Page 25 of Healing Her Lions


Font Size:  

I feel lighter. The heavy burden that has been there for months eases. I am a stubborn asshole keeping everything from my family. I will always have the pain of what I went through. I hope that with Breeane gluing us together, our devotion to her can put us back together piece by piece.

“Is that the reason you cut your hair?” Las asks, eying my shaved head.

“You know our hair is a point of pride,” I say. “I couldn’t shave my lion's hair, so I did the thing I could do.” I rub my scalp, and my lion growls at me in my head.

“That’s stupid,” Lucas scoffs. “But Breeane seems to like it.”

I grin. “She does.” I want her hands on me again.

“Does this mean I have to be nicer to River?” Lucas groans.

“I don’t know why you like to snap at each other so much.” I grin. “You're nice to Kerian.”

“Kerian is respectful,” Lucas murmurs.

“It’s because they are too similar,” Las informs us.

“Fuck that, take that back,” Lucas snarls.

“I won’t.” Las smirks.

“Whatever.” Lucas sits back, crossing his arms, his lips twitching.

“Can I call our parents?” Las asks.

“I will.” His eyes widen. “Not right now, but I will later. Breeane is coming in a couple of hours. Let’s concentrate on her today.”

“I’m going to get some groceries for her before we go get her,” Las says, getting up.

“She might want to shop for herself,” Lucas mentions.

“She can if I forget something she wanted.” Lucas and I share a silly grin.

Fuck, I didn’t realize how much I missed them.

“Love you, brother,” Lucas says softly.

"Love you, too,” I whisper. “Do you think Breeane likes my hair?”

He laughs. “Dude, yeah.” He pauses. “Are they dead?”

I don’t pretend to know who he means. “Yes, the ones that weren’t killed by Bishop’s fire, the rest of us killed.”

“Good. I didn’t want to leave Breeane to kill them.”

I stayed behind while the guys went to the store and to pick up Breeane. I sat on the porch, coming to terms with what I shared with my brothers and the feelings it left me with. I didn’t realize the freedom I would feel after I revealed the worst time of my life. The hard knot in my stomach is slowly unraveling.

I should have known they wouldn’t feel differently about me when they learned everything, but I got trapped in my misery. I suppose since then, I have had so much anger at myself. My anger should have been directed at the madmen who hunted us. I still have questions about the coyote that helped them. Las may have the answers.

Why? Why would a shifter help humans hunt us?

It could be any number of reasons. Many people would love the power we have, the magic that we hold within us. Coyotes are the lowest form of shifter, not because of their breed but because of their actions. They have proven themselves liars, cheats, abusers, and scavengers of anything, even if it doesn’t belong to them. Coyote packs are brutal with their weaker members, ruling with brutality and fear. The shifters here are very cautious and distrustful of them. I know a coyote tried to kill Ryker’s mate, Serenity. I hate to condemn coyotes as a whole, but I have had nothing but bad experiences with them.

I straighten as I hear someone coming through the woods. I breathe deeply and recognize the scents.

Wolves.

I walk down the steps and wait for Ava and her men to arrive. Ava holds a special place in my heart. She is a strong, brave, good woman that her men are lucky to have. I will forever be indebted to her for not giving up on me.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com