“What are you watching?” Sami, looking like he hadn't slept in days, asked as he sat down beside him.
“Just a cooking show," he said and at Sami’s quizzical look, he shrugged. “My dad used to get up on the weekends and cook my mom and me a big breakfast,” he said, remembering his daddy’s smile when Thaniel, still wearing his pajamas, would walk into the kitchen, dragging his favorite stuffy.
“I’d drag a chair over and stand on it while Daddy whipped up French toast or scrambled eggs and bacon. Sometimes, we’d make pancakes. My dad used to hold my hand and help me flip them.”
He didn’t mention how annoyed his mommy used to get at the mess they always left behind. Although back then, that was as far as her anger went. His daddy would just laugh at her, and then he’d help her clean up. Daddy had been teaching him how to tie his shoes before he walked out on them.
“You must miss him,” Sami said.
Feeling melancholy once again, Thaniel nodded, not sure why he’d told Sami all that.
He focused back on the man on TV. This was it, maybe he could start cooking? Then at least he’d feel like he was being useful, have a purpose.
***
Thaniel was aware that Tierney spent the night in Jax’s room and was happy for the both of them. He knew how much they loved each other, but for some reason he also felt incredibly down, as if he was missing them. Which was ridiculous, and left him even more confused.
Late the next morning he was putting a plate of sandwiches together for everyone when a sudden screeching in the great room startled him. Heart pounding, he stopped what he was doing and quietly moved over to the door to peer cautiously into the large room. Genna and Brimstone were both staring angrily at each other. Thaniel shuddered.
Then he saw Jax, Tierney and Sami walk in and he slipped across the room toward them.
“Who—Why is she here?” Jax asked, glaring at Genna.
“Yeah, forgot to tell you, we have guests. Genna helped us find you—in exchange for bringing her and her friend Caden home with us,” Tierney said.
“Who's Caden? Wait, what—no,” Jax said, and Thaniel caught the horror in his voice. Obviously, he didn’t like the crazy girl either.
Then Thaniel saw Tierney grin at Jax. “Caden is Genna's friend, he's resting." Tierney nodded back down the hallway. "Besides, Genna is your sister.”
“What?” Jax scowled and Genna smirked at Jax while Sami just took in the whole scene without a word. Thaniel knew he was still hurting over what happened at the Ilyium compound.
“And that’s Brimstone,” Tierney added, indicating the defiant man in front of Genna. “Not sure what he is, but it looks like he’s feeling better,” she said wryly.
The only thing they knew was that Brimstone was twenty-four years old. The dark-brown-haired, pale-skinned male with silvery-blue eyes looked like he was ready to take Genna’s head off.
Though he hated violence, Thaniel kind of liked him.
“Brimstone, huh?” Jax raised an eyebrow and smirked as Thaniel eased up behind them. “Why does he look familiar?” Jax asked, as Genna continued to spew threats at the guy.
“Ah, yeah, Brimstone looks identical to the woman we saw the other day who—” Tierney suddenly stopped speaking and glanced at Sami.
“Crap," Jax inhaled and although they had been speaking quietly, Brimstone still heard them.
“You saw one of my sisters?”
“Ah—” Tierney hesitated and then they asked Brimstone to come sit down so they could talk.
“Hey, Thaniel,” Jax said, his brilliant-blue eyes sparkling, and just like that, Thaniel felt happier.
“I’m glad you’re better.” Thaniel gazed up at Jax, suddenly shy. Even though he was aware Jax and Tierney had mated, his heart still sang at the sight of them both. Though his desire to be close to them was crazy and fucked up, and he didn’t know what to make of it.
“I need to find my sisters. The woman you saw, what did she look like? Where did you see her?” Brimstone asked and Tierney indicated that he take a seat.
Thaniel slipped away to go get the sandwiches he’d prepared. When he returned, he set the large platter on the coffee table, happy when Jax grabbed one and moaned at his first bite.
Tierney shook her head at him but Jax ignored her.
“Hey, Kitty.” Jax nodded at Thaniel as he devoured the sandwich. “You rock, dude.”
Thaniel blushed and lowered himself to the floor by Tierney’s feet.
“So, where’s my sister?” Brimstone asked, becoming impatient.
Sami attempted to tell the guy what had happened, that they’d witnessed his twin’s death, but Tierney had to take over.
“I tried to get to her—” Sami’s voice broke and Thaniel’s heart hurt at the pain his friend was going through.
Brimstone didn’t seem to get it. Instead, he grinned and shook his head. “Nah, you don’t know Hellfire.”
“Hellfire?” Jax mouthed, looking at Tierney before turning back to Brimstone.
Tears glistened in Sami’s eyes but raged filled his voice. “They threw her onto the fire. No one could’ve survived that.”
Brimstone narrowed his eyes at Sami. “Who is she to you?”
“I, she … I didn’t even know her name until now,” Sami said.
Brimstone scowled at them. “She isn’t dead, I promise.”
“No one could survive what they did to her,” Sami mumbled angrily.
“Hey, I’m not sure what’s going on with you and my sister, but I guarantee she’s not dead,” Brimstone repeated and then sighed. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, his silvery gaze swept each one of them. “Okay. So, we, my family, are hunters. We hunt the Ilyium. Hellfire … her cussing and kicking means she was pissed they captured her, not because they wanted to throw her on the fire.” Brimstone hesitated. “This will be easier if I show you.” He stood up and moved away from the couches to the middle of the room.
Jax, Tierney, and Sami all rose, leery and prepared to attack.
“I’m not going to do anything bad. Just watch,” Brimstone said, and while they were still suspicious, they nodded. “Now, don’t get freaked out or anything. I’ll be fine,” he cautioned as flames engulfed him.
Thaniel’s leopard clawed at his insides.
“Shit,” Jax growled. The flames burned out and Brimstone stood before them sprouting large, shiny, lethal-looking black wings that almost touched the ground.
Each so-called feather appeared very sharp, like thin obsidian blades. His eyes, the same color as before, glowed the tiniest bit, and his hands sported long, razor-sharp talons.
Brimstone grinned at the shock on all their faces. “My family, we’re Phoenixes. Fire doesn’t kill us, it’s a rebirth. We love fire.”
Shaken at the sight in front of him, and losing his battle to control his leopard, Thaniel let out a hiss. He could feel the shift starting to take over when Tierney looked down at him.
“Thaniel, shh, he won’t hurt you.” She laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder and a feeling of calm swept through him. He relaxed, his beast no longer a threat, grateful for the hand Tierney kept on him.
After Brimstone shifted back, Sami quickly left the room.
“Sami?” Tierney called, and Thaniel could hear her worry as Sami hurried up the stairs to his room.
“He going to be all right?” Brimstone asked as he walked back to the couch and sat down.
“I don’t know,” Tierney said, and sat as well.
As Jax wolfed down another sandwich, he asked some more questions.
Enjoying the feel of Tierney’s hand on his shoulder, Thaniel started to purr until Tierney’s startled eyes landed on him and he realized what he was doing. What the hell? He hadn’t even known he could purr in human form.
Brimstone ate another sandwich as well. “Anyway, I gotta go find her. Can someone give me a ride into the city? I try not to fly during the day—causes problems with humans.”
“I’
ll give you a ride,” Tierney said, but Sami had returned wearing an intense frown. “I’ll take him. I need to find his sister.”
Both Tierney and Jax looked up in surprise, but then nodded.
“Good, thanks.” Brimstone got to his feet and nodded at them. “I appreciate everything,” Brimstone said, and then looked at Sami. “I’ll go wait outside.”
“I’ll only be a few minutes.”
“Sami—” Jax said and rose to his feet.
Tierney stood as well and Thaniel felt the loss as her hand left his shoulder. He watched Jax walk up to his brother and pull him into a hug.
“I’m going. Don’t try to stop me,” Sami said, but Jax just shook his head.
“Never, man. You gotta find her, I get it. Just be safe, all right?”
Sami nodded.
“I love you, bro,” Jax said, his voice gruff.
Sami hugged him back. “Love you, too.”
When they parted, Jax turned to Tierney. “I’m going to go sit with Zander for a few.”
Tierney nodded, watching her mate as he walked down the hall.
“You guys worked things out I see,” Sami said as Tierney walked up to him.
“Yeah.” She gave a self-conscious smile and then Thaniel watched as she wrapped her arms around her friend as well. “I know you hurt, and I can’t help worrying.”
Sami stiffened at her words, but after a moment he relaxed and hugged her back. “I’ll be fine.”
“Gods, I hope so,” she whispered as she reached up and cupped his cheek. “You’ll find her.”
“Yeah.” Sami let her go and turned to go get ready.
“Sami, we love you. Come back to us,” Tierney said as he rushed up the stairs.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ice Cream
THANIEL WAS ONCE AGAIN touched by Tierney’s compassion, though he could see the fear and worry in her eyes.
“Thank you for the food,” she said, surprising him. “You’re getting so much better at controlling your leopard.”
Though pleased at her comment, he felt heat fill his cheeks and he was glad that his hair hid most of his face. Suddenly embarrassed, he got up and took the platter to the kitchen before hurrying to his room.
Sami showed up in his doorway a few minutes later. “So, I’m heading into the city. I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you?” Thaniel blinked in surprise and Sami continued. “In my room, I have monitors set up showing various angles of the property. Would you mind checking them once in a while? You don’t have to do anything—” Sami waved his hand to give him a kind of whatever display.
Liking the idea of having something useful to do, Thaniel nodded. “All right.”
“You don’t have to stay up there. With the Okami wolves keeping an eye on things, we’re pretty protected, but I’d just like you to go in and check every so often, if you don’t mind?” Sami explained.
Thaniel nodded and climbed to his feet.
“Great, well, if you see someone or something out of the ordinary, tell Tierney or Jax, okay?” Sami asked. Thaniel nodded again and Sami gave him a little smile.
***
They waited impatiently all day for Sami to get back home, but when he hadn’t shown up by that evening, Tierney and Jax told Thaniel they were going for a walk.
“We’ll be back in a little while,” Tierney said.
Thaniel nodded, but when he looked out the windows into the dark, he shivered. They were going for a walk at night? There was still so much he didn’t understand about his friends and he didn’t know if he ever would.
Feeling lonely and a little wistful, he started down the hallway and as he got close to his room, he could hear the TV blaring from the room Crazy Genna and Caden were staying in. In his room, he settled down on the floor in the corner, this time with the book Sami had given him.
A few minutes later, the TV in Crazy Genna’s room shut off and silence reigned. Then he heard her door open and tensed up when she stopped in his doorway. She studied him, then his room before looking back at him. “Little Leopard, you be all alone in here.”
He wasn’t sure if that was a threat or not, and although he’d heard Tierney warn her not to hurt anyone else in the house, fear still shivered through him. Her eyes assessed him. They looked so much like Jax’s, except for the red that flickered like little sizzling lightning bolts every now and then.
If the streets had taught him anything, it was not to show fear. Without raising his head, he bit back his fear, shrugged, and held up the book he was reading.
Genna’s eyes narrowed and she cocked her head to the side as if listening to something. Then she snorted. “Is awfully silent in this big ol’ tree trunk building. Do you hear the Hazy Spirits in the silence too, Thaniel?” He started to frown, not sure what she was talking about, but without waiting for an answer, she continued. “Where our sweet benyfactors be?”
He wanted to shake his head at her sarcastic, eerie strangeness but didn’t. “Tierney and Jax went for a walk and Sami still hasn’t come back from Spokane.” He wished she’d just go away and leave him alone because as much as he hated being alone, she really made him uncomfortable.
“Yeah, don’t get your hot tamale in a bunch. I’m a going to get me some yummies from the foody room first.” Then with a little wave, she left and he let out his breath, glad he escaped her unscathed.
***
Thaniel heard the faint sounds of Jax and Tierney in the great room a little while later, then it became quiet once again when they went upstairs.
After another hour, unable to concentrate on reading, Thaniel put the book down and closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him. When he heard someone coming down the hallway, he straightened up. A deep breath in told him it was Jax, and a moment later his friend stopped in the doorway and smiled at him.
“Hey buddy, I got us some ice cream. Come watch some Supernatural with us.”
Thinking Jax and Tierney would be holed up in their room for the rest of the night, he stared up at Jax in surprise, happy to be included.
Following Jax, he walked into the great room, even more surprised to see Tierney smiling at them both from the couch.
“Thaniel, we got you some pistachio. Hope you don’t mind.”
Thaniel’s heart warmed and he shook his head as he shyly made his way around the couch to sit on the other side of Tierney from Jax.
Tierney grabbed two of the bowls from the coffee table and handed him one with the green ice cream he’d come to enjoy. Jax took his and Thaniel noticed that it was a mix of different flavors while Tierney’s looked and smelled like coffee and chocolate-fudge. They all sat back and he had his first experience watching the Winchesters battle evil.
“Do you think they really know what’s out there in the world?” Thaniel asked amid yawns after they turned the TV off and got to their feet.
“Of course they do.” Jax smirked while Tierney smiled and shook her head at her mate.
After turning off the lights, they started across the great room and Thaniel turned toward the hallway when they began to head up the stairs.
“Hey, Kitty, you sleep up here now,” Jax said, completely throwing him for a loop. Thaniel gaped at them as they waited on the stairs for him.
“You can still sleep up in my room,” Tierney said quietly.
Thaniel felt his face turning red. He didn’t expect to continue sleeping in Tierney’s room after she and Jax had mated. It seemed … wrong, somehow.
Suddenly Tierney blushed as well.
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any hanky-panky while you’re there.” Jax smirked while Tierney rolled her eyes and swatted his arm.
Thaniel lowered his head, sure he’d turned even redder. “I, ah, just thought you’d want to be alone,” he whispered.
“When we want some alone time, we’ll go to my room, okay, buddy? Don’t make this all weird on us. We just don’t like the idea of you being all alone. Besides, have you seen the size of Tierney’s bed?” J
ax asked.
Thaniel’s eyes grew wide. Were they really telling him he could join them?
As if he heard Thaniel’s unspoken question, Jax nodded. “Come on, then,” he said, making his way up the stairs. Thaniel hurried after them and though nervous, he climbed up on the same spot he’d lain while Jax was healing.
***
TIERNEY SAT UP IN BED a little later with a feeling of doom almost suffocating her. Heart pounding, she studied Jax for a moment, then looked down at Thaniel. Both of the guys were fine—sound asleep. Yet something had woken her up, and the feeling that something bad had happened wouldn’t leave her be. Careful not to wake the guys, she climbed from the bed and made her way downstairs and found Sami drunkenly weaving his way through the great room.
The intense feelings of pain, anger, and sadness shocked her, as did the sight of Sami so drunk; something she’d never seen before from him. He was usually level headed. “Sami, are you okay?” When he didn’t answer, she blocked his way. “Hey, what happened?”
Sami shook his head and attempted to go around her and she stopped him.
“Sami!”
“Don’t wanna talk about it, ’kay? Just leave me alone.” Stepping past her, he headed for the stairs and his room.
“Did you at least find her?” Tierney asked from behind him, worried that he hadn’t and she really was dead.
Sami stopped with one foot on the first step, but he didn’t turn around and her bad feeling grew even worse.
“Yeah, I found her,” he said, sounding angry.
Tierney frowned as his shields grew stronger, blocking her. It broke her heart. “Sami?”
“Just, please. For once, leave me alone. I don’t want to talk about it.”
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