Ruthless Desire

Chapter 1 - Hunter

For the first time in years, the house sounded normal.

Not quiet.

Never quiet.

God forbid a Vasallo household ever learned how to be quiet without someone bleeding, crying, threatening murder, or hiding a body-shaped problem in the basement.

But normal.

There was laughter coming from the kitchen. Freya's voice, bright and warm, floated through the hall, followed by Adri's dramatic gasp and Vivienne's very serious, very offended, "I am pregnant, not fragile. If one more person tells me to sit down, I'm going to stab someone."

I paused halfway down the stairs, one hand on the banister, and grinned.

There she was.

Our newest Vasallo by marriage.

Violent. Unstable. Beautifully unhinged.

Three months pregnant and already threatening homicide before dinner.

Leo really had picked the perfect woman.

"You hear that?" I called over my shoulder. "The baby's first words are going to be a legal threat."

Leo appeared from the corridor below, his dark hair messy, his sleeves pushed up, his mouth already twitching like he was trying not to laugh. He looked... good.

Not perfect. Not magically healed. Not untouched by everything that had happened.

But good.

His eyes were clear. His shoulders were looser than they had been in years. His hands were steady.

He hadn't touched a drink in months.

Months.

Sometimes I thought about that too much and it made my chest hurt in a way I didn't have a joke ready for.

So I made one anyway.

"You know," I said, reaching the bottom step, "I always knew you'd reproduce, but I thought the world would at least get a warning siren first."

Leo shoved my shoulder as I passed him. "Shut up."

"Can't. I'm processing grief."

"You're grieving my unborn child?"

"I'm grieving the peace we're all about to lose. That kid is half you and half Vivienne. We're finished. Done. Burn the house down now and spare ourselves."

Leo laughed.

Actually laughed.

Not the sharp, reckless laugh he used to throw around before he disappeared into bad decisions and empty bottles. Not the one that used to make my stomach knot because I could hear the hollowness under it.

A real laugh.

Soft. Easy. Annoyed with me.

Mine.

My twin.

Alive.

Better.

I looked away before he could catch me staring like a sentimental idiot.

"Also," I added, heading toward the kitchen, "if the baby inherits your brooding and Viv's knife collection, I'm moving countries."

Leo followed me. "You wouldn't survive without me."

"I survived twenty minutes this morning while you were busy being married."

"You texted me eight times."