AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Raven nods. But both men look at North.
North nods as well.
“Okay. So we go there and get the gem out. Any idea what kind of traps or alarm systems we’ll be dealing with going in?” I like to do reconnaissance before I do a job. It’s what any burglar does, you have to know the ins and outs, the potential pitfalls. I couldn’t just waltz into a joint and wing it. I had to do my homework.
“No.” Cain shakes his head and sips his water. “I didn’t see enough, just a glimpse to know there are tunnels.”
“We can assume there are traps,” North goes on. “Places like these always have them.”
He says it with such casual confidence, as though he’s dealt with all of these things before—not just once but enough times that it’s routine, nothing to worry about. I wonder what sort of lives these three have led, that they’re so ready to go with this, that they’ve got a safe house, that breaking into a system of caves that are probably—definitely—rigged to get an Aurora Gem of all things isn’t that big of a deal.
I swallow my questions. If I ask them questions, they’ll start asking me questions, and I’m curious, but I don’t know if I can reciprocate. I don’t know if I can answer whatever it is they might ask me. I don’t know if I can give myself away just yet.
“Okay. If you guys think that we can handle this, then I’m trusting you on that.” They seem like capable fighters, judging by the market fight. “But I’m the burglar here, so unless you three are used to breaking into places and detecting traps, we’ll be following my lead when we get in there.”
Cain and Raven look at North.
North thinks about it for a second, then nods at me. “We’ll trust you on this. You’re the expert.”
I don’t know too much about shifters, but North practically oozes alpha male, and the other two look to him for leadership. “Thank you,” I tell him. It has to mean a lot for him to agree to defer to my expertise.
“We’ll set out in the morning,” North says, standing. “We want to give Donovan’s men time to lose the trail and run around in circles. Lose track of us.”
I could probably use the rest. I know I was technically lying on the couch during my vision but it didn’t feel like I was. Between that, the fight, and everything else, I’m exhausted. And nervous.
“We’ll need some supplies,” North adds. “I’ll go out and get a few things. Cain, with me. Raven, you’re on guard.”
Cain stands, and Raven nods, both of them immediately following orders. North doesn’t growl or snap to show his authority. He doesn’t have to.
“Be careful,” Raven warns them fondly as the other two head out. Raven’s the worrier, I’m starting to realize.
He doesn’t look like he would be. He’s huge, covered in tattoos, he looks like he doesn’t need to ever worry about anything.
Cain kisses me on the top of my head, then follows North out of the safe house. I can’t even see the front door—it’s like they just open a portion of the wall and then vanish.
Raven cleans everything up. I’m not quite sure what to do—I don’t have pajamas, and I don’t want to wear my normal clothes to sleep in, so I start going through the closets to find something to wear.
“Do you guys mind if I borrow some clothes?” I ask.
“No, not at all.” Raven seems unsure what to do now that it’s just the two of us. I feel like he’s a dog on a leash, being held back, but not in a scary way. Not like he’s going to attack me. More like he just wants to come to me and be close, and he doesn’t know how.
I find a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, I think one of Cain’s, and I go to change in the bathroom.
Raven’s still sitting there when I come back. He looks lost.
“Do you want to do anything?” I ask. “Play a card game?”
I’m joking, but Raven looks up at me, dead serious. “Do you want to? We can do that. We can watch TV or we can talk.”
I have a feeling that if I told him I wanted him to talk, he’d just start talking nonstop, to please me. That… concerns me. I don’t want anyone to be so devoted to me that they were giving up their own autonomy. I don’t want a slave.
“No. I want to know what you want to do.”
That seems to throw Raven for a loop. For a second, a look of worry crosses his face, like he’s thinking he’s done something wrong.
“I want you to do what you want,” I clarify. “Not what I want. If you want to do something, and I want to do the same thing then great, but you aren’t—I don’t know about this mate thing. I don’t know how it works. But I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your own choices and your own wants for mine.”
Raven seems to take this in, then tilts his head at me. He’s staring at me in a way that heats me up all over. I can practically see him thinking about what he wants, and I swallow at the implications of the heat in his gaze. It’s pretty obvious how he wants us to spend the time.
