Read Online Clarity by Claire Farrell - Free Book Online

had managed to stand in front of me protectively. I got scared. Nathan rarely acted quite like that. His anger flew off him in waves, his eyes dilating like crazy, for no reason I could see.
    “We won’t get a chance to speak until the crowds move on, and seeing as they’re Irish, that might take a while,” Jakob said. I tried not to bristle at his words.
    Jakob sat in Byron’s chair, and Byron was pretty much in the corner, forgotten by his own father. He looked almost as pissed off as Nathan.
    “I found our fourth in Turkey , and this seemed like the perfect time to come home.” There was something exceptionally cold in his strangely flat tone of voice. I badly missed the old Jakob .
    “Yeah, that’s great,” Nathan said. “Find out anything important when you ran away?”
    Jakob stilled, his face paling with anger. “Enough of your attitude, Nathan. We don’t have time for the tantrums of a child.”
    “Why don’t I take the kids outside while you two catch up?” Starey McGawky said, ushering Nathan, Amelia, and me out into the hall before anyone could argue.
    “Kids?” Nathan sounded furious.
    “Come on, little cousin. I saved your life back there. Trust me. You don’t want to get in his way right now. Besides, you are kids.”
    “Wait. You’re Jeremy?” I blurted.
    “Who were you expecting?” he asked.
    I shook my head, swallowing my surprise. Jeremy looked nothing like the rest of the family. He was fair-skinned, blue-eyed, a little scruffy, and... different. On second thought, he resembled Jakob , or at least, the new version of Jakob .
    “Jeremy’s staying with us for a while.” Conspicuous hostility tainted Nathan’s voice.
    “Why the hell are you so edgy?” Jeremy asked, sounding more amused than annoyed.
    A wave of pink swam up Nathan’s neck and cheeks. “Byron warned me... to be careful, that you might get weird around Perdita because of the curse. But don’t get it twisted. She doesn’t belong to you.”
    My own cheeks flushed with heat, mortified heat, curl up in a ball and let the ground swallow me up kind of heat.
    Jeremy laughed as if Nathan’s warning was the funniest thing he had ever heard. “No offence, but I’m not into them that young.” He shook my limp hand, still laughing. “Maybe this needs a do-over. I’m Jeremy. I take it you’re the infamous soul mate. I apologise for looking at you without Nathan’s permission, but I didn’t expect the scary werewolf killer to look like a… well, a little girl.”
    Amelia giggled, smothering her laughter when I whipped my head in her direction.
    “Why are you back?” Nathan asked.
    “Grandpa Dearest pretty much demanded it. I came for the memorial, but he says I have to stay until we deal with business.” Jeremy shook his head. “Bossier than I remembered. He’s not doing so well; is he?”
    “Not really,” Nathan said. “What’s he been up to?”
    “Hunting them down,” Jeremy replied. “He’s hell-bent on finding the ones who came here, but even more determined to find the one who sent them. He reckons me and you need to hunt together. He thinks Dad isn’t up for the job.”
    “Byron’s up for it,” Nathan said. “He needs to think things through. That’s all.”
    “Well, whatever. No harm in having an extra wolf around in case there’s a fight. Any signs?”
    “If there were, there would have been a fight already.”
    “That’s more like it.” Jeremy slapped Nathan’s shoulder. “Where have you lot been hunting lately?”
    The conversation turned a little too wolfy and warlike, and I was more than happy when Amelia dragged me into the kitchen to let her brother and cousin bond.
    “Too weird,” she hissed once we got out of werewolf earshot.
    “What is?”
    “He’s our cousin and all, but I don’t even know him. He left when I was a little kid. Hasn’t been back since. He makes me uncomfortable or something. He kind of reminds me of... those others, you know?”
    She blushed, but I