by Reid, B. B.
My mother had somehow discovered the real treachery that led to the formation of Exiled and was killed when she attempted to enlighten my father. Thirty years ago, Crow unwittingly stepped on Fox’s toes when it became obvious that he was favored to be the next Father of Thirteen. So Fox, in an effort to secure his own succession, killed Father and set up Crow to take the downfall. However, what Fox had done was discovered before he could take over Thirteen, and he was cast out with a hefty price on his head.
Crow, unaware of Fox’s role in his downfall, agreed to form Exiled when Fox sought him out. Their partnership ended when Irma, my mother’s best friend, found the courage to tell Crow why she didn’t believe my mother’s death was an accident. My father confronting Fox didn’t end in his favor, leading him to hide in the shadows for the past five years. And Fox knew he was out there, which is why he’d kept me close. I’d been as much his prisoner as Evelyn, but I’d been too naïve to see it.
And then there was my father’s other piece of news…
“You were too young to remember, but the two of you had met before. Once.” My father reached inside his pocket and pulled out a photo that was folded and worn as if he’d looked at it a thousand times.
I accepted it from him when he handed it over and instantly recognized myself—even at two—as well as the baby I was holding in the photo. It was the same one my grandmother had although I never understood why. Whenever I asked about the baby, she’d always explain him as a distant relative.
“Both of your mothers have the same photo.”
I was still reeling from finally learning why I’d felt connected to Ever all this time.
We shared the same sperm donor.
I shifted in my seat feeling uncomfortable. I wasn’t sure having the same father was enough to make us brothers. There was too much red tape. Like the fact that Thomas was more than willing to put up a fight. He’d been the one to hear Ever’s first words, watch him take his first steps, and grow into a man.
“I know,” I answered coldly. “I’ve seen it.” I handed him back the photo, refusing to give him the reaction he was hoping for.
Seeing this, he turned his wrath on Thomas as he stood. “This is your fucking fault. I asked you for one thing. Take care of my son and my woman. Instead, you fucked them both up.”
“Me?” Thomas barked.
“Evelyn went looking for me and got herself kidnapped by Fox, and my son went looking for her when you couldn’t be bothered. He could have got himself killed!”
Thomas slammed his fist on his desk and shot to his feet. “You don’t know for sure that he’s your son. As I recall, we were both there that night Evelyn got pregnant.”
I blinked as my ears began ringing from all the new information that, frankly, I could have done without. Sean and Thomas, unable to win the whole heart of the woman they both loved, had foolishly shared her, and now they were all suffering the consequences.
“If you’re so confident,” my father shot back, “why didn’t you get him tested?” Thomas didn’t respond, so my father went in for the kill. “It’s because you already know who he belongs to.”
They both looked ready to come to blows as the former best friends glared at each other from across the expanse of the desk. I was just grateful that Ever was at school, or he’d be getting an earful. If these two fools couldn’t protect him, that left me, his big brother. It felt awkward assuming the role, especially since I could never tell him, but listening to these two bickering like children fighting over a toy, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
“No one is going to tell him,” I dictated as I stood to my feet.
Both men’s gazes flew to me—Thomas’s filled with relief while my father’s filled with defiance.
“Why is that, son?”
“Because I’m not going to let you do to him what you did to me. Ever has a father, and I don’t know Thomas, but I know you. He’s probably a better father than you’d ever be.”
I watched my father stroke his chin. He looked deep in thought, but there was also anger there. “I stayed away to protect him just like I did for you. I did what I thought was best.”
“Then continue to do so.” I gritted my teeth. “Or I swear to fucking God, I’ll save Fox the trouble and kill you myself.”
Surprise and pride shoved aside my father’s anger, but I was numb to it. I meant every word. With one last warning look, I left them both standing there, gaping.
By the time I reached home, my father and all his fuckups had left me feeling empty. That bleakness he caused, however, was magically swept away the second I stepped through the front door.
As if on cue, Marvin Gaye began to croon ‘Let’s Get It On,’ and with my heart suddenly bursting, I chuckled knowing Lou was somewhere waiting to do just that. I knew then that in the lifetime that we’d spend together, there would never be a dull moment. She was the magic filling me with light, and I was hopelessly bound to her flame.
Stripping off my clothes one by one, I went hunting.
Three months later
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU doing?” Wren barked.
Startled, I jumped and dropped the bundle I’d been carrying as I stepped out of our room.
“Oh…” Bending down, I scooped up the clothes—his clothes. “I thought you were going to be another hour.” He’d left this morning to meet with his father, who now that Wren knew was alive couldn’t seem to stay away. No matter how much Wren pretended to want otherwise.
“I missed you, so I ditched him.” His gaze dropped to the bundle in my arms and narrowed. “Doing laundry?”
Ducking my head to hide my blush—and shame—I moved around him. However, he was hot on my heels as we entered the guest room closer to the stairs. The moment Wren saw more of his things already waiting inside, he cursed.
“Lou, what is this?”
Sighing, I dropped his clothes on the bed and tried not to wring my hands once they were free. “We need to talk.”
“So talk,” he urged while trying to rein in his anger and suspicion.
I took a deep breath. “The things we’ve been through forced us to grow up.” At Wren’s reluctant nod, I added, “Faster than we should.” He swallowed as his gaze shifted nervously, and it made me think twice about the blow I was about to deal. However, in my heart, I knew it was the right one. “Maybe we should think about slowing down?”
His confused frown morphed into hurt as understanding dawned. “You want to break up?” His voice broke at the end, an echo of his heart splintering down the middle.
I hurriedly closed the distance between us. “Of course not.” Grabbing his hand, I placed it over my heart, showing him that it still beat for him and only him. “It’s just that most people date a while, sometimes years, before they live together, and it still doesn’t always work out.”
“S-so you want me to leave?”
I immediately shook my head. I was Wren’s home, and he was mine. There was no way I was letting him leave. “I thought we could use a buffer. Someone to keep us from moving faster than we already are.”
He looked ready to argue when the doorbell rang. Nostrils flaring, he wordlessly left the room, and I listened as he stomped down the stairs. I couldn’t keep my grin from spreading knowing that the worse was yet to come. After running my sweaty palms down my purple cotton shorts, I quickly followed and found Wren holding open the front door. I couldn’t see his face, but I could tell by the tension in his shoulders that he was not happy about who stood on the other side.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“Wren Joseph Harlan, if you think I’m going to stand by while you shack up, you’ve got another think coming, young man.”
Wren’s hand began to strangle the doorknob, so I rushed across the foyer and pushed him aside before he could continue being rude. “Hi, I’m Louchana,” I greeted the tiny woman with a head full of gray and a stormy visage. “Please, come in!”
Wren watched wide-eyed as his gr
andmother stormed inside.
“Don’t just stand there,” she snapped when he didn’t move. “Pick up my bags and take them upstairs. I’ll be staying in whichever guest room is nearest this precious thing.” His grandmother smiled as she pinched my cheek, making me blush.
Wren snatched her suitcases up and met my gaze over his grandmother’s head. If looks could kill… Without a word, he marched up the stairs, and I released the air I was holding. The ache in my chest remained.
“You did the right thing calling me,” Winny said when she noticed my troubled expression.
“I’m not so sure anymore.” I knew Wren’s anger was only masking his hurt. If the shoe were on the other foot, I’d feel the same. Especially if he’d gone behind my back like I did to him and made this decision for us.
“He’ll come around,” Winny assured me with a pat on my hand.
I took her into the kitchen, and we talked over the tea and sandwiches she whipped up. She was more at home in my kitchen than I was. A homemaker, I was not. After an hour passed, and Wren still hadn’t come down, I excused myself to go face the music. I knew he was waiting for me and judging by the smile Winny tried to hide, she did, too.
Peeking inside the room that would now be his, my heart started to race when I found it empty. Shaking off my fear, I moved down the hall toward the master bedroom. Wren was sitting on the edge of our bed, bent forward with his arms resting on his thighs. His head slowly lifted as I stepped inside and crossed the room.
“You called her?” he asked once I stood before him like a child awaiting punishment. It was more of an accusation than a question.
I nodded.
“Why?”
Biting my lip, I struggled over a way to make him understand. “Because the honeymoon stage has to end sometime, and I don’t want either of us to end up feeling overwhelmed.”
“That’s not going to happen,” he bit out.
“I’m only eighteen, and you’re only twenty. We have forever, Wren. There’s no need to rush.”
His eyes widened before he shot to his feet, nearly knocking me over. “Is this about last month?”
I had trouble swallowing past the lump in my throat. “It scared you, too. Admit it.”
“It was a false alarm, Lou.”
“But what if it hadn’t been?” Last month, my period was late, and the aftermath when I counted the days had nearly been catastrophic. Neither of us reacted to the possibility of my being pregnant well. It made me realize that maybe we weren’t quite emotionally equipped to handle all the responsibility we now had—for ourselves and one another.
“Then we would have gotten through it. Together.”
“I know that, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be cautious.” He’d taken me to get on birth control, but it wasn’t enough to ease my mind. What if we had a kid, and one day, because we weren’t ready, we abandoned it too?
Rather than consider my point, his eyes narrowed. “I still think it’s a little convenient that you’re having this revelation now,” he grumbled.
I quirked a brow as my lips twitched. “You mean after I’ve gotten in your pants?”
“Yes,” he hissed.
I snickered, finding his insecurity adorable. But when he pulled me into him, and I saw the fear in his eyes, my amusement died.
“Are you running from me, Lou?”
I held his gaze as I shook my head. “Never again.” And then I kissed him. Soft, tender kisses that reassured him of my love. “It’s only for a little while,” I told him when I felt the tension easing from him.
“How long is a little while?” he grilled.
I bared my teeth as I peeked at him out of one eye. “A few years?” He growled so savagely that goose bumps appeared on my arms. “I’m kidding!” I rushed out as I laughed. “Just a few months, silly. Six months tops.”
“Three.”
“That’s not enough—”
“Three.”
“Okay, three,” I agreed with a sigh.
“And I’m not staying in another room,” Wren announced. More like dictated.
“But, Wren—”
He gave a curt shake of his head, cutting me off. “No, Lou.” I started to argue, anyway, when he gripped my waist and tossed me on the bed. “This,” he said as he moved between my legs, “is our bed. And no one is going to kick me out of it.” Kissing me, he started moving his hips, letting me feel how hard he’d gotten. “Not even you.”
I was ready to agree and promise to give him anything he wanted when a throat clearing froze us both. At the same time, our heads swiveled toward the bedroom door where a glaring Winny stood.
It wasn’t until now that I truly regretted inviting her to stay.
Sensing my thoughts, Wren smirked as he climbed off me and headed for the door. I watched him bend low and kiss his grandmother’s forehead before disappearing altogether.
Winny and I locked eyes, and when I saw the question in hers, I shrugged.
Chuckling, she shook her head. “I suppose I’ll be running for the hills long before you two send me packing.” With a wink, she quickly spun on her heels, likely to terrorize her grandson some more.
Later that night, I was standing in front of the full-length mirror frowning at my phone when Wren swaggered into our bedroom.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me as he wrapped his arms behind me. Even under all the tulle of my royal blue ball gown, I could feel his muscles and the heat warming me from underneath his black tux. It had been hard keeping my chin free of drool when he stepped out of our closet an hour earlier.
“It’s Four,” I told him as I read the text a second time. “She said she’s not going to prom.” It seemed the intervention we all ambushed Four, Ever, and Barbie with last month had worked but not in the way any of us expected. My stomach twisted painfully, not wanting to see Forever—as I dubbed them—end, but I knew she deserved better. Barbie, too, although I wasn’t sure Jamie was any better for her than Ever. Jamie could be brash, cruel, and unforgiving. Who knew what he’d do if he ever got his hands on Barbie. Their story was one I was very interested to hear but also one he refused to tell.
I felt Wren tense behind me as I texted Four that we were coming over.
“Then why the hell are we going?” he immediately griped. “It’s not even our prom.”
I turned around to face him. “Because it’s too late for either of us to go to our own. And because I said so.”
Wren was a high school dropout, and now, under the circumstances, I guess I was, too. I should have cared more than I did, but I couldn’t help thinking that I had everything I wanted at the moment. Wren, after all, had been right about me. What I desired most was a home I couldn’t run away from, and now, because of Wren, I had it. And he wasn’t just my home. He was my universe, too.
That didn’t mean I wouldn’t shoot for other stars eventually. I’ve never cared much about conquering the world, but after everything we’d been through, maybe one day we could both help to make it a better place.
Until Fox was finally eradicated, laying low was our best chance for survival, and now thanks to the friends we found in Blackwood Keep, Fox wasn’t the only one with a pack watching his back.
“I guess it’s not so bad,” he admitted as I straightened his bow tie. “You look damn beautiful.”
I blushed despite this being the third time he’d told me since I’d gotten dressed. “I know, right?”
Snickering at my response, he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me between his legs. “I am so goddamn grateful for snowstorms,” he said then kissed the top of my breasts, which spilled from the sweetheart neckline.
My breathing became heavier and faster with each press of his lips, and it was all I could do not to hike up my dress and mount him. Knowing Winny was somewhere lurking, I refrained. Paula, it is.
“And barbershops,” I said with a wistful sigh.
“And a certain homeless girl who wanted my cock.” I punched his sh
oulder making him grin. “All right,” he said with a sigh as he stood. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Quit your bellyaching,” I ordered as I crossed the room to grab my camera, “or I’ll make you dance with me twice.”
He groaned but wisely remained silent as he waited for me by the door.
When I reached him, I held up my pinky finger. “Best friends forever?”
Ignoring my finger, he stole a kiss, and with our hearts finally and forever open, he answered.
“Nope.”
Stay tuned for The Punk and the Plaything!
Jamie and Barbie tell their riveting story in the third installment in the When Rivals Play series.
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Coming May 27th-31st!
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Evermore
Return to the world of Blackwood Keep for an exclusive, bonus novella!
Four Archer was the toughest girl around. Just ask anyone. She’s the street racing daredevil who brought the King of Brynwood Academy to his knees. But watching her boyfriend fawn over his childhood playmate—even though it was just an act—would be her toughest challenge yet.
When jealousy rears its ugly head, Four questions if she can handle playing the sideline.
Ever McNamara has the world at his fingertips, but not even a private jet and a seven-figure trust fund can get him out of this rock and a hard place.
When a childhood pact puts their fairytale in peril, Ever must risk it all to keep her.
