Page 13 of Witch's Rebirth
"I don'twantto feel anything for him," I whispered. "I don't want to hurt you, any of you. It's only been us for so long. We're happiest just like this."
"Things change, beautiful," he said almost apologetically. "Times are different now. How you feel might fade eventually or it might not. Whatever happens is okay. You don't need to fight it kicking and screaming."
"What about whatyouwant?" I looked up at him. "You're not worried about how this affects you? What you and I have?"
His fingers drifted across my back, pressing into the tight knots where I stored all my frustration and uncertainty.
"All I want is for you to come to me when you need me. And for you to be there when I need to feel human again. I've known you for a long time, beautiful. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if I'm sharing you with three people or three hundred. Just stay the same person I've always known and fell in love with."
I released a sigh, feeling a small amount of weight lift off my shoulders, which was better than none. "I don't deserve you."
A small chuckle vibrated through his torso. "Sure you do. That's why you're stuck with us."
Brushing a kiss under his jaw, I stepped away from him reluctantly. "I'll figure this out. I promise."
He nodded, running his fingers down my arm to my hand, where our touch disconnected. "I know you will."
I turned and walked slowly out of the room to the sounds of him resuming his pull-up bar workout. For a moment, I thought of returning to Seth downstairs but halted in my tracks. No, not right now. I wasn't ready.
Ash had disappeared, most likely back to his study after getting rid of Juno. He seemed to make himself scarce at every opportunity after revealing everything about Seth. My possessive angel likely had a harder time dealing with Seth being around than Sal, despite being the one ordering him to stay here.
Nothing sounded better than curling up with Ash on his love seat with a book in front of us, listening to him explain archaic spells and rituals. But under the current circumstances, it was probably best not to disturb him. So I went to the only person who I knew would never turn me away, and not only because he was knocked out.
Raum still hadn't moved a muscle, but his breathing was deeper than earlier-- a sign of his full physical recovery. Whether he still had all his abilities remained to be seen.
I crawled across the bed and gently nudged his arm out of the way so I could lie next to him. He didn't stir at all as I laid my head on his chest and snuggled into his side. I fell asleep almost instantly, barely aware of how exhausted I was from everything.
At some point while half asleep, I swore I felt an arm tighten around me and a kiss brush across my forehead followed by the words, "I love you, baby."
6
SETH
Juno was right about one thing. It fucking sucked being the fifth wheel.
I felt like an intruder, or whatever the male version of a homewrecker was. These people had their weird relationship dynamic set up just fine and here I was to throw the whole thing off balance.
"Fucking Juno," I muttered, walking around the basement support beam where she drew her last breath. The girl had to die. We all knew that. The poor thing had been so deeply brainwashed there was no redeeming her. If anything, Deja had been generous to kill her so quickly.
Even before Diana got her claws fully into her, she hadn't been completely innocent. The first time she tried to sleep with me was at the after party of my own coven initiation rite. Until I started taking longer and longer trips with the hunter's guild, she kept trying.
Sharing a woman with other men never appealed to me, but seeing Deja with her three was different than anything I'd ever seen. She wasn't trying to be secretive like Juno. Not only were they open and aware of each other, they each seemed to fit different needs of hers like perfectly matched jigsaw pieces.
And me? I was the asshole walking by who threw the whole damn puzzle on the floor.
I usually knew what to do in confusing situations, but with Deja I had no damn clue. We pulled to each other just as much as we repelled each other. It would be wrong for me to make the first move, I knew that much. All I could do was wait for her to come to me or tell me to fuck off. And stay out of the way of her three surly husbands while I was at it.
With a resigned sigh I trudged up the basement stairs, deciding I'd go up to my room and search through shadows again. I’d be able to track Diana that way, or at least her underlying moods and emotions. The crazy old cunt had no idea what a mistake she made when she grabbed my forearm the last time I saw her. Because I had zero desire to see the inner workings of her mind, I had been careful to avoid touching her. Little did I know how useful reading her shadows would be.
I entered the kitchen to find a tall man with inky black hair rummaging through the fridge like a bear coming out of hibernation.
He turned when I closed the basement door behind me. "Sup, Seth," he greeted casually.
"Raum," I replied. "You're looking better. Alive, at least."
"I could be hung the fuck over and still look better than I felt two days ago," he smirked over his shoulder. "I'm hungry enough to eat a fucking horse, though."
"There's still plenty of elk meat left," I offered. "Sal knows how to season a piece of meat."
