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Every single one of my mates moved in front of me and instead of acting like the lovable grump that he was, Walter belted out a full belly laugh.
“What the fuck, Walter?” I demanded, shoving my way through the large group to glare at the asshole.
“You’re telling me, the queen of ‘I’ll never have a mate’ has now bagged herself EIGHT of them?” He could barely speak around his laughter. “Stay as long as you like, this is too funny.”
He walked away then, laughing at himself as he went back into his little cave.
“So, you’re against mates?”
Jackson
“She’s not coming back,” the girl behind the counter called out. I glanced over to see her blinding smile. “My bestie is a runner.”
Serenity had nearly run out of the door the moment Walter walked away, mumbling about fresh air.
“This is wild,” Silas muttered. “She’s going to be difficult to talk to.”
“Evrin is going to wonder why we’re not giving him updates. This might push him over the edge,” Amos said. He was the most conflicted out of all of us.
Though Ev wasn’t my brother, just my former friend. I couldn’t even call us that any more. After college I’d let him move in with me. He wanted an escape and I had an extra room.
From the first night he went out and got drunk in town with the college crowd, he'd never put it down again. He'd drink himself into a stupor and half the time make it home to pour himself into bed. I couldn't even count the amount of times he was forced to sleep it off in jail. The sheriff started calling it the Evrin suite.
Our friendship never quite recovered. How did you let someone you cared about continuously try to ruin their lives?
I tried... I truly did. Honestly, I fought more for him than he did. There was only so much I could do and eventually when things got too bad, when he turned angry and hateful, I had to kick him out. Now, I haven't spoken to him in years.
If they told him that Serenity, the woman who 'ruined' his life, was their mate... it might be the end of Evrin.
What I wanted was the truth.
"I'm going," I announced before moving out of the door before anyone could protest. Their voices cut off as the door to Raven's Nest closed behind me. I had no clue where Serenity would go and I barely knew this town.
"You looking for Serenity?" I looked up at a man who shared too many similarities to not be her family. I nodded and he grinned like I'd given him a gift. "She's hiding in my diner, right over there."
"Thanks," I offered. His laughter followed me across the street but I ignored it, already heading inside the diner. Serenity was tucked away in the back, a hoodie over her head, but I recognized the tattoos along her hands.
She didn't even argue as I slid into the booth across from her. Her icy blue eyes met mine and she looked relieved to see me. That had me breathing a bit easier.
"You're different than the others," she said as she put a fry in her mouth and chewed it slowly.
"I've heard that before," I said. It wasn't a bad thing, I accepted it about myself a long time ago. I found interacting with people difficult. There were too many emotions involved and I was far too awkward.
"Well, clearly, I have issues with facing my problems," she offered in a self-deprecating tone.
"Eight mates is not a small problem," I said, shaking my head. "I'm overwhelmed and I'm not the focus of everyone's attention."
"Why did Evrin send you?"
The question startled me enough that I froze, blinking up at her. She was patiently waiting for me to gather my thoughts. Serenity was also guarding herself. Her back was straight enough it was like someone put a rod up her spine. I recognized the demeanor, it was one of someone who had been forced to learn to protect themself, to expect the worst. I'd been bullied a good chunk of my life.
What got me was that this was far different than the woman who faced off with us earlier.
"He's an alcoholic, a bad one now," I started, not meeting her eye. "After..."
"He accused me of cheating, kicked me out, threw me out on the streets, and refused to let me say a single word to defend myself?"
"Wait, what?" I asked, completely and utterly shocked. That was not the version of events we got. Evrin painted her as the villain, that she'd openly cheated with several guys and he had video evidence. Malia was part of the situation but I never knew to what extent. All I knew was that was the day we lost our friend and their brother.
