Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

Shepard jerked like I’d hit him and pulled back to stare at me. His eyes were more gold than grey, and I could feel the fragile hold he had on his control with each tremor traveling through his body. The need to see that control shatter consumed me.

I reached up and stroked his cheek.

“Unless you’d rather he wait until we’re finished.”

He caught my hand, kissed my palm, and distanced himself.

I tried reaching for him, but Cross was right there, holding his shirt, which was still intact and blood-free. He had it over my head and my arms through the sleeves before I could protest. Then, to take the sting out of Shepard’s rude abandonment, Cross kissed my forehead and looked into my eyes.

“Forgive me for this, Everly, but you must tell me what happened since the moment we left your side.”

His words echoed in my mind, but they didn’t weigh me down like Adriel’s had. They wrapped around me lightly like a comforting hug, coaxing me to confide in him, which was easy to do.

“I had dinner with the king, princess, and Mrs. and Mr. Hunter. Then…” I repeated everything—how I’d revealed Shepard and his crew at Blur were all werewolves, how I’d purposely not mentioned waking Cross or what Cross was, and finished right when they burst into my room.

“If you hadn’t arrived when you had, I would be like Miles.” I reached for Cross, running my fingers through his hair, so grateful he was a part of my life. My pulse sped as I thought of the ways he could become more a part of me.

Give in to your hidden desires…

“You are like Miles,” Shepard said. His voice, laced with anger and regret, distracted me from Cross' tender gaze.

I frowned at Shepard, but Cross drew my attention back to him with another forehead kiss.

“You’re right. You would have been like Miles. But I wouldn’t have let you stay that way. When Adriel told you to give in to your hidden desires and let go of what was holding you back from enjoying everything life has to offer, what did you think of?”

“You. And Shepard. How much both of you tempt me with your touching and kissing.”

Cross smiled, but his eyes didn’t flicker black, which was a bit disappointing.

“So Shepard and I are your hidden desire?”

Shepard turned and left the room.

My gaze shifted from the empty doorway to Cross, and I tried not to show how upset I was that Shepard left. Cross still seemed to know, though. He smoothed a hand over my hair and kissed my cheek.

“He’s not upset with you or abandoning you, Everly. He’s upset with himself and Adriel. You’ve done nothing wrong. Would you like to sleep now?”

I thought about it for a moment then nodded. He helped me under the covers and kissed my brow again before meeting my gaze.

“Your mind is too strong for Adriel’s words to work their magic for long. When you wake, you’ll be yourself again. But I’m glad your hidden desires are no longer hidden from us, Everly. Do what you want of your own free will. Shepard and I won’t mind. I promise.”

He kissed me gently and told me to sleep.

I sank into oblivion without another thought.

The words “be yourself” and “desires are no longer hidden” played on a loop through my sleeping mind and were still in my thoughts when I woke the next morning. At least, I thought it was morning. With no windows in the room, it was hard to say.

The bed shifted slightly, and a soft-lit lamp on the nightstand clicked on. “Morning, sunshine.” Cross kissed my temple. “How do you feel?”

“Fuzzy.” Yet, even as I said it, the night before clarified in horrifying detail.

He coiled a lock of my hair around his finger. “To be expected. Do you remember last night?”

“Unfortunately. I still feel Master’s teeth on me. He was about to bite me.”

“Luckily, he didn’t, or you would have been thralled, and this situation would be worse.”

Worse?

I might not have been thralled, but I knew damn well Adriel had compelled me to act like a ho. I covered my face with my hands, remembering how aggressive I had been with Shepard right before I’d basically told him and Cross I’d be good with a threesome.

“It’s bad enough,” I said. “I can’t believe I—” I groaned, not able to get the words out.

Cross chuckled and gently coaxed my hands away from my face. “While I don’t like that Adriel had compelled you, there is nothing wrong with giving in to your desires, Everly. You are allowed to live your life however you choose. And I’m grateful to be a part of your desires.”

I didn’t want to think about any of that now. The way I’d mauled Shepard would have to be dissected later. Preferably while surrounded by baked goods.

“Where is Adriel? Did you catch him?”

Cross shook his head. “I tracked him out of the mountain. Apparently, lockdown only means traditional exits are blocked, not air vents. The king has been made aware of this, and he’ll take action to fix the problem so it doesn’t happen again.”

“What about the ring Adriel stole?”

“King Curran opened the mountain and sent his people out to search for it. They have a picture of Adriel in his cat form from the hotel’s surveillance when Gunther was taken, so they know who they’re looking for. Shepard and I will aid where we can. In the meantime, we can go home.”

“Even Miles?”

Cross nodded. “Curran agreed to absolve Miles for his role in the prince’s death but wanted to keep Miles here until Shepard fulfilled his promise. We convinced Curran it wasn’t wise to keep a man who was under the thrall of a vampire in their mountain, so Shepard has been granted custody of Miles until we break the thrall.”

I blew out a shaky breath. Our time in the mountain could have ended a lot worse, so I was grateful we could take Miles with us.

“I’ll get dressed and be ready in a few minutes.”

“Take your time.” Instead of getting up, he folded his arms behind his head and watched me.

Trying to ignore him, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and saw it was already mid-morning. A dozen messages from Vena waited, progressively becoming more demanding for information.

“Did anyone update Vena?” I asked.

“We’ve told her that everyone is fine, but we’ve been reluctant to say anything more until the matter of Miles was resolved. I came here as soon as Curran agreed to our suggestion.”

“Okay. I’ll text her right now. What’s the plan now?”

“Once we leave the mountain, you and the Hunters will go with Shepard to his residence. On the way, Shepard will drop me off so I can begin my search for Adriel.”

Me: Everything’s been straightened out. Will give you the full story at Shepard’s place. Meet us there in an hour.

Vena responded with a thumb’s up emoji.

Placing the phone on the nightstand, I hurried to get ready. Cross watched me until I closed the bathroom door.

By the time I emerged, Cross had my bag packed, and a guard was waiting to escort us to the royal living space.

Curran and Indri were seated along with Shepard and the Hunters. Shepard’s cheeks and ears flushed when he saw me. Thankfully, Curran distracted everyone by telling Tryn to fetch Miles.

Mrs. Hunter’s hands were fisted on her lap as she looked at the king with teary eyes. “Thank you for letting us take our son with us. When he’s himself, he’ll want to see you.” She swallowed hard. “I don’t think he’ll be able to forgive himself for his part in what happened.”

Curran nodded, looking weary. “I don’t fault Miles for what happened. Both of our sons were victims of a heinous act. This was the vampire’s fault.”

Mrs. Hunter agreed. “We didn’t know a vampire could turn into a cat.”

“Nor I,” Curran agreed. “If I had, our mountain would have been more secure, and this tragic event might not have happened. So, let us part as friends and allies. Together, we can avenge my son.”

When Tryn and another guard appeared, holding an angry Miles, Cross approached them and looked Miles in the eyes. “You will leave this mountain with Shepard. You will stay with him in his house and follow his orders. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Both Curran and the Hunters flinched slightly at Miles’ easy agreement to a vampire’s order.

We left quickly after that and made the long journey down the main staircases.

“We’ll follow you back to your house,” Mrs. Hunter said to Shepard once we reached the parking lot. “We’d like to see where he’ll be staying until…” Her eyes welled with tears.

“You are welcome to stay, too, for as long as you need,” Shepard said.

After I climbed into Shepard’s SUV, I messaged Vena.

Me: Your parents are coming too.

Vena: What? Why?

Me: Too much to explain over text. We’ll talk soon.

Vena: You know I hate waiting.

Me: Play with Anchor for an hour.

Vena: He’s been keeping his clam jammer tucked away. I’ll see what I can do.

Me: TMI

Reluctantly, I set my phone down and faced the current situation. I was sitting in the front seat with Shepard, who’d yet to say anything to me. Not that I’d said anything to him, either. In the back seat, Cross and Miles remained quiet, too. The next hour would be awkward as hell if we stayed like this.

Shepard seemed to have the same thought. He cleared his throat as he turned off the mountain road and said, “I apologize for last night, Everly. I didn’t realize you weren’t yourself.”

Heat exploded on my face. “It’s okay. I’d rather pretend it–”

“It happened, and Everly was herself,” Cross said from behind me, robbing me of my chance to deflect. “Adriel didn’t thrall her; he simply compelled her to reveal a part of herself that she’s kept hidden from us. Compelling can’t force someone to go against their nature; only thralling does that. And Adriel never had a chance to bite her, thanks to your intervention.”

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, wishing I was anywhere else but there. While I appreciated that Cross wasn’t judging me for what happened, I wasn’t sure Shepard felt the same regarding my behavior.

Shepard surprised me by reaching over and covering my hand with his. “As long as last night is something you wanted, there’s no need for you to feel embarrassed or ashamed, Everly.” He gave my hand a squeeze and then released me.

Disbelief sent my thoughts whirling out of control. What the hell did he mean by that? Was he saying he was okay with sharing me? Or that he was okay if I wanted to be with them both separately?

Unsure what to think, I turned my head toward the window and pressed my cheek against the glass, trying to cool the rising heat there. No longer caring if it was awkward or not, I embraced the silence and watched the scenery until Shepard pulled over in downtown D.C.

Cross got out but surprised me by opening my door and kissing my forehead.

“The only thing that has changed is your acceptance of your interest in us. Stop overthinking things and just live, Everly. One day, one moment, at a time. All right?”

I nodded, grateful for his understanding even as I mentally balked at what he was suggesting. He didn’t give me a chance to cling to the limbo I’d been holding back for weeks though. He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine.

When he pulled back, his fingers feathered along my jaw, encouraging me.

Giving in, I kissed his cheek in gratitude.

His eyes flickered black briefly, and he flashed his crooked smile at me before he closed the door.

Shepard waited until Cross faded in the distance to speak.

“It’s annoying to say this, but he’s right. Nothing has changed. Well, maybe a little. What we did last night will fuel my dreams and make it more difficult for me to give you any breathing room.”

I arched a brow at him, and he chuckled.

“Don’t worry. I know not to smother you with my attention. Just know that you’ll only need to look my way to get it.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

He continued to grin all the way to his place.

When we arrived, Vena and Anchor were already there. They stood side by side with an arm’s length of distance between them. As if that would stop Mrs. Hunter from seeing what was insanely obvious—that Anchor was head over heels for Vena.

“You ready to gain Vena as a member of your household?” I asked as Shepard parked.

“Her parents won’t object?” he asked.

“Doubtful,” I said just before opening my door.

I caught Anchor nervously smoothing his hands over his thighs. Vena did, too, and I could tell by the look she cast his way that she wanted to eat him up like a bowl of ice cream.

“This is your house ?” Mrs. Hunter asked, getting out of their car.

“My kind tends to live together,” Shepard said, opening the back door for Miles. “Safety in numbers.”

“Oh, I like that,” Mrs. Hunter said. She looked pointedly at Anchor then at Vena. “Are you going to introduce us?”

“Mom, Dad, this is Anchor. Anchor, these are my parents, Dana and Garner Hunter.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Anchor said, holding out his hand.

Mrs. Hunter melted at the uncertain smile he gave her as her husband shook Anchor’s hand.

Vena gave me a look and shifted her gaze to Miles, who was standing amicably enough next to Shepard.

“I’ll give you the cliff-noted version,” I said. “Adriel isn’t dead. He ordered Miles to poison the prince and then escaped the mountain, but not before revealing himself. King Curran doesn’t hold Miles responsible and allowed Shepard to bring Miles here to keep an eye on him while we all help look for Adriel and the missing ring.”

Vena closed her eyes, and I recognized the impending explosion.

So did Mrs. Hunter.

“Anchor, why don’t you take Vena for a walk while we settle Miles in? Once she’s calm, let’s have a longer discussion about what happens next, okay?”

He nodded and took Vena’s hand to lead her to the back garden while Shepard led the rest of us inside.

Mrs. and Mr. Hunter thanked Shepard profusely when they saw the room Miles would have and the people who were assigned to watch over him twenty-four-seven. Once they knew he was settled, we went to the dining room where a late breakfast was waiting for us.

“I heard your stomach growling since we left the mountain,” Shepard said to me when I looked questioningly at him.

“Thank you.”

“I smell bacon,” Vena said, entering the dining room with Anchor. She looked calm, and I was sure that had to do with Anchor’s arm around her shoulders.

The six of us sat at a table, and I listened to Mrs. Hunter gently question Anchor.

How long had they been dating? What were his plans for the future? Did he like kids? What did his parents do for a living?

It was a little funny to watch Vena squirm until she shot me a “you better help me end this, or everyone will suffer” look.

“Thank you for breakfast, Shepard,” I said when everyone was finished eating. “And it was good to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Hunter. Don’t worry about Miles. He’s in good hands.”

I stood to punctuate that it was the end of our visit. Vena bolted out of her seat less gracefully.

“Isn’t today your day off?” Mrs. Hunter asked, looking at both of us.

“From Blur, Mom, not from life in general.”

Mrs. Hunter gave Vena a dry look but waved her away.

“Go ahead and escape. I think we’ll stay for a while longer if that’s all right with you, Shepard.”

He agreed, and Vena and I retreated with Anchor, who drove us home.

I was grateful it wasn’t Shepard. I wasn’t yet ready to tell Vena what had happened with him, even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide it forever.