It was strange seeing his cousin’s eyes in Titania’s face. Bryce seemed so human that he often forgot that she was the daughter of a fae queen. Titania lifted her chin and stretched her hand toward him in warning. He didn’t wait for her to show him what she might do. He snapped open his wings and leapt into the air.
Reece followed his mother’s trail and found her outside the manor. The windows of the house were dark. The lifeless home was a strange sight. He could not recall a time when the house was completely empty. Between the three triplets, someone had always been home. Life had taken them in separate directions.
Each and every one of those directions had led them away from their mother.
She’d shifted before he’d arrived. He wasn’t sure when she had time to dress, but she was already wearing a shirt and trousers under her coat. She glared at him when he touched ground. He didn’t shift back. Whatever Alice was up to, he didn’t want to know. If he changed forms, she might be tempted to reprimand him for what he’d done.
Instead, he lowered his head in a silent apology and took off again. Alice didn’t call after him. She didn’t even say goodbye. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but it still disappointed him.
So much for his relaxing night. His shoulders were cinched tight when he looked back. He knew that his mother was up to no good if she was beseeching Titania. If the two could come to an agreement, then they would become a dangerous force.
5
The last thing Teagan expected was to find her sister on Reece’s doorstep with a backpack slung over her shoulder. The morning had turned over into early afternoon while Reece was at work. Teagan had taken advantage of the soaking tub, though Reece’s cleansing products had been a little lackluster. Ember looked Teagan up and down when she answered the door. The shit-eating grin that Ember wore would have embarrassed Teagan had anything actually happened.
“Where is he?” Ember asked, shoving her way inside.
“Where is who?” Teagan closed the door since Ember had clearly invited herself in.
Ember turned, still wearing that same big grin. “Reece Montoya, of course! That’s the last person I expected you to shack up with. Are you trying to get back at Dad?”
Teagan caught the backpack that Ember tossed at her. Unzipping the top, she found it crammed with her clothes, some books, and her favorite plushie.
“Your phone and charger are in the front pocket.” Ember turned away from her and began checking out the cabin.
“It’s not what it seems like,” Teagan said, defeated.
“Yup. Sure. Say whatever you want.” Ember opened the hall closet and stuck her head inside.
“I mean it.” Teagan paused. “Wait, how did you find out where I was?”
“Dad has been blowing up my phone. He’s freaked out that you’re not where you should be.” Ember closed the closet.
Teagan’s stomach hit the floor. “You didn’t tell him that I’m here, did you?”
Ember gave her sister a disbelieving look. “Do you really think I’d rat you out for your dick appointment?”
“It’s not a dick appointment!” Teagan chucked the backpack onto the couch and threw her hands in the air. “Back to the question. How did you find me?”
Ember tapped her temple. “I have at least five more braincells than our father. I did a process of elimination. When you weren’t asleep in the back of your car, I started knocking on doors. It occurred to me that maybe you went flying and got in trouble. My mate informed me that his cousin rehabilitates birds of prey for a living, so I thought I would see if he could help me find you.”
Ember’s smile widened knowingly even though she was wrong. Teagan gave her sister a look of warning. She wasn’t going to say it again. Ember held up both hands in surrender.
“Well, if this isn’t a dick appointment, then what is it? Why hole up with a Montoya man unless you plan on getting dicked down?”
“Ember!” Teagan’s voice cracked. “You were right the first time. Stop with the innuendos.”
Ember stilled and narrowed her eyes questioningly at her sister.
Teagan sighed. “Reece ran into me while I was flying. He thought I was just another owl and brought me here.”
Realization filled Ember’s eyes. “And you haven’t left because you’re afraid Dad will find out.”
Teagan collapsed onto the couch beside her backpack. “Yes.”
“Huh. Good thing I doubt he’d follow me up here. He likes to pretend I don’t have any connections to the Montoyas, so I’m sure he’ll act like I never came out this way.”
“But if I walk out that door and make a sudden appearance, Dad will turn into a bloodhound and trace me all the way back to Reece.” Teagan slumped and slid down the couch cushion until she was staring at the ceiling.
“Does Reece know?”
Teagan grumbled incoherently.
“I take it that means no. You should tell him. If he runs into Dad while your scent is on him, the old man will lose his damn mind.”
“I’ve been putting it off. This whole week is a nightmare.” Teagan covered her face with her hands. “What if Reece’s mother finds out I’m here?”
Ember waved off Teagan’s worry. “Don’t worry about her. She’s been busy with her scheming. No one knows what she’s up to, but it’s obvious that she’s distracted.”
Despite her lingering fear, Teagan relaxed a little. She blew out a breath and a small smile reached her lips. Ember caught sight of it and that shit-eating grin returned once more.
“Stop it,” Teagan snapped.
Ember cackled. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure Dad stays busy.”
They both fell silent. Teagan leaned against the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, but her shoulders slowly tightened again. Ember sighed. Teagan suspected they were both thinking the same thing.
“It’s not what it looks like,” Teagan whispered.
Ember huffed, a small yet bitter laugh. “I wouldn’t be so sure. There’s been a trend lately.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about. I’m not a real Barnes.”
Ember’s jaw dropped. Anger flashed across her eyes. “Don’t you dare say that. We grew up together, damn it. We are sisters. If…If we aren’t then…”
Teagan looked up to find tears flowing down her sister’s face. Ember quickly wiped them away and turned her back to Teagan, but it was already too late. Teagan had noticed. Guilt punched her in the lungs and stole her breath.
Ember made a sharp turn toward the exit. Teagan opened her mouth to call out, but her voice caught in her throat. When Ember stopped by the door, Teagan held onto hope that she could fix this. If Ember stormed away, there was nothing she could do. But if Ember waited a moment, then Teagan could take back what she’d said.
But how? How did she make Ember happy? Teagan had only spoken the truth. She wasn’t really a Barnes. The Barnes family were dragons. They were strong and unbeatable. A strong wind couldn’t knock them out of the skies.
Teagan was small and weak and standing on the precipice of broken. She was nothing like the people she grew up around. No amount of time around them could allow her to pick up traits like that from them. These were things someone had to be born with. It was just her shit luck that she’d been born to an owl shifter she’d never met and a human woman with no patience for shifters.
Teagan wrapped her arms around herself and remained silent. She couldn’t speak through the torrent in her mind anyway.
Ember nodded with a kind of finality that scared Teagan. “I’ll keep Dad away from here, but I’m not going to bring you anything else until you take back what you said.”
She didn’t give Teagan a chance to take her words back. Ember slammed the door behind her. Teagan was stuck, feet glued to the floor, as she listened to Ember drive away.
“Great,” Teagan said under her breath. “Of course, I can talk now.”
Teagan changed out of Reece’s clothes and into her own. She moved the furnitur
e out of the way of the floor to ceiling window and claimed a blanket before settling onto the couch. What seemed like all of Nebraska was laid out before her. Birds caught the air currents as they flew over the shallow valley below.
She wished she could join those birds. She wanted to feel the wind between her feathers and the freedom of the world growing small and insignificant beneath her. Unfortunately, Teagan knew there was nowhere she could fly to escape her problems. She was shackled to them by her name.
Upon returning home from work, Reece found the blonde sleeping on his couch. She’d rearranged his living room to get a better view from her seat. That mattered little once her eyes were closed, but he wasn’t about to put everything back. He wanted her to see the wide-open world when she woke.
He grabbed himself a slice of cold pizza from the fridge and inspected the book on the counter. It wasn’t one of his own or from the library. The tattered cover boasted a woman with a sword. He grinned and pulled it closer so he could read the synopsis. A name written in pencil under the bent cover caught his attention.
Teagan Parker.
So, that’s what her name was. He studied the bubbly shape of her letters until he reached a hyphen after Parker. The page had been folded. He pulled out the part of the page that’d been hidden and felt his stomach hit the floor.
Teagan Parker-Barnes.
He glanced up at her, the blonde sleeping peacefully on his couch, and wondered how she’d come across this name. Was she a shifter from another clan who had been forced to marry into the family? As far as he knew, Theo Barnes hadn’t chosen a mate yet. Teagan was young enough to be Callum Barnes’s daughter.
“Oh,” he muttered to himself as the epiphany hit him like a truck.
He lifted the book to his nose. It smelled of Teagan, but there was another scent lightly clinging to it. Though the scent was still relatively new to him, he’d been to enough of Cash’s shows to recognize Ember.
Reece set the book down and rocked back on his heels. The beast under his skin growled threateningly when he thought about sending Teagan home. The creature wasn’t done with her, though it wouldn’t tell him why. It acted like Reece should already know, but he couldn’t figure it out on his own.
She stirred and sat up. When she blinked at him over the back of the couch, her hair mussed and eyes out of focus, his heart gave way. He wanted to walk over to her and run his fingers through her hair to tame her curls. Somehow, he managed to stay where he was though the beast in him rioted at the sight of her.
She rubbed one eye and smiled. “Good thing it’s just you. Anyone could have walked in, and I wouldn’t have even noticed.”
Reece chuckled. “You’re safe with me.”
The expression that rippled across her face nearly pulled him over the counter. She quickly hid her relief and confusion by turning away from him. She let out a nervous laugh.
“How’s your arm?” he asked to fill the silence. “I’m guessing you needed more sleep so you could heal.”
“Uh, I guess. I do feel a lot better.” She got up and came closer, but still wouldn’t look at him.
He fought the urge to grab her chin and force her to meet his gaze. Gestures like that did nothing to help anyone. He would only scare her. As it was, she seemed like she might shift and fly out the nearest window if he made so much as a sudden movement. He leaned back against the counter behind him and tried to calm his beast.
The dragon growled and snarled at him. It urged him to open his arms, so she could walk into them. He found himself halfway through the motion and stopped. Teagan misinterpreted his intentions. She must have assumed he wanted to check her arm because she held it out for his inspection.
Reece studied her face as he took her offered arm. Though she kept her expression blank, it softened when he touched her. His own heart filled with yearning at the sight of her. The beast whispered that he should pull her close and wrap her in his embrace.
He did no such thing. Instead, he did as he was supposed to and turned his attention to her arm. The bruises had faded some, but she still wasn’t healing at the rate she should have been. It worried him.
Had he hurt her more than he’d first thought? Was she hiding it from him? Why would she hide it? Fear? Shame? Guilt?
He hadn’t taken her to get a cast because he’d assumed the breaks would have been healed long before now, but that wasn’t how this was going to happen. She didn’t heal like a normal shifter.
He rubbed her wrist with his thumb. “How often do you shift?”
She didn’t answer at first. Her silence was answer enough, but she still added: “It’s too dangerous outside for owls.”
“If that were true, then there wouldn’t be owls still roosting around the area. What I’m getting from you is that no one knows how to be careful around you. That, or they don’t care enough to try.”
Reece immediately wanted to eat his shoe. Teagan jerked away from him and stomped back into the living room. She pulled her sleeves down over her arms and plopped onto the edge of the couch where she slumped sadly.
Rage churned inside him as he thought about Callum Barnes telling his daughter that she couldn’t fly because he was a big dumb oaf who didn’t know how to protect his daughter from himself. Teagan’s health had deteriorated because of her reluctance to shift. Couldn’t Callum see that?
Reece swallowed his wrath and tucked it away. Teagan didn’t need to deal with an angry dragon right now. She deserved an apology. He couldn’t bring himself to say it, though. He didn’t want to say a single good thing about Callum right about now.
That meant taking another route. Reece quenched the fire in his throat as he cleared it. “How about this? I’ll stay in human form while you shift. That way you know I’m not going to be a danger to you. And, if anything happens, I happen to know how to help.”
Teagan didn’t face him. She stared out the window at the world outside. The sun had gone down, but that meant little to an owl. Her sight wouldn’t be inhibited at all. If anything, she’d be in her natural habitat.
Then, she shook her head and lay down. “Not tonight.”
He left the kitchen and stepped around the couch. Teagan still stared out the window, but her gaze was distant and lost. He put his hands on his hips and hoped that he seemed authoritative. His mother pulled it off so well, but he doubted he had it in him.
Reece didn’t want to scare or intimidate this woman. All he wanted was to help her. Seeing the fault in his ways, he crouched beside the couch and touched her hand. Her gaze focused and darted to his fingers on hers. His breath caught in his chest.
The world seemed to stop spinning. The corner of his mouth lifted as he slipped into a more practiced personality.
“If you shift tonight, I’ll share my bed with you. We won’t have to worry about you getting hurt.” He winked.
For the span of a heartbeat, he feared that he’d taken the wrong route. Then she covered her pink cheeks with both hands and let out a bout of raucous laughter. Reece leaned back on his haunches.
“I don’t think I deserved to be laughed at like that, but…” He trailed off as her laughter caught on. He huffed a few times before he began laughing in earnest. “Okay. Okay. You’re right.”
“Is that how you get your way all the time? I knew Montoya men were used to having everything handed to them, but I thought it was the dimples.” Teagan sat up on her elbows and studied him. “I hate to break it to you, but it’s probably the dimples. You’re not as slick as you think you are. No one else has bothered to correct you before, though.”
He dropped back onto his rear and gaped at her. He couldn’t stop laughing at this woman’s gall. Yet, she was smiling again. The meekness that he’d seen in her earlier had all but vanished. She grinned at him. He could have sworn her teeth were sharp and ready to bite.
This was the version of her that he yearned for. He wanted to play with this feisty little bird, but he was afraid that one wrong move would send her flying away.
He breathed deep and watched her, waiting for the transformation to fade. Instead, she rolled onto her side and rested her head in her hand.
Reece leaned back and rested his weight on his hands. “So, you don’t want this?”
She looked him up and down, openly unimpressed as she did so. He knew this game. The slight curve of her lips betrayed her interest. She would play hard to get while he fought to get over her walls. She was both the princess and the dragon in this battle.
“Have you ever slept with a dragon before? I can promise you we have ten times more stamina than any human man.” He wiggled his brows suggestively.
“Who wants stamina in bed?” she asked derisively. “In bed, I want to sleep. I don’t want some conceited fool elbowing me in the spine all night. I want a man who can pin me against a wall and make my knees weak.”
His heart did an excited dance in his chest. It sent his blood south. He didn’t bother trying to hide his growing erection. Teagan, however, did a very good job of ignoring it. She never broke eye contact with him.
“You think I can’t do both?”
She snorted. “Both? Elbow me in the spine and make my knees weak?”
He held back his laughter. That wasn’t what he’d meant, but it was funnier this way. He wasn’t quite sure if he would be the kind of guy to flail while sleeping, but he’d like to find out. He wanted to carry her to his bed and hold her until he fell asleep. Then, when morning came, he wanted her to be the first thing he saw.
Reece acknowledged that life out here was getting lonely. He filled his time with birds, who made for easy company. They couldn’t satisfy the needs that his beast sent rushing through him right now, though. The things he felt in this moment could only be satisfied by a woman.
“You can’t get what you want by wiggling your brows and winking. You’re going to have to work a whole lot harder than that. Our initial meeting knocked like, a hundred points off your like-ability scale.”
For a breath, he wondered what she meant. Then he remembered the storm and the feeling of something soft and malleable cracking against his wing. His stomach flipped. The rush of need that had been coursing through him died and disappeared.
Wings of Destiny (Great Plains Dragon Feud Book 5) Page 4