“What do we do?” I asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear it from them anyway.
War was the one who spoke up this time. His voice was low and measured, as though he had considered his words carefully before opening his mouth. “We need to get close enough so that we can prove it without getting ourselves killed in the meantime."
A phone rang from somewhere in the kitchen, and War shot up to answer it. It was the satellite phone he had plugged into a wall outlet on the counter.
He answered, nodding his head every few seconds. His eyes flitted to mine briefly, and then he grunted and muttered something I didn’t quite catch before hanging up.
We all stared at him as he came back to the table, picking up his beer bottle and chugging the rest of it in one go.
“Well?” I asked eagerly.
He met my eyes. “Your cousin and her mates are on their way here. They should be here sometime tomorrow night.”
My eyes widened, and a mixture of excitement and confusion warred inside me. “Why? Did something happen?”
He frowned, a muscle in his strong jaw clenching. “Their safe house was compromised. A witch with a note from Estelle approached Serenity on the beach. It was a warning to stay out of the way. They can’t go back to the house now; they’ll be joining us here for the time being.”
I stood up, raking my fingers through my hair as I paced the room. “Holy fuck, what do we do?” Estelle clearly had scouts reporting back to her. “What if they know where we are, too?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Serenity is a bigger target for Estelle, and if she’s at a beach house, then they’re considerably less hidden away than we are out here in the mountains."
Gareth stood from the table and stopped me in my tracks, wrapping his big arms around me and letting me lean my forehead against his chest. “Thane has this place warded well. If anyone crosses the boundary, he’ll be the first to know.” He petted my hair softly, and I breathed deeply, letting my mate’s scent wrap around me like a blanket. “I’ll rip her to pieces before she ever touches you again, I swear it.”
I shivered at the dark promise and nodded, burying my head into his chest. It didn’t matter how many witches Estelle sent after us or how powerful they were; I was safe in Gareth’s arms.
The next daywas a flurry of activity as the guys and I prepared for Serenity’s arrival. I barely slept last night, tossing and turning with Thane and War in the bed with me and Gareth in wolf form running the property line.
We set up extra beds in the living room with old camping cots that War had out in a storage shed. Then we made sure that all of our supplies were well stocked with food and necessities for however long their stay ended up being, though they were probably bringing a load of their own provisions with them, too. Knowing her mates, they never let Serenity want for a damn thing.
I was so excited to see my cousin again. Not to mention Lox and Sean, who were still with them in hiding. I hadn’t seen Sean since leaving pack lands, and I missed him. After a whole year of believing my cousin was dead, having him back in my life was still surreal. Serenity and I mourned him for so long, but now we had a second chance at having a real family despite our parents.
I waited on the front steps of the cabin all day for them to arrive. I was practically bouncing with anticipation. This cabin was literally so tiny, with barely any room for the four of us, let alone seven other people, but we would make it work.
There was a shed out back as well that had barely anything in it, so if anyone needed someprivatetime, they could still have it. Knowing my cousin and her insatiable mates, they would need it.
As the sun began to set, a black SUV pulled up in front of the cabin. I knew it was them before Serenity even stepped out of the car. Her scent washed over me like a wave, and my heart soared with joy at seeing her again.
She ran toward me as I moved down the steps to greether, throwing herself into my arms for an excited hug. “Oh, thank the goddess you’re okay,” she said breathlessly.
“I’m fine,” I assured her with a grin. “It's you that I'm worried about."
Behind Serenity, Lox and Sean both exited from opposite doors on either side of their vehicle, while Thane went over to help Gareth unload their luggage.
“Hey, cuz,” Sean called out, jogging toward me. I smiled broadly at the sight of him. Alive. Well. Kind of.
He scooped me up in his arms, and tears pricked my eyes. Even after a year of having him back, I still remembered the devastation of thinking he was gone forever.
He’d put on weight, thankfully, thanks to Christophe and Kate’s rehab program. They were excellent trainers and had helped my cousin heal and get healthy. Seeing him like this brought a sense of peace to me, like all the pain and suffering we had gone through was worth it for this moment right here.
“Hey, Sean,” I said as he put me back down on the ground. “You look good.”
“Thanks,” he grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “You look like you’ve been holding down the fort pretty well.”
I laughed, remembering all the times Serenity and I had talked about running away from our problems instead of facing them head-on. “Yeah, well, when you’re hiding from a psycho witch, you learn to be pretty resourceful.”
Serenity’s smile faded slightly as she looked around at our tiny cabin. “Is this going to fit everyone?”
I nodded. "It's cramped, but we’ll make it work. How was the beach house? Did you leave anything behind?”
