Suddenly all eyes were on me, like my answer was more important than anything else going on.
“Well, after my dad died, Mom and David got together. I grew up here,” I said. “Wren’s always been the golden child. I’ve always been running away.”
“But you’re still here,” Everett said.
“Yeah, for now.”
“What do you want to do next?” Drake asked.
I hadn’t really thought much about the future. Weird for an oracle, probably. My plans had just been to work at Magic, live with my sister, and take one day at a time. I’d always thought about leaving as a “one day” kind of thing, but now, when everything settled, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.
“I got a job offer,” I said. “Or some kind of offer. I can’t say I know exactly what it would mean.”
“Something that appeals to you?” Everett asked.
I debated what I wanted to say. When I spoke, I was always guarded. It was habit after living my entire life surrounded by shifters. But I didn’t feel like I had to do that with them. It was a risk, being open, but somehow it felt worth it.
“It’s an opportunity,” I said. “To go somewhere new, all on my own. To learn what it is to be able to See things when I want to and to understand what those visions mean.” I paused, nervous that if I said the rest that they would judge me, but I knew if I didn’t I’d regret it. I needed someone to talk things out with. This was my chance. “The offer is from Charlize Geard.”
Everett’s jaw clenched. I winced in response.
The music stopped.
“Isn’t that the woman who got your sister killed?” Everett asked. His voice was calm, but he looked as though he was about to tear something in half. Maybe a chair. Maybe a person. I couldn’t look away. He was so big, so sweet, and also hella intimidating.
“I don’t think that’s true,” I said. I cleared my throat and strengthened my words to what I really meant. “It’s not true.”
“What isn’t?” Roman asked.
“Wren isn’t dead,” I said.
They were all looking at me intensely.
“I’m sure,” I said. “From my visions. She’s alive.” Saying it out loud added to the confidence I’d thought I’d mustered. Now it felt concrete, like the truth I should share instead of a hunch that I’d probably be wrong about.
“But there was a body,” Everett said.
“It’s not hers.”
“It was Charlize Geard’s competition that claimed she died, wasn’t it?” Drake asked. “The guy who was supposed to be protecting her.”
“Yeah,” I said.
“So you don’t think Geard is a threat?” Zak asked.
“I can’t be sure,” I said. “But I don’t think she’s lied to me. I think the job offer is genuine, and I realized I’ve just been waiting for something like this, for a push to leave this place.”
“So you want to go?” Everett asked.
“I might,” I said. “When everything settles down here.”
I looked from one handsome face to the other. And I considered what David had said. He thought there was a mate bond beginning between me and one of these guys. I didn’t know which of them it was supposed to be. The thought of picking one over another, it didn’t feel right. I liked each of them for who they were, and there was something about being all together like this that felt right too.
“You could come with me.” The words spilled from my lips without thinking. I felt my cheeks heat as they just stared at me.
Drake’s arms squeezed me softly. “I’m in.”
I looked to Everett and the smile he gave me was as bright as the sun. “You mean all of us?”
“Yes.”
“You aren’t leaving me behind,” Roman said.
“There’s bound to be security work in California,” Drake said.
“I’m in, too,” Everett said. “If you want to go. If you want to stay, I like it all right here, too.”
Warmth blossomed in my middle. I couldn’t believe they were all willing to do whatever I wanted, stay with me, move with me. Share me. All but one.
I turned to Zak. His eyes were cast down to the fire. I opened my mouth to tell him it was okay, I understood if he didn’t want to throw away everything to be with me.
“I think we should be cautious,” he said, looking up. The fire danced in his emerald eyes.
“It’s a lot to ask,” I said. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sorry to put you on the—”
“We should be cautious about Charlize Geard.”
“Oh.” I’d thought he meant cautious of this thing that was happening between us. “Yeah,” I said.
Everett rose from his seat and offered me a plate I hadn’t realized he’d assembled. “Nothing needs to be decided now,” he said.
“Except whether you like ketchup or mustard.” Roman slapped his hands on his knees. “Everyone’s gotten so serious, let’s eat and dance, and have a fucking great day.”
“Yes,” I said. His smile was contagious, exactly what I needed.
We ate and listened to music coming from Zak’s phone so he could eat, too. The food was delicious, and I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I started eating.
When I walked past Zak, he touched my elbow, looking up from his chair. “If moving is the right thing for you, I’ll go too.”
I bent down and kissed him, tasting the beer on his lips and the spicy clove scent that was just him. One perfect day together, for all of us.
Two thick hands pulled my hips back. I laughed and straightened up.
Zak started playing something faster, Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” and Roman pulled me in to dance. Drake came up behind me and I danced between them. “Everett, come on,” I said, gesturing at him to join us.
“I’d rather watch,” he said, his tongue darting out to lick his lips.
Zak sang along, his voice a low timbre that resonated within my body. Everett joined him, and they sounded pretty damn good together. I listened and danced, and envisioned a life in California full of impromptu lunch parties like this, full of music, food, and dancing with my guys.
I didn’t want to choose a mate—I wanted them all.
It felt like we were being watched, but I knew that was silly way out here at the edge of the compound. The nearest building was a few hundred yards away. Then it dawned on me that Logan hadn’t come outside yet. He was the one who was a part of our group but not, always distancing himself from everyone else.
“Is Logan still in the cabin?” I asked, looking at the few cars in front of the bunkhouse and wondered which ones went with which guys.
“Probably,” Drake said. “His natural state seems to be that of brooding.”
“Or sulking,” Roman added.
“Or he’s scowling and grinding his teeth,” Zak said.
“Maybe he’s just waiting to be invited.” I turned on my heel and headed for the cabin. Sure, Logan stomped about with a stick up his ass, but he’d also helped me See. He was an okay guy, and maybe he just needed a nudge to come out of his shell. Besides, even if he wanted to keep everyone at a distance, the guy still needed to eat.
A shadow cast down in front of me. I turned.
Everett stood there, giant and gorgeous, with the kindest eyes I’d ever seen. His brows were furrowed like something was bothering him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
He put his hands on my shoulders and leaned in close.
“Don’t be alone with him,” he whispered.
I was surprised by his words, and a little confused. We were halfway between the cabin and the fire, far enough that no one would hear.
“Who?”
“Logan,” he said.
I studied his face. It wasn’t jealousy—hell, if they were going to be jealous, you’d think it would be of each other, of the guys I was actually sexually interested in. But Everett’s expression was something else—concern.
“Why?” I asked.
; “I don’t know exactly,” he said. “I have a feeling about him.”
“A feeling?”
“It’s a sense I have,” he said. “Something’s not...just be careful, okay?”
“Okay.” I didn’t feel okay. I felt confused. I turned and looked at the cabin, unsure whether I should invite Logan after all.
I took a step, wondering if Everett would follow me.
The door opened, and Logan came out. Without a glance in our direction, he headed to a black sedan and drove away.
I stared after him, wondering. Zak was still playing his guitar in front of the bunkhouse, and food and merrymaking still waited for me there. It felt tainted by Logan’s attitude.
Not only that, but now that I wasn’t surrounded by the guys, reminders of real life were starting to sneak in. I’d have to face Mom tomorrow and make her listen to me about Wren. I needed to make her listen to me, somehow, before my sister’s funeral.
Chapter Fourteen
Flowers. Somber faces. So much black. Wren would hate this. She would hate every single thing about this. She would hate the giant photo of her face that Mom had blown up to go on a stand at the front of the meeting hall. She’d hate the neat little rows of obedient shifters, all here to pay tribute to the alpha’s dead daughter. She’d hate the tears and the pithy anecdotes.
And the service hadn’t even started yet.
She was better than me, though, because at least she would pretend she didn’t hate it. Me? I couldn’t pretend.
I also couldn’t pretend that I hadn’t had fun the past couple of days. While everyone else was mourning my sister and setting up her memorial service, I was hanging out with my hot bodyguards, having the time of my life.
Not only that, but Wren wasn’t dead. She wasn’t dead. So this was all bullshit as far as I was concerned.
And I still had to tell my mom and David. I wanted to tell them in person, and I felt like too much time had passed. I needed to insist they listen to me this time.
The meeting house, where the pack congregated for things like funerals, weddings, and other pack-wide events, was only about half full. I sneaked a glance at my phone. The service wasn’t due to start until ten, and we had fifteen minutes to go. My new black dress—purchased by my mother and delivered to Eveline’s house because that’s where she thought I was staying—was itchy and smelled plasticky like Blair’s, the store where she’d bought it. The high lace collar was definitely not my style, nor were the scratchy lace long sleeves.
Logan and Zak were on duty and I could sense them somewhere off to the side. I sneaked a glance over, and Zak winked at me. A flush of warmth took over my body as I remembered his fingers, so capable on the strings of the guitar, so capable on me.
Mom stood near the entrance of the meeting hall, greeting people as they arrived. I looked at my phone again. It was now or never. I had to tell her this, and there was no other time to do it.
Standing up, I wobbled in the stupid heels she’d made me wear and made my way past everyone milling about waiting for the service to start.
“Mom,” I said.
She turned, her eyes red-rimmed. “Sparrow.”
She pulled me into a hug. She, too, wore the stale, plastic scent of Blair’s. I wondered how David could stand it, but he stood at the opposite end of the hall. Maybe the plastic smell was why.
“Mom, I need to talk to you about Wren,” I said.
“Not now. There’s too much to prepare.” She walked toward the front of the building where David had bent to check the cords of the projector.
Shit, they were even going to do a photo montage of Wren’s life. This was too much.
“Mom, no. I get that you’re dealing with this differently than I am. Fine. You needed to take Wren’s things, and I’m not going to be mad at you, even though I don’t agree with it. But—would you please listen to me?” I tugged on her arm, causing her to spin around and face me.
Her face was rigid, her eyes hard. “What?”
I whispered, “I had a vision. I think—I think she’s alive.”
Mom threw up her hands and took one step away from me, then another. “I cannot believe you, Sparrow. I cannot believe you’re doing this, right here, right now. You don’t get to take this last day of Wren’s away from her. You don’t get to put the spotlight on you, all the attention on you. Jesus, what’s wrong with you?”
I stood, feeling as though she’d slapped me even though she was standing over a yard away. The Miller family sat nearby on folding chairs, pointedly looking everywhere except us, but I knew they’d heard everything Mom had said. With the building full of shifters, everyone probably had.
The thing was, maybe she could have been right. I had stolen the spotlight from Wren, so many times. Not on purpose, but because I couldn’t keep still and behave. I couldn’t do what was expected of me. I remembered her ninth grade recital, when she was going to play the piano and sing right here, in this very room, in front of the entire pack. And just before she came onstage, they’d pulled back the makeshift curtains to find me, my shirt lifted over my tits, making out with Justin Griffold.
The literal spotlight—I’d stolen that.
So my mom’s anger was understandable, and I couldn’t argue with it. But it still hurt like hell.
Blinking back the wetness gathering in my eyes, I took my seat again in the front row. I could feel Logan’s and Zak’s curious eyes on me, but this time I couldn’t look up at them. I didn’t want Zak, especially, to see the shame on my face.
Don’t run from us anymore, he’d said.
It took all my effort, but I slowly turned my head and met his gaze. And instead of pity, I saw compassion. Empathy. His expression was encouraging and warm.
It got me through the service, which went by in a blur. By the end of a slide show of pretty much every photo of Wren ever taken, I was ready to get up and move around. The chair on my left was empty. David sat on my right, with my mom at the other side of him. When the lights flickered on and David stood to tell everyone they could enjoy some refreshments at the back of the hall, my mom quickly walked away. Was she afraid I’d bring up my vision again?
Shaking my head, I made my way back to the food. I wasn’t hungry, but I had to stick around a little while longer.
On the table with the punch bowl, I saw a flower arrangement—dozens of lilies. A card was stuck to the vase. From Chad Curtis and your friends at Curtis Corporation.
One of the Miller men, Gavin, walked past, saw the card, and snorted. “Screw that guy. We’ve been telling everyone how he ruined this job and what happened to Wren. His reputation is going down.”
It was true. Whatever Curtis had done with Wren, he was not a good guy.
“Fuck his flowers and his empty gestures,” a woman said next to him, her voice just as bitter. “I just wish Wren hadn’t been Geard’s target.”
“They’ll do anything to get an oracle,” Gavin added. “Good thing the older sister is a dud.”
Ignoring the sting of the last part of Gavin’s words, I focused on the first part. Anything to get an oracle. Charlize might be trying to woo me now, but what happened if I said no? Worse—what happened if I said yes? She was promising me the fucking moon, but once I was working for her in California, would I really have the freedom she’d talked about? Would she create a whole new family to love me and accept me like I’d always wanted this stupid pack to do?
I doubted it.
Tempting as she made her offer, I couldn’t go.
“Hey.” Everett came up next to me, his arm just a half-inch from mine.
I wanted to lean into him, claim his warmth and his lips and his love. “Hey.”
“You look really thoughtful.”
“Yeah.” I looked around. Only Logan and Zak were nearby, still guarding me. The rest of the pack seemed to be giving me a lot of space, probably because they could tell I was on my mother’s shit list. “I’ve been thinking more about Charlize Geard’s offer,” I whispered.
Off to the side, Zak perked up, interested. Logan stood still, impassive as ever.
“Yeah?” Everett said.
“Yeah. And what I decided is fuck her and anyone else who thinks they can control me.”
A slow smile spread across Everett’s face. “Good for you, Sparrow.”
His face changed and he looked behind me.
“Oh shit, is it my mom?” I asked.
A small snort of laughter reached my ears, and I turned to see Eveline. “No, I’m not your mom,” she said, but then she frowned. “But she came over to me and Ray to ask how me and my roommates have been getting along with you staying in my cottage, and Ray looked super surprised, gave it all away. She knows you’re staying somewhere else—I’m sorry.”
I closed my eyes. “It’s not your fault,” I said. “I knew the story wouldn’t hold for long—stories like this never do around shifters.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
I looked past Eveline to the one-hundred-twenty-five-pound stick of rage shooting in my direction. My mother’s face was a mask of fury as she hurried toward me.
“Guess I’ll deal with the fallout. You might want to move along so you don’t get caught in the crossfire.”
“Eep!” Eveline hurried away.
My mom marched up and stopped in front of me. She just stared for a full minute. I squashed the fear making my heart pound and stared straight back. Her face had lost all compassion, all care.
Without a word, she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the side door. She pushed it open and shoved me out in front of her. I stumbled in my unfamiliar heels, but caught my balance before I could fall.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Sparrow Magdalene Solaris?”
Fuck fuck fuck, she’d brought out the middle name. I hadn’t heard that since the recital shenanigans with Justin Griffold.
“You locked me out of my cottage,” I said. “I found another place to stay.”
“You were supposed to stay with me and David! The only reason I didn’t follow up was that I was led to believe you were with Eveline!” She took a deep breath and looked around, as if suddenly remembering we were on a compound full of nosy shifters. “I thought I made it clear that you can do so much better than throwing yourself at the hired bodyguards. If you want to settle down with a man, I can find someone for you. Someone acceptable, who deserves you. These random guys are just that—random.”
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