AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Whatever you get from the fae is rightfully yours. If you don’t want to share, you don’t share. Even when it comes to cake.” She shrugged a bit and walked beside me as I headed toward the kitchen. “I kissed one of them for a tub of their version of ice cream. So fucking worth it. Because I shared, the other girls also shared their food whenever they got it from one of the fae who came to meet them. That’s usually how it works around here.”
Damn.
I kind of loved that.
“Whatever you do, don’t touch North’s shit. She’s not into sharing,” Dots warned.
I could understand that, too.
Maybe I’d bring her a slice of cake as a peace offering.
Or maybe not. It would probably depend on how good the cake was.
When we got to the kitchen, though, the curiosity in me won out. I wanted to see what would happen with North if I brought her something without expecting her to reciprocate. I had been the prickly bitch enough times to know that there was always a reason—and that it was just a defense mechanism.
So, I halved the cake and cut it into five pieces, saving some for tomorrow. I’d probably need the sugar to cheer myself up after I turned down whatever the hell Calian asked for in exchange for the next treat he brought me. Especially if it was the fae version of ice cream; I was a damned sucker when it came to ice cream.
After giving three pieces to Dots so she could distribute them, I carried my cake and North’s over to her door, then knocked on it.
“Fuck off,” she yelled in response.
I fought a grin.
How many times had that been my answer to people trying to talk to me?
Pretty much every damn time when I was a teenager.
“I brought you cake. Not sure what flavor it is, but it’s sort of a cream color. Smells fucking incredible,” I called out. “No expectations come with it. It’s just cake.”
There was a moment of silence, and then the door was ripped open. Gorgeous, reddish-gold eyes glared back at me. “Everything has a price,” she growled at me.
The other girls said you couldn’t shift until you found a mate or went to live with the unseelies, but smoke was definitely curling off of North, as if she was on fire or was about to catch on fire.
“I know. I grew up in foster care. Went to juvie at fifteen after killing one of my temporary parents. Not a fucking thing on Earth is free, and I’m sure Vevol is the same. But I paid the price for the damned cake, and all it cost you was a little chat in your doorway.” I put the plate against her abdomen, like Calian had done to me, and hid my tendril of amusement when her arm lifted to cradle it the same way mine had. “I’m Ari, and I’m not fucking dead just because some fae bastard thinks I’m going to be his wife.”
With that, I turned and walked away.
I felt her gaze on my back, but it wasn’t anywhere near the first time that had happened.
People always stared.
When it bothered me, I’d stare the fuck back.
None of the other girls commented on me giving cake to North when I sat back down on the couch. We started the movie again, and my body slowly relaxed.
Watching the movie with them felt… nice.
Hell, maybe it even felt happy.
I wasn’t going to let myself think too much about that though, because happiness was always ripped away after I acknowledged it.
After the movie was over, Dots volunteered to do the dishes as a thank-you to me for sharing my cake, and I didn’t disagree. I was the one who had to deal with the fae bastard who might be a little obsessed with me, even if he hadn’t actually lied to me.
I was still pretty pissed about his reasoning behind what he’d said, though. That he couldn’t have controlled himself forever, and I was in danger of getting mated if I’d stayed in the forest with him.
Especially the part where scales were basically strands of hair, and he got possessive when I picked up someone else’s.
He had to be the gray dragon, I decided, as I walked back to my room to see what I had in my new duffel bag. I would give Mare back her clothes, too, because I didn’t know who she’d needed to talk to in order to get them. I didn’t want to disrupt the balance of sharing that the women in the Stronghold had, and I sure as fuck didn’t want to owe Mare anything.
