Chapter 30 Darius’s Halfbrother
The morning sun warmed my skin as I stretched myself across one of the pool loungers in the backyard. The mansion overlooked the ocean, and the sea breeze rolled over me, cool and salted, carrying whispers that felt like memories I didn’t have.
I had forced myself into one of the bikinis the maids had unpacked for me, a soft, pale blue one that made me feel a little too seen. Maybe I did it out of stubbornness perhaps because I wanted to prove, to myself, to him, that he didn’t own my shame or my skin.
The water glittered in bright slices of blue, and I lay back with my sunglasses on, pretending I wasn’t still exhausted. The sun helped a little. The heat grounded me, soothed the lingering ache in my chest from the nightmare replaying my father’s death again and again.
I wanted to forget everything for just a moment, Darius, the death of my father, the Council, the claustrophobic weight of the bond tightening around me.
Then I heard footsteps.
Not Darius.
Not the butler.
Lighter. Confident. Unhurried.
I pushed my sunglasses up as a shadow fell over me.
A man stood by the poolside table, a striking man, with golden blond hair that tumbled in loose waves down to his shoulders. His eyes were a molten blue, the kind that lingered too long and saw too much. His face looked carved, elegant, and wicked at the same time. He wore a tailored white shirt tucked into expensive slacks, the sleeves rolled just enough to show lean forearms dusted with gold.
“Good morning,” he said with a warm, easy smile that felt… charming. Effortless. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
I blinked. “Uh… hello.”
“You’re even lovelier than the rumors say,” he continued, and there was a teasing glint in his eyes, something mischievous, playful. “I didn’t think my brute of a brother had it in him to find his mate.”
His brother?
Before I could ask anything, or process why his voice sounded faintly familiar, another voice cut through the air behind me, low, cool, and already irritated.
“Faruk.”
I turned.
Darius strode toward us, wearing a black shirt that clung to his chest and shoulders, his expression already darkening like a storm brewing. His jaw was tight. His eyes moved from me, in my bikini, to Faruk, then back to me again, his possessiveness flickering even though he tried to hide it.
Faruk. The name clicked the moment Darius reached us.
I’d seen him before, on TV screens, on magazine covers, shaking hands with important people. The senator. A face most cities recognized.
Faruk grinned wider. “Ah, brother! I was wondering how long it would take you to show up.”
Darius shot him a glare. “Lyra, this is my half-brother.”
“Half-brother?” I echoed, still staring at the golden-haired senator who somehow managed to look both angelic and trouble-making.
Faruk gave a small bow toward me, dramatic and unnecessary. “Faruk Kade, at your service. It’s an honor to host the two of you.”
“Host?” I repeated, looking between them. “We’re… staying in your place?”
He chuckled. “No, it’s my big brother’s over here,” he said and patted Darius’s back. “But he never uses it and I claimed it as my own.”
“You did,” Darius said, and looked like he would almost roll his eyes.
I blinked. Somehow that didn’t surprise me, an idle, almost luxurious space for someone who looked like he lived at cocktail parties and political debates, of course.
Darius crossed his arms, annoyance radiating off him. “You should have told me instead of showing up unannounced like this.”
Faruk winked at me. “Where’s the fun in that?”
He had the same eyes as Darius, sharp, intense, but while Darius’s gaze carried an almost predatory gravity, Faruk’s sparkled with mischief and charm. Two different storms from the same sky.
Faruk leaned casually against the pool railing. “I wanted to stop by and extend a personal invitation.” His smile turned teasing. “I’m hosting a dinner party tonight.”
Darius tensed. “Where?”
Faruk gave him a look like it was obvious. “In this house, of course.”
I nearly laughed. Darius looked like he wanted to throw him into the pool.
“You’ve been neglecting your duties to party every weekend,” Darius said sharply.
Faruk shrugged. “And you’ve been brooding every weekend. We all have our coping mechanisms.”
I watched them. Same blood, different worlds. Where Darius was built like a living weapon, broad, muscular, carved like stone, Faruk was elegant, lean, precise. A swordsman instead of a hammer. Yet they had the same bone structure. The same intense presence. The same dangerous energy, but distilled differently.
The resemblance was undeniable.
Faruk turned to me again. “I would be delighted if you came. The city’s elites will be here, and I want to formally introduce you as—”
Darius growled slightly. “That’s enough.”
Faruk’s eyes glinted. “Relax, brother. I’m not stealing her.”
He said it jokingly, but something sharp and knowing flickered in his gaze.
I tucked my hair behind my ear. “I… don’t know if I’m ready for something like that, so I will politely decline .”
“Come on don’t be such a bummer. You won’t be alone,” he promised. “And besides, you’ll cause quite the sensation.”
Darius stepped closer to me, placing himself subtly between us. “She doesn’t have to attend anything she doesn’t want to.”
Faruk lifted his hands in surrender. “As you wish. But the invitation stands.”
He gave me one last charming smile before strolling away, whistling softly.
I watched him go, trying not to reveal how curious I suddenly was.
When he disappeared inside, I exhaled. “He’s… interesting.”
“He’s trouble,” Darius muttered.
I shifted on the lounger. “You two don’t get along.”
“We get along fine,” Darius replied too quickly. “When he’s not acting like a child.”
“He doesn’t look like a child,” I murmured.
Darius shot me a look, one that said Don’t encourage him.
I hid a smile behind my sunglasses.
Inside the house, when I’d finally wandered in to explore, I overheard two maids talking as they folded towels.
“I can’t believe the senator is back,” one said.
“Well, it is his family home,” the other replied. “Even if he shares only half their blood.”
“That’s not what I meant,” the first whispered. “Everyone knows his mother was the late Alpha’s mistress… and a Council member. That’s why he gets away with so much.”
My heart tightened.
No wonder he acted like the world belonged to him.
I had heard rumors before, whispers among wolves about the late Alpha King and his many lovers. It was said he was a notorious womanizer, taking countless women into his bed despite having a mate. The stories had circulated for years, and it was common knowledge among the packs and rogues that the Alpha King had fathered many illegitimate children.
Had Faruk lived his entire life knowing he was a second choice, an unwanted reminder of his father’s sins? Or did he grow up with his father’s love despite being an illegitimate child?
I shivered at the thought, and a deep sense of unease settled in my stomach no wonder Darius’s irritation felt deeper, older.