Page 111 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
Winter
Wearily, she allowed herself to be pulled into his lap.
“Your cousin’s idea of a party sucks,” she said.
“Tell me what you need.”
“Just hold me for a while.” Marigold rested her head on his shoulder. He had witnessed many temper tantrums, many angry meltdowns, some in this very room, but he never held his mate while she struggled to find calmness.
“Humility, patience, kindness,” she murmured softly.
“Justice, fortitude, prudence, and forgiveness,” he finished.
“Yeah, I’m not too keen on forgiveness right now. Your cousin is awful. I know he’s family but—”
“Do not feel as if you have to make allowances for Chase because he is family. My father was the same,” Winter said. He remembered Thankful pitting the two young males against each other, always competing for scraps of affection and approval. “He played cruel games with us, but winning was never based on skill or quality. Chase was the favorite, and I was the son with the defect.”
Bitterness twisted in his gut. Thankful had been cold and in the ground for years, but Winter still felt as if his father could stride through the door and give that sigh of disapproval. As a kit, he had tried so hard to win his father’s love. He went so far as to take a mate he did not love and keep true to those vows, despite the misery they caused both him and Rebel.
He continued to obediently serve his father’s wishes while trying to salvage the company. Why bother? CayneTech was Thankful’s legacy and a legacy he intended for Chase to helm. Winter should walk away. What did he tell Marigold? What was the point of a fortune if he could not use it to help the people he cared about?
Why hadn’t he cared enough about himself to free himself from this burden?
A finger lightly flicked his ear. “None of that now.”
Winter shook his head to erase the sensation. “Nothing pleased him.”
“He sounds terrible and looks like a tyrant.” She waved a hand at the portrait behind the desk. Somehow the portrait escaped Marigold’s rampage.
Winter considered the imposing figure. In his memories, Thankful towered over him, despite Winter knowing that he stood taller than his father. He still felt like that kit desperate for his father’s affection. “If anything, he guides me on how not to be with Zero. That is the only good thing I can say.”
“Well, you’ve met my mother and brother.”
“I recall them vividly.” He admired how much they supported Marigold and cared for her, even to the point of trying his patience.
“They’re not so bad.”
“I believe your mother threatened tosmudgeme? What that is, I do not know.”
“Oh, she wants to set some herbs on fire and wave them over you, to purify your aura.” Marigold yawned, as if she had not just made an announcement that required further explanation.
“No. I am content being as I am.”
“Corrupted as you are,” she said, mirth arming her voice. She yawned again. “Tonight has been exhausting. I want to go home, but I don’t want to leave this room just yet. But the longer we stay, the more likely someone will discover my mess.”
“They can send me the bill.”
She buried her face against his neck, laughing. “I’m sorry for throwing a temper tantrum.”
“No. This is good. This is progress.”
She sat up, brows raised. One hand swept grandly to encompass the room. “You call this progress?”
“You swallow your emotions to please others, but not now.”
“Yeah, this was definitely a purge.” She picked a stray feather from a torn pillow off his shoulder and flicked it to the floor. “I don’t get what his deal is, you know? Chase wanted to upset us and put us on the wrong foot. The gown was a ruse, to lower our defenses. He wanted us to make a scene. It’s like he wants to punish you.”
“Yes, that is an accurate description.”
