Hunter pauses, staring at me for a moment before continuing on without giving me a chance to decipher his swiftly veiled expression. “Looks like you were wrong, then. Might be a recipe to get outvoted at times, but I suppose sevenisyour lucky number after all.”
“Happy to be proven wrong; on several accounts.” I give Cin a brief, choking hug. “So if it’s alright with you, I think I’ll torch our hypothetically drafted divorce papers. Unfortunately, the captain may have to go down with the ship, but she’s not above handcuffing herself to her first mate to drag him down with her.”
Tightening his grip, he murmurs, “What if thiswerea perfect world?”
Cocking my head, I rest my cheek on his shoulder to see his scrunched-up face better. “Hmm?”
Face smoothing out, he chuckles. “What Emmy was talking about when she chose her mates. She answered ‘one that felt like drowning.’ I didn’t fully understand Luca’s reply at the time, because back then, Iwasdrowning and couldn’t see the appeal. ‘Loving someone so much that you can’t breathe, and still sinking into their embrace, knowing the peace that’s waiting for you on the other side of pain if you’re brave enough to let go’. I get it now.” He cranes his neck to press a lingering kiss to my forehead. “No more running.”
My damned, jaded heart breaks in the best of ways. "No more running."
Tugging aside the collar of his shirt, I stare at the pearlescent blue mark on his shoulder that started us down the rocky path that led here. This time, when I sink my teeth into him, I know exactly what I’m doing.
Closing my eyes, I draw in a slow breath, but I don’t give myself a chance to dwell on any of the painful images or miserable emotions. His parents don’t deserve to occupy any space in either of our heads, but better mine than his; they’ve made him suffer enough. So I curb the impulse to spit on their graves as I get a few glimpses of a younger, bloody and bruised Cinjin on the ground as one of his fathers walks away, as he works on his aim while one shouts threats against Reid if he misses again. I take it all, package it up, and chuck it in the trauma pile waiting to be burned where those memories can’t haunt him anymore. And rather than let them eat away at me, I use them as encouragement to remind me what it is that I’m fighting for.
A chance. A future where we don’t have to fight tooth and nail to earn every scrap of joy, to live our best lives out of spite of everyone that tries to stand in our way.
He stumbles forward with a curse, hissing in a sharp breath. Only Kaige’s quick reflexes keep us both from falling, grabbing the back of my shirt. My solid grip on Cin keeps him from face-planting in the mud, and when he gets his feet firmly under him again, Kaige helps me slide off of his back.
His heated look makes my current situation of being soaking wet a hell of a lot more awkward as he adds another layer to that problem. “What was that for?”
Inspecting the damage, I trace the overlapping bite marks with the tip of my finger. “To make sure you always have a reminder that you’re wanted; both of you.”
A few of the men standing guard outside of the warehouse break off from the rest and head our way to investigate, so I switch gears as much for his benefit as mine. “Or, you know, it could be because I finally went feral like Emmy was so worried about, biting anyone that gets too close. I commend whoever’s brave enough to test the theory and ask for a blow job first.”
He slings an arm around my shoulders, falling into step beside me. “You’re funny.”
“Thanks, all of my jokes are cries for help.”
Our path is blocked by three men, and I bite the inside of my cheek to combat the crawling feeling on the back of my neck as I meet their beady eyes. There isn’t even anything supernaturally alarming to be found there, the unease that takes root is a visceral reaction simply tothem; that sixth sense that everyone has to let them know when they’re no longer alone walking down a dark street at night.
Monsters come in all shapes and forms, but I’d happily take a rabid wolf or demonic doll over this kind any day.
“She’s going to get sick,” one accuses, shooting a condemning glare at Hunter, but there’s nothing in his tone that resonates as genuine concern. “You shouldn’t be so careless with something this precious; too many dangers waiting in the wind.”
The blonde on the left clucks his tongue. “Accidents happen in these woods all of the time, and it’s far more of a risk in current conditions. There’s hardly anyone around if something unfortunate were to occur.”
Hunter clenches his fist at his side, but attempts to keep his cool. “We’re here to speak with Leo, Merrick, and Sebastian.”
Silent up until now, the third asshole looks Hunter straight in the face with complete and utter loathing he doesn’t bother to veil. “And she is absolutely welcome to do so.” He leaves the rest of the threat unspoken, not backing down.
“You’re aware that we’re staying with them,” he states through gritted teeth. “And I’m sure they won’t take kindly to hearing that you left their daughter out in the rain over some useless pissing contest.”
A flicker of life sparks in his eyes; malignant, cruel, and excited. “We aren’t doing anything of the sort.” He sweeps a hand dramatically towards the door of the warehouse. “She’s free to come and go as she pleases. But I think they’d be interested to know that you’d rather leave her standing out here in the elements simply because you don’t care for her fathers’ pack. Not a very good look for the man they’re trusting to take care of their daughter.”
Another chimes in, leisurely running his gaze over me. “Or that you’re fine parading her around soaking wet.”
Before he can draw in his next breath, Hunter’s fist is buried in his face, the audible crunch of his jaw fracturing followed by the splash of him crashing into the puddle at his feet. “Watch your mouth.”
One throws a swing at Reid, but he blocks it, driving his fist into the man’s stomach. Damian’s there a moment later, tackling the third to the ground, mud splashing my legs from the impact. The men that had hung back up until now come running, and soon, it’s a chaotic mess of flying fists and insults, several of my guys swiftly caught up in the fray as it turns into a free-for-all.
As I sigh, Slade sidles up next to me. “Is it strange that I’m actually... happy right now?” I follow his line of sight to Reid pinning a man beneath him, absolutely wailing on the poor bastard until his face becomes an unrecognizable, bloody pulp.
Glancing at Slade out of the corner of my eye, I watch the way he softly smiles at his younger brother the way only an elder sibling forced to become a parent can. “You want to join him, don’t you?”
Sheepishly, he scrubs a hand over the shadow of stubble on his jaw. “Horrifyingly enough... yeah, I think I do, a little bit.” He faces me, utterly confused on how to process the answer that came out of his mouth. “That’s insane, isn’t it?”
Chuckling, I take the bag off of his shoulders and slide it onto mine. “Go; have fun. Get all of that pent up testosterone out with the rest of the barbarians. Do me a favor though? Take Cin with you?”
