Page 36 of The Omega's Bloodline: Part One

They kept me pinned so long I fell asleep, and when I woke again, Caden was watching me with sleepy eyes. I tried to shift and he made amrpof protest.

You know the rule.

I laughed to myself, jostling him. I did know the rule: laws of the universe dictated that if a cat was comfortable on you, you were absolutely forbidden from moving. He used it often when he thought I wasn’t resting enough.

Seth was stretched out by my pillow, his tiny head on my shoulder. He was snoring adorably. Caden stretched his feet in front of him, butt arching in the air before he settled down to use one of my boobs as a chin rest.

Feeling better?

“Much.” I sighed and picked up my phone, sending a message to my job that I had an emergency out of town and didn’t know when I’d be back.

Seth blinked sleepily before clarity filled his gaze.Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. Sorry.

“It’s okay.” I rubbed the top of his head and triggered his purrs. He even made a few biscuits on the blanket before Caden paw-whacked him. I cupped Caden’s face. “No cat fights on the bed.” I scooped him to the side and sat up. My whole body ached from the stress and hours in the car. “I might take advantage of the hot tub.”

I don’t think I grabbed you a swimsuit but I’ll toss Seth off the porch if you want to soak.

I snorted. “I’ll go in with undies. It’s basically the same.”

Caden jumped on Seth and smushed his brother’s head under his tummy.

Go ahead. I’ve got his eyes covered.

Seth squirmed. I laughed and stripped off my outer layer, going to rinse off with the patio shower before slipping into the blissfully warm water.

The forest was quiet around us. It was twilight, with pale colors painting the tips of the mountains as the sun slid out of sight. In a perfect world Caden could de-stress me with some ropes and so many orgasms that I turned delirious, but the hot tub would have to do.

I sighed and sank deeper, letting the water brush my chin. “You can both come sit if you want. It’s a big tub.”

Seth hopped up onto the edge of the tub and sniffed the bubbling water. Caden slid in next to me in his human form, and pulled me against his chest. I curled to the side, draping my legs over his lap and let him gather me close.

I know nothing I can say will make everything okay, but I’m here. I love you.

I kissed him, tangling my fingers in his hair and let myself forget for a moment that my entire life had been torn to shreds.

Seth’s cold nose booped my shoulder and I turned to him.I fucked up coming to you guys. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it...somehow.

It was difficult to be mad at him with his eyes like saucers and his ears tucked back.

“You were in trouble. If you can’t run to your family, where can you?”

Seth nodded, but stayed quiet, getting into a loaf on the edge of the hot tub.

I’d been on vacations to the Appalachians at least a dozen times through my childhood. Those memories were full of tromping through the woods, cannonballing into lakes, and eating s’mores around campfires. The forest had been thrumming with life in those memories. Now, it lay eerily quiet. The usually screaming cicadas and rustling squirrels were silent.

Something was wrong in the forest. I could only assume the thing hunting us was making its way through. The trees were a refuge for me, and while I knew they weren’t always safe, they’d never feltwrongto me. Nature could be loved, respected, and feared at the same time, and that had been the relationship I’d forged with the expansive woods that stretched from New York to Georgia. It was a second home to me, and whatever was in there was defiling it with its presence.

What the hell was it? Why did it want Seth? The brief glimpse of it that I’d caught as we fled didn’t make sense. I’d never seenanything quite like the writhing mass of black smoke fighting with shards of sunlight.

I sighed and nestled tighter against Caden. I couldn’t look at the woods anymore.

We soaked until my fingers pruned and my stomach growled. I hadn’t noticed any restaurants on the way in, but we had a stash of food in the trunk from the pantry.

Seth’s head perked up.Pizza?

I had no idea what time it was or if anyone would even deliver to where we were, but it didn’t hurt to check. Caden found a place on his phone and called in the order. Luckily, with the promise of a large tip, they agreed to bring us food.

I fell upon the pizzas when they arrived. I was ravenous, desperate for the calories now that I’d finally relaxed and let my body descend from fight or flight mode. We took a break from the hot tub and watched some staticky TV while we ate, Seth curled in my lap as he chomped on a slice of pepperoni.

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