“She doesn’t appreciate herself enough.”
Cole pulls the plates down from the cabinet. “Then I guess we’ll just have to keep reminding her how amazing she is until she finally accepts it.”
I pull the pot off of the stove, putting noodles on everyone’s plates. I add extra to Rin’s even though I know she’ll never finish it. But if I’m reading her correctly, it might help her adjust to eating more if she isn’t feeling like she’s clearing her plate every time. By leaving a good portion untouched, it can appease that part of her brain.
I am absolutely not above any tricks or schemes if it helps her. She can be annoyed if she wants, but if my time with Cole has taught me anything, it’s that sometimes people just honestly can’t see what they need. For all of the claims that only we can know ourselves better than anyone else can, it’s just not true. You’re far too close to be impartial, and most people are too fucking stubborn trying to prove something to themselves that they refuse to accept the answer that’s been staring them in the face because they don’t want it to be true.
Cole spirals so far that he often forgets to eat, or chooses not to in order to punish himself for being depressed. We’ve never been able to get through to him on that front; some days keeping him alive is a victory in its own right. So yes, I absolutely will play mind games to make sure she takes care of herself and I won’t regret it for something like this.
In a perfect world we could just lay our problems out on the table, match them to the proper solution, and move on. Unfortunately, life’s not that perfect and neither are we. But I refuse to berate myself for doing anything necessary to take care of my family.
Cole sits down at the table, shooting a furtive glance over his shoulder to make sure she’s not coming before cocking his head.“We’ve put her off about the mage thing for as long as I think we can. She’s bringing it up more often and refuses to drop it. But, Ares…I think she might be right. Osiris isn’t changing back and we can’t just leave him like this forever.”
He’s careful to keep a firm block in place so that our brother doesn’t overhear. As much as it makes me feel bad for shutting him out, it’s best he isn’t involved until we have a solid plan in place so we don’t get his hopes up for nothing.
Knowing our luck, we’re just going to get the two of us stuck next. We don’t fuck with the mages for a reason, Cole. They’re shady bastards and no one really knows much about what all they’re even capable of. We might make things ten times worse.
“So, what? We just accept he’ll never change back and rub the fact that we can kiss our mate and he can’t in front of his face? It’s one thing now when we’re all praying this is a temporary blip, but you cannot possibly expect everyone to just go on about our lives and give up,”he challenges, sounding incensed.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, taking the seat across from him.And what about Rin? You want to drag her onto a mage’s doorstep when we try to kidnap him? What if she gets hurt in the chaos?
“Your normal bullshit isn’t going to fly with her, Ares,”he warns.“If we don’t take her, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to pull an Ozzy on us and disappear in the middle of the night. I’m not about to sit by and let either of them deal with this alone. We should have gone with Osiris in the first place, and if you hadn’t shut down the idea without even hearing him out, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
I slam my hand on the table. “You’re blaming me for this?”
He doesn’t back down. “I’m saying you need to accept at least partial responsibility and face your fear about going into a bigger town. You’ve never been beyond the dinky shops nearby, and those barely even count as a village.”
My head whips to the side as a floorboard squeaks, Rin standing there with one arm across her stomach, nervously rubbing the other. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. If I’d heard you shouting before, I would have held off.”
I curse, realizing we stopped the telepathy the angrier I got. “No, I’m sorry. The conversation just hit a sore spot.”
Getting up, I make sure to keep my movements easy to anticipate so I don’t catch her off guard. The last thing I want is her thinking she has to tiptoe around her own home, or that if debates get heated she has to shrink in on herself like she’s waiting for it to come to blows.
Stopping when I get in front of her, she clearly isn’t expecting me to crouch down, balancing on the balls of my feet. Tilting my head to the side, I speak out loud for her benefit, though it’s Osiris I actually address.
“I’m sorry. Cole’s right.” I scrub a hand down my face, hating to sound so pathetic in front of my mate, but after the timid look I just saw on her face and knowing I’m the one that put it there? That hurts my pride more than anything.
“I shut you down about going to the city without even listening because I was scared.Amscared. But after what they did to you and countless others, can you blame me? We don’t belong there and we certainly aren’t welcome.”
“I know, and that’s why I dropped it. It wasn’t fair of me to put you two in danger when it was a Hail Mary in the first place. You don’t need to apologize, brother,”Osiris declares diplomatically and I reach forward to muss the fur on the top of his head.
“Now who’s wrong?” I wink, getting to my feet and facing my mate. “If we’re going mage hunting, you’re going to need some warmer clothes. With Cole’s help, we can get the last of our outstanding projects done this afternoon. Tomorrow we’ll drop them off on our way to get supplies and just keep going.”
Rin smiles and I internally sigh in relief, glad I was able to salvage things before I did too much damage. She rises up on her tiptoes to kiss me, just a quick peck of her lips before she’s sliding past me to her seat. While holding my stare, she puts another piece of garlic bread on her plate that we both know she isn’t actually going to eat.
She lifts her glass, tilting it in my direction. “For as ridiculous as the three of you are, you might just be more self-aware and mature than any men I’ve met thus far.”
* * *
The little cluster of houses and shops we drive to barely can be called a town. It’s quaint and lovingly maintained, but tiny. There’s really only two main streets with some shops, a gas station, and some clusters of houses. It’s peaceful and run by shifters, which is the only reason I feel comfortable setting foot on the pavement.
Overflowing planters and string lights line the streets, and Rin is instantly enamored. “It’s so charming and magical,” she smiles, soaking it all up.
It’s hard to find the flaws when the person you love is standing there lit up in such a way, forcing you to look at things in a new light. “I suppose it has a certain…charm.”
She snorts as we park the massive four door, open bed truck that Osiris conned us into spending a fortune on. Cole opens her door, helping her down as I come around to join them, but she wastes no time skipping over and slipping her hand in mine.
“So, where are we shopping, boys?” she chirps, looking excited.
