My brow furrowed as I eyed the tattoo. It was intricate, far more detailed than most tattoos I’d seen.
After a moment of silence, Dom’s shoulders rolled back as she sucked in a breath. “She’s not allowed out of this house. And she can’t be in the house alone. If you two fuckheads need to leave, lock her in her room.”
Spencer stepped forward to fight it, the restriction a bit too cruel.
But Dom had hit her limit for compromise. “She has a toilet, she’ll be fine.”
Only once Spencer took a step back did Dom finish her rules. “And she’s not allowed anywhere near the South Wing.
It was settled, my two saviors nodding their agreement. My stomach dropped, realizing I’d be staying with these three complete strangers in this strange mansion that made my head swim.
Before one of them could head upstairs to tell me the news, I stepped into the doorway, making all three of their heads whip around. There was no point in pretending I hadn’t been listening — Dom already hated me, despite not even knowing my name, so it wasn’t like I could make much worse of an impression on her.
Besides, it wasn’t like she could kick me out now — whatever that tattoo was clearly meant that they were stuck with me.
Clearing her throat, Leo took a step back from Dom. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.” I shrugged, rolling my shoulders in what I hoped passed as nonchalance. Dom’s lip curled at the gesture. She was flushed with anger, her chest heavy with frustration as she tried to settle herself.
“Great, then you’re all caught up.” Spencer nodded toward me. “Dom, meet Kiera.”
Dom’s eyes widened as she met my gaze, the color draining from her face.
13
SPENCER
I’d never seenDom like that. Pale, haunted almost. It was like a ghost had floated in the living room of this weird ass mansion and taken over her entire body.
Her bite evaporated into thin air as her eyes glazed over, a panic hiding behind them.
Did she just think Kiera was pretty? Because so did I, but I didn’t have a fucking panic attack about it.
Before I could get too deep into my theories, Kiera stepped forward and held out her hand.
A laugh pushed its way past my closed lips. “A handshake?”
Once I broke, so did Leo.
Something about our laughter made Dom snap back. Shaking her head, she pushed past Kiera. “We’re not friends. You’re temporary until I find somewhere else to put you.”
Once she was in the doorway, she looked over her shoulder at Kiera and us. “Don’t get confused about that.”
It felt like she’d put her hand around my throat. Dom wasn’t going to let us keep our new pet for long. And if we pushed too hard, we were just temporary too. At least that was the empty threat beneath every argument with Dom.
Blood didn’t bind us together. But the ink on our skin did, the blood we’d spilled did. The Oracle. Styx. All of it. Dom couldn’t get rid of Leo and I if she tried.
She stormed off, down the hall toward her office. “I have a meeting.”
“Sure.” Leo quipped just quietly enough to stop Dom from hearing it.
We all knew it was a lie. She just needed to get away from whatever was in this room torturing her. Apparently, just being near Kiera was enough to make her explode.
I might not ever put my finger on what made this girl so unique, what about her brought us all to attention. But even after just a few hours with the girl, I felt like she held strings about my head, pulling them as she pleased.
Her green eyes stared us down, looking for an answer to Dom’s behavior. But the truth was, Dom was a loose cannon. Even as her close friend, I found her to be unknowable. This type of blow up was par for the course, even if this was an extreme end of her temper.
“She just needs a diaper change.” I quipped, swallowing my nerves and flashing Kiera a cheeky smile. This straight girl would fall for it eventually, if I tried hard enough.
