“I told you I wasn’t going to see you again,” Preston’s voice wafted through the house. “This really isn’t a good time. I’m on vacation----” A pause. “That’s none of your business. No, I don’t need you to --- No, if you come here, you’re wasting your time. ---There’s nothing left to talk about. --- He told you he didn’t want to be involved either.”
I stopped and ducked behind the corner before my cousin saw me. As far as I knew, it’d been a while since Preston dated anyone but then I didn’t live in the Nightshade Bear Territory and only knew as much about his life as he or Mori told me.Maybe he hadn’t even told his twin. Everyone needs to keep some secrets tucked inside their sleeve.
“No, I mean it,” Preston said a second later. “Don’t call me back. You’re wasting your time and mine. I’m on vacation.” Another pause. Preston’s scent grew more irritated by the second. “No! That has nothing to do with me! I wasn’t even there when the windows exploded!”
A lie!
“I don’t care what the news is reporting! Not all journalists tell the truth!” Another pause. I strained my ears in vain but couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation. “I’m not explaining myself to you! We never were anything! Do you know what that means?” Preston hung up the phone and stalked off into the kitchen smelling like a bear prodded awake violently from his cold season hibernation.
I counted to two hundred before padding into the kitchen. Preston probably had his reasons for lying to what sounded like an ex and I didn’t have the mental energy to ask him what was up. If he wanted to talk to me about it, he’d bring it up. I wasn’t his daddy, and I had my own relationship problems to solve.
“Hey,” I said softly as I stepped into the kitchen, doing my best not to startle him.
“Shi--! Oh, hi, Crilus. Did you escape?” he said, but the joking tone didn’t quite fill out his voice.
“Only for a minute. Wanted to grab my blood and a snack for Pierce. Have you seen any blood in the fridge?”
“Plenty,” he said, pointing to a mini fridge that was meant for chest milk but currently there wasn’t a baby in the house. “Medwin must have planned on him spending eternity here.”
“What? You gonna off him and make blood offerings to his ghost?” I huffed and crossed the kitchen.
“Why are you in a bad mood? I’m the one who assaulted a Moonscale Guard because I thought he grabbed your crotch orsomething,” Preston said, turning to me, holding a sandwich in either hand. Both had a big bite taken out of the center of them. “Some people would just be glad they met their true-mate.”
“I already apologized for that – outside – earlier,” I said. “I’m sorry you got wrapped up in all of it.”
“I know you are. I just wish you’d cheer the hell up. Do you know what some of us would give to meet our true-mates? Mori can echo Dern and say it’d just be a headache as much as he wants to but you and I both know he’s on that list. Maybe even more so than me.”
I opened my mouth to say something trite about whoever he was arguing with on the phone but stopped short because I didn’t want to have that conversation. Instead, I loaded my arms up with the blood pouches and started to walk out of the kitchen.
“Ask him who blew up the bar,”my crow cawed into my thoughts from inside his inner sanctum.
“Yeah!”my wolf chimed in.“He’s the one who ran to check things out even before the guards could get there!”
I opened my mouth and shut it again. If Preston was involved, he’d lie about it. He’d always been the one who never got into trouble. And if he wasn’t involved, I’d never forgive myself for falsely accusing him. We all had secrets. That didn’t mean we were entangled with the criminal element who blew up bars that didn’t even belong to us.
“What?” he asked in between bites of his sandwiches.
“Nothing. Just—I’m sorry I’m not more cheerful about this. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
“Then get an umbrella so that it bounces off,” Preston said.
“Hey, if you were in trouble and needed help, you’d let me know, right?” I asked when I was almost out of the kitchen.
“I guarded you against the cheating cheetah, didn’t I? You’d be the first one I told,” Preston grinned.
“Good. Don’t get into trouble right now if you can help it. I’m up to my ears in trouble. Someone tried to murder my bar,” I said and walked out of the kitchen before he had a chance to answer.
I tiptoed up the stairs, silently praying that Pierce was still asleep. I was exhausted but my brain needed some quiet time to decompress and work all this bullshit out. Maybe I was overreacting about Preston’s phone call. Maybe he just had an overprotective ex who freaked out when he saw what happened at the Raven’s Perch on the news. Though, I’d like to beat whoever decided it was okay to report that at all while it was still under investigation.
I turned the knob slowly, doing my best to not make a single noise, but when I pulled the door open, I was nose-to-chest with Pierce.
“I---” I started but he pulled me into him so hard and fast that the armful of blood pouches I carried tumbled onto the floor making wet plopping sounds around our feet. His lips hovered so close to mine that for a second, I thought I’d have to headbutt him to keep him from kissing me. Only he didn’t. The fucker didn’t kiss me. He just licked his lips and tossed me over his shoulder. A second later I bounced on the bed and the door locked and closed behind me.
“I was getting you blood pouches!”
“I see that. Thank you,” he said, pacing at the end of the bed like a caged lion.
“Why are you pacing? Should I run?” I asked, my heart skipping over itself half in longing and half in confused fear.
