Page 87 of Ember

Alejandro explained what had happened, and the officer looked at me. “I’m Detective Kelly. I’d like to ask you some questions if you’re up to it.”

I swallowed hard, wishing I had some water. But I wasn’t going back into the cottage. “Okay.”

“We’re going to need to look inside and see if we can find any fingerprints. Did you scent anyone strange?”

I shook my head no and slowly recited what had happened. I told him about the photographs, and about the text message and flowers. I gave Alejandro a guilty look. “I didn’t think the text message mattered.”

He kissed my temple. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Detective Kelly called for backup and then went inside. West pulled into the driveway.

I climbed out of the car and threw myself at him. “Our nest is destroyed. Don’t look.”

He froze underneath me and then held me tightly. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, even though it was pretty much a lie.

Alejandro spoke with the officer, who assured us we could go back to Ben and Rian’s and we would be notified about updates.

We drove back and pulled into the driveway almost the same time Rian and Ben did.

Rian pulled me into a tight hug and Ben sandwiched me from the other side.

“I’m so sorry,” Ben said, looking between me and West. “I’ll give you the direct line to the studio so the next time there’s an emergency you can reach us.”

“It’s fine.” My feelings felt like they were a long way away. I was glad Alejandro was handling letting my family know what was going on, and that I was safe.

I wasn’t tryingnotto feel, but it felt like I had been wrapped in cotton or taken a massive dose of cold medicine.Ben and Alejandro snuggled me on the couch, their alpha scents soothing, and then West and Rian switched out.

Rian rubbed his chin on my shoulder. His amber scent was soured. “We can go nest shopping. Tomorrow, if you want.”

“No thanks,” I whimpered. I didn’t even want to think about replacing everything because that meant remembering why it had to be done in the first place.

“Do you need anything?” Ben nuzzled my neck, his spicy woods and currant scent wrapping around me. “What can we do?”

“Nothing.” I pulled the blanket up tighter, even though I felt hot and I already had Ben and West sandwiching both sides. “I’ll be okay.”

“It’s okay to be devastated.” Rian reached over and squeezed my hand. “I would be utterly feral.”

I shook my head and then nodded. Tears burned at the corner of my eyes, and I let out a helpless whimper, resting my head on West’s shoulder. I wasn’t feral, but I’d felt that sink in before, when I was in the hospital. When my body felt like a prison of misery and pain.

I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat and shuddered.

“Do you need anything?” Rian touched West’s shoulder.

“I’m fine,” he said, sounding grumpy. “It sucks but we’ll be fine.”

I heard the laughable lie in his voice when I couldn’t hear it in mine. But I couldn’t deal with it, couldn’t talk about it yet.

“I just want to veg.”

Thankfully, they let the subject drop. It was too big, too huge to think about right now. I wanted to watch lions chase antelopes across the Serengeti. Rian started telling the lion to run faster and I felt a ghost of a smile surface. I was a bad influence on him.

The show ended, and Rian got up and switched off the TV. He turned on the speakers and clicked over to a playlist I had slowly been adding to. It was a combination of haunting, depressing ballads and emotional riffs about love everlasting. In short, it was perfect. West made an approving noise and scooted over when Rian came to sit back down.

Rian cuddled against me, so close he was almost in my lap. His scent mingled with Ben’s so perfectly it felt like my heart would climb out of my chest just to be with them. Just so I could feel what it would be like to blended.

We listened to music until my eyelids dropped and I asked for bed. Alejandro carried me.

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