Unforgotten Family (An Ariel Kimber Novel Book 6)

by Mary Martel

  Scout had drawn up the plans for the house, and he and his crew had built it from the ground up, with our help of course. Though, I was sure he would tell you that we were more of a hindrance than a help, but whatever.

  Most of the furniture in the house had come from me and had either been made by me or one of my ancestors. The dining room table, the beds in each and every room, the nightstands, the dressers, the television stands. My family had been making furniture for generations, and once we'd made a fortune off of it, but those days had long since past. I was working my ass off to make a name for myself and my pieces, and I was slowly getting it back where it should be. It would take years of hard work for me to get there though. I had no problem putting in the work.

  I strode through the garage toward the door that would take me out front.

  I opened the door and stuck my head out. The black SUV Scout had mentioned was a Suburban that had parked in front of the front door to the middle building.

  Scout stood with his back to the front door, facing the Suburban. His feet were spread apart in a fighting stance and his arms were loose and down at his sides. He looked ready to choke the life out of whoever came out of that SUV.

  I shook my head as I started toward him. He really wasn't an asshole, I promised. He just didn't like other people, outsiders from our small group and the people he'd grown up around. Normally, this didn't bother me because it was just Scout and how he was. I was a take you as you come kind of guy, and I didn't go out of my way to try and change people. I either accepted you as you were or I stayed the fuck away from you.

  But, right now, I wanted to choke the life out of Scout.

  The front passenger door opened at the same time as the driver’s side door. All I noticed, however, was the female who'd stepped down and out of that passenger seat. The last time I'd seen her she'd been covered from head to toe in blood and looking absolutely dead inside.

  I had wanted to reach out to her to make sure she was alright, but the Council had forbidden people from contacting her. They said she needed time to come to terms with her new role in life.

  Personally, I thought they were full of shit, but I hadn't reached out to her. Only because short of showing up on her front doorstep, I didn't know how to get in contact with her.

  And here she was, showing up on my front doorstep.

  "Holy fuck," Scout muttered under his breath, sounding slightly awed and horrified all at the same time.

  Yeah, she had that effect on me as well.

  "Close your mouth," I muttered, without looking away from the incredibly powerful witch standing in front of me. "You're drooling."

  That might not have been the truth, but at this point he deserved me giving him shit for being a rude son of a bitch.

  "Hey, Ar—" My words choked off when the back door opened and another female stepped down and out of the Suburban.

  "Holy fuck," Scout repeated on another whisper, this one full of shock and awe. The horror from before when it had just been Ariel had vanished entirely from his voice.

  And, like the first time, I couldn't blame him in the slightest. Though, this time I didn't give him shit for it.

  The incredible beauty who stepped down from the SUV took my breath away. She had long, black hair that hung down past her hips in thick, luscious waves that begged for me to run my fingers through them. She was shorter than Ariel by several inches, but then again, Ariel was tall for a female. And that wasn't where the similarities ended. The newcomer was bigger boned than Ariel and had wider hips than her. She looked like she should have been a lot stockier than she was, but there was a skinniness to her that didn't seem natural to me. Her breasts were bigger, but her legs were shorter than Ariel's.

  They were both incredibly beautiful but in very different ways.

  The thing that linked them the most, outside of being female, were their eyes. Where Ariel's eyes were a bright, vibrant green, they held something inside them that made my insides shrivel up and something vital inside of me want to die. The new girl had eyes that were so dark they bordered on being black, hell, maybe they even were. You would think that with eyes so dark they would hold the mysteries to her soul locked up in them so that you got a hint, but that wasn’t it. No, that absolutely was not it. Her eyes were exactly like Ariel's eyes and held that same something that made me want to find the person responsible for that look, so I could put my fist in their face repeatedly.

  "Who is that?" Liam asked from beside me.

  A quick glance over my shoulder showed that Gunner and Mason had joined us as well. Their eyes were bouncing back and forth from Ariel to the new lady with raw curiosity that I imagined matched the look on Scout's face as well. I was better at masking my emotions, and Liam would remain blank faced until he felt like showing an emotion. Which wasn't often.

  "Raven," a deep, masculine voice growled.

  My lips twitched in amusement as Quinton walked around the hood and approached us. He looked pissed and I couldn't blame him. If either of them belonged to me, I wouldn't want other men looking at them the way I imagined the rest of my coven had been since the moment both females stepped out of the vehicle.

  Any trace of amusement fled when I spotted the small hand held in Quinton's. I followed that hand down to a small, little boy I'd never seen before. He clung to Quinton's hand as if it were a lifeline.

  "What is this?" I asked hesitantly. Maybe I didn't really want to know. "And who are these people?"

  Ariel stepped right up to me. "Hey, Raven. Introduce me to the rest of your coven, will you? The only one I got to formally meet was Liam, and he's overrated."

  Masculine snickers came from behind me.

  "She's got your number, Li." Mason laughed. He stepped forward and held his hand out to Ariel for her to shake. "Hello, beautiful girl, I'm Mason." He shook her hand and visibly shivered.

  Fuck.

  My eyes strayed back to Quinton and the tightness to his jaw didn't bode well for Mason. Or any of the rest of us, if I was being honest. He was known to be one crazy motherfucker.

  "It is a pleasure to meet you."

  Ariel withdrew her hand hastily and smiled broadly at him. "I'd be careful with my words if I were you. Otherwise my boyfriend might have to fuck up your pretty face."

  From beside me, Liam burst out laughing.

  Scout choked on air.

  Gunner snickered.

  Mason visibly took a step back, away from her. Yeah, I wasn't the only one who'd heard the stories about Quinton Alexander.

  My men weren't pussies by any means, but there were some people in this world you were stupid not to have a healthy dose of fear toward. And Quinton Alexander was one of those men. It was just that simple.

  There were rumors floating around in the community that said when he was younger, his father had been a maniac, and along with the Council they had experimented on him. I didn't know the details or whether or not it was actual truth, and I didn't want to. Pain was oftentimes very personal and should not be dragged out simply for others to poke at.

  Ignoring Quinton, Scout stepped up and thrust his hand out to Ariel. "Scout," he grunted. "It's good to finally meet you."

  I rolled my eyes at the finally part. If she listened to him and Liam, she'd think I came home after the first time I met her and talked about her nonstop. And I hadn't. I swear.

  Ariel smiled sweetly at him. "Same here, Scout."

  I imagined Scout melting right there on the spot.

  Gunner didn't step up to shake her hand. "Gunner," he grumbled under his breath. Quinton had certainly made his point loud and clear.

  The smile on Ariel's face grew slightly bigger. She knew exactly what was going on and found the whole thing amusing. "Hello, Gunner. It's very nice to meet you."

  There was a sweet charm to her that had been missing each time I'd encountered her before today. Before, she'd been closed off and angry. Which I completely understood, but she looked way better when she was relaxed and smiling. An
yone would.

  Quinton wrapped his arm around Ariel's shoulders and she was jerked back and into his body. The little boy stood beside him, staring up at me with wide, too intelligent for his age eyes.

  "Raven," Quinton growled in acknowledgement. "Sorry for just showing up like this."

  And that was all he said. Big surprise there. I would have smirked at him if I didn't think he'd start swinging on me. I guessed I should count myself lucky for him throwing in the sorry part. Though, if I was being honest, I didn't mind him showing up out of the blue, so long as he had pretty witches on his arms. I couldn't really complain about that.

  Ariel's arm stretched across Quinton's midsection and she pointed down to the little boy. "This is Baxter."

  Baxter didn't so much as twitch, but remained staring at me with the eyes of an old soul.

  Ariel dropped her arm and looked back over her shoulder. She waved at the woman who stood back a few feet, removed from her companions. "And this is Isobel."

  I smiled down at the little boy. "Okay," I said. "It's not that I'm unhappy to see you or anything, it's the opposite actually. But what are you four doing here at our house? It's not as if we're just a short drive away for a visit. You had to do some serious traveling to get here."

  "And you brought a witch with you that none of us have ever laid eyes on before," Mason very unhelpfully pointed out.

  The woman, Isobel, took an unsteady step back. I had never wanted to hit another person more than I wanted to hit Mason in that moment. Was he fucking blind to the fact that she wasn't simply uncomfortable with meeting new people, but actually terrified?

  "Two of them," Ariel said, correcting Mason. "To be exact."

  I figured the little boy had to be a witch. Though he was very young for his magic to have already begun showing.

  "Where'd you steal the kid from?" Liam questioned Ariel.

  Quinton visibly tensed as his frigid eyes moved from Mason to Liam.

  Fuck.

  The question had been asked in jest. Liam and Ariel had started to develop an odd friendship that revolved around both of them giving the other a load of shit. But even Ariel tensed slightly at Liam's question.

  Shit, maybe they had stolen the kid from somewhere. After all, she was an official member of the Council now and those sick fucks had been known to kidnap a person from time to time. What's to say Ariel would be any different?

  "They're both a really long story," Ariel said as she sighed heavily.

  That was when I looked past her prettiness and noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the tightness to her face. She looked like she'd lost a couple of pounds she couldn't afford to lose. Mostly, she just looked tired and incredibly drained.

  I was sure being a member of the Council, for someone like her who was inherently good, wouldn't exactly be easy. I didn't know exactly what it took to join their ranks, but I had heard it changed a person, for the worst.

  I cleared my throat and gestured to my home behind me. "Would you like to come inside? I can make us some coffee or tea and you can tell me all about these long stories?"

  Ariel smiled softly at me, relieved. "That would be great, Raven. Thank you."

  "Whiskey," Quinton muttered.

  Shit, I wasn't going to like where this went and he just gave me confirmation.

  "I have to get my bag out of the truck real quick. You guys go ahead without me, I'll be right behind you." Ariel shrugged out of Quinton's hold and walked toward the back of the SUV.

  Mason walked up to Baxter and crouched down in front of the kid. "Hey, buddy. Are you hungry? Do you like apple pie? Our housekeeper comes twice a week to clean and she always brings homemade treats with her for us every time. She worries about us being men and not being able to cook for ourselves." He winked at the kid. "We won't tell her that every single one of us is more than capable of fending for ourselves in the kitchen. Well, she came early this morning and you're in luck, because she left three apple pies here for us. We even have whipped cream to top it off. Do you want some? I’ll share my pie with you."

  He was fooling himself if he thought he got to keep a whole pie for himself.

  The little boy's eyes widened in wonder and he whispered reverently, "Pie?"

  Mason nodded enthusiastically. "With whipped cream on top. And the pie has been in the oven, keeping warm. It's so much better warm."

  Baxter looked up at Quinton and asked, "Can I?"

  Quinton nodded and released the kid’s hand. "Go ahead, buddy. Don't make a mess and don't forget your manners."

  The kid rolled his eyes dramatically and released a long suffering sigh. "Duh, Uncle Quinton. I'm not a baby and I'm not stupid. I know how to behave around other people."

  Laughing, Mason stood up to his full height and reached for the kid's hand.

  The little boy jerked his hand back, away from Mason. He pursed his lips unhappily as he eyed Mason shrewdly. "Nuh-uh. Stranger danger, mister. I'm not going to hold your hand. I don't care that I've never had apple pie before or whipped whatever, and how bad I want to try it. You can't hold my hand because you're a stranger."

  But going into a house with said stranger just so you could eat pie was okay? Kids were weird and I didn't think I'd ever want one of my own. No thanks.

  "Who's never had apple pie or whipped cream before?" Gunner asked, sounding upset.

  "Someone who grew up foraging for food for not only himself but his mother," Quinton retorted.

  "Someone I can relate to," Ariel remarked as she joined our group again. She had a black tote bag over her shoulder that was zipped shut with a purple and white grinning sugar skull on the front of it. "I thought we were headed inside. Why are we still standing around out here?"

  Foraging for food...

  Someone I can relate to...

  I closed my eyes tight for a brief second while I pulled myself together. My falling apart and raging at the injustice of the world wouldn't help anyone. I knew Ariel had had it rough, she herself had told me enough things about the woman who'd raised her to know that. But to think of her or this innocent little boy going hungry really set my blood boiling.

  The guys headed inside with Baxter in the middle of them. Quinton trailed behind the group, almost reluctant to go inside.

  I stayed outside, waiting for Ariel and the woman who had yet to speak a word since she'd arrived. I'd go in after they did.

  "Isobel? Are you coming?"

  "Are you sure this is safe?" the woman whispered in a husky, feminine voice that raised the hairs on the back of my neck.

  I spoke before I could think better of it. "Why wouldn't my home or my coven be a safe place for you? Ariel has been in my presence several times now and no harm has come to her person. Nor will it ever. I don't know why you think you'd be any different? It's insulting, really."

  And it honestly was insulting, that was what it boiled down to. Not just insulting for myself, but on the behalf of my entire coven. We would never harm a female. Even after Annabell the Destroyer had run her way through my coven, squashing hearts like bugs beneath her stilettos, and they still hadn’t lifted even a single pinky finger in her direction in order to harm her. It had been Quinton Alexander who'd marred her face and fucked her all up. I wasn’t going to say that none of us had thought about it, because that would have been a lie. The difference was we would never have acted on it and Quinton hadn't hesitated too.

  And yet Quinton was safe enough for her to be around but we weren't? That pissed me off.

  Ariel walked back to the woman and grabbed her by the arm. She dragged her forward while speaking. "Reapers killed her whole family. She was the sole survivor, and she only survived because they forced her to hide. The Council found her like that, and instead of doing the right thing by her, they stuck her down in a well and tortured her until they decided to drown her to death. She came to me in my dreams and my dad, Rain, who the Council actually knows nothing about, went and got her. We've been keeping her safe and hidden from them eve
r since. Now, I'm going to ask for you to do the same for me. She's become family to me and my coven, and we don't want anything to happen to her. If the Council were to get their hands on her again..."

  Ariel trailed off unsteadily as tears suddenly flooded her eyes. She blinked several times. She didn't cry, but the bottom rim around her eyes remained wet with unshed tears.

  In a choked up voice, she spat out, "I've seen firsthand on several occasions what they do to women, and I won't allow them to touch her ever again. If you don't want to help me, I’ll find someone else who will, but I want it to be you."

  My heart beat so fast I could barely speak around the feel of it in my throat. "Why?" I shoved out. "Why me?"

  I didn't dare look at Isobel. I now understood the look in her eyes and her distrust with her safety while being here with my coven. I felt shame for the first time in my life for being a male witch and the way our females were treated.

  Ariel squeezed my shoulder gently as she walked past me, dragging the woman along behind her.

  "Because I trust you. And because of the story you told me about your father. You'll look after them both, and you'll not let harm come to either of them. Right now the safest place for them that I could think of that's far enough away from home was with you. Also, don't let me forget, I brought a gift for you."