I eyed the newly-formed piece on my shoulder which I’d felt no pain receiving and nodded. Nadine squealed in excitement just as Gear walked up to sit behind her and watch herwork.
Was I ready to lose my tattoo virginity? It wasn’t evenprom.
“Remember when Logan accidently doused Coop in fire and his beard singed off?” Gear asked thegroup.
Sophie grinned, leaving her place at Dom’s side and walking over. “He looked like a sixteen year old boy for months until it grewback.”
I smiled at the story, but that was quickly replaced with a gasp of shock as the needle hit my skin. Sophie grinned as if my pain caused her immensejoy.
“Better toughen up, buttercup. Logan put me in charge of your weapons training.” Sophie’s grin grew maniacally, and I knew she’d be delighted watching me struggle to hold a weaponproperly.
‘Thanks for that,’I toldLogan.
He gave me a small smile. ‘She was torn up over Cooper. I needed to give her a task to busy hermind.’
Great. She’d be busy making my lifehell.
The burning in my ribcage had reached critical mass. It felt like a cat was scratching his name into my skin while also tapping my ribs with a dull knife. I was about to complain when she stopped and sprayed a cool mist, wiping the area with atowel.
Roxy and Ruben strolled up to the group as well, which left just Danny unaccountedfor.
Ruben took one look at the small tattoo, the size of a quarter, and smiled, looking like his bear in that moment. “I’ll gonext.”
My heart warmed and the feeling spread throughout my limbs. Ruben had barely known Cooper, even less than I did, and already he was signing up for a permanent mark to honorhim.
“Me too,” Roxy added, and I saw tears line Sophie’seyes.
This was what it must be like to have a big family with lots of siblings. I always wanted brothers and sisters, and now this pack had become that for me. For better orworse.
We all took turns sitting for our little floating red beard tattoo and told stories about Cooper. I learned that he’d been a strict catholic with a video game addiction, and a penchant for Hallmark holiday movies that he would watch with Sophie every Christmas. I smiled as she recalled his soft heart and kinddemeanor.
“But he was a damn good fighter too,” Keegan interjected while getting his tattoo. Only Dom was left. He’d been standing there in silence the entire time, a beer in one hand and a gun in the other. Not the bestcombo.
“He saved me.” Dom’s voice was so rarely used; when he spoke, everyone listened. Even Nadine stopped the buzzing of her tattoo gun to listen to Dom speak of his fallenfriend.
Dom stared at his feet and I noticed again that he had so many scars. Some were smooth, like maybe they were made with a knife, but others were jagged and I shivered to think what madethose.
“Saved you from what?” Roxy asked, taking one step closer to him. Her long, curly hair hung damp down her back. It was no secret that those two were getting to know eachother.
Dom met Logan’s eyes; they shared something, a moment, and then itpassed.
“Saved me from hell on earth,” he said cryptically. He tipped his drink to the sky and chugged his beer in onetake.
We were all silent. I was about to ask more, because I was dying to know anything about our silent pack member, but then a jingle bell sounded behind me and I turned to see a goat. An honest to God goat was running at me with a bell on its collar and a note tied around it. She was small, the size of a medium dog, white with tan spots near herface.
“Waaaah,” she said, and head-butted myleg.
“Okay, okay.” I pulled the note from her collar and looked atit.
Meet me at the waterfall. Bring your other half, itread.
I raised one eyebrow at Logan. “The druid requests ourpresence.”
Logan nodded, all business, and shared a look with Keegan. Now that I knew Logan could speak to the pack’s minds without being in dragon form, I wondered what he was saying. He’d definitely just said something to Keegan, because Keegan nodded. Logan slipped his hand in mine and we started our walk. I didn’t know where the waterfall was, but I was hoping it would be easy to find. As we made our way through the thick trees and over to the place we had spoken to Isaac last night, I decided to pry Logan for more information about Dom. He was that mysterious character who had baggage, and after hearing him say that Cooper saved him from hell, I wanted to understandmore.
“So Dom … seems like he had a rough life before he met up withyou?”
Logan’s hand tightened in mine the slightest bit before relaxing. “Rough time would be putting it mildly.” His voice held so much malice that I stopped walking and he turned to faceme.
