The Year of the Tiger (Book 3 of The Almair Series) (Completed)

Chapter 65

I walked into my house, sore and exhausted, followed by my brother. I was annoyed with him and wanted nothing else but to wipe that smug smirk off his face.

I knew I shouldn't have let Shardul talk to my brother alone, and yet, I did it anyway.

Shardul decided to pack a lot of training in the amount of time we were given and made sure that I would only want bed when I was done.

His response when I asked him why he did that was, "you need sleep. Yes, you're running out of time, but you need to get as much rest as you can to make sure that you are at your best."

I bit back a groan and rubbed my neck, trying to relieve some pressure from it. I opened my mouth to say something to my brother but stopped when I heard the sound of kissing from the living room.

My brother was about to groan but stopped when I stopped him. He gave me a scathing look, which I ignored, and did a silent huff.

I walked to the entrance of the living room and grinned when I saw Nick and Jason locking lips without a care in the world. I had a feeling that they did not hear the door open and close because they were in their own little world with their lips on each other.

With my suspicions confirmed, I nudged my brother and started to gently shove my brother back toward the stairs, earning a soft yelp from him.

Shit.

My brother and Jason pulled apart, and I had a feeling that Nick went to investigate the sound, but I was already at the steps with my brother at my tail before he could see me. "Martha?!" my brother exclaimed, and I closed my eyes and took a breath before I turned around and looked at him.

Panic filled his eyes, and I had a feeling that he did not want anyone to know that he was gay or dating Jason.

"Oh, hey," I said. "I didn't know anyone was up."

He raised an eyebrow and looked to the living room, where there was a soft glow of a lamp dancing out of the room before he looked at me.

"Shardul worked me out hard," I explained. "I was debating whether or not to kill Brody."

"Hey," Brody complained. He scowled and looked at Nick. "Do you see what I have to deal with?" he asked. "All I did was tell Shardul that Martha needed sleep and advised him to work her out so that she would sleep tonight."

He raised an eyebrow and looked between my brother and me. His whole body was relaxed, and I had a feeling that he thought he was in the clear.

"I was going to stand up and find more information," I explained. "I still need to find out where Bethany is, though I do think that I have a lead."

Nick hesitated but nodded. "I do think you need sleep," he said. "You can look more into Bethany's disappearance after you had some sleep."

I groaned and pursed my lips. "I don't wanna," I complained. "I want to get this stuff done because I am running out of time. I don't know when I have to face the new person, but I know that I will have to face them soon."

"And you will be more killable if you don't get enough sleep," Nick said. "Your mental health is important too."

I stayed silent and shrugged. I knew that it was important, but I knew that I would be emotionally wrecked if something happened to Bethany, or worse, to someone else.

Nick's eyes softened, and he nodded. "I know," he said softly. "I know that you would be emotionally wrecked if something happened to Bethany or worse to someone else." He gave me a brother look, and I bit back a groan. "However, you do need to sleep. I think you will be strong enough to not be so emotionally damaged that you can't function, and I think we can deal without the Almair for a couple of hours."

I huffed but nodded because I knew that there was no way that I was going to be staying up, especially since I had been forced to do a physically draining workout that evening that had my body sagging. "Fine," I grumbled, "but just know that I don't like it."

Nick smirked and nodded. "Oh, I know that you don't," he said. He grew serious and looked at the living room before he looked at me. "Are you..." he trailed off.

"I am not aware of anything," I replied and nudged my brother when he snorted. "Even if I were, it wouldn't be my place to judge."

Nick hesitated but nodded. He again looked at the living room where Jason hid and then back at me. Debate filled his eyes, and I knew that he wanted to tell me, but for the respect of his mate, he didn't.

I yawned loudly and stretched. "I think I am going to go to bed," I said. "I have a long day tomorrow, so I need to be ready."

My brother nodded. "Good night."

"Night." I looked toward the living room. "Stay safe," I said. I looked at my brother. "Don't do anything stupid and don't get killed. Is that understood?"

Nick's lip turned upward in a small smile, and he bowed his head. "Yed, Almair," he said.

I nodded, twisted on the step, and walked the rest of my way to my bedroom, where I knew that the man for me was waiting.

I picked up my pace while I made it to the room because I missed my mate. I felt guilty for coming home so late, but I knew that he understood.

I was grateful for a mate like him, someone that was understanding and caring. I knew that I could lean on him if anything happened.

I just hoped nothing bad would happen, but I knew that life would always have the upper hand.

I would have to wait and see what would happen and pray that it didn't cause me to go insane.