“No.” Trent’s head slumps, and for a minute, I feel bad for the little fucker. Then he whines, and the feeling is gone as quick as it came. “You can come another time. I’ll bring you to swim tomorrow.” Dax eventually tells him.
“Deal!” He nods his head before giving me a smug look and turning on his heel to run in the opposite direction. Dax laughs, then presses the bottle back to his lips, takes a swig, and pushes it out to me.
“I can’t believe you were willing to share pussy with my kid brother.” My head whips to the side, meeting his gaze, and I snatch the bottle from him.
“I didnotsay that.” I may be willing to split roast a female with Dax, but I don’t tend to share well with anyone else. His cockysmirk dies when Vi squeals as we round the corner of the last of the cottages and the lake house comes into view. She’s running toward us from the beach, and before either of us can greet her, she's flinging her arms and legs around Dax and sinking her tongue down his damn throat. Shaking my head, I leave him to deal with his leech as I saunter over to find my own.
“I heard you ladies ordered a tall, dark, and handsy man to join the party?” I bark out as I pull a sexy little brunette into my body. She giggles, looking over her shoulder, while the other two smile coyly. A beautiful female with braids falling from her head lifts the tunic she’s wearing over her head, and I lick my lips as the velvety soft, chocolate skin she reveals makes my mouth water. Slowly, my gaze tracks over to the strikingly different-looking female, her skin as pale as the moon, blue eyes, and a pretty pink tint rushes into her cheeks as she notices my eyes picking over her features. I’ll have every one of these females by the time the day is over. A slow grin stretches across my face as I return my attention to the lustful, curvy brunette that gets the first ride.
My boots squelch as I make my way up the stairs of the manor, and I cringe as the back door squeals in protest as I open it. It'slate, the moon is cast out by clouds, and the night is dark in shadows. I should have been home hours ago. Dax and I were a little too caught up and inebriated to rush home. Kait ended up breaking up the party when she came down to the lake looking for Dax. Something about him being needed for some dinner. I laughed my ass off as she hauled his drunk ass off. His father is going to have a fit when he sees the state he's in, especially if they were hosting a dinner.
Kicking the sodden boots off at the door, I reach down and pull the socks off too, hanging them over a bench next to the kitchen fireplace. I stub my toe as I try to make my way around the dark room, and curse under my breath when it makes a loud bang.
When fire flicks to life in the sconces along the walls, I close my eyes and stand up straight, readying myself for the onslaught that is my father before I turn to face him. I can feel the malice that's on his face before I even turn around. My skin chills and goosebumps rise to the surface, despite the heat of alcohol burning through my veins.
“Where thefuckhave you been?”
“I was at the lake with Dax and some friends.” I don’t dare lie to him. He likely knows where I’ve been already and it would just serve to piss him off more If I were to be caught lying. I’ve had to learn that the hard way. Even though I am an adult and fully ascended, I think he will always aim to dictate my life. Mother, as kind as she can be, is a weak woman. Either that, or she is just as twisted as her husband. She never intervenes when it comes to the shit he puts me through. I've come to a point where I don’t even fight back anymore. There is no use.
“Hmmm. That boy could use a stiff hand. If I was his father, I would teach him a lesson. You aren’t going to be lax on yourtraining, Cano. I refuse to allow it.” Yes, how horrible is it for me to take one day off from vigorously training my body and mind? How bad would it be to let your sonlive?
“No one trained today.” As soon as the words move past my lips, I see that they were the wrong ones to speak. His eyes darken as he steps forward. The flames from the sconces light his face in flickering shadows, and his lip pulls back into a sneer.
“Precisely my point, son.” He says through clenched teeth. I notice the tightening of his fist and the pull of his arm, but before he can hit me, there is a knock at the door. I swallow hard, thankful for the interruption. “Who the fuck is knocking at the door at this time of the night?” My father growls as he turns from me and prowls to the door. He wrenches it open, and the cool summer night air blasts in from the momentum.
“Soren. Lord Ravendene needs you to come to the questioning center.” Miles says stoically from the dark doorway, his eyes flicking to me only after my father looks away. He doesn’t like my father much, but he could never say so. Not with the position he holds. Miles would lose his head if my father ever heard some of the things he tried to teach me.
My father has always taught me that compassion is for cowards, but Miles is kind and caring, and though he can be a brute with physical training, he wants to teach us the value of ourheartsas well. Fucking sap, that one. Frustration builds in his eyes before he unclasps his hands from the fists they are balled into and turns his head to look back at me.
“We aren’t done with this conversation, son.” I didn’t doubt that we would be, but I’m okay with the momentary pause. Who doesn’t like a bit of anticipation? I clench my jaw and nod respectfully. When the door clicks shut, I lean against the wall and slumpto the floor. Thankful for this distraction, but cursing it at the same time. He is only going to grow more pissed off the longer that he is kept from giving his punishment. Whatever is happening must be important too. If Travis is calling him to the questioning center in the middle of the night, it will likely only add to his anger.
A rapt at the window only moments later, pulls my attention to the shadowed figure there. Shaking my head, I stand and make my way to the back door, lean over the rail so I can see who’s standing on the other side of the glass.
“Pssst, the fuck are you doing, Kait?” She sneaks over to the ground, just below the platform of the deck.
“Something is going on. I saw Miles taking your father to the questioning center. You wanna find out why?” I swear this female has a death wish sometimes. More balls than most of the men in the regime. She's a spitfire and isn’t afraid of getting into trouble. I smile wickedly, tilting my head to the side, and her devilish smile mocks my own.
“Where is Dax?” I ask her as I reach into the door to grab my boots.
“Right here, fucker. Let's go find out what the old crows are getting into.”
Chapter thirty-five
Losing control of myshadows is my biggest fear, and every day, I feel the chaos within me getting worse. Every day, I think of what Soren said to me,“You had your chance to do the right thing all those years ago.”Perhaps he is right. Maybe I shouldn’t have come back to my family. To Raelle. I’m a danger to all of them. My shadows creep around my feet, up my legs, and encircle my wrists. Like silent, weightless shackles. I’m a prisoner to my own magic.
I don’t even notice that she’s there until her hand wraps around the wrist that I’m looking at. The shadows there dance happily around her milky skin, and I immediately yank my arm away from her. Taking my shadows and some of the risk with me as I take a step back.
“You shouldn’t be in here right now,” I say, shaking my head.
“And tell me, Dax. Why should I beanywhereelse?” She steps forward confidently.
“It’s not safe. I’m not safe to be around right now.” I step backward at the same pace she steps forward, keeping the gap between us.
“I told you a while back… that I remember everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly of the first year of knowing each other. You never questioned me about that.” She says as she takes another step forward, and I take one back. The shadows tighten around my ankles as though they are trying to root me in place, but I won’t allow them to force me into a situation where I can't be sure of her safety.
“We need to have this conversation another time, Raelle.”
“No, I think now is theperfecttime.” She takes another step, and as my feet begin to take another step backward, the heel of my boot hits the edge of the settee. She takes the opportunity and closes the distance between us, pushing at my chest with her hand. Her moon magic flares slightly, helping her force me down into a sitting position.
