Sabrina’s head is bowed as she scrolls on her phone, walking into my line of sight. “Emmy gave me a list, but I’m not sure if brand name matters? You can probably substitute this stuff, right?”
With him standing a solid foot above the aisle, not one of the other four people in the store besides us misses the way he gags. “By all that is holy, I beg you.Pleasenever say my sister’s name in a sex shop again. Or any conversation remotely related to the topic.”
The woman behind the desk clears her throat, attempting to get my attention. “Need help finding anything?” Raising her pierced eyebrow expectantly, her stance is at odds with the seemingly helpful question. Though she’s barely cleared the five foot mark, with a short pixie cut of hot pink hair and the stature to match, she not-so-subtly places her metal bat on the counter with all of the confidence of someone that’s thoroughly broken it in.
And I realize that I walked in and have been staring at Sabrina like a complete creep for several minutes.
“Ah, no, just browsing.”
Her eyes narrow. “I can see that. Unfortunately, we have a strict policy here of ‘get what you need to get fucked, or get the fuck out.’”
“Sorry, Bo, looks like you owe me a dollar.” Sabrina holds her hand out while looking my way with a smile that she’s fighting a losing battle to hide. “Looks like theyweren’tbeating him up out there to steal his spot.”
Respectfully tipping my head towards the scrappy ankle biter behind the counter, I join Sabrina and attempt to scrape together a witty retort, but it dries up in my mouth as I realize what section we’re in. There’s a basket in one of Boden’s hands with a handful of things in it already, and I shamelessly crane my neck for a better view.
“I’m going to video call her, it’ll be faster,” Sabrina decides, giving her phone her complete attention.
Not ten seconds later, Emmeline’s muffled voice is prevalent in the awkwardly silent store. Bo grumbles under his breath, so I do him the courtesy of taking the basket from him to free up his hands to cover his ears as his sister delves into a graphic lecture of necessary supplies to have on hand, and the best ways to utilize them if you’re going to try anal.
I’m pretty sure Bo will never fully recover from the conversation, if his green pallor is anything to go by, which bodes well for the rest of us. If he can't look at a bottle of lube without associating it with this moment, that knocks one mate off the list for when she’s ready to experiment. Not like I’ll be upset if it’s one of the others, especially if I get to watch, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t figuratively crossing my fingers.
While she’s distracted, I fire off a quick text to Boden.Running theory is this might be predominantly a shifter town, so keep your guard up more than you planned. Not even a public bathroom alone; one of us is with her at all times.
A second later he’s checking his phone, expression darkening.We didn’t have a damn clue that Jonathan was one of us, so how the hell are we supposed to know who is or isn’t?
Quickly checking that she’s still immersed in her conversation, I reply,We can’t even tell wolves areother.We only know because we grew up knowing who they were, or keeping tabs of births in other packs. Instinct only tips us off when it’s someone that our other halves register as a threat, or reacts to the pheromones a female wolf gives off. Someone like Jonathan, a fox, wouldn’t even be a blip on our radar. Beneath us, like humans; prey. Anyone our wolves are confident they could easily tear apart if necessary aren’t going to register. It’s likely why we never realized therewereother shifters out there. Because we’re always hiding what we are from humans, we’re only ourselves around those we already know are like us.
Reluctantly I add,And... Raiden. No clue what the guy is, but he’s a threat. If Merrick wants us to steer clear of that side of the city, I doubt he’s the only one of his kind, either.
Scrubbing a hand over his jaw, he glances around the store, taking in the three other patrons and the girl behind the counter with a more critical eye. All the while, we follow Sabrina as she moves between a couple of aisles, chatting with Emmeline and laughing. Genuinelylaughing, and after hearing her gut-wrenching sobs and thinking she was going to push me away for good, I can’t take her brief moment of happiness away from her.
I’ll keep her safe until she’s ready to take the world on again. Then, I’ll profess my theory on shifters for her to weigh in on. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if a subconscious part of her has already come to the same conclusion, but Jonathan’s betrayal is a fresh wound to her and Reid, and any conversation of shifters will send their thoughts right back to that night.
Sabrina’s stronger than anyone I know, but even Atlas got a break once from holding up the heavens. May not have lasted long, but nothing good ever does, and that’s why we need to cherish the hell out of it when the opportunity arises.
Following along as she rounds to the next aisle over, I keep pace as Sabrina holds up several things to show Emmy for approval or rejection before tossing them in the basket. By the time they hang up with each other, I make a mental note to send a thank you gift to the youngest Hawthorne, er, Kincaid. Or I suppose it’s really Adler since they’re operating under the fake identity Slade bought them.
There are far too many people to keep track of in my life. I need a damn reference guide to keep everyone straight these days.
“Why do movies make it look so easy?” Sabrina asks with a grimace, poking at the half-filled basket. “I’m all for foreplay, but this feels like an all day event, and I’m a little intimidated, not gonna lie. But people do this all the time so it’s no big deal, right?”
“If you attempt to reassure her that it’ll be fine, she’ll ask how you know. I swear, if you’re that stupid, I will shred your mind faster than you can blink. Keep our mouth shut.”
She’s looking at me waiting for an answer, what the fuck do you want me to say, then?
I feel my mouth moving, but I don’t process the words until they’re out, and not mine. “There’s no reason to build it up into more than it is and psyche yourself out. No rush, either. Hell, you might change your mind and decide it’s not for you, and that’s fine too. But if you feel like attempting it, it’s at whatever pace you’re comfortable with.”
Thank you so much for that, I’ve always dreamed of being a ventriloquist's doll. If you ever do it again-
“You’ll what?”The scoff he spits echoes around my head, drowning out the reply on the tip of my tongue.“Throw me in time out? Lock me in a cage? Hate to break it to you, but your threats don’t carry any weight now that Sabrina set me free. This is as much my body as it is yours.”
And therein lies his weak point, because she's mine.
I’ll tell Sabrina that since it's my fault her mates are at odds with each other, as punishment and motivation, she shouldn't touch or even kiss me until everyone can live and work together as a cohesive unit.
I swear, I can feel the rage emanating off of him.“You wouldn’t.”
Oh, I sure as shit would. Touch starved until we're one big happy family. And the moment the twins find out, they'll intentionally start fights between us so that we'll be forced out and they can keep her to themselves. You want to play, I'll fucking play.
