure she worried about you anyway,” Diana said softly, thinking of how much she herself worried over Beth.
Callum paused mid-step, as though her words had struck a nerve. “I did my best. But it wasn’t enough.”
He shook himself, returning to his pacing. “In any event, Connor and Conleth were always coming up with mad, hare-brained schemes, always trying to get me to join in their stupid pranks. But I wouldn’t. So I became the butt of every joke. I wouldn’t laugh with them, so they made everyone laugh at me instead. You’ve already seen their favorite trick.”
Diana remembered how the squad had been gathered round Connor, totally fooled… “Pretending to be you?”
“They got so good at it, they could deceive nearly anyone. Teachers. My friends. Even my own family, sometimes.” Callum’s mouth twisted. “Other kids thought it was hilarious. Egged on by the approval, my brothers started to mimic me almost constantly. This was before they were diagnosed, so they had absolutely no impulse control. It got so bad, I eventually begged my parents to let me go to a different school. A boarding school, a special one, for shifters. A long way from home.”
“That must have been very lonely.”
Callum let out an ironic huff of laughter. “I loved it. I kept coming up with excuses why I had to stay over vacations as well.”
“Did it ever get better? At home, I mean. You said that your brothers were di
agnosed eventually, so I assume they got help. Didn’t that help you too?”
“Not really. Though Conleth stopped imitating me, at least. He didn’t need to. Once his ADHD was under control, he became effortlessly charming, effortlessly popular, everything I’m not…” Callum cut himself off, taking a breath. “Now he acts like I owe him an apology. Like I abandoned my family, rather than being driven away.”
“And Connor?”
Callum snorted. “You’ve seen what he’s like. He only takes his meds when he really has to. He loves playing the fool, making himself the center of attention. Pretending to be me is still his favorite joke. And people love it. People love him. Always.”
Diana let out her breath, slowly. “I think I understand now why you didn’t tell me any of this before.”
Callum gave her a small, bitter smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Connor can be me better than I can. Why wouldn’t you prefer him?”
“Callum.” Diana went to him, slipping her hands round his waist, feeling the coiled energy in his taut muscles. “You know I love you, right?”
The words slipped out easily. It was only when Callum looked down at her, eyes wide and startled, that she realized it was the first time she’d said them to him.
“Sometimes...sometimes it’s hard for me to believe.” His voice was very quiet, just the barest breath. The deep vulnerability in his green eyes made her heart miss a beat. “That you’d settle for me.”
Diana leaned her head against his chest, hugging him hard. “I’m not.”
His arms closed around her. His fingers clenched desperately on her back as if he was afraid she might slip out of his grasp if he didn’t hold onto her with his whole strength.
“I don’t deserve you,” Callum murmured into her hair.
“Well, I admit, you still have some apologizing to do.” She leaned back to glare at him, though she couldn’t entirely hide the smile that was tugging at her mouth. “I understand why you kept this from me from so long, but you do realize it was a really, really bone-headed move, right?”
He let out a long, pained sigh. “Yes. If it’s any consolation, when I sensed Connor was with you, sheer terror took about five years off my life.”