Infinity Chronicles Book Four: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Series

by Albany Walker

  I hear some mumbling. “She’s pissing on the side of the road in Georgia,” he states acerbically.

  “You know what? I called to make sure you guys were all right, not for you to act like I’m a complete idiot who can’t take care of myself.” I end the call without saying goodbye and stomp back to the car.

  They’re all back home sleeping while I’m worried sick. I power off the phone and toss it in the center console. Ollie’s breath catches as he lets out a low snore. Careful not to slam the door, I buckle my seatbelt and turn on my turn signal to get back on the road. I’ve lived my entire life without the use of GP-fucking-S and been just fine. I sure as hell don’t need it now.

  “You seemed so eager to get home, but now that we’re only a few miles away, you’re stalling.” Ollie eyes me over the small table between us. I glance around the small restaurant looking for a valid excuse as to why I had him stop here. He takes a deep pull from the fat straw in his strawberry-banana milkshake, waiting for my response.

  “Not stalling.” I’m totally stalling. Ollie woke up when I pulled into the gas station near the expressway. I wanted another drink and some snacks before I got back on the road. He’s been driving ever since. I tried to sleep, but my mind wouldn’t shut off.

  “The fact that you wanted to stop here had nothing to do with the reason my phone is off and why you’ve been borderline pissed since I woke up, does it?” He takes another draw off his shake as he studies me with his clear, green eyes.

  I look away, pretending to be interested in the salt and pepper shakers. “No,” I scoff.

  Ollie purses his lips and gives me a patronizing nod. “Sure.” He sends me a naughty grin just after, telling me that he knows what I’m up to and doesn’t mind.

  “I guess you could call them; I never did find out where they were.” I shrug my shoulders and run my finger over the table.

  Ollie drags his phone out of his pocket and holds the button on the side to power it on. After a few seconds, the phone begins to vibrate and send several alerts. He peers up at me with raised brows. “I’m thinking Dante, Ares, and Milo all had something they wanted to say to you.” Ollie flips the phone around so I can see the screen. There are several missed calls and unanswered messages from all three of them.

  I try to act innocent, pretending not to care, but it’s not true. I am angry they didn’t call us and tell us what happened. Angry that I was away from them, and it didn’t seem to bother them the way it bothered me.

  “Let’s go,” I mumble, sliding out of the booth seat.

  Ollie is quick to follow, his phone already up to his ear. I speed walk so I don’t have to hear what Ollie or the others are saying.

  Ollie still has the key fob, so I get into the passenger side and shut the door. He makes his way to the car, his face having lost the playfulness he had at the restaurant. His lips are moving fast, but it doesn’t look like he’s the one getting a reaming—more like he’s the one doing all the yelling.

  He jerks the phone from his ear and mashes the screen with his finger. When he looks up, our eyes connect. The stiffness in his shoulders eases, as well as the firm line of his lips.

  After a brief moment of us just staring at each other, he rounds the car and slides into the driver’s seat.

  “They’re at home. But we don’t have to go there right now if you don’t want to, Muenster. We can drive right back to Florida. Hell, we can drive to Michigan if you want.” Ollie settles himself back into the seat, waiting for me.

  “Nah, Michigan is cold as hell in December.” I reach over and place my hand on his. “Maybe in the spring.” I give Ollie the same cheeky wink he likes to give me, just to show him how much I appreciate his understanding.

  “I’ll hold you to that. You, me, Michigan, spring. Sounds amazing.”

  The drive home is quick. I spy the florescent green triangle that marks the drive as Ollie slows the SUV for the turn.

  “What did they say? Are they mad I shut off the phone?” I ask, finally finding the courage to.

  “I only talked to Milo.” Ollie turns his head to look at me briefly, with lines of confusion marring his forehead before focusing back out of the windshield. “He sounded worried, but not mad.” Ollie lowers his voice as the house comes into view. “You don’t have anything to worry about. Let’s go find out what happened last night.”

  Ollie parks in front of the open garage. “Should the door be open? Someone could walk right in.” I exit the SUV, waiting for Ollie to join me.

  “I’m sure they opened it for us, come on.” Ollie snags my hand and pulls me into the garage. All of Milo’s building materials are piled up on the floor—sheets of drywall and stacks of two by fours. Several tools are littered on the ground among them.

  I’m a little surprised Ares or Dante aren’t down here waiting for us. Maybe they really are upset with me? Oh, well. I’m not too happy with them either. I drop Ollie’s hand as he urges me upstairs.

  “Where is everybody?” I inquire when we emerge into the empty kitchen.

  Ollie goes directly to the fridge, pulling out a container of juice and drinking right from the carton. “No clue,” he replies after wiping his lips with his wrist.

  “Well, you talked to someone, right? Are they even here?”

  “We’re here.” Milo comes into the kitchen from the living room area. He has a bruise across his jaw and a black eye.

  “Oh my God! What happened to your face?” I rush over and reach up to touch him, but pull back, worried I might hurt him.

  Milo tips his head back. “I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine. Is that… did Ares do that?” I whisper the last part of the question.

  Milo takes hold of my hand, his eyes soft. “It wasn’t Ares,” he appeals to me, trying to make me understand. “He didn’t even do it on purpose, we were just trying to hold him, and he was struggling.” Milo looks off to the side, before meeting my eyes again and licking his lips.

  “Where’s Dante?” I look around Milo’s bulky shoulder, expecting Dante to be behind him. I want to see Ares too, but I think he’s going to avoid me. I know he’s probably punishing himself for what he did to Milo, probably blaming himself for even answering the door in the first place.

  “He just got back from a run; he’s getting dressed.” Milo nods his head toward the upstairs bedroom.

  “He shifted?” Ollie settles his rear against the kitchen counter near the sink.

  “Yeah, he thought he would be back before you guys.” Milo sends a look in Ollie’s direction, and something unsaid gets exchanged between them.

  I cross my arms over my chest, not liking the feeling that I’m being left out of something. “Why does it matter if he was back before us?”

  Milo peers down at me and blinks. “Just so you could have seen him first, not this.” He waves his hand over his face, indicating the bruising.

  “Dante didn’t get hurt?” I question, a little surprised he fared better than Milo.

  That gets me a wince. “That’s why he shifted, so he could heal faster,” Milo reluctantly responds.

  “How bad was it?” A ball of regret takes root in my stomach. Was I too hard on them for not getting back to me sooner?

  Milo cups my cheek with his palm. “Nothing too bad, Laura, just some bruises. But I don’t heal as fast as he does, his metabolism works so much faster than ours. We just thought it would be best if you didn’t see the evidence of what happened first thing when you got home.”

  “Is that why Ares isn’t here too? How bad is he?” I lean into Milo’s touch.

  “I’m fine.” Ares’s voice comes out flat—completely monotone—as he enters the kitchen.

  I study him. He looks way less than fine. His posture is rigid, his mouth is a thin slash. His eyes are pointed toward me, but he’s not really looking at me. Movement catches my eye, and I notice the knuckles on his left hand are red and swollen. There’s a bandage over the first one.

  I swallow the lum
p forming in my throat, thinking about him hitting Dante or Milo. I know it’s got to be killing him knowing he did that, and that he wasn’t in control of himself. Ares is a master of many things, control just being one.

  I pat Milo’s hand, which is still on my cheek, and pull away from him. All the frustration I felt at them for not calling falls away, until all I feel is the need to make sure they’re all okay. Ares certainly doesn’t look like he is. Milo defending Ares’s actions proves that he doesn’t blame him, now we just need to make sure Ares won’t blame himself.

  When I take a step in Ares’s direction, he takes a step back, like a skittish kitten. His eyes go a little wide as his calm exterior falls away. He doesn’t want me to get any closer. His eyes jump to Milo, like he might stop me from moving toward him.

  Now that I’m a little closer, I can see the lines of fatigue on his face and the dark swatches under his eyes, telling me he probably hasn’t slept much at all. Ares’s back hits the wall when I take another step in his direction, and he swallows.

  I move into his space, making sure my front is pushing against his, and Ares sucks in a breath and flattens himself against the wall even more. I can’t believe this man—this crazy, beautiful man—is acting like he’s terrified of me all because Leon manipulated his will and influenced his behavior.

  “Can we have a minute please?” Ares’s eyes fall closed when I speak. Only to pop back open, wild and panicked.

  “No, no. You guys stay,” he demands, looking above my head. Without a word, Milo drops his hand on Ares’s shoulder and squeezes, before he and Ollie walk into the other room, leaving us alone.

  Ares can’t even look at me. His eyes are jumping around the kitchen, not landing on anything longer than a second. He’s looking for an escape.

  I reach down and lift his injured hand, and he allows me to bring it up to my face and place a gentle kiss over the bandage. “I’m really glad you guys are all okay, Ares.”

  It shakes my foundation a little to see him so apprehensive. From the beginning, Ares has always been my constant, the one person who made sure I knew from that first moment that he was all in with me. He’s never been one to back down, and I don’t want him to now.

  “Do you want to talk about what happened?” I don’t release his hand, but I lower it to our sides.

  Ares swallows, his eyes darting to mine. “I was foolish.” His gaze falls to the ground and his nostrils flare. “I wasn’t thinking, and even if I had been, I sure as shit wouldn’t have thought someone like Leon could do anything to affect me. I was stupid and cocky, and my family got hurt because of it.”

  “So, you made a mistake.” I tip my head down and peer up at him, forcing him to see me. “No one blames you, Ares. Not me, not Milo, and I’m sure Dante feels the same as we do. You didn’t go to the door because you were cocky; you went to the door because that’s what normal people do when the doorbell rings.” I shake his hand, imploring him to listen.

  “I could have hurt you.” His voice comes out harsh, like he thinks he’s telling me something I didn’t already know.

  “Yes, you could have. But you didn’t, Ares. Milo and Dante, they stopped you. And Ollie made sure to get me out of there, to keep me safe.”

  Ares tries to remove his hand from mine, but I hold on tighter. “They shouldn’t have to protect you from me, I should be the one protecting you.” His face is hard, and for the first time his eyes are staring right into mine, but there’s an edge of anger. I know the anger isn’t directed toward me. No, all the animosity is focused inward.

  I need to get through to him, but I’m not sure I know how. “Ares,” I sigh his name. “Nobody is perfect. You pulling away from me, from us, is exactly what Leon would want. We’re stronger together.”

  “Not if he can affect me that easily. Do you not get what I’m saying?” Ares’s free hand slaps against his chest. “You don’t know what I was thinking. It was like I was in the backseat of my own fucking mind. I tried fighting the influence, but I was useless, powerless.” His back goes rigid, like even saying the words out loud are abhorrent to him and his physical body is denying the claim.

  I take another step closer to him so there’s no space between us. His eyes widen in panic again. “What are you doing?”

  “Ares, I know Milo and Dante wouldn’t have let us come back here if you were still a danger, and they definitely wouldn’t have left me alone with you.” I rest my other hand over his heart, where I can feel it racing under my palm.

  “I want to touch you. Be close to you. I know what happened last night scared you, it scared me too, but he’s not influencing you anymore. Please, don’t let him take you away from me. Don’t give him that power.” I rest my head against his chest, sliding my palm around his side so I can wrap my arm around his back.

  Ares holds his breath for several seconds before finally releasing a heavy exhale. His body softens, and I feel his lips on the top of my head. I cuddle even closer, taking the hands that are still wrapped together and placing them around my back so he’s hugging me in return.

  After several long moments, Ares’s heart rate slows, and his body adjusts so mine fits against him better. Eventually, I tip my head back so I can look up at him. He traces his fingers up the line of my throat and, mesmerized by the sight, his eyes dilate and his lips part.

  “You give me far too much credit, Cara.”

  “That’s not true, you’ve just given me really high expectations. I’m not willing to lose any piece of you.”

  Ares’s eyes leap up to meet mine. The darkness bleeds out, covering his entire eye, but his expression is soft. Nothing like it was last night. I’m not afraid of him. Even when I knew there was something wrong, that he wasn’t in complete control, I still didn’t fear him. I might be foolish, but deep down, I don’t think Ares would ever really hurt me, even if he was under Leon’s influence. My mother said Leon’s ability couldn’t make you do something that went against your nature, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that hurting me goes against Ares’s nature.

  His fingers curl around my throat, and he uses his palm to tip my head back. My eyes fall closed, I know what’s coming. He’s going to kiss me. If I rush him, he’ll end up making me wait, so I let my body go pliant against his.

  “Your faith in me…” He blows out a breath, not finding the words. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips, caressing me with his words.

  Even though I have him pinned against the wall, Ares is in full control as he brushes his lips against mine. I let out a sigh of satisfaction when I feel his tongue lap across my mouth, seeking entrance. For several long moments, he worships my lips with his. He’s being so gentle that I’m taken by surprise when he nips me, making my breath catch and heat pool in my lower stomach.

  Ares ends the kiss, much to my disappointment, and he rocks his forehead against mine as we both get our breathing under control.

  “I am sorry, Laura. I won’t underestimate him again.”

  “None of us will,” I confirm.

  Chapter 11

  We’re in the living room in a circle of lawn chairs. I have a plate of fried eggs and toast in my lap, and I’m the last to finish. I made everyone a quick breakfast after Ares and I talked. Dante was on toast duty while Ollie took a quick shower. We know we need to talk about last night, but I think everyone is leery of bringing it up again.

  Ares isn’t exactly himself, but the relieved looks I saw Milo and Dante exchanging make me think he’s at least at little better.

  “So, how did you guys end up in Florida?” Dante glances between Ollie and me.

  “I just started driving, and that’s where we ended up. It’s not like we were escaping for a beach trip,” Ollie defends. “I figured one of you guys would call when it was safe for us to come back.” That part comes out as a little dig.

  “We should have.” Ares rubs his hand down his face. “It was my fault. I asked them not to call you. I figured you were safer away from me, but I
didn’t know you’d been driving all night.”

  I reach for his hand, he hasn’t gotten very far from me since our chat, and I’m taking that as a good sign. “Sorry I got pissy on the phone, Dante. I was worried.”

  “No, it’s fine. We were all stressed, and I was kind of being a dick.”

  “You’re always a dick,” Ollie adds with a smile.

  Happy that we are at least talking, I realize no one is asking the important questions.

  “Well, we don’t need to worry about testing the flyer anymore.” I force some lightness in my tone, hoping my statement will get Ares talking about Leon’s influence. He pulls his hand out from under mine quickly and stands. “Will you tell us what happened?” I urge.

  Ares finds his way to the corner of the room, the shadows already wrapping around his form to obscure him. “It was fast. The moment I touched the box, I knew I had fucked up, but it was too late.” His words are clipped, like angry barbs.

  “How long did you hold the box?” Milo questions.

  “Not long. To be honest, I don’t even remember putting it down.”

  “Well, you didn’t have anything in your hands when you came back to the kitchen,” Dante reminds us.

  “What was it like?” Ollie looks around like he might get bashed for asking the question. “Were you there watching, feeling, or did you just wake up after with no memory, like Amanda?”

  “I was there. I was trying to fight it.” The room grows darker, colder.

  “What was your goal?” That comes from Dante.

  “To get Laura,” Ares admits.

  “To do what?” Milo places his elbows on his knees and clasps his hands over his mouth. None of us want to be talking about this, thinking about this.

  “I don’t know. It was like I just needed her, and I didn’t care what, or who, was in my way to get her.”

  “Did you want to hurt her?” Ollie whispers the words softly.

  An icy blast moves through the room, stirring my hair.