Page 21 of Tempest

Chapter 7

Ore

Ore couldn’t sleep.

He’d been tossing and turning for close to two hours and was no closer to falling asleep than he had been when he’d first laid down. It wasn’t that the bed was uncomfortable or that he wasn’t tired—Goddess, he wasexhausted—he just couldn’t seem to settle his mind.

He stared up at the ceiling high above him, dimly lit by the soft moonlight coming through the large glass windows on the back wall of the room. There weren’t any curtains to pull over them, which would probably be annoying first thing in the morning if he wanted to sleep in, but in that moment, he appreciated it. He was glad that he could look straight out and see nothing but open sky and treetops. It beckoned to him, calling to his overwhelmed eagle to come and fly. To feel the cool night air rushing through his feathers and clearing out the mess in his head.

If he’d been somewhere where he felt a bit more…welcome, he probably would’ve gone for a flight around the territory to exhaust himself physically. But even though no one had said he wasn’t allowed to leave Cash’s house, the implication had beenclear that he was to stay put. That way, they’d always know where he was and what he was doing.

A prisoner of sorts. There might not be bars on the windows, but Alpha Amato didn’t want him around his pack any more than was absolutely necessary.

His eagle already felt restless, his skin a little too tight. He may have only beenawakefor a day, but it was obvious to him he’d been unconscious for several. Considering he was already dreaming of open air whipping around him, he had to wonder if he was used to shifting every day or two.

Though he supposed it could also be the stress—mental and physical—that he’d gone through after being injured. Maybe before then too, depending on what had happened to him. He could have been held for weeks for all he knew, with his flight into the Silver Oak territory being his first after a long captivity.

Either way, he didn’t think he’d last much longer without getting the chance to spread his wings. He’d wait to bring it up with his babysitter until they got to know each other a bit better. Maybe then he could convince the serious panther that it wouldn’t be a risk to come play in the trees with him.

He couldn’t imagine they’d actually be upset if he simply flew away, but it wasn’t as if he had anywhere to go. Not yet. Maybe not even after he got his memories back. What if no one was looking for him? What if the family that was supposed to love him had been the ones to hurt him?

Shuddering, he turned onto his side and tugged one of the pillows down so he could wrap his arms around it. It wouldn’t do him any good to start spiraling and thinking of every worst-case scenario his brain could come up with. He’d just have to wait and see.

And the fact of the matter was, as much as the idea of staying cooped up in the cozy house with a cat shifter who stared at him a little too long and a little too intently didn’t sound like aterrible thing, he knew he would go stir-crazy within a couple of days.

Despite the staring, Ore had wondered when Cash had left earlier if he’d come back. The thought had crossed his mind as he’d sat on the stairs to the loft, listening to Cash help his grandfather pack and try and convince him to stay. He’d felt so guilty about displacing the sweet old man that he’d almost volunteered to go back to the Alpha House. But he was too selfish and couldn’t get the words out. The idea of staying inside this cute house for days on end was uncomfortable. The idea of being stuck in a basement all by himself?

Unbearable.

So he’d stayed out of sight, eavesdropping on the other two until they’d gone outside together. He’d kept expecting Cash to walk back in after he heard Pops’s car leave, the headlights flashing across the downstairs through the large front windows, but he never did.

After almost half an hour, Ore had forced himself to stand from the stairs and go over to the door to peek out. The vampire from Alpha Amato’s office was still standing there, unnaturally still and silent as he surveyed the front yard, but there hadn’t been any sign of Cash anywhere in the shadows of the lowering sun.

“Do you need anything, Ore?” The vampire’s voice had been smooth with just a hint of an accent—something European, he thought. He hadn’t actually turned to look at him when he’d spoken, keeping his attention on the gravel driveway and trees beyond.

“Um, no. I just… I didn’t know where Cash was.”

That had caused the vamp to turn and glance at him for a moment before going back to his perusal of the yard. “He went to patrol. He’ll return soon.”

Cash had left. Without saying anything to Ore.

The pain that had hit him at the news had been unexpectedly severe, taking him by surprise. The vampire’s shoulders had tensed, like he felt it as well, but he didn’t acknowledge it, thank the goddess. After clearing his throat, Ore had asked if the man needed anything or if he wanted to come and sit inside, but he’d politely declined. Ore had been more than a little relieved. The pack’s second-in-command was extremely attractive, but he made Ore’s eagle nervous. Like they were all prey to the vampire, but he was just choosing not to hunt them.

Ore had ended up curled up on the big, soft couch in the living room, not sure what else to do but wait for Cash to come back. He’d ended up dozing a little without meaning to, waking when Cash returned over an hour after Ore’s brief conversation with the vampire outside. He’d had a bag that smelled delicious in one hand as he’d paused to stare at Ore for a long moment before going into the kitchen.

Feeling as uncertain as ever, he’d followed, his stomach rumbling embarrassingly loudly. Cash didn’t say anything, just sort of grunted as he set the grease-stained bag on the kitchen table and then headed into the bedroom at the back of the house that had been Pops’s.

Ore had wandered over and peeked inside to find a cheeseburger and french fries that had been exceptionally good, even though they’d been lukewarm. The fact that Cash had bothered to bring him dinner, despite obviously being annoyed at Ore’s presence, had struck him as sweet and made him feel better about being left alone without so much as a warning glare not to go anywhere.

But Cash never came back out after disappearing into the back of the house. After a while, Ore had simply turned off the lights and wandered up to the loft, climbing into the lavender-scented bed in the same enormous T-shirt he’d been wearing all day.

But sleep wouldn’t come.

Curled into a ball, the extra pillow doing a very poor job of making him feel less alone, Ore stared at the moon. It’d be full in another week or so. Would he still be there? Unsure of who he was or where he belonged? Would Cash still be mostly ignoring his presence?

Would whoever had hurt him come looking for him?

He shivered and squeezed his eyes shut. Part of why he couldn’t settle was because he was already starting to remember things, but it didn’t make sense. It was like his mind was healing itself out of order. He would get random blurry images, a scent, or a feeling without context, but nothing concrete. No clear faces. Nothing that he could use to figure out what had happened to him. It all just confused him more, and a part of him was concerned it would never solidify into anything real.

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