Page 57 of Crave

But I also couldn’t pursue something more with them while these big secrets sat between us. I couldn’t get more invested with them and then have them reject me. I looked over at Bowie.Reject us.

Because it wasn’t just me who’d be hurt by that. It was Bowie too, though he’d never admit it.

Swallowing back the fear, I flopped down onto my back and stared at the sky too. It was beautiful out here today. The moonstones buried deep in the earth of Moonburst made Bowie stronger. Everything was right. I just had to have faith in these two, like they’d had in me all those years ago.

“Before we go any further, there's some things you should know about my family. About me.” I looked at Bowie where he sat by Susannah’s shoulder. He gave me a reassuring thumbs up, and I launched into the whole sordid story.

I watched as their faces clouded over with confusion and horror, and although I was two generations removed from it, I was still tainted by my ancestors' actions. I told them about my great-grandfather, about his crimes against Manix. I told them about my parents, who had such long lives that I had six siblings that spanned six decades before my mother died. About how my oldest sister had raised me and hated me all at once.

“How could you hate a small, defenseless baby?”

I flicked a look at Bowie. His face was locked down to an expressionless mask.

Do it.

Sighing, I closed my eyes slowly. This was it. Make or break. Because no matter how badly the Beast wanted them—needed them, even—nothing would come between Bowie and I.

“She died giving birth to me and my twin. He’d died in the womb, and the strain of birthing us both killed her.” Susannah lifted her hand to cover her mouth, and Quinn reached out to cover her other hand.

“Susannah’s mother died the same way. Not birthing twins, but birthing Susannah’s baby brother. It’s one of the few ways a Manix can die of natural causes. Susannah raised Raiden, her Omega brother, too.”

“And I never hated him for a second. Maybe I resented him a little when I was a teen, but he was my baby by then. I would never have made him feel unwanted.”

I smiled softly, because I knew that about her already. She was too kind beneath that mask of stubbornness to be anything but loving to her flesh and blood.

Not all siblings were like that.

I steeled my spine. “There’s one more thing.” Susannah’s eyes were big and understanding, and I could feel Quinn’s gaze on my face. “My twin’s soul didn’t really pass over, and now his ghost is kind of attached to me. Fuck, this didn’t sound as insane in my head.” I lifted my chin at Bowie, who was still beside Susannah. “He’s sitting right there. He says hello.”

Don’t put words in my mouth, asshole,Bowie grumped, but I could see his worry.

Quinn sat up. “That’s a kind of fucked up thing to joke about, Jericho.”

I sighed. “Trust me, it’s no joke.” I looked at Bowie. “You’re going to have to prove it.”

He reached over, moving his body along Quinn’s until his incorporeal lips hovered over Quinn’s plump ones. Then he kissed him softly, and Quinn’s eyes went wide. “Holy fuck!”

34

QUINN

Ithought Jericho was being an asshole—an insensitive one considering what I just shared about Susannah’s own mother—but the feel of lips brushing across mine had me freezing. There was no mistaking the feel of a kiss, even if it wasn’t like any kiss I’d had before. It was the promise of a kiss, like a cool breeze on overheated skin.

I wanted to kiss him back, but I wasn’t even sure how you’d do that. I scrambled backwards until I was on my feet.

“Holy fuck.” I paced around the grass. “Shit. Fuck. You weren’t joking?”

I could see the wariness in Jericho’s eyes, like he was waiting for me to spit on him or something. His scent smelled almost burned, and my Omega whined. We were hurting his feelings.

My eyes shot to Susannah, who looked concerned and a little skeptical. “Does he have a name?” I asked softly.

Jericho’s lips curled into a small smile. “I call him dickhead most of the time. But his name is Bowie.”

Tilting her head to the side, she breathed the name. “Bowie.”

Jericho looked at the spot between us and nodded. “He wants to know if he can touch you, to prove he’s there.”

Susannah, my beautiful, empathetic mate, merely nodded. There was no fear in her, and she tilted her head to the side, waiting for the unknown. Her lips parted a little as she moved her face closer to an unseen thing, and if I stared hard enough, I could almost see the indentation of fingers on the soft skin of her cheek. She sucked in a shocked breath, and I desperately wished I could see what it was doing. He. It was a person. A soul.

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