Page 61 of Fated to Her

“Eli, calm down. She was just using the bathroom,” Maverick says behind me as he follows after his son.

Eli turns sharply before ripping me behind him and growling viciously at his father.

“Stay out of it, old man. You know not to come near her. Don’t make me warn you again,” Eli tells him, and a shiver runs down my spine due to the pure rage pouring out of him. Maverick’s eyes dart to me. He goes to say something but then nods.

“You should probably go inside, Addie. It’s still chilly out here, anyway,” Maverick says to me, and Eli growls before tugging me after him.

Eli slams the door, shoving me back inside the house. The noise makes Emery jump up, alert, looking for danger, no doubt, before she relaxes, exhaling loudly.

“Oh, just you two,” she says, running her fingers through her short hair.

Eli pushes me toward the bedroom, and Emery looks at him funny.

“Everything okay, Addie?” she asks, looking at me in panic, making me look over my shoulder to see Eli’s canines protruding. His claws slip from his fingertips.

“Get in the room,” Eli says, making my heart race at his tone.

I rush off to the room. Eli is following after me, the floorboards creaking under his feet. Cyrus walks into me as I open the door, his hands grabbing me before he knocks me backward. He lets me go, and I rush into the room. Eli smashes the door into the wall as he comes in after me.

“I told you, you weren’t to go anywhere without us, and I found you with the very person I specifically told you to stay away from,” Eli screams at me. His chest is rising and falling heavily.

Cyrus grabs his arm. “Calm down, Eli. What’s gotten into you?” Cyrus asks him, only Eli shoves him, making him stumble into the dresser before Cyrus grips his arm.

“No, get out. You hate this place. I get it, Eli. But don’t take it out on Addie,” Cyrus yells at him.

Eli growls, his body trembling, and I can see he is about to shift in his rage.

“Get out!” Cyrus tells him firmly before pushing him toward the door.

Eli glares at me before turning and walking out the door and slamming it. Cyrus lets out a breath before turning to look at me.

“He doesn’t mean it, Addie. This place just brings the worst out in him,” Cyrus says before grabbing the blanket and tossing it over my shoulders.

“But I didn’t do anything,” I tell him.

“You can’t wander off out here. This place is not like home, Addie. It is dangerous. Where did you go?” he asks.

“To the bathroom, and I looked around out the front on my way back in. Maverick was with me.”

Cyrus exhales. “He will calm down after a few days. This place has him on edge, just do things his way until then. Eli has no good memories of this place. It’s hard for him knowing you are in the only place that scares him.”

I say nothing. I knew it would be different out here, but I didn’t think I would be on such a tight leash.

“You’re not a prisoner. Don’t think like that, Addie. He will calm down once he realizes nothing happens,” Cyrus says before hopping up. “Come on. You should eat.”

Walking into the living room, Emery stretches her arms above her head, yawning. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” she mutters.

“If you can call that a bed,” Cyrus replies.

She snorts. “Hey, could be worse. I’ll never forget the feel of a straw-stuffed mattress. It makes me itchy just thinking about it.”

Cyrus chuckles before rummaging around in the tiny kitchen. “Yes, bloody itchy things, but hay was better than sleeping in the stables next to the pigs.”

“Argh, yes. Oh, how the times have changed.”

“Indeed,” Cyrus says, smiling at her.

“Would it kill your father to own a toaster?” Cyrus says, pulling out some weird-looking fork thing. “Can’t say I have used one of these in a while.”