REIKA

TWENTY-THREE

I hugged my brother as hard as I could. I had missed his face so much.

My chest was filled with excitement until my eyes moved to Alban's and my smile dropped. Emm noticed it. He slowly put me down on my feet, but didn't stop hugging me.

Alban was sitting back on the sofa with his eyes lost.

—Reik...

Emmett called for me.

—What did you say to him?

—What he needed to hear.

I was worried.

At the moment, I didn't have the balls to admit my feelings to the world, but I was sure as hell I didn't want to lose him or for him to be hurt.

He made me and Arjun so happy. Alban could make me smile even in the darkest of times, but people didn't know that. They didn't know the sweet, caring, innocent parts of him. Just like I did in the past, they saw his last name and judged him for what they thought he was.

He wasn't perfect. Alban enjoyed pushing people's buttons on purpose and acting like a real dick, but I knew that was a front, his only defense, what he used to keep others far from him. He seemed to be himself and composed, but only when we were alone.

As I had understood, he was raised in solitary, with no friends, neighbors, or technology, just nature. He was mischievous and naughty at times, like a child, but not evil. Alban reacted like a wild wolf, stealthy, tense, on alert, and ready to attack whenever strangers were near, but playful and cuddly in the safety of his den. That must have been the part rogue in him. I didn't think he noticed it or could even control it.

—He is not what you think he is.

I looked back into my brother's brown eyes with a sad expression.

—And... What am I thinking?

Emmett asked with his eyes fixed on Alban.

—A heartless monster with an evil plan, waiting to stab us all in the back.

Emm smiled.

—He is way more simple than you think he is. I have carefully observed him for weeks. Alban is a one-mind-track kind of person, and does not plan, plot, or think like we have learned to do.

Stepping away from his hug, I placed a hand on my hip and continued. I kept my head low and my eyes on my man.

—I don't even think he's had a proper education. Even the solutions he finds for day-to-day problems are intuitive and basic. He doesn't own jewelry or have many belongings. We moved his things over and it all fitted in a medium-size box. I offered to buy him clothes, and he told me he didn't need them. He even hand-washes our clothes in the tub instead of using the washing machine.

—What? Why?

Emm half chuckled.

—He said that it would be wasteful to run the machine for an hour if it's just a few clothes. The same thing with the dishes. He thinks it's wasteful to use the dishwasher.

Emmett's expression turned pensive, and I scratched my neck. Alban was still lost in his own thoughts.

It was hard not to judge him by all the negatives, and by the fact that we seem to have come from completely opposite worlds. I always pictured my life next to someone like me, a city person, not someone as simple as he was, who was half rogue, and to top it all, was the last man standing from my family's sworn enemies. We were so different, but I couldn't push him aside. On the contrary, I wanted him near. I grew to need him and felt as if my life would be empty without him in it.