by Quell T Fox
Chapter Thirty-Three
Leona
I’m up extra early, knowing I need to talk to Callan. He’s always the first one awake. He makes breakfast for everyone in the house every morning. I don’t bother getting dressed yet, wanting to catch him when he’s prepping and not too busy. I head downstairs and just as I figured, the kitchen light is on, the outside world still dark.
“Callan?” He looks at me over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.
“What brings you down here so early?” he asks, turning back to whatever it is he’s chopping.
“I need a favor.”
“What can I do for you?” He puts his knife down, wiping his hands on the kitchen towel and turns around to face me. He leans against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. He’s already showered, shaved, and dressed. Dark grey pants with a light pink shirt. He always dresses so well. He has the dorky teacher thing down with his stylish comb over and thick, black framed glasses.
“Lenny said there may be a way to figure out some stuff to do with my, uh…” I look over to him, meeting his eyes. Lenny and I talked for a bit longer after my melt down. He assured me we would figure this mess out and I know we will. He suggested talking to Callan about his friend, Elias.
He nods. “Lenny filled us in.”
“Can you help me with that?”
“I have a friend that can. Shall I speak with him? I haven’t spoken to him in a few years, ever since he relocated a couple hours away, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind popping in.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to inconvenience anyone.”
“Nonsense. It isn’t an inconvenience. He loves this kind of thing. I’m sure I could get him here this weekend. Will that be okay?”
“That would be great.” I smile my thanks and head back upstairs to get ready for school. After I’m showered and dressed, there is still a lot of time before I need to leave, so I pick up my phone and consider texting Thorne.
And as if he knew I was thinking of him, I get an incoming text.
Thorne: What do you think about skipping today? So we can talk things out, of course.
I think it over even though I already know my response. Skip school? Why not?
Me: Okay
Thorne: I’ll pick you up at the normal time. Don’t eat too much, we’re still getting coffee and donuts.
I grab my stuff and head downstairs shortly after. I think of telling my family I won’t be going to school today, but what’s the fun in that? They wouldn’t question me, they’d just agree and well, I want to be a teenager right now. So I decide I won’t be telling them. I’ll deal with it when they call, questioning me about why the school is calling about me being absent.
I do as Thorne asked and I don’t eat a lot for breakfast. Callan made omelets, which aren’t exactly my favorite. Eggs are one of the things my mother bought often because they are cheap. I ate them so often as a kid I don’t enjoy them so much now. I eat half and give the other half to Lenny, who is our live-in garbage disposal. Between him and Grim, there is never a scrap of food thrown away.
When my phone dings, I grab my bag and rush out the door, quickly saying bye to everyone. Thorne is waiting outside by the Jeep, ready to open the door for me like he does every morning. Only this time he greets me with his arm around my waist and a kiss, right on my lips. Something I let him get away with, considering he is my mate.
“Where are we going?” I ask after we pick up our usual coffee and donuts.
“My house. My parents are out of town and—”
“And you’re just telling me this now?” I ask, shocking myself. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about yesterday. The feeling of him inside of me…
“And,” he emphasizes. “I was going to see if you wanted to come over since they only left this morning.”
I smile to myself, turning my head to watch the trees fly by the window as we drive down the road.
“I’d like that,” I finally say after a short silence. The ride takes about forty-five minutes. I didn’t realize he lived this far away. I knew his old school was half an hour away, but for some reason this extra fifteen minutes makes a big difference.
We drive down a long stretch of road with nothing but trees on both sides. Not out of the norm for around here but traveling this far from home I’d expected a change of scenery. This will be the furthest I’ve been from home since I moved here. I’ve never been comfortable going too far away, even with my family. Much to my surprise, heading away with Thorne is exciting and I feel unexpectedly comfortable.
He turns down a road I would have missed if I were driving. The road cuts between the trees and opens up into a cul-de-sac that sits six houses; all of them are huge.
“Everyone in the pack lives around here. A few families are here while others aren’t too far down the road, and some are across the street.”
“Do you have to live together?”
“Packs should stay close. Stronger in numbers and all.”
He pulls into the driveway of the second house on the left. “Hunter lives on the end over there,” he points across the circle. “And Castor lives next door.” I note Thorne’s Jeep is the only car in the driveway. In fact, none of the other driveways have cars in them at all.
Each house has a large yard and quite a bit of space until the next one. In the center of the cul-de-sac is a stone fountain with a wolf in the middle. Perfectly trimmed bushes line the bottom of it with a few benches—I’m sure no one uses them—sits in front of those.
“Doesn’t look like they’re home.”
Thorne grabs his coffee and gets out of the Jeep. I grab mine and do the same.
“They’ll be here shortly. They had something to do first.”
I follow him up the driveway and towards the front door of his house. He unlocks the door with his fingerprint and lets us both in. The foyer is narrow, housing only an accent chair, end table, and a set of stairs. He drops his keys onto the end table with a clank and shuts the door behind us.
“Grand tour?”
“Of course,” I say with a smile.
Thorne offers his hand and I take it all too quickly.
From the outside, the house looks as if it would be filled with unused space and useless decor, but to my surprise, his house is decorated rather homey. Each and every room looks lived in. The house is clean, but not spotless.
As we reach his room, he swings the door open but doesn’t step inside. Standing behind me, he places his hands on my hips, sliding them around me, causing warmth to pool in my lower belly. He leans his head down, his lips finding my neck. His scent enters my nose and my head falls back to his shoulder, just breathing him in.
Thorne places open mouthed kisses along my neck, stopping by my ear and whispers, “I would love nothing more than to take you in there, get you naked, and fuck you on my bed.” His dick is hard and pressing into my backside. I open my mouth, ready to tell him to do it but the door downstairs slams shut and I’m brought out of my fantasy and back to reality. The reality that is me having to talk to Hunter and Castor after they’ve been nothing but jerks to me the last few weeks.
He lets out an annoyed sigh and asks, “You ready?” He presses another kiss to my neck, making me want to stay here with him instead but I know that isn’t an option. I doubt they’d let us get away with it.
“As I’ll ever be.”
He takes my hand and leads me back downstairs. Photos of him and his family line the stairwell. I saw them as we came up, but I give them another glance as we walk down. Thorne looks like the perfect mix of his parents. He gets his height and build from his dad. The hair color too, but his eyes are from his mom. His parents are attractive, I see why Thorne is so beautiful.
Hunter’s obnoxious laugh fills the air as we take the last step down. As much as I want to cringe, it actually causes my stomach to flutter, because I’ve never heard him laugh before; not like that. Is this the real him? Does he act this way with his friends?
“There you are!” Hunter calls as we enter the room. “What the hell were—oh.”
The last part comes out of his mouth when his eyes land on me. Walking into the room I was hidden behind Thorne, not intentionally, it just happened that way. Thorne is huge and many things could get lost behind him.
“What’s going on, Thorne?” Castor asks in a light, but bored tone.
“We need to talk to you,” he responds.
“And you couldn’t have told us that?”
“You wouldn’t have come if I did.”
“You’re right,” Hunter says, standing from the stool he was seated at. “And I don’t plan on staying now either. Come on, Cas.” Hunter gives me a disgusted look as he walks by. He stops as he exits the kitchen, turning around to look back at Castor who hasn’t moved from his spot, a smirk on his face. “Cas?”
“I think I’d like to hear what they have to say.” His eyes flick to Hunter. “After all, wouldn’t you like to know why?”
Why? Why what?
“Can’t say I care enough to stick around.” He turns around again and takes a step towards the door.
“Hunter, sit the fuck down.” Castor’s tone is nothing less than scary, dripping with venom, but the goosebumps popping over my skin aren’t out of fear.
Hunter stops immediately, his body tensing. He turns around, his hands clenched into fists. He slowly walks back into the room, shoulder checking Thorne on the way in, but it barely does anything to him. Hunter shouldn’t be picking fights with guys the size of Thorne. He isn’t small by any means; you can tell he’d hold his own in a fight. His body is strong and muscled. Aside from that, Hunter has brains. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but I can see what he hides under his mask. And as the old saying goes… brains over brawns.
“You going to give him a treat too?” Thorne laughs beside me while Hunter looks like his head is about to explode. Castor only smiles, but not a happy one. It’s a sinister smile, one that promises payback. A simple look from Castor can turn his features from handsome to deadly. Though, even in that form he’s drop dead fucking gorgeous. All dark hair and firm lines.
I would totally sit on his face.
“Why don’t you come take a seat over here,” Castor pats the countertop at the end of the island, his tone is softer than it normally is. “You can tell us everything and we will listen.”
I give him a skeptical look. It seems he’s being nice, but I can tell he’s being a smartass. I will not fall for his bullshit. See, Hunter is open with how he feels and has no issue telling you about it. But Castor? He’s different. The dangerous one. The one that gets you when you least expect it.
I look up to Thorne who has not left my side. He returns my gaze, giving me a small smile. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” he tells me. “If you want to leave, we can leave.”
I slide my hand up his chest and hook it around his neck, pulling him down. I press a kiss to his lips and whisper, “Thank you.”
I walk to the island, right past Hunter who ignores me, and take my seat at the end of it. Thorne hesitates for a moment, but eventually takes the seat across from me. I don’t waste any time jumping right into it. I don’t share the same information about my past that I gave Thorne; I only tell them what they need to know. I also leave out the part about the stalker slash killer situation, but I tell them everything that I know and all that I’ve found out.
“There’s only one way to find out for sure, you know that, right?” Hunter says to Castor, a cocky smile sliding across his lips. “And if she isn’t—”
“And if she isn’t, what? It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve shared a girl,” Castor responds, his eyes never leaving mine. His words hold more a question, as if he’s testing Hunter, and I sure hope he chooses the correct answer.
Castor is intimidating. Even now, after I’ve decided I’m totally over his macho bullshit. Take me out on a date and act like it didn’t happen, kind of bullshit. I don’t like giving people power over me. I hate feeling helpless. That isn’t how Castor makes me feel, though. I don’t feel helpless with him. I feel… willful. The need to knock him down a step is high on my list of things to do. To both him and Hunter.
Why does Thorne hang out with these guys?
My stomach rolls with his admission of sharing women, my thoughts immediately going to Cassidy and I think I’m going to be sick. I open my mouth to say something snarky, but Thorne beats me to it.
“Not happening,” he says firmly.
“You don’t have a say in that,” Castor says smoothly.
“I do, actually. And even if I didn’t, she does, and her answer would be the same.”
“It’s not the only way,” I add quietly. I know what Hunter is getting at. The mating ritual. Callan explained enough about it to me, but it doesn’t need to go there. Not yet.
I mean, not that I don’t want to drop my pants and let all three of them have their way with me, but I know there needs to be some groundwork done first. They’ve been too big of assholes for me to give it up so easily.
“How do you mean?” Castor asks, actually sounding interested in something I’ve said. He hasn’t been this interested in me since the first day he sat beside me in the cafeteria. That day he was full of intrigue and wonder. Each day after it slowly faded until it was non-existent. I can hear it in his voice now, though. He wants to know more.
Hunter is sitting across from Castor, no longer paying attention. I don’t have the energy to care about his bad attitude, so I do what I’ve come to do best. Ignore it.
“My uncle is a knowledge manipulator. He has a friend who can perform some tests. He is going to be at my house this weekend to confirm a few things.” I lick my bottom lip, looking up at all three of them. “He is running a new experiment and has agreed to help us. We can talk about the bonding process after that happens. I want to be sure before—”
“New experiment? It’s probably rigged!” Hunter says loudly, pounding his fist on the table.
Ah, so he is listening.
“Cut it with the attitude, Hunter. It isn’t necessary,” Thorne adds in a low growl. I give him a reassuring smile because I can see his anger rising. Hunter scoffs at Thorne’s words and goes back to looking at his phone; the same thing he’s been doing since he sat down.
I’m sick of him being an insensitive asshole.
I reach over and pluck his phone from his hands and shove it into my bra quickly. He turns red in an instant, his jaw clenching.
“Think I won’t go in there to get it, Princess? I’ve dealt with a lot bigger.”
“I’d love to see you try,” I add, a slow grin sliding across my lips. He gets to his feet, placing his hands flat on the counter and bending towards me.
“Don’t,” Castor says, holding out a hand towards Hunter. He doesn’t pull his eyes from me, his bright blues darkened with what I can only interpret as hatred. It doesn’t bother me because I can see beyond it. I see the hurt and betrayal in his eyes too. I don’t know why it’s there, but I’m going to find out. I’ve never been interested in easy. I want something difficult; something that is going to make me think. A puzzle. And that is Hunter Flynn.
“See, as much as I appreciate Thorne sticking up for me, it isn’t needed. I can speak for myself.” I get up from my seat, leaving my hands flat on the island, matching Hunter’s stance. “I didn’t lie to you about anything. Either of you. I was not lying when I said I only recently found out about me being a shifter. I—”
“How is that even possible?” Hunter shouts, slamming both hands on the table this time. It causes me to flinch and I hate myself for it. “Cas, it’s just another lie. We all know it isn’t possible. There is something more going on here!”
“What exactly is your problem with me, Hunter?” I stand up straight and fold my arms across my chest. “I can’t imagine you being this upset with me over a lie. Is it maybe because you want me and can’t have me? Because I showed
you up on our sad excuse for a date? Are you jealous because Thorne has what you want? Come on, you can tell me.” I smile, cocking my head to the side.
Thorne lets out a surprised laugh, but I don’t look. I keep my eyes on Hunter, waiting for him to explode. He doesn’t. A smile crosses his lips and he too stands up straight, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Just remember we don’t need to bond with our mate. We can find someone else to take your place. You on the other hand? You’ll be nothing but a lost whore without a pack.”
My hand itches to reach out and smack him, but I don’t. As much as I want to, I don’t.
“Sit the fuck down, Hunter. Speak again and you’re out,” Castor says firmly.
Hunter’s jaw tics, but he takes his seat with a satisfied smirk.
Thorne gets up from his seat and moves behind me, standing so close I get a whiff of his fresh sent. It instantly grounds me, calming the nerves I allowed Hunter to get on.
“Guys, this is legit. If you don’t want to trust her now, that’s fine. It’ll take time, I get it, but you should trust me. You’ve known me your whole lives. We’re in this together and I would never do anything to put us in danger. Just think about what she’s said. I promise it’ll be worth it.”
Castor steeples his hands in front of his face, staring ahead into nothing. After a long moment of silence, he finally speaks. “I can’t say I believe you, Leona Graves, but I also don’t disbelieve you.”
I take this as a win. I did what was asked of me. I spoke to them, giving them my side of the story because Thorne said it was what we needed to do—and I trust Thorne. I laid it all out for Hunter and Castor, to judge or not judge. Whatever they decided to do, doesn’t matter to me because at the end of the day, I’m still me.
