The way I found him, it’s hard to stop myself from sitting at his door like a guard dog until his parents come to take over the protection duty.
Running down the stairs, I stop abruptly when the three idiots are waiting with their arms folded and teasing smirks on display. Rubbing the back of my neck bashfully, I wait until they will let up.
In my mind, I’m forming theories and making a list of things I did wrong that might’ve pissed them off but come up short. I’m about to turn around when Grace and Seiji run straight at me.
Boy, I’m glad Grace is such a tiny thing because Seiji alone is enough to make me stumble back when he crashes into me. To my surprise and absolute horror, Seiji starts cheering while Grace sobs and laughs at the same time.
I’m standing wide-eyed, trying to figure out if their reactions are good or bad because they are all over the place.
Hazel skips behind them and finally puts me out of my misery. The rare genuine smile on her face is soothing. At least I know it’s not bad news. She doesn’t hug me like the others, but it doesn’t matter because the twinkle in her eyes is enough to give away her excitement.
“Congratulations on finally finding your mate, Horseman Conquer.”
The floor echoes with their animated chatter as they start planningwayinto the future for me and my mate. Their happiness is overwhelming, but I wouldn’t change us for the world.
These three are my family, not the one I was born into, and I’ll be damned if I ever let these smiles slip off their faces.
CHAPTER 5
Brain = broke
Nevaeh
Ifeel like I’m floating in an abyss of calm. It’s confusing since I’ve never been in such a state of bliss. Between running from the monsters in my life and the ones in my head, I’m always jumping from one nightmare to another, so serenity is not something I’m familiar with.
Giving into my battered body’s plea to rest and let my guard down, I forget why I kept it up in the first place. I forget to be afraid of the darkness.
‘You thought I’d let you go?’
The sound of a broken gasp startles me awake, only to realize it’s my own. Sheer terror grips me when I can’t see past my foggy vision and the darkness around me doesn’t feel familiar.
My freezing hands run over the silky sheets underneath me, and my confusion suddenly trumps my budding panic. Soft sheet? Am I still dreaming? I scurry back, and the highly comfortable bed beneath bounces with my weight. The spine-chilling fear I wake up with every morning is replaced with utter confusion.
First the soft sheets and now a bouncy bed. What is this place?
Clutching the slippery material covering me, I hold on to it like it’s the only thing helping me from slipping into the land of terror.
“You alright, sweetheart?”
A sudden voice jolts me halfway to the ceiling. Rubbing my eyes aggressively, I try to make out the figure hidden among the shadows in a corner.
The rapid pace of my heartbeat slows down when the man repeats the question. Jumping from his seat, the man springs open a set of curtains, and even when it blinds me for a hot second, I’m glad for the light.
When the man comes to stand at the edge of the bouncy bed, I’m gaping at the most bewitching man I have ever laid eyes on.
Am I dead? Because that would explain the presence of a beautiful Angel.
Wait… that doesn’t make sense. I’mnotgoing to Heaven. I snicker at the absurd thought, which makes the man tilt his head in confusion, stopping my inner monologue. The previous frown on his perfectly sculpted face blends into amusement the longer he studies how I can’t tear my eyes from him.
“Angel?” The word slips out without permission. Wait, why does this seem familiar? And why is he so pretty?
“Close enough, sweetheart. It’sAnxo,” His lips turn up in a smug smirk at my shameless gawking.
Well, how am I supposed tonotlook? Not like the fitted maroon sweater hugging his broad shoulders and impressive muscles is helping.
Wait,sweetheart?
Hoping it will jumpstart my brain, I shake my head furiously and try to rearrange the wires inside. The pinch of pain from the shaking triggers something, and the events of last night and my whole life hit me hard enough to knock me out of my sleepy daze.
