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I wet my lips, taking a second to let that sink in. I’ve told the story to Zeke and Everett before, but never in so much detail. Even still, it’s been years since I’ve told anyone about that night.
“My grandparents had already passed, and because we lived in the human world, I was taken into foster care despite the community’s pleas to keep me with them,” I explain. My voice holds none of the vitriol it once had when I thought of that time, because it brought me here, to my brothers, and my mate. “None of the families worked out well since I was a wolf among humans. It wasn’t until I was sent to a group home and met Zeke that I finally started feeling like I found my place.”
“What changed?” Skylar asks, her voice raspy before she clears her throat. “I mean, what happened to change your view of fire?”
“When Everett took over as Alpha of the Whitlock pack, the first thing I did was go after that other pack leader. I burned their home to a crisp, making sure they turned to ash along with it.”
I still remember the way the flames danced as their pack tried to save them, but there was no use, and they died the same way they killed my parents.
“I let that fear control me for a long time until I finally decided I wouldn’t let it rule me anymore,” I say, meeting her eyes briefly. She still doesn’t have the pity or judgment I’d feared to see on her face. Instead, understanding gleams there. “I see fire for what it is now. I learned everything I could about it to master it—to fight it. It’s always been both a weapon and a tool, so instead of being frightened by it, I chose to honor it, nurture it, and utilize it to its full potential.”
“That takes more strength than you know,” she says, her eyes boring into me as I watch the road. I sense the words mean more than she’s letting on, like she’s comparing how we both dealt with our loss, which isn’t fair to her.
“I get the guilt that you felt, firecracker,” I breathe, rubbing my thumb over her hand. “I always thought to myself, what if I had been home? Could I have saved us? I guess Zeke has a way of helping others since he quickly made me realize how foolish that thought was. If I had been in the house too, I wouldn’t be alive now, and there wouldn’t be anyone to carry on their memory or pass on their wisdom.”
“I guess I should have found you all sooner.”
“No,” I say, catching her gaze, needing her to see the vehemence on my face. “Fate brought you to us exactly when it was supposed to. You’re our missing piece, and you’ve done just as much for us as we’ve done for you.”
“Thank you,” she whispers, her fingers entwined with mine just like our souls. “For saying that and for sharing your story with me.”
“Anything for you, firecracker.”
And I mean that. I would do anything for this woman—the other half of my heart.
Chapter Fourteen
Skylar
Ipushopentheoffice door and stride right in with my head held high, uncaring of what the grumpy alpha might say.
“Good morning to you, too,” Everett grumbles, glancing over to me from his monitor. “I swear I haven’t known a moment’s peace since I met you.”
I let the door close behind me and continue to his desk, not letting his words deter me.
“You complain when I don’t talk to you, then you complain when I do. I’m starting to think there’s no pleasing you,” I sigh, perching casually on his desk as though I own the place. Screw him. He wants me to stay? Then this is what he gets. Arsenio was right yesterday—I won’t tiptoe around this place. If this is going to work, this should be as much my home as theirs, and I should take what I want.
Everett grimaces as he watches me sit on his pristine desk—that is until his gaze roves up my figure languidly, drinking in the curves of my body in the form fitting leather jacket.
“I can think of a few ways you can please me, little wolf,” he purrs, his ice-blue eyes flashing with heat as they meet mine.
Our eyes lock for a moment, the icy burn entrancing me, making heat lick up my spine. The connection thrums between us, the one I wanted to throw away the second it snapped into place.
I’ve had moments with each of my mates now where not only did we explore the lust and the attraction pulling us together, but they let me see into their souls, deepening the pull even further. They’ve shown me their scars, and I’ve shown them mine.
Despite Everett giving me the engagement ring and insisting he always wanted the mate bond, he still remains a mystery to me. He was the first mate I met, and still, I know nothing of his past. I can tell he cares—the vehemence and distress in his tone when I finally answered the phone showed me that—but is it just the mate bond he cares about or me as a person?
Until I know the answer to that, until I know that he wants more than the palpable sexual tension that thrums between us, I won’t allow him to distract me with his innuendos and promises of pleasure.
I snap my focus back into place, letting my resolve dissipate the thick fog of lust that clouded my mind.
“You can keep dreaming because I’m not letting you put your hands on me again, not until you show me more.”
Everett’s brow furrows, and he leans back in his chair, examining me like I just grew a second head.
“I can show you more—”
“Not like that,” I sigh, cutting him off. “If you really want this mate bond, if you want this marriage—” I glance at the ring on my left hand. The stones sparkle in the light like a beacon is shining down on it “—then I want to see the real you behind the bastard, behind all the gruff retorts and sexual tension.”
