by Hazel Gower
* * * *
It was late in the afternoon when they were moved. Remy was still sleeping. Arden had been asked to help collapse the tunnels and check them all, but he’d refused. He wouldn’t leave Remy.
He waited for Logan to leave. He wasn’t getting on a plane with anyone else flying it. Grayson stayed behind too. He never left Nara’s side, even when Irene, Remy and Nara’s mum, had told him to leave. He’d shaken his head and said one word. “Mine.”
Arden gently shook Remy awake. “Pixie, it’s time for us to leave. We have to pack up these makeshift beds, and this is the last tent to go. I’m going to help so we can get out of here quicker.”
Remy stretched and slowly opened her eyes. “How mad are you on a scale of one to ten? One being ‘not that bad’ and ten being ‘you’re going to kill me’?”
“Oh, I’m a ten, but I would never kill you. Now torture you, yes, I would, like withholding your pleasure.”
She groaned and eased up from the bed. She bat her eyelids at him dramatically. “Just remember I love you lots and lots.”
He sighed. “I’m a sucker.”
He leaned in and kissed her. He needed her so much. He couldn’t wait to get her home and check every inch of her body. Remy moaned and gripped him to her. Fuck, he wanted them to be alone, he wanted to be inside her and wrapped around her. A loud cleared throat had him reluctantly pulling away from Remy to glare at a grinning Jamie.
“Sorry to interrupt you, bro, but we have to get the last tent packed up and loaded on the plane. Logan said once that’s done we can get out of this hellhole.”
Remy pushed Arden away. “Go. I want to go home and be in our nice, warm bed.”
Arden smiled. He loved that she called it their bed and their house. “While I’m working why don’t you go check on your mother, sister, and brother?”
Remy’s eyes widened and she glanced around. When she spotted the three with Grayson, she just stared.
“Pixie, do you want me to stay?”
Remy glanced at him, shook her head, straightened her shoulders, and stood. She fixed her clothes and finger brushed her hair. Then she nibbled on her lip. “Go. I can handle them.”
He raised his eyebrows but walked away. Remy could do this. If she could face a bunch of demons, she could talk to her family. He was sure of it.
* * * *
Remy was unsure what to do. Should she go over to her family? They weren’t with her. Maybe they wanted to be alone. They were probably going to leave again, so she shouldn’t get attached to them anyway. She didn’t need them.
They had left her. Remy’s mother dumped her at her grandmother’s, but she didn’t do that to Nara. Did she like Nara more? Crap, Remy hated thinking about stuff like this.
She had a family of her own now. She rubbed her stomach. “We don’t need them. I have you, and we have your daddy.”
Turning, she walked out of the tent. When she got outside she saw fields and a few men and women packing up the last of the tents. Remy decided to find someone and help. She wanted this over so she could go home and snuggle with her man.
Wiping a tear that had escaped, she took a deep breath and went in search of Ava. She was always in charge of something.
Chapter 13
Remy found Ava, and for the first time since meeting her she wasn’t helping, she sat glaring at Logan who was directing people where to put things in the plane. Lexie sat next her with her arms crossed, and she was sulking as she stared at Duke. Their men had gone nuts on them. Remy told them she had fallen asleep due to exhaustion so she hadn’t gotten yelled at by Arden yet, but it wasn’t something she was looking forward. She hoped by the time they got home he’d be too tired to get cranky at her and she might get off easy.
Finally, we were all seated in the plane, Remy sitting next to Arden. He didn’t look so good. He gripped the seats so hard you could see his clawed handprint in them.
Remy swore the flight home took longer than the drive there.
The relieved look on Arden’s face when they landed in the field at the military base was too hard to pass up. “You do know if we’d crash you’d be one of the most likely people to survive, what with your healing rate and extra abilities. I could survive at least if the plane went up in flames.”
His growl of, “Shut it, pixie,” had her giggling and feeling lighter.
Arden held her hand as they exited the plane. Military men and woman waited for them, and Remy groaned as General Beal walked over to them.
“Brilliant work, Sergeant Wolfen. I hear I have Miss Morris to thank for finding the demon hideout.”
Remy gripped Arden, holding him back as he snarled. “It’s Mrs. Wolfen.”
“Babe, he knows. He’s just being a jackarse. Look, General Shithead, now is not the time to piss him off. Go annoy someone else. I am not in the bloody mood to deal with your shit.”
The general raised his eyebrows. “I could have you arrested for speaking to me like that.”
Really, he was going to do this now? Remy sighed. “You could try. For one, I’m not a part of any military so I can speak to you however the fuck I want to. And second, I bet if I let go of Arden and told him to get rid of you I wouldn’t hear from you again. So go on, I double dare you to try and have me arrested.” She stared the dickhead down and grinned in triumph when he turned and stormed away.
Arden chuckled. “I don’t think he likes you anymore, pixie.”
“I’m heartbroken. How will I ever go on?”
Arden shook his head. “You’ll be the death of me.”
Remy rolled her eyes. “Your life was just boring without me. You’ll get use to all the excitement that comes with me.”
He winked at her and they walked toward the barracks. “I could get used to you calling me babe.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“Dream on, buddy.”
“I wasn’t dreaming. I heard it loud and clear. That’s the second time you’ve called me that. You want me.”
She shoved his chest. “Arrogant wolf.”
Arden drove her crazy, but she did love him. She stopped and raised herself on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his lips. He opened his mouth and their tongues met to dance and tangle.
She broke away, panting. “I always want you. It’s your animal magnetism.”
Arden laughed and unwrapped her arms from him. “Let’s go check in with Kane before my animal magnetism has me taking you in front of everyone.”
She nodded and they walked into the barracks and to the meeting room.
“I don’t think we have enough empty houses for all the victims, but I might have a solution,” Arden said.
When they entered the meeting room Remy was surprised to see her mother, sister, and brother. Grayson stood in front of them, daring anyone to say anything. She stopped at the threshold. “Why are they here?” she whispered to Arden.
“Remy, haven’t you spoken to them since you got out of the demon hideout? I thought you were doing that while I helped pack up.”
“I thought it best to see if I could help as well.”
“Pixie, I would have stayed if you needed me to hold your hand.”
Remy knew he meant well and wasn’t patronizing her but she was scared and upset that her family was close and she was left out, left alone. Remy felt like she’d been dumped all over again. Letting go of Arden’s hand, she straightened her back and walked into the room and stood next to Ava.
Once Jamie, Sebastian, and Blake came in the quiet talking stopped and Kane stepped forward. “We only have twelve empty houses. Fourteen as two of the younger men offered their houses up and said they would move into Remy’s house in town. I have cleared that as long as Remy is okay with it.”
Everyone looked at her.
“I’m fine with it. As long as I have money to pay for rates and water they can do the rest.”
“Good, that will help. Next we need to find more homes.”
Arden stepped forward. “I
have an idea. I have two spare bedrooms. Remy’s mother, brother, and sister can live with us.”
Say what? She looked over at her family who glanced at her. What the hell was Arden doing? She narrowed her eyes on the wolf. How dare he invite them to stay without talking to her. They weren’t her family, they’d abandoned her.
Grayson snarled. “Nara stays with me.”
Argh, what the hell? Remy looked to Grayson who now stood nose to nose with Arden. Stepping away, she put her hands on both men, who were staring each other down. “What the hell is wrong with you two? Grayson, what on earth are you talking about? My sister is not for you.”
Grayson was a slut. While she’d worked for him, she’d walked into one too many sexy romps with him and numerous different women.
“Stay out of this, Rem.”
Oh no, he didn’t. Grayson did not just tell her to butt out. She pushed Grayson and nudged Arden out of the way. “You so just didn’t tell me to stay out of this. I may have been dumped by them, but they’re still my family. That is my sister. I didn’t know she existed until today, but she’s still my sister. So don’t you dare tell me to stay out of this. I want to know what’s going on.”
Grayson’s eyes scanned the room and fell on a figure behind her. “Nara is mine. She is my mate.”
Oh, well that explained why he hadn’t left her side. Remy didn’t like it though. She didn’t want her family more involved with this, especially the sister she didn’t know. She wanted them safe.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “You sleep with anything with a vagina. I don’t want a tomcat for my sister.” She wondered if her sister would be given an option. “Have you even asked her? Maybe she doesn’t want to be your mate. She might want to get away from all this.” Remy waved her hand around the room.
A gentle pat on her arm had her turning to see Nara. She started signing. Remy wished she’d learnt sign language.
Remy’s mother came over with a soft smile on her face. “Nara says that she will not be going anywhere with the…” Her mother’s words trailed off. “I’m not saying that.” Kane chuckled and Remy’s mother shook her head. “Fine, but I’m saying it nicer. Nara isn’t going anywhere with the man arguing with her sister. She says she’s not leaving Remy.” Tears rolled down her mother’s face as she spoke. “She says she always wanted her sister and now that she has Remy she isn’t going anywhere with anyone but her.”
Her sister wanted her. Remy felt her heart squeeze, and she blinked to see through tears of her own that were sliding down her cheek. Gathering her sister to her, she hugged her tight. She felt better than she had in years. She had a sister who wanted her. She had family.
She saw Grayson watching them, and she couldn’t help sticking her tongue out. Nah, nah, she’d won.
He rolled his eyes and a grin slipped over his face. “I’ll give up my house too. I’m moving in with Arden.”
“Say what!” She eased out of the hug and turned so both she and Nara faced Grayson. “You can’t live with us. Cats and dogs don’t live well together. Tell him, Arden.”
Everyone laughed and Arden stepped up to her other side. “Pixie, Nara is his mate. He has been fighting for many years. He’d given up on finding her. He came here to live out his last days before we killed him when he turned feral.”
“What the fuck. You guys need to stop this talk about putting yourself down like you’re some kind of deranged animals. They said you were feral, Arden, and look at you now. No wonder you go extinct—you kill each other when you’re having hard times.”
“Remy, Grayson is close to a hundred. He’s lived a long life.”
“Holey moley, he’s ancient. He can’t be with my sister, he might start decaying.” Remy wondered how old all the wolves she knew were if Grayson was close to a hundred.
Jamie was laughing so hard he was leaning on the wall. Devlin was holding on to Jamie doing the same. Remy knew they weren’t old. They’d been at school when she’d been there. Arden had said she would live longer and that shifters lived a lot longer than humans.
“I assure you, Rem, that I will not decay,” Grayson said in a dry tone.
Remy looked at her sister. She was gorgeous, with long, flowing, strawberry blonde hair and big, warm, chocolate brown eyes. She was super skinny, but Remy intended to rectify that by fattening her up with a bunch of food.
Remy glanced over at Arden then back at Nara. Arden was the best thing to ever happen to her, and if Grayson was even half as good to Nara she would be a lucky woman. Her sister deserved what Remy had. “You can stay, but I don’t want to find hairballs everywhere.”
Her sister gave a soundless laugh and wrapped her arm around Remy’s waist.
* * * *
One of the barracks quarters was turned into a housing place for the victims until other arrangements could be made. Bengie had come and would be staying with the demon-boys who weren’t claimed. Remy had been happy to find that the youngest boy’s mother hadn’t been killed. She was alive and happy to see her son. There were only three demon-boys without mothers, and Remy knew they would find a family for them. One of the many things she loved about the shifter community was they loved children, no matter their age, race, or species.
Remy was nervous about her sister, mother, and brother staying at her and Arden’s house. Her brother hadn’t said a word and her mother wouldn’t stop crying. Nara, though, didn’t leave her side. Remy wasn’t used to having a constant shadow.
Once the meeting ended Arden had gone to his office and printed out basic sheets of sign language to put up around the house so Remy could start learning to talk to her sister without having to have Kane or her mother interpret.
Grayson had gone to his house to pack his things so he could move in with them. The house was going to be packed full of people. Grayson hadn’t been happy to leave Nara, but Remy wasn’t letting her go to Grayson’s house and Nara hadn’t wanted to leave her.
They had driven to the house in Arden’s car and were now parked out front. Remy looked at the neat little brick house with its white trim. The yard needed to be mowed, but the flowers she’d planted looked good. Getting out of the car, she opened the back car doors and walked to the front door, trying to remember if she’d vacuumed and cleaned up before she left.
She closed her eyes and sighed, leaning back as Arden’s arms came around her waist. “Stop worrying,” he whispered in her ear.
Wiggling out of his hold, she opened the door and walked into her home and down to the family room. Everyone followed her, and they stood there looking uncomfortable.
“Sit,” she told them.
They looked down at themselves and then at her clean sofa.
“I’m so sorry. We have two bathrooms. One of you is welcome to use ours. Come, I’ll give you each some clothes. My brother…I’m sorry does he have a name?”
“Emmett.” Remy’s mother turned to Emmett. “Stay with Arden. Mummy is just going to go shower and get dressed. I’ll be back.”
Emmett looked back and forth from Arden to his mum before he settled on his mum. “Okay, but only if you promise to come back.”
“I promise.” Remy’s mother hugged him and then nodded to Remy. “Let’s go. I’m eager to be clean.” She held Nara’s hand and they followed Remy down to the first bathroom.
“Towels are on that shelf. There’s a lock on the door. Come on, I’ll give you some clothes.” They followed her to her bedroom. She walked to the closet and got out two pairs of yoga pants and two tank tops. Going to her underwear drawer, she took some out, then handed all the items to her sister and mother. “They are all clean. Tomorrow we can go and get you some clothes.”
“I’d like that. When I get a job I’ll pay you back.”
Remy waved her mother away. “Don’t worry about it.” She walked into her bathroom and went to the drawers, getting out two new body scrubs. “I have strawberry scrub or mango scrub.” She passed them to her mother to sort out. Going to the bottom drawer she
got toothpaste and spare toothbrushes. “I have three of these, enough for Emmett when he has a shower or a bath when you are both done. I’ll get some clothes sent over for him.”
“Thank you. Thank you for all this.”
“It’s okay. We are family.”
“Yes, we are. I’m sorry, Remy. I shouldn’t have left you with Mum. If it helps, I didn’t know I was pregnant when I left you there. When Nara was born deaf I knew my mother wouldn’t be able to handle her, so we kept her and tried to stay one step ahead of the demons. I thought if you were gone they’d leave us alone. Ha, you can see how well that worked. We had run out of money and were on our way back when they got us.”
Remy didn’t know what to say, so she nodded. “Well, that’s everything. I’ll leave you two to sort yourself out.” Remy almost bolted from the room. She needed air.
She ran right past Grayson as he came into the house. She sat by her flowerbed and sobbed. They weren’t coming back for her. They were coming back because they were out of money. How stupid could she be to hope that they wanted her? They were only there now because it was safe and they had nowhere else to go. No money and no one else. She had saved them. She’d had hope.
Remy covered her stomach. “We don’t need them. I have a family.”
“Yes, you do, one that loves you and can’t live without you.” Arden sat beside her and gathered her onto his lap.
“What about Emmett?”
“He’s with Grayson.” Arden tilted her chin up and brushed his lips over hers. “I love you, Remy.”
“You love me?” Remy felt her heart soar. Arden hadn’t told her he loved her, although she’d told him.
“Of course I do. How could I not? You’re always thinking of other people.”
“No, I’m not. Right now I’m ‘poor me’, and remember when I ran because all I was thinking about was me? I’m a selfish person.”
“My silly little pixie, I bet those are the only times you can think of. I know for a fact that you’re not selfish. Someone who’s selfish doesn’t get a job as soon as they’re old enough so they can help their grandmother with bills. They don’t befriend the chubby, strange kid and stick up for her against bullies.”
