Mom’s eyes welled with tears as she forced a smile. “Congratulations to all three of you. Please make yourselves at home. We’ll be back in the morning. See you out there, Lachlan?”
I nodded. “I’ll be out there whenever I start to transform.”
“The others will be happy to see that you’re home,” Dad said before they gathered their bags and walked out the door.
Wren let out a huge breath before sinking back into the couch and pressing her hand to her chest. “Your parents are intense.”
Kian chuckled.
“It’s not that they’re intense… They’re just…” I paused with a frown. “Whenever they see me, they see Lilly. We were twins. Fraternal twins. So, as much as it sucks, I understand. They’re hesitant to be around me. That’s why when I was marked for Fate Hollow, there was no big goodbye. It was more… I left quietly so I didn’t upset them.” I lowered my head.
Wren curled a finger under my chin to lift my head toward her. “Don’t ever feel sad that you look like Lilly. It makes your bond special. You guys were twins.” She pointed at the photo of Lilly and me that my dad had been looking at. “She’s beautiful, and she looks just like you. That’s not something to be upset about in the slightest. It’s something to cherish.”
I smiled, my throat welling with emotion. “I love your way of thinking.”
“It keeps her memory alive. But Lachlan, we’re going to figure out what happened to her.”
I nodded, sniffing. “Thank you.”
“I’m your mate,” she said, and the look on her face was as if she explained it all.
Kian slumped back on the couch and took his glasses off before rubbing his eyes.
“How are you feeling?” I asked him.
“I have a migraine,” he croaked. “Severing ties with my coven did a little bit of a number on me. It took a lot of magic to manage it.”
“You did the right thing.” I inhaled the scent of a woodland candle on the coffee table.
“I know I did. I just wished that my vision had been more clear as to when that interaction took place. We almost led Wren right into the dragon’s clutches.”
Panic swallowed me, and I ground my teeth together. We had been too close for comfort. Wren should’ve never been near them.
“I’m okay.It’s not your fault.” Wren turned to him and cupped his face.
His eyes widened as she moved closer until they were about a few inches apart. “W—Wren…”
I had to swallow my jealousy for their closeness, because she was comforting my friend. It wasn’t that I was jealous of Kian. It was just more that I was jealous that Wren and I hadn’t had our time yet.
There was a strange static in the air as they looked at each other.
“Can you please stop blaming yourself for things that didn’t even happen? You’re the reason that we got away from them.You are the reasonthat we’re safe right now,” she told him with such intensity in her voice that it made my heart skip a beat.
“How do you always see the best in me?”
“Because you’re not as bad as you think you are.”
They leaned in closer, and Kian’s magic thickened the air.
A tickle attacked my throat, and I coughed, covering my mouth and looking away. But they broke apart.
“Are you okay?” Wren asked.
“I’m sorry. Does anyone want to go get cleaned up? We’ve had a hell of a day.” I got to my feet and walked across the creaky wooden floor toward the hallway.
“I would love to get cleaned up,” Wren said with a pink blush cascading over her cheeks.
Kian’s cheeks reddened again as he stared at Wren in awe.
