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Drew's hands ran over his face. "He got a girl pregnant. With twins. That's what happened. Plus, Red. Need I say more?"
I gave him a small smile and sat up. The bedding was a mess with crustiness from dried sweat caused by the nightmare.
"You gonna talk?" Drew asked.
"Nope." I crawled from the bed on the opposite side from where he sat. "But I appreciate your offer, and should the need arise, I'll take you up on it. What are you doing here anyway?"
“Cal wants to get some training in today while you give your shopping list to Sylee and her mom so they can do the shopping for us. Your list is probably pretty long, so we need to get it over soon because, if I remember correctly, you're short on food. Cal won't be happy if you don't provide for your guests."
Guests, yeah. Drew smirked at my snort. "Hey, I can't tell you how happy I am that I get to share the responsibility of Victor and Torres with Adam. Any news on who the Elemental presiding over the treaty meeting is?"
Drew stood as I slipped a long-sleeved, black shirt on with my black cargo pants following. I’d change into my gym clothes when I reached the gym. I didn’t have fire in my veins like Adam. While I didn’t need a coat, I wasn’t comfortable walking around in shorts and a t-shirt in subzero temperatures. It’d gotten cold last night.
"Not a clue. I assume Life will be there, but I've been known to be wrong at times." I stepped into the bathroom and waved my toothbrush at him so he'd know I wouldn't be speaking for a few minutes.
Usually, in the past where we were hard on each other and hid our emotions and kept more to ourselves, Drew and I would stand there in silence. He'd never been a talker. He'd never been a listener either. His oneness with nature didn't bring him peace as you'd have expected. His element gave him strength and power with little patience for how he used them. Jazz brought the peace he needed with her. Lady Love had chosen them for each other, and I had to admit, even if Drew wouldn't, that Love knew what she was doing. Of course, being my element, Drew thought I was partial to Love.
My eyes snapped over to Drew when he started talking instead of staying silent. "I've never felt so not in control, and I'm beginning to feel as useless as Red has felt for months." He paced the wall by the bathroom door, letting me catch glimpses of him every few seconds. "I should be at the meeting with you guys, but instead I'll be stuck at home with Red and the rest of the Hamiltons."
I bent over the sink and spit. It drove me crazy when I had to share a bathroom with Chris and he got toothpaste all over the sink because he spit from way up high. Then he wouldn't even clean it up. After rinsing my mouth, I turned back to Drew.
"You realize that you're not useless. We're going to have five different races hanging out in your backyard for who knows how long."
"No offense, Jeff, but wouldn't it be better for you to stay with Red while I go with the Witches?"
Seriously, why didn't he bring this up to Cal and not me? I'd vote for this plan in a heartbeat. I just wasn't the one in charge. And probably never would be.
"Did you mention that to Cal?"
His shoulders slumped as he leaned against the doorframe. "Red won't let me. She said she needs me here. I tried to get across to her that having a healer here would be better, but she doesn't believe me."
Darn Jasmine. I could understand though, so I couldn't begrudge her wanting her mate. "I'll only be a half hour away, Drew. So, if you need me for anything, call me. Plus, I'm not sure how long you'd be able to stand there and listen to everyone yap."
He chuckled softly and shrugged with a "Yeah, you're right" look. Drew led the way from the room when I'd finished up in the bathroom, and I halted him before we left the house.
"Let me grab some cookies, and I'll be all set."
My brother just shook his head as I pulled an entire package from the cupboard—my last one—and headed his way again with a bottle of water. I'd have preferred milk, but I had no time to throw some in a bottle. I needed to make my list on the way to the house. I’d completely forgotten. Plus, Cal was probably on his way to come get us by now since Drew had waited so long to get me out of bed.
Sweat rolleddown my skin as I faced off against Drew and Carmon. There were only three Lanshay brothers at the Lanshay Compound—the new nickname of Drew’s property since we each had a house there—so we’d drawn lots to see who would face off against the other two. I’d drawn the short straw. Neither man looked as exhausted as I was beginning to feel. They still looked mostly fresh.
Yes, I was a good warrior, one of the best, along with my brothers. Being a healer made me even more deadly, but it also caused me problems. However, when I tapped into my Love element, I was unstoppable. That was only saved for certain situations, though, and not a fight with my brothers. A feeling I'd be using that particular element a lot in the future crawled its way up my spine.
"How ya feeling?" Drew taunted as he began circling to my left. Carmon had pulled a dagger from the back of his pants, but he'd tried to hide it. He'd failed. However, that did not mean I wouldn't end up with it embedded in my body somewhere. If he and Drew worked it right, they could take me.
I opened my mouth to say I was feeling great, but knew I couldn't say it. No words would come out. It's why I chose to stay quiet when I wasn't needed. Actually, most of us were pretty quiet. Chris was the only one who talked a lot, and lately he'd toned it down. If it weren't for the girls, Drew's house would be silent, like it used to be before our mission to the Hamiltons’.
"I'll let you have a few minutes to collect yourselves if you want." I backed up to keep both men in my sights as I bluffed.
"Oh, he's cute. Isn't he, Drew?" Carmon's eyes had changed from focused to gleeful. I called those his animal eyes. It meant one thing: Cal thought I was going down, and soon. It was his only tell, and it was accurate, so he didn't hide it. He wanted his prey to know they were going to die, or in my case, be in some pain.
"I think he's adorable." Drew smiled his own arrogant smirk.
"Stop taunting him." The redhead's comment broke the spell the guys were trying to cast over me, and I smiled happily at them.
Drew stood and looked to where Jazz lay on a small couch in a corner so she could watch us comfortably.
"Red, seriously? You just ruined the mood," he whined at his mate.
