Her eyes are glassy with unshed tears, throat bobbing as she fights down an onslaught of emotions I can only attempt to understand. For all of my words, I’ve been dealt a far better hand in life. Things were hard when our parents were killed, raising our siblings and trying to protect them. But I wasn’t ever alone, and never once had to worry about being sold off or stripped down to a shell of a person.
I’ve never had to fear simply existing, taking everything I had for granted. And I’ve never hated the world more than I do in this moment, as I force the woman I love to swallow down her fear and risk everything by trusting us when everyone else in her life has let her down.
“Okay,” she croaks, nodding her head quickly as she wraps her arms around herself, finger tapping against her side in a steady rhythm at odds with her jerky motions. “Let me get dressed in something warmer first though.”
She heads down the hall and my brothers pin me with looks torn between angry and hopeful. “That was a hell of a gamble,” Kaiden points out, scrubbing a hand down his face. “Push her too far and could have pushed her away completely.”
Kinsley runs a hand through the back of his hair until it’s sticking up in a haphazard mess, tugging the curtain aside to glance out the window again. “She’s got this. Some coddling is good, but as much as she claims to want to be protected from the world, I don’t think that’s true. She has far too much anger and resentment; she wants to burn it to the ground and force it to change as much as she wants to hide away. This will be good for her, to see that not everyone and everywhere is as bad as she’s been led to believe.”
Tucking my hands in the pockets of my jeans, I exhale in relieved agreement, my conviction wavering in the face of Kaiden’s nerves. “It’s going to be fine. We haven’t had any issues in over a year, and you know as well as I do that just because Ez can shift, that doesn’t stop some people from siding with the breeding campaign. If there were people in town that were willing to sell females out, we would have had problems by now. It’s not like she fucking hides it. Hell, I’m surprised we get her to stay within city limits when we all know she wants to stretch her wings and see how far she can go.”
Kaiden rests his chin on his fist, raising an eyebrow in challenge. “She’ll never admit it, but the mountain scared her, especially when she saw how close she almost came to losing all of us. We kept her too sheltered growing up and that was her first taste of the real world beyond our borders; can’t really fault her for not liking what she saw and choosing to stay close to home despite her abilities. After that jackass managed to shoot her up with something and suppress her abilities? We were all terrified she’d never get them back. Now that she’s had a taste of all that strength and actually flying? She’s not going to risk losing her power again unless she has no other choice.”
Shutting my eyes for a moment, I exhale slowly, trying to keep my anger in check. Even after all of this time, the things we saw while in that prison and searching for our sister, what we heard... Those sights and sounds are seared permanently into my brain, making my stomach churn whenever I’m alone with my thoughts for too long. If she had been there any longer, the things they would have put her through... Fuck, the things Saige went through to help our sisters’ mates break Ezra out of that hellhole.
Clearing my throat and trying to stuff down that train of thought before it can take over completely, I meet my brothers’ eyes. “It’s no wonder she despises being around people. But we need her to see this can actually be her home, not just a place to hole up in. Even if she eventually fully shifts, there will always be shitty people and issues to figure out.”
Kinsley walks over the closet to pull out a black sweat jacket. “We can never account for everything, just count on each other.”
Saige reappears, catching his statement and smiling softly. “I like that. Pretty envious of your family, really. Mine weren’t terrible, just never this close. It’s nice.”
Kins hands her his jacket and she slips it on, positively drowning in it, but looking far more suited for the crisp, fall air. Ever since the incident over a decade ago, some things got much harder to find. Not many people bother manufacturing things for women any more since it’s a much smaller market, and going shopping for bras and shit is an easy way for someone to know you’re hiding a girl and follow you home. Everything we’ve managed to acquire for Ezra over the years we had to jump through hoops to pull off, so at this rate, one of us is going to have to figure out how to start sewing so we can just make shit ourselves.
Her eyes flash brighter for a minute and I do a double take, not sure if I’m crazy or not. But it’s gone just as quickly like nothing more than a trick of the light.
And I am far too paranoid of a person to just let that go and write it off as unimportant.
Placing my hands on her shoulders, she cocks her head at me, confused, but easily able to sense the shift in my mood. “What’s wrong?”
Focused on her face, I slowly lean in so as not to startle her before kissing her. She doesn’t hesitate, rising up on her toes to meet me happily. As her palms settle on my chest, clutching my shirt and leaning into me as she deepens it, I have to mentally kick myself to remember what I was aiming to do. Reluctantly I pull back, and again, her pale blue irises seem to practically swirl, like fractured pieces of ice drifting in the arctic.
“That worried we’re going to get axe murdered too?” she nervously jokes, starting to pull back self-consciously.
Palming the back of her head, I quickly kiss her again, chest rumbling in response to her anxiety. I don’t want her ever doubting herself like that, not where we’re concerned.
“No-” I cut off, almost saying ‘just testing a theory’ before realizing what a poor choice of words that would be and backpedal. “Just jealous. I think your resident reptile likes being wrapped up in Kins’ scent. Your eyes are practically glowing.”
The others come to look before Kaiden frowns. “Well, what the hell? You were just all over me and I didn’t get that reaction at all.”
“Maybe she was just cold and likes my coat,” Kins offers half-heartedly, smug with self-satisfaction.
Kaiden scoffs. “I kept her plenty warm, so shove off with that bullshit.”
Saige chews on her bottom lip before blurting, “You’re right, you guys have clearly been cooped up in the house too long and are fighting over nonsense now. We should get you outside before it comes to blows.”
Before she can lose the courage she psyched herself up with, I lead the way to the back door, Kaiden putting his hand on the small of her back to urge her along after me. He starts laughing and I look over my shoulder in time so see him slipping a gun from beneath her coat.
“How were you planning to run stowing it like this?” he chuckles, double checking that the safety is on.
She snatches it back, glaring at him in challenge. “While I’m grateful for jeans that fit, the pockets on chick pants are pathetic. A knife is well and good, but with you three around, I won’t be able to use my typical means of luring people into a false sense of security. One look at you three and they’ll be instantly defensive.”
Making my way back to the closet and skimming through, I shout back, “Ankle or side?”
She hesitates for only a moment. “Ankle, please.”
Grabbing an extra holster, I head back to them and crouch down, patting my knee for her to set her foot on so I can get her set up. “Seriously, you just need to ask, beautiful. In this house, we one hundred percent support being overly prepared for everything. Half of the town thought we were paranoid conspiracy nuts before the city was attacked. Hell, the bunker under the house has a damn armory in it; you just need to take your pick.”
I finish strapping the holster into place and Kaiden passes me the nine millimeter that I tuck into place. Running my palm over her calf, I place a brief kiss on her leg before standing up.
