Page 2 of Sustaining
“Your mates?” The outraged boom of my father’s voice shouldn’t make me smile more.
It shouldn’t really.
But I can’t help it.
My life is an upside-down mess all of the time, but I have men who love me. Fuck everything else.
“Taron, calm down.” My mother stands at the small circular table the three of us are occupying. The hand she places on his arm eases the tension in his shoulders but it doesn’t tear his gaze away from the men across the room. “She’s here. She’s home. We prayed all that time, and now she’s finally here again.”
Once more, my father swallows slowly. When his whiskey colored gaze trails across my face, those reckless emotions swarm me all over again.
I wouldn’t change my experience for anything, but I hate that I hurt them.
“Your mother and I have to work today. With the weather turning erratic lately, we can’t afford to miss a warm day of work.” My father was always a business mind. Some things never change. “But your room is still just as you left it.” His big, calloused palm brushes down the length of my scarred arm.
It’s nice, even if the numbness doesn’t allow me to feel it. It’s the sweetest father-daughter moment.
Until he speaks again. “There’s not a lot of room up there for an entire flock of men, but your friends are welcome to share the couch.”
An unrealistic image of three shifters and a hellhound cuddling tightly on my mother’s floral-printed couch flashes through my mind.
When my smile widens, my father’s grimace deepens. His glare pointed in my direction wipes away the tilt of my lips. Right. He meant that jab as an authority-driven powerplay. Not as the dirty fantasy that’s currently running rampant in my head.
Two
That Scar
Sea Side Streetis an entire lane of storefronts. Bright paint in blues and yellows and pinks make them flashy and somehow perfect among the washing waves of the ocean. Warm cobblestone is all too familiar under my feet as the five of us trail along the edge of the shore. Past the mound of white rock and beyond the golden sand is the crash of the waves. The white thrashing sea is a fierce sound this morning that roars in the background of my thoughts.
My gaze lingers there until I feel the press of a stare against my face. I look up to see woman I went to school with. Her name is a gone from my memory, but damn if that scowl on her lips isn’t permanently burned into my mind. The only thing worse than the way she stares at me is the way her glaring green eyes shift to Sinister.
I walk around him and slip my good hand into his, pulling his attention to me before he even spots the petty woman.
It’s a strange, impractical thought, but I wish I could protect him from the world.
His fingers tighten in mine, his hard body coming closer, making sure we touch with every step we take. Everything about him is easy. Despite all the hate Sinister sees, it doesn’t seem to affect him. His gait is an easy stride, careless. Sexy even.
He doesn’t give a fuck about these people. And for once, I agree with him. I put an effort into the shifter village for my men. I wanted to fit with their family and their lives. This place, this place doesn’t deserve that courtesy. Fuck this little village and fuck everyone who hates us for our differences.
But also, like, don’t be mean to my men. I just can’t handle it.
“Show me where you grew up. I want to see your home,” Chaos says, his bright eyes searching every detail of the shops we pass.
His happy inquisitiveness makes me wish we could stay here and enjoy the beautiful sights.
But I can’t. I won’t.
“Her home or her bed?” Rime taunts from over Chaos’ shoulder.
“Why can’t it be both?” The shifter lifts his big hands innocently from his sides.
“Are we just going to ignore what happened in the shifter village?” Kain passes me a questioning glance.
I’m not. I couldn’t ignore it if I wanted to. It’s just all of this stuff is piling up. It’s teetering above my head, ready to crash down. I fucked up. Again. I ruined the place they had in the village of Valencia. Chaos, Skovence, The Solstice Queen, and myself completely destroyed an entire building in the middle of their village. And let’s not forget that they all think I murdered two women.
So no, I don’t think I couldignoreall that if I tried.
“There’s nothing to say,” Chaos all but growls out, his fingers never stopping as he drags them over every colorful brick building we pass, his gaze looking into the shining windows with pure curiosity.
