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I shrugged. “My last conversation with Tillman happened in here.”
And then...he died.
Everything in the larder was where I’d left it, not even twenty-four hours ago.
The stores and the supplies we would soon stack in there should have fed our entire pack, including two young females.
The thought brought hot tears to my eyes.
Seff’s arms came around me from behind. “Darlin’?”
“They’re all gone, Seff.” I sucked in a shaky breath. “They’re all laying up there in the cold, and we’re filling this larder with food they will never eat. Then, we’ll dispose of their bodies, dispose of their things like they were never here.”
“We’ll remember them,” his deep voice rumbled near my ear. “In the Ceremony of Grace. And then, we’ll let ’em go.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. I shivered at the heated rush that swept through my blood each time his lips touched my skin. It seemed almost inappropriate to feel desire when surrounded by so much death.
“Hey, you two,” my dad called down through the doorway. “Got a lot of work ahead of us to get this stuff settled and stored before nightfall.”
I cleared my throat and called back, “Coming!” Stepping away from the male holding me so tenderly was the last thing I wanted to do. I took his big, warm hand in mine and led him up the stairs.
––––––––
Nereida and Arteismadumped a few more handfuls of damp wood shavings on top of the last bin of carrots, then smoothed the shavings out to cover evenly in a thick layer.
“Time for a nice hot bath, you two,” my mom said. “Then, you can help me get some supper going while Poppo Al fixes the radio.”
Arteisma and Nereida skipped off with my mom as Seff picked up the full bin. I followed him down into the larder, where Deck had been rotating and stacking our new supplies.
“Set that right here.” Deck pointed off to the side where Seff set the last bin of carrots.
I’d worked side-by-side with my brother most of the day. We hadn’t spoken a single word. I couldn’t understand how I had moved on so quickly from what Tillman put me through but couldn’t seem to do the same with my brother. Maybe it was the fact that he was my brother, my twin, and my blood that cut so very deep.
I was dead to him. He’d meant every word when he’d said it.
As far as Decker was concerned, I was to blame for what happened between his friend and me. He blamed me for Tillman’s exile from our pack.
He was wrong.
And I refused to apologize.
Deck walked past me to the doorway, then turned and braced his forearms on the door frame.
“So, are you ever gonna talk to me again?”
The hairs along the back of my neck prickled as the heavy scent of coriander coated the back of my throat like slimy soap. I glanced behind me to see Tillman had come down the stairs. He stood on the bottom step, forearms braced on the door frame for at least a minute before he spoke.
“So, you ever gonna talk to me again?”
Not if I can help it.
I sighed as the thought flickered through my mind.
“Five months, Des. Five fucking months!”
I inhaled a breath, wondering how I’d ever thought his scent had been pleasing or sensual when it was so bitter. I turned to face him.
“No, forget it. You don’t get to say shit to me.” He turned, marched back up the stairs and out the door.
