Chapter 8
Saige
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“Let me get this straight,” Elias demands, sitting with us in the living room as we get caught up on everything. “My brothersinfectedyou?” He turns to Kinsley in disappointment. “No wonder you were so mopey; you have an STD.”
I snort a laugh as the triplets explode into a litany of objections, particularly adamant that they never did anything. Admittedly, I was nervous. It was a fifty-fifty shot whether they were going to be disgusted and try to cut ties, or be elated at my theory. It stings that I wasn’t enough for them before, that they only want me now that there’s a chance I could be one of them. But I’m willing to overlook their flaws if they’re willing to overlook mine, and lord knows I have plenty.
Add in everything I stand to gain? I could stop running. For once, I could sleep at night knowing I was safe, knowing they were watching my back again. I only left so they wouldn’t throw their lives away when someone inevitably found out they were harboring a human. But if I can manage to pass myself off as a dragon when that day comes? They wouldn’t be in as much danger hiding me, and after this past year, it’s clear there’s nowhere safe for me to run to. And honestly? After how brutal last winter was, I don’t know if I have it in me to survive another.
It’s not like I’m under any delusions I could have a normal life, but I could have abetterlife. When the bar’s so low you’re practically tripping over it, you’re grateful for any little victory. So I’m not going to sit around whining about how unfair my life is; I’m just going to enjoy the little things when they come because I’ve wasted so much time already.
And three sexy, overprotective men that actually want me around? That missed me?
That sort of endearing behavior will go straight to a girl’s head, and I’ll be damned if I sneeze at a second chance.
Still, I don’t regret leaving. I had a decade’s worth of shit to start working through and I never would have made the leaps and bounds that I did if I had them treating me with nothing but pity, trying to do everything for me in a bid to help. I had to leave so I could prove to myself that I was strong enough, that I’m capable of fighting my demons on my own. They still haunt me and I doubt those scars will do more than fade a bit with time, but I don’t need to be ‘normal’.
I need to be me, and I need that to be enough.
There’s a pounding on the door and I’m crouched with my blade drawn before I realize I moved, startled. Kaiden gives me an approving look before grabbing my elbow and tugging me towards his room and out of sight.
I keep silent, even as my skin crawls as patches of scales begin to coat my skin like haphazard armor. He locks the door and draws the curtains shut, leaving us alone while we wait for whoever’s out there to leave.
As if he can sense the direction of my thoughts, he leans in close, arm braced above my head and crowding me against the wall. My heart spikes with momentary panic, but I quickly shut those feelings down when his scent surrounds me, a sense of peace pressing down on me.
He brings his lips to my ear, keeping his voice low so that no one can overhear. “We aren’t ashamed of you, Saige. You’re just our little secret for a while longer until we figure something out.” There’s a heavy beat of silence where he doesn’t pull away, just presses into me like he can’t stand not to touch at least some part of me. “And wewillfind a way to help you. Even if it takes some trial and error.”
Despite the disdain I have at being an experiment again, fire licks my veins and urges me closer. But he wants to help me, not hurt me, and that’s the only thing keeping me from seizing up and freaking out at the prospect.
“I already tried what you guys mentioned, but it didn’t do anything,” I admit and he goes stock still before exploding.
“You threw yourself off of a goddamn mountain?!” he snarls, catching himself as his voice starts to rise, his harsh breath against my cheek sending a shiver down my spine. “The fuck were you thinking?”
Taking a steadying breath, I try to defend my reasoning. “It worked for Ezra, right? And I was getting desperate.”
His free hand cups my cheek and he uses his thumb to tilt my chin up. “No, it worked to trigger her mates’ shift as they saved her and Eli. She didn’t shift until afterward when they bit her.” He dips his head, crossing what little distance was left between us to press his lips to mine in a show of gentleness I wouldn’t have imagined him capable of and whispering, “If you were that desperate, you should have just come back.”
A shiver slithers through me as I trace a path from his stomach to his chest with the back of my fingers. Shutting my eyes, I soak up the comforting touches, leaning into his hand. I’d nearly forgotten what affection felt like, and fuck, it’s addicting.
My parents were killed when I was barely a teenager, Cai smuggling me out of the city with the corpses rather than take my head like he was ordered. My life abruptly changed in an instant, years on the run before I was caught, raped, and experimented on. I never got to go on something as simple as a date, forced to grow up far too fast.
