Raising a fist to his mouth, he awkwardly clears his throat. “Sebastian.” Gesturing at the other two that are hanging back by the steps, he indicates the older alpha in the black shirt with the hard, onyx eyes to match and announces, “Merrick.” Then, points to the one that’s obviously several years younger than them both, yet it does little to detract from the merciless air that clings to him. “And Leo.”
Tentatively, they approach, far more reserved and cautious than their brother. Leo offers a dismissive glance at my men before offering a hand. Tightening my hold on Kaige’s hand, I slowly slip my free hand into Leo’s, and he gives it a firm shake.
“I prayed that Adrian was wrong, because if he wasn’t? It was going to hurt like hell.” Without warning, he tugs me into his chest and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “And fuck, does it ever.”
Remember the plan, remember the plan.
Thankfully, my face is buried in his chest, giving me time to hastily blink back tears before anyone notices. Imissedthis feeling; far more than I realized. Kaige gives my hand a quick, reassuring squeeze, never once letting me slip far away from him. It helps more than I can thank him for, and by the time I’m pulling away from Leo’s embrace, I can trust my voice not to crack when I speak.
“No need to get carried away or anything. Still have to make a trip to get a paternity test done, and who knows how long the results will take to come in the mail?”
For the first time, Merrick speaks. “Doesn’t matter.” At my confusion, he shrugs. “Whether or not you’re our daughter by blood means nothing. You think when you have a child, the rest of your mates will treat it as anything other than their own?” His eyes narrow dangerously at the men surrounding me, like he’s imagining them doing such an unforgivable thing. “That’s not how packs work. Any child of our mate’s is as much our responsibility to care for as if they were our own.”
I’m pretty sure I’m going to exist in a perpetual state of nausea the duration of our stay with as much as my stomach is somersaulting throughout this conversation. Kaige takes a subtle step closer, tightening his hold on my hand briefly before letting go completely. With both hands free, I run them up my face and over my hair. Threading my fingers at the nape of my neck, I tilt my head to the sky and close my eyes for several seconds, taking deep breaths.
Without opening them, I calmly demand, “Don’t say things like that.”
Merrick huffs. “Why not? Annika robbed us of your entire life; I’m not going to lose another six to eight weeks waiting on a damn technicality.”
With a strangled sound, I open my eyes, glaring at him through watery eyes. “Because I’m supposed to hate you, and you’re making it really damn hard to right now.”
Sebastian grunts, shifting between his feet. “Not much of a surprise. Your mother hated us enough to leave; I’m sure she didn’t have the best of things to say.”
Pressing my lips into a thin line, I look over my shoulder, my pleading gaze falling on Damian. Scanning my face, he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear and takes a deep breath before facing the Slaughters head on. “Trust us; Annika didn’t turn anybody against anyone buther.”
Instantly, their faces darken, but before they can defend their mate’s imaginary honor or some nonsense, Kaige interjects. “Only stories Sabrina’s heard about you three have come from us. Beyond that, it’s just assumptions of why Annika would run away from you, and feeling like she’s betraying Noah Laroque’s memory.” Turning to me, he adds, “You’re not caught in the middle of anything, love. Our issues with them are ours to deal with, the same as whatever happened between them to drive Annika away is between the four of them. You don’t have to hate anyone on principle.”
Hunter mutters under his breath, “Yeah, hate them in your own time when they show you what assholes they are.”
Swiping the back of my hand over my eyes, a shadow of a smile threatens the grim set of my lips. “You’rean asshole, so you don’t really have room to talk.”
He shrugs and hitches his thumb over his shoulder toward Slade and Cin before including Boden and Reid. “But you only hate me on occasion, and it’s not because these guys pressured you to; and I’m sure they tried.”
His lack of a volatile reaction chases away some of my tumultuous nerves. “Fair point, but this is different.”
Cinjin hops to his defense. “Is it, though? Everything we were running on before coming to this place was speculation. Will they murder us, lock you in a tower, torture you for GPS coordinates?” He shrugs, ignoring the death looks from the Slaughters, and indicates Damian, Kaige, and Hunter. “So these jackoffs are overexaggerating crybabies; are we really surprised? Besides, I think we’ve all learned to trust your judgment of character.” Wrapping an arm around my collar to tug me back into his chest, he kisses the top of my head before releasing me just as quickly. “You like us, after all. And I suppose the interlopers have their moments on occasion.”
Breathing a little easier, I mentally slap myself and extend a metaphorical hand to my canine parasite that likes to treat my brain like a chew toy.Help me out a little? I’m letting my emotions get away from me and while I don’t want to turn into a total bitch, I could use a bit of a confidence boost to keep from drowning.
She doesn’t say anything, side-eyeing me warily, but emerges from the shadows to pace at the forefront of my brain. My chest tightens, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, but beyond that, I still feel likeme.All she does is make her presence known throughout my system, and it’s... comforting.
Scary situations lose some of their intimidation factor when you aren’t alone.
“We’re getting off to a weird start. So-” Awkwardly, I half raise a hand “Sabrina.” Turning around, pointing as I go, I rattle off, “Slade, Boden, Cinjin, and Reid. Nice to meet you.”
Merrick cants his head, looking past me to Damian. “You didn’t kill them.” Though there’s the undercurrent of a question there, it’s stated more as a disapproving judgment.
Rising to his full height, he defends, “And I didn’t challenge Kaige or Hunter’s claim either, because I respect her happiness and have no intention of getting in the way of it.”
Things drift back into uncomfortable silence, growing more tense by the minute. Eventually, Sebastian shoulders Merrick, giving him a pointed look. Mumbling, he scrubs a hand over the stubble on his jaw, refusing to meet my eye. “Drop it, it’s not the time.”
Cinjin pipes up like he whipped out a giant, red, ‘do not touch’ button. “Well ifthatstatement doesn’t turn it into the perfect time to discuss with the rest of the class.”
Shooting a glare his way, Merrick turns to answer me instead. While he drops the animosity into a gruff scowl, the hardness remains in his dark eyes, already braced for my reaction. “I know it’s likely not up to the kind of speed you’re used to, but we managed to get internet hooked up in the house so you’d be set for your next project.”
While I’m struck dumb, completely rendered speechless, Hunter hisses in a sharp breath. “How the hell did you get someone to install a satellite all the way up here? It must have cost a fortu-” Someone smacks the back of their hand against his stomach hard enough that he grunts.
Struggling to wrap my head around the concept, I repeat numbly, “You got me internet?”
