But what if he wasn’t?
What if Uncle Wayne was right and Anthony wasn’t actually Anthony?
It would certainly explain this unthinkable attraction and Anthony’s strange non-reaction to it.
Something niggled at the back of his mind, a vague memory he couldn’t quite recall. Liam focused and strained his mind, trying to catch the elusive thought. When he finally managed it and remembered the half-forgotten biology lesson in school, his eyes went wide.
Closely related alphas and omegas don’t get affected by each other’s heats and ruts because their pheromones repel each other. It’s a biological mechanism to prevent genetic flaws that have a high chance of occurring in children born from incestuous relations. Nature is smart. It protects itself.
How could he have forgotten that? All right, it was better late than never.
What now?
He needed to talk to someone.
For a moment, he considered telling his suspicions to Uncle Wayne, but he immediately discarded that option. Liam could only cringe as he imagined explaining to Uncle Wayne why he was suddenly suspicious after dismissing his concerns ten days ago.
Someone else, then.
Jules or Eric.
Liam considered it. Both had pros and cons. Eric was practically a walking encyclopedia. He was freakishly intelligent. He wouldn’t judge him. The problem was, Eric was socially inept and completely inexperienced when it came to alphas and attraction to them.
Jules was different. He was… normal. He wasn’t as smart as Eric, but he definitely had experience with alphas and attraction.
The thought made Liam chuckle. If the way Jules stank of certain bodily fluids after Westcliff’s visits was any indication, Jules had too much experience than was proper. Yes, Jules would probably be more useful in this situation.
Liam found Jules in his room.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, closing the door.
Jules lifted his eyebrows, looking up from his phone. Liam would bet anything that he was texting his fiancé.
“Talk to me?” Jules sat up, eyeing him curiously. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, actually. You’ve been acting weird for days.”
No shit.
Liam paced the room, unsure how to start. How did one tell one’s brother that he was attracted to their other brother and he suspected that said brother might not be their brother after all? Liam nearly laughed at how convoluted his thoughts had gotten.
“What’s wrong?” Jules said. “I thought you’d be happy now that Anthony is back and you don’t have to marry anyone—”
“He’s not Anthony.”
“Uh, what?”
Liam stopped pacing and looked at Jules. “That person who is claiming to be our brother is an impostor.”
Jules let out a laugh, looking at him as though he were crazy. “Come on, don’t be ridiculous! He looks like Anthony—”
“Does he?” Liam said. “We haven’t seen Anthony since he was a teenager and we were little older than toddlers! Do you honestly remember what Anthony looked like? Besides the blue eyes and brown hair?”
Jules’s brows drew together. “Come on. He has an ID! His face is on his ID.”
Liam pursed his lips. “I know. That’s the part that baffles me. The Inheritance Department confirmed his identity—”
“See? You must be wrong,” Jules said.
“I’m not wrong,” Liam snapped, starting to pace the room again.
“Then maybe tell me why you think he’s not Anthony?”
It was easier said than done.
Liam clenched his jaw, too embarrassed to tell the truth.
“What is it?” Jules said, sitting up straighter.
Liam was unable to meet his eyes. “He makes me wet, Jules.”
The silence was deafening.
Liam couldn’t look at Jules, but he had a good idea what his reaction was. Disgust. Horror. Revulsion.
“I refuse to believe that I’m that sick,” Liam said in a hushed whisper. “He must be an impostor. He must be.”
There was another long silence.
“Then who is he?” Jules finally said.
Liam breathed out, relieved that Jules was actually taking him seriously.
“I don’t know,” Liam said. “But I’ll find out.”
“How?”
Liam sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know yet,” he admitted, looking at Jules at last. “Thanks for believing me.”
Jules pulled a face. “I’m not sure what I believe. I like Antho—him. I have trouble believing that he might be lying to us. How would he even fool the Inheritance Department if he were an impostor? They run all kinds of tests to confirm the identity of a new lord or lady. A DNA test is one of those tests.”
Liam’s heart dropped. “So you don’t believe me.”
Sighing, Jules got to his feet and walked over. He took Liam’s hands into his own and squeezed them, looking him in the eyes earnestly. “I’m not saying I don’t believe you. I’m just saying that it seems impossible for an impostor to fool the authorities. It’s extremely unlikely, Li. I’m sure Uncle Wayne checked Anthony’s documents ten times over. He would have found out if there was even the slightest chance that they were fake.”
Liam couldn’t deny that. Jules was correct that their uncle would have triple-checked Anthony’s identity. But…