Page 78 of Sweethearts and Savages
I hated that I’d failed her. That she’d been hurt. She mightn’t own my soul the way Enit did, but I loved this quirky as fuck human. She was part of my Pack, and if anything happened to her…
“You should be lying down, Doc. Go home and rest, maybe check on our girl. I’ll sneak these two out of town before they become a breakfast buffet.”
She gave me a small smile. Then she turned to the other two men and all mirth left her face. “I know seventy-three ways to kill you and make it look like natural causes.”
With that, she left. I shook my head, looking over my shoulder at the two humans. “Honestly, I love that crazy bitch. She’s worth ten of you. Let’s go.”
I led them from the station and could have kissed Enit for thinking to bring my car. I didn’t give her nearly enough credit.
Thirty minutes later, I watched a banged up old Chevy disappear down the highway, and I couldn’t work out if I ever wanted to see them again.
Only time and fate would tell, I guess.
Epilogue
Two Years Later
Enit
I hadn’t been this nervous since the time I asked Bohdie to take my virginity. As the Canadian border retreated behind us, I was still restless. My knee bounced up and down like I was a crack addict, all my nervous energy pooling there until it refused to remain still. We were on our way to Black Mountain, or close enough. We’d decided to start our lives together out of Dark River, because while I loved my family, I’ve never stood on my own and I needed this.
Convincing Stacey had been harder. She was happy there, at least now that she had me and Bohdie to lean on, but she’d never really lived outside an institution. First the laboratory she’d grown up in, then within the walls of Eden Academy. We both needed to spread our wings, and now was the time to do it.
When Bohdie had let slip about some of the inhabitants of Black Mountain though, Stacey had been right on board. The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse ran a tattoo studio there? She’d basically salivated at the thought of studying them. They were Sammie’s parents, so that basically made us family—at least, that’s what Sammie had said.
No, it wasn’t the move that was making me nervous, or saying goodbye to Christopher, Carmen and my parents, though that had made me anxious. It was the fact that in an hour, we’d get to a crossroads.
If Kell and Frost were standing there waiting for me, I’d have everything I ever wanted. We’d get to finallystartthe life we could have had.
But if they weren’t…
Stacey reached forward and grabbed my hand. “Stop worrying so much. They will be there.”
It had been 730 days since I’d seen them. The ache in my soul was barely appeased by regular texts between me and Kell, and Frost had started sending me heirloom seeds. The first one had been a purple hyacinth, which apparently was the flower for forgiveness.
While he didn’t text me the way Kell did, he sent me a letter and seeds every month. For a man whose entire identity had been based around technology, it felt… important that he took the time to communicate with me in such a tactile way.
Still, despite Stacey’s assurances, as well as Bohdie’s, I was a goddamn mess. I was as fearful of them being there as not being there.
What I’d had for the last two years with Stacey and Bohdie was perfect. We were a team. We’d been through so much that we were as close as we could be. Adding two more people, especially ones who came with so much baggage and history, was going to be difficult. I felt guilty for wanting them, like I was betraying the mates I already had.
“Get out of your head, Princess, because we’re here.” Bodhie slowed and pulled over onto the shoulder of the road. “The decision from here on is up to you. We can go forward, we can go back, and Stacey and I will support you one hundred percent.”
I gnawed on my lip. I sucked in a deep breath and felt that emptiness in my chest that just couldn’t be filled, despite my happiness. I didn’t look at them as I nodded, scared I’d see the betrayal in their eyes. “Let’s go.”
“Omega, look at me.”
I couldn’t resist the damn Alpha voice and he knew it. I turned to look at Bohdie. “You are the best thing that ever happened to any of us, but you owe us nothing. The decisions are yours, the speed at which we move is up to you. If they have a problem with it, I will pummel them into oblivion.”
“I love you both. Just because I want this, doesn’t mean you aren’t enough—you know that, right?”
He nodded. “We know, baby. Now let’s go see if these fuckers have grown a conscience in the last two years and if they are fit to even kiss your feet.”
“Or suck your toes,” Stacey added from the back seat. We both turned to stare at her. “What? It’s a common sexual desire.”
I shook my head, my smile finally reappearing. Whatever happened, I had these two amazing people and they would be enough. Bohdie pulled back out onto the road and we stopped at a diner outside some tiny town named Chatsville. Our entire universe was packed into this SUV, including my mouse, Norbert. He was still as spritely as the day Stacey had given him to me, even though the internet said he should die soon. I mean, he lived in the mouse version of nirvana so maybe that was it.
I cracked the window for him a little and climbed out of the car. I fidgeted with my dress, my hair, my purse, until Stacey grabbed my hand. “You look like a vision. Stop.”
