by J. Kearston
Gigi winks. “You think it’s bad now, wait until she’s pregnant. And when you actually have a kid?” She clucks her tongue. “Lords have mercy, you’ll never sleep again. Things you never even considered to be dangerous suddenly seem like death traps.” We start walking again, following the trail to the koi pond near the tree line.
“You can’t control everything, my love, and you will drive yourself mad trying,” she continues. “Don’t waste all of the time that could be spent being happy by making yourself miserable, searching for ghosts that aren’t there.” Reaching the bench, I help ease her onto it to get off of her feet. “Teach her some basic self-defense, it’ll have you sleeping much easier; you always struggle with that when you’re upset.”
Watching the fish circle each other beneath the crystal clear water, I sit beside her, soaking up the tranquility, the wide open space and fresh air. “So, spill it. Why bring me out of earshot from the others?” I glance at her in my peripherals with half a smile. “Finally decided it was time to off me and didn’t want any witnesses?” But she doesn’t smile back. If anything, she looks like she might cry, and the sheer and utter panic that floods my system has my skin crawling. “Shit, Gigi, I didn’t mean it! I-“
“I’m thrilled that you found that girl, but she’s going to get you killed.”
My heart skips a beat. “We learned after that incident in the woods. We just need to keep her away from other shifters, make sure one of us is with her when she leaves the house in case something happens so we can protect her.”
Eyes wet with unshed tears look at me, breaking my heart. In all of the years I’ve known her, I’ve never once seen her cry. Nothing has ever shaken her up this much; the woman lives and breathes fire. She doesn’t back down from anything, let alone accept defeat.
“You admitted how addicting her blood was, and you’ve only fed from her once. Without the bond inspiring people to protect her... the scent of it drove that wolf wild?” She shakes her head, sighing heavily. “I would bet my life savings that it was her parents that had her kidnapped.”
“But why?”
“Because Risa’s incorruptible.” At my look of confusion, she drops her voice to barely more than a whisper. “You know that the change doesn’t always take; some humans just can’t be turned. When we attempt it, either they become like us, or they die.”
She fiddles with her cane, looking nervous. “But there are also stories of those that survive death without our venom tainting them, a breed in their own right. And as soon as their blood touches our lips, we’re hooked. They become our obsession, because unlike feeding from other shifters, an incorruptible’s blood gives us so much more. Strength, drive, and rumor has it, extends our lifespans.”
She glances up at the bright blue sky, following the few clouds slowly creeping by on the breeze. “Our very own living legend, the fountain of youth.” After a lengthy pause, she adds, “I’d bet everything I have that it was her parents that had her abducted right before you found her. Cash cow like that? No way they’d simply let her go when she ran off, and people that would do that to a child, will do far worse to an adult.”
Facing me, her eyes are full of a bone-deep weariness that comes from living long enough to witness how cruel people really are. “If it wasn’t for that accident, when they got her back, she’d have been in for so much more hell than what she endured before. They might have been selling her blood as a kid, but she has more uses to pimp her out for now. Can you imagine how much the people paying for a vial of her blood would spend to get it fresh, buy an hour alone with her?”
Absolute fury at the prospect makes it hard to think of anything else. Between the sire bond flaring to life alongside my own feelings, it’s a battle not to go storming into the house, to set eyes on her and assure myself that the horrific images in my mind stay just that; fears, not memories.
“Why bring me out here for this? You love smacking people in the face with revelations, and Risa deserves to know.”
“That girl has been through too much, too quickly, Stryker. Within, what, a month? She’s found out that she’s not only no longer human, but not a shifter either. Forced to navigate the sire bond, and then took the three of you as mates. That’s a hell of a lot for anyone to handle, and I couldn’t live with myself if I was the person that piled on the last straw and broke your mate when she has such a long fight ahead of her. It’d be better coming from you, when the timing is better. Take a few days, relax and regroup. But that girl will be in danger for the rest of her life, and you all need to be prepared for a life of staying on the move. Just don’t spend every waking moment terrified about what could happen and forget how lucky you are to have her in your life.”
I take a few minutes to let her words sink in, trying to sift through them all. “Gigi,” I tentatively bring up. “Does that mean if I get you some of her blood... you’ll be able to stick around longer?”
She pats my hand, looking out over the massive garden separating us from the house. “I wouldn’t take it even if you did. I’m tired, baby. While some people might find the thought of living forever appealing, I’m not one of them. And truth be told, I don’t want you here when I go, either. You’ve been through so much already, and I don’t want you to remember me like that.”
My eyes burn, but I compose myself before speaking, knowing that if I break, she might as well. I’ve idolized this woman my entire life; being the thing that broke her would be something I’d never be able to forgive myself for. It’s an image that would brand itself in my head, torturing me until the day I died. Now that I’m realizing that this might very well be my last visit with the woman I owe everything to, I especially don’t want to sully the memory with tears, so I channel my raging emotions in a different direction.
“I’m not subjecting Risa to a life on the run. She deserves a family, a home, and I’ll be damned if I don’t find a way to give her that.” I rise to my feet, offering Gigi my hand. “The only logical conclusion is to kill everyone that knows about her. The people in the clearing are handled, so that only leaves her parents, and possibly the ex. Her secret can die with them, and we’ll set up our new home somewhere remote, away from prying eyes. They won’t know her well enough to know that she can’t shift, and even if she were to slice her hand open, there won’t be anyone close enough to send into a frenzy.
“We’ll buy a farm or something, take precautions and have a backup plan in place, but I refuse to lock her up in some tower where she’s forced to watch everyone else live out their lives. I’m not going to suffocate her in a gilded cage and watch the fire in her eyes disappear with every passing day, and consider that a job well done. She deserves to live, not just survive.”
We start ambling along the winding path, and I feel a bit better with each step. “We aren’t going to hide like she’s done something wrong by existing. She’s a person, not a thing, and I’ll be damned before I let her feel like she has to cower in fear for the rest of her life. ”
Gigi smiles, her cane clacking on the stones at our feet. “Now there’s that fire I know and love. You’ve always needed a purpose, Stryker; you drift without one. But now you have her.” We pause at the same lily as before, but this time, she plucks it from the ground, clasping the stem in the hand clutching my arm for support. “You’re going to be more than fine. You’re going to see what it’s like to actually be happy for the first time in your life, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”
I frown. “What are you talking about? I’ve been happy.”
She winks, patting my arm and gazing at the second floor of the house, eyes glazed over like she can see something that I can’t. “But not as happy as you’ll be when you realize that you’re not alone in the dark anymore.”
Chapter 16
Risa
“Wait, wouldn't that mean they wouldn’t really need me? They could sell their blood, since one of them would have to be an inco-“ I pause as it hits me, sinking further into my chair at
the dining room table “No.”
Turning my pleading gaze to Rosalie, she simply looks at me with pity. “They probably found you when you were really young, before you'd remember. Likely kidnapped you or something happened to your parents and they just got lucky. But while incorruptibles are beyond rare, every story I’ve ever heard makes it out to be an inherited gene.”
My voice cracks as I start to splinter apart. “Then why make me sick?”
Rosalie purses her lips. “I'd think it'd make your blood more potent since it was constantly building up a tolerance to things and working to combat what was keeping you sick; hence why they had to switch up what they were using frequently enough that they were growing desperate when you overheard them. If each hit packed more of a punch, it’d be more valuable and get people addicted to it faster, ensuring repeat customers that would keep paying whatever price they asked for a vial.”
Reaching across the table, she covers my balled up fist with her hand. “Some humans can't be turned and the change doesn't take at all. For incorruptibles, it partially does, giving you heightened senses, but also enhancing your blood to new levels. It’s why they’re so rare; you wouldn’t find them until trying to change one. I'd bet anything that's why your blood didn't drive these three crazy at the scene of the accident. It drew them to you, sure, but didn't drive them mad with bloodlust; the change must have amplified it. I imagine that the people harvesting your blood as a child wouldn’t have been aware of that possibility or they would have tried to turn you themselves, using the sire bond to keep control of you.”
My stomach turns. “You think they were shifters?” I free my hand from hers, scrubbing it over my face and groaning. “Of course they were shifters. How else would they have the contacts to sell my blood?” Threading my fingers into my hair, I clench my fist, using the sharp pain on my scalp to keep from completely falling apart. “How do you know all of this if it isn’t common knowledge? It didn’t even cross these three’s minds, and my parents were using me and didn’t think to change me.”
Rosalie sighs, slumping in her chair. “I’m older than dirt, child. With age comes the awareness that shifters are just as bad as humans in wanting to dismiss the things that they don’t understand as myths. We convinced them that we were nothing more than fiction, and at the same time, can’t seem to accept that all stories spring from a grain of truth.”
Blinking back tears, I release my hair, slipping my hands under my thighs on the chair and taking slow breaths. Of everything that I’ve been through this past month, this is hitting me harder than any other revelation. The change I could get through because I had them, but right now, surrounded by people looking at me with fear and pity, I’ve never felt more hopelessly alone.
“Shh, hey, it’s alright,” Bane states from my left, rubbing a hand reassuringly over my back.
“None of this is alright.” I glare up at the ceiling so I don’t need to face them, seeking either patience or answers, but only finding faded, white paint. “Does that mean Blake’s a shifter too? Is that why he was so controlling?” I dismiss the idea the second it’s out of my mouth. “No, he never bit me. He was just a narcissistic asshole.”
I huff a humorless laugh. “And yet he was the thing that kept me off of my parents’ radar. Talk about the lesser of two evils. I should probably consider it a blessing in disguise, but,” I trail off, wanting to rant for the next hour as much as I want to shut up, crawl in a hole, and sleep for a year.
Mason’s voice is laced with a pissed off, defensive edge that has me instinctively gravitating closer to him on my right. “You don’t have to be grateful for shit,” he snaps. “I’m with Stryker on this one. I’m not spending the rest of our lives on the run, constantly looking over our shoulders.”
He waits until I meet his eye so that he can see the most infinitesimal reaction I might have to his words, always assessing, worrying. “I think it’s time to figure out a story for your miraculous return. We won’t be able to kill that prick the second you reappear or everyone will suspect you, but even if he doesn’t know what you are, we’re not taking any chances.”
“Besides,” Stryker adds from next to Bane, wiggling in his seat like he can barely contain his enthusiasm. “It’ll be so much fun. As much as I want to put your parents down, I’m looking forward to this one the most. It’s like an early birthday present.”
A small, tired smile twitches at the corner of my lips. “You’re way too excited about this.”
He shrugs. “Being upset won’t change our circumstances, so might as well find the joy wherever we can. And there are very few things that would make me happier than avenging you.”
Tucking my hair behind my ear, the small smile turns into a genuine one, some of the oppressive weight lifting from my shoulders. “Then I guess we better start planning.”
***
“That’s the last of it.” Bane huffs, dropping several bags on the living room floor of the rental house.
None of us have any interest in living here indefinitely, but an apartment felt like it was asking for trouble with what we’re here to do. Too many potential eyes watching our movements, and honestly, I don’t think any of us would make it a week with our sanity intact. Between the scents and sounds, we’d have to completely suppress our heightened senses to be able to sleep, and seeing as we’re expecting my not-parents to attempt to abduct me, none of us are willing to let our guard down for that long.
We only bought the basics to get by, assuming we’ll have to bail at the drop of a hat, but in case the police make a visit, we need to not look incredibly suspicious. I’ve no doubt there’s a missing person’s report out for me, so it’s just a matter of where or when they’re going to turn up asking questions. And seeing as Blake is going to wind up dead? I’d like to not be arrested before we can abandon ship, so we’re trying to cover all of our bases as best as we can.
“I still don’t like this,” Stryker complains, dragging one of the cheap mattresses down the hall to chuck in a bedroom. “Humans are such prudes. How am I supposed to keep my hands to myself when we’re out there, dangling you in front of people? You’re such pretty bait, and it’s unfair to expect me not to take a bite.”
He comes back for the last mattress, setting it up so that we have three separate bedrooms in the house. Mason and I work our way through the bags, starting to put everything away around the house.
Mason tosses a package of paper plates and plastic silverware in the kitchen, rolling his eyes at a pouting Stryker. “Because we’re going to gain way more attention over Risa claiming to have three boyfriends than we will over her sudden return. People’s priorities always favor the most scandalous gossip. It’s easier for everyone if we pretend she left her ex to run off with me, and you two are my brothers.”
Bane walks by on his way to the bathroom with a bag of supplies. “Human mates are husbands, not boyfriends, I thought?”
I bite back my smile, still nervous about this plan, but feeling better than before. The revelations, betrayal, and depression have been soothed by the promise of revenge, and that fire is helping cauterize my psychological wounds.
“Running off to elope works too. Get their focus on the wrong drama.”
Stryker approaches me with a sly grin, caging me between him and the wall. Tracing his fingers down my arm and over my wrist, he toys with my empty ring finger. “Now that we don’t need to worry about replacing it every time you shift, there’s no reason not to get you one. I’ll take care of that tomorrow while you three go see if you can get your job back.”
My heart skips a beat. “I’m not sure how Mindy will react to you three hovering during all of my shifts.”
He leans in to kiss me, fingertip skimming over the pulse in my wrist, his other hand resting on my hip. “Let us worry about that, and you just focus on scanning the crowd, alright?” With one more kiss, he gently smacks my hip before heading back to unpacking. “At least one of us needs to make some money until that insu
rance check deposits, after all.”
I snort. “You’re right; you three enjoy your beauty sleep while I do all of the heavy lifting to support us.”
Bane scowls. “I hate this, but it makes the most sense. If one of us tried to get a job, there'd be no discreet way to have the rest of you hovering around, and I can’t imagine wherever we’d get hired would benefit us in any way. The point is to draw out your parents without leaving you vulnerable, and if they had someone abduct you from the running trail, they knew your routine. The club would be the best bet to get them to show their faces, and the three of us can blend into the crowd.”
Carrying a bag of towels towards the bathroom, I pat Bane’s chest reassuringly as I pass by him. “I’m teasing. We all know you’re not broke, just cautious with budgeting, but humor me a little.” Setting the towels on the counter, I return to the others. “Honestly, it’s kind of nice having you three need me for something, for a change.”
“Pssh,” Mason waves off, pulling out his phone to order pizza since we don’t have any groceries yet. “You woefully underestimate yourself. The fact that you haven’t realized we need you simply to be able to breathe, goes to show that we’re failing miserably at our jobs already. So if you could take point on everything while we get our shit together, that’d be great, thanks.” He starts rattling off our order without giving me a chance to reply, but by the time he hangs up the phone, I still haven’t figured out a decent retort.
I’m just... happy. Honest to God, happy, and I can’t recall the last time I ever even came close. My childhood sucked, and my adult life was arguably worse, until recently. I know they say you can’t fall in love this quickly, that it’s simply lust and the rest comes later. Even so, I can at least claim that I love this; being surrounded by people that try so hard, that put each other first without the others letting them lose themselves in the process.
I love it as much as it terrifies me. It’s one thing to dream alone in the dark, when you don’t actually know what you’re missing, but another completely to have experienced it. I can’t go back to existing the way I was before; it would destroy me. But being that codependent, letting my happiness hinge entirely on their existence in my life is a dangerous thing.