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All the men ganged up on her, something that seemed to fluster Hera even more.
Of course, the slight grin to each made me suspect they had been responsible for her lateness.
A knock on the door turned my focus that way, but Wade opened it before anyone else needed to respond. Aaron and Moa walked in, the same quiet discomfort they often had despite three months at Larkwood.
Well, not a full three months. They came and went, both helping to teach different classes and to create connections between Larkwood and the human world. Moa held a large platter, the scent telling me she’d cooked, while Aaron had a bottle of wine in his hand.
The two approached Hera and handed the items over, relaxing at her presence. While having humans around made me uneasy, Hera’s smile made it more than worth enduring. The extra security to ensure their safety seemed a small price to pay, and the two had stood by us even when all had appeared lost. They’d earned their places both at Larkwood and at our table.
The ticking of the clock on the wall reminded me that our time was not without limits.
I set a hand on Hera’s hip, making her jump. When she looked up at me, I nodded toward the bathroom. “You should go change and get yourself ready. We can handle setting the table and finishing dinner.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
As she walked toward the other room, my heart sped again. Before I’d met her, I hadn’t thought myself capable of this feeling, hadn’t known I could desire and crave a person this much. As a wendigo, I’d always wanted control of others, but Hera was the first person I ever loved so much that I gave her freedom.
She hadn’t saved me from my darkness—that would always be a part of me. She’d done something even more impressive. She’d faced that darkness and still accepted me, still cared for me, still loved me.
It was something I hadn’t thought possible, which was why I would spend all my years trying to pay her back for it.
And I’d use all the power at my disposal to keep her safe. The last thing any person who dared to threaten the happiness we had found here would be an enraged wendigo, because she’d given me a life worth protecting.
Hera
I followed Kit’s request, jumping in the shower for a quick rinse-off before putting on the outfit I’d set out. I’d picked a black dress with lace detail, something that straddled the line between my two lives.
It wasn’t designer or fancy the way the old me would have worn, but it wasn’t the simplistic outfits I’d grown used to in my life as a shade. Instead, this combined both those people, which I’d tried for the past months to do. It was flirty and sweet and subtly sexy. I paired it with low heels and kept my makeup simple, applying only mascara and some lip balm that had a sheen to it.
One last glance in the mirror made me figure I’d done what I could. I told myself to relax, that this wasn’t anything special, but I doubted lying to myself would do anything.
After waiting as long as I dared, I exited my bedroom to find the living room full of movement.
Bowen and Sohi had arrived while I’d been in the shower, the two common enough guests that they fit right into my space and company. Bowen, Kit and Knox worked in the kitchen, moving food into serving dishes that they then handed off to Wade and Soshi to take to the table. That left Brax, Deacon, Moa and Aaron speaking to the two people we had thrown this dinner for.
My parents.
My mom and dad stood there, appearing entirely uncomfortable. Whether that was due to not having seen me yet or being at Larkwood or having shades surround them, I had no idea. It was probably a mixture of both.
My mom looked toward me, her eyes instantly glistening as if she were ready to cry on the spot. She squeezed my father’s hand, who followed her gaze to me. He didn’t react quite the same way, but the harshness of his expression softened.
I’d spent little time with them after the fight, after the guards had given up and we had won. Everything had been a mess that night, and I’d had plenty of issues to deal with. Injured shades, injured guards, frightened people, the risk of a follow-up attack—those had all taken my attention.
I’d hugged them both, said think you and they’d let me go. If anyone understood what rested on my shoulders, they would, since they’d both lived with high-pressure jobs. They’d dedicated their lives to their careers, which meant neither had put me down when I’d had to do the same.
Since then, we’d done a few video calls, but this was the first time seeing them in person. Worse, the times we had spoken, we’d kept everything surface-level, as if none of us knew what to say beyond that.
How did people address the past? How did they move forward without tripping over the things that were already over? I didn’t want to tell them everything I’d suffered, didn’t want to burden them with that.
What did I get out of their guilt? How did them feeling bad help me at all? Having them show up that night said everything about how they’d changed, how they’d learned and accepted me. They’d risked a lot to come to my defense the night of the attack. Sure, Moa had been the one to tell them about it, but they’d made the choice to follow, to help, and that told me all I needed to know.
We all took our seats at the large table, with my parents seated across from me. Moa and Aaron sat to each side of my parents like a security blanket and buffer. Lilianna sat at the far end of the table, near Kit, no doubt so he could play buffer for her. Still, having her there, no matter how awkward she was, pleased me. She was family even if she didn’t want to be.
Kit didn’t talk about her openly, wasn’t the sort to admit to tell me how he felt, but I could see how his face softened each time he saw her.
Everyone else filled in the open spots, the table small enough that we all sat arm to arm. At least it meant no one would need to shout to be heard.
“This is wonderful,” my mother said after taking a bite of ham, the words hesitant as though she wasn’t sure how to speak to me anymore.
“Kit made it,”I signed back automatically before remembering they couldn’t understand it.
