Page 79 of Sweethearts and Savages
I took a deep breath and followed Bohdie into the diner. Every set of eyes in the place turned to look at me, but I was drawn to one table in particular, in the back corner. I stopped breathing, but my feet moved without my conscious thought, and suddenly I was in front of them.
They looked older, but of course they did. They were human. They’d age and eventually die, as would Stacey. I was setting myself up for a few decades of happiness and a century of pain. I looked over my shoulder at Stacey. It was worth it though.
They both stood, and Kell stepped from the booth. “Enit…” he whispered, like he couldn’t believe I was here. Me either, big guy. Me either. Then he surprised the shit out of me by wrapping his arms around my shoulders and kissing me like he was dying of thirst in the desert. After a moment of shock, my body relaxed into the kiss. A throat cleared, and Kell reluctantly pulled back. “I’ve missed you so fucking much. I can’t… I don’t even understand why, but it was like I was missing a limb.”
I nodded. “It’s the bond.”
He gave me a crooked half-smile. “Maybe.”
“No, it’s you,” Frost said from beside me, and I turned to look at the remaining piece of the puzzle.
“Hello, Frost,” I said softly, and that was all he needed. He stepped into me, dragging me into his arms and holding me like I was his last anchor to shore. I wrapped my arms around his waist and sunk into his warmth, letting all the doubts, the baggage, just float away.
When he kissed my eyelids, I realized tears were slipping from them. “I’m so sorry.”
I shook my head, pressing my lips to his. “It’s the past.”
I realized the diner was buzzing at the spectacle we made. Frost glared around the diner, but when he looked back at me, his eyes were soft.
Kell grabbed my hand. “Let’s get out of here. We can talk in our hotel room at least. Away from the audience.”
Bohdie cleared his throat. “I have a better idea.”
Bohdie
Technically, I was the heir to everything the light touched. I snorted at the Pride Rock reference, but it fit. Chatsville was home to one of the largest lion Prides in the US, and the Regent of the Chatsville Pride? My biological father. But I wanted nothing to do with this inheritance, and we all knew it. If I took over any Pride, it would be the Black Mountain one, and that was basically just my parents and siblings. They didn’t need a Regent.
No, I was happy for the Regent title to go to my half-brother. He’d grown up in the Pride, knew the families, the people. It was understood and as long as no one made us fight, we were totally chill.
He was a great kid, about seven years younger than me. We’d see if that cool demeanor lasted into his teenage years though; I wasn’t holding my breath.
When my parents had realized I didn’t enjoy staying in the Pride house, where everyone except my father were just a bunch of strangers, they’d bought me a tiny apartment. I had my independence and privacy, while still getting to know my roots, my biological family. I’d hated the summer trips here when I was a teen, wrenched away from my friends and my real family, forced to come here and relate to strangers. But I understood why they did it. They hadn’t known that I had no intention of becoming anyone’s Alpha Regent. They were preparing me, but in the end it was unnecessary.
“You just happen to have an apartment in Chatsville?” Stacey asked, her voice having that high-handed air she got sometimes when she thought I was being a numbskull.
I just raised a brow as I unlocked the door. “Why do you think I suggested this town in the first place?”
She shrugged. “It's halfway?”
I shook my head. “Nope, it’s because I could bury a body and get away with it.” I looked over my shoulder at the two men who were trailing behind me reluctantly.
Enit slapped my arm. “Stop that. No one is killing anyone. Come in.”
The place was a little musty—I hadn’t stepped foot in the place in like four years—but still, it was an easy place to rest our heads and hash out whatever the fuck was about to happen.
But I mean, worst case scenario and I did have to butcher a body, I knew a guy.
Kell and Frost looked unconvinced, but I didn’t miss the slight reassuring touches they gave each other. Clearly, we weren’t the only ones who had grown closer in the last couple of years.
They stepped into the living room and looked around, unsure. Hell, we all looked unsure. This was like a supremely awkward first date.
Enit drifted between the two groups of us like she was a surgeon, trying to weave us together with her presence.
I indicated that everyone should take a seat, dragging a couple of chairs over from the dining table. I sat in one, Stace in the other, leaving the couch for Enit and the other two. They needed to bond and get over this initial awkwardness, otherwise it was going to be a long damn day.
As if she knew the lifeline I was throwing them, she sat smack bang in the middle of the couch, forcing them to sit either side of her. Not that it was a chore. They both sat close enough that the entire sides of their bodies touched, sandwiching her between them. Almost collectively, they exhaled a relieved sigh.
“So tell us, what have you been doing these last two years?”
