Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The business with Edith’s so-called allies has left all of us on edge; that much is obvious. The others don’t even have to say anything -- we can all feel it, that awful certainty that things are coming to a head, and we’re helpless to stop it. The question remains unspoken amongst us, but I know without even needing to ask that we’re all thinking the same thing.

If we can no longer trust the other shifters in London, who can we trust?

I disentangle myself from between Shade and Silas the next morning, responding to the insistent growling of my stomach. Ruby, Xander and Hazel are gone when I enter the kitchen, but I notice a hastily scrawled note from the latter on the counter: Out to track down some more leads. Should be back later--if not, send help. Right. Not exactly easy when I don’t know where they’ve gone, but I’m too mentally drained at this point to let the anxiety take hold of me. I’ll just have to hope they’re okay.

Mollie isn’t around either, but I’m actually less worried about her, in all honesty; she’s a tough cookie -- I’ve known that since the day I first met her -- but more importantly, she’s human. As long as she takes care not to draw undue attention, she doesn’t have to worry about walking around with a target on her back the way the rest of us do. As much of a gift as our shapeshifting abilities are, they’ve become just as much a curse.

I pile my hair on top of my head in a messy bun before padding over to the refrigerator and grabbing an apple. I would have preferred junk food, but Mollie, for all her culinary ineptitude, is hell bent on keeping us healthy -- chalk it up to her maternal instincts, or something. Either way, beggars can’t be choosers, so I dig in with a vengeance as I drop into a chair beside the kitchen table. I can see Landon over on the couch, his arm draped over his eyes -- he appears to be dozing, but it’s hard to tell with the siren shifter. I still feel like I owe him for yesterday; he saved my life, the only person who possibly could have in those circumstances.

The sound of voices catches my attention just as Shade and Silas emerge from my room, looking bleary-eyed and out of sorts. “I’m telling you, you’re wrong,” the wolf shifter insists. “It’s all about avoiding concentrating. That’s how you get distracted.”

“You would say that,” Silas fires back. “When was the last time your strategy didn’t amount to ‘charge in, both guns blazing, and watch what happens’?”

“I resent that,” Shade mutters.

Silas gives him a daring grin. “You want to put that theory to the test, Ivis?”

Shade raises his eyes. “Is that a challenge, Silas? You’d better be careful -- I hear you’re still not back to a hundred percent.”

The dragon shifter’s expression hardens. “I’m close enough.”

The two guys come to a stop by the kitchen table. “We’ll get Boots to judge,” Shade says, winking at me.

“Nah, ah, ah, I’m not about to get sucked into another one of your arguments,” I laugh. “You guys can duke it out yourselves.”

“Fine,” says Silas. “We’ll take it to the roof, then.”

“You know you have the advantage in tall places,” Shade protests.

“Is that a problem? You just said I wasn’t back to full strength.”

The wolf shifter grumbles, but concedes, and the two guys make their way to the door. “We’ll be outside, settling this,” Silas announces, elbowing Shade. “We’ll see which one of us is the better fighter. You sure you don’t want to moderate, Boots?” He raises his eyebrows at me.

The idea of two gorgeous guys duking it out for my attention does sound appealing, but what happened yesterday has me spooked. I’m not even sure I can bring myself to go out and meet our next prospects, and that’s something we have to do. I don’t relish the idea of being forced out a window again. “You guys go ahead,” I tell them weakly. “I’m going to rest up in here. Rough day yesterday, you know.” They nod in unison, and Shade pushes the door open. “Be careful,” I call to them as they file out of the apartment.

“Always am,” Silas calls back, and with that, they’re gone. I’m left to sit in silence, damn near twiddling my thumbs as I turn over the events of the past few days in my mind. I’ve tried to tell myself I’m paranoid to be worried about Edith, but there’s no fighting it. After yesterday, I’m on high alert; I remember how she stood there watching while the chaos ensued, and while I’m willing to admit that maybe she froze, something about the whole thing rubs me the wrong way. It’s like an itch I can’t scratch, and it’s driving me crazy.

I’m just beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t catch up with Shade and Silas, at least for something to do, when the sound of muffled voices catches my attention. I raise an eyebrow -- here I was thinking Landon and I were the last people left here. The voices are coming from the room Edith has been sharing with Hunter, and I can feel my stomach drop even as I slowly get to my feet.

The vampire shifter hasn’t spoken to me at all since yesterday, but every time I’ve caught his eye, he just looks away with a melancholy expression on his face. He’s hurting, and I wish desperately that there was something I could say, but what? How can I assuage a guilt that he shouldn’t even be feeling in the first place?

Carefully, I shuffle down the hallway, doing my best to stay light on my feet. I know I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but I can’t help it -- call it morbid curiosity or something. The door to Edith’s room is open, and I can hear her crooning voice wafting out like music on the heavy air. “You know there are other fish in the sea, don’t you?”

“Not for me, there aren’t.” That sounds like Hunter.

“Listen,” Edith persists, “I get it, okay? Don’t you think I understand where you’re coming from? I’m an outsider too, just like you.”

“It’s different,” I hear Hunter protest. “You’re good at what you do. Hell, you’re incredible at it. There’s no denying that.”

“I’m late to the party, though,” she points out. “You think I don’t see the way Millie looks at me, like she’s suspicious of me? I don’t know if it’s because she feels threatened, or if it’s just because I’m not part of your original group, but…”

I can feel my hackles rising at the implication, and struggle to keep from saying something.

“You’re not giving Boots enough credit,” Hunter insists, making a warm spot bloom in my chest. “She’s been through hell these past few weeks. It’s not easy living in this world as a hybrid -- take it from me. My family has ties to the community.” There’s a pause, and his tone grows fond and soft. “Millie has done more for us than anyone,” he says.

“Mille, Millie, Millie…” Edith sighs, sounding like a put-upon parent. “When will you realise that the world doesn’t revolve around her?” There’s a moment of silence, followed by a shifting sound. “I just want you to remember that you have other options,” she says, so quietly that I have to strain to hear her. Her voice is like silk, and the sound makes my blood run cold. “I see you for what you are, Hunter.”

“I…” I can hear the confusion in his voice, the hesitation.

Don’t do it, I tell myself, clenching my fists so hard that my nails bite into my palms. Don’t do it, don’t do it…

“Come here,” Edith purrs to him.

I clear my throat loudly and walk to the doorway, already preparing some excuse about why I’m here. My words catch in my throat when I see what’s happening. Edith and Hunter are perched on her bed, and she has her hand on his thigh. Her delicate fingers are running through his scarlet hair, and I arrive just in time to see her lips brush against his. I blanch, speechless.

Hunter is the first to see me, and he quickly springs away from the witch shifter. “Boots!” he exclaims. “How long have you been…?” I can feel tears welling up in my eyes, despite my best efforts. “Long enough,” I reply quietly, and turn on my heel to escape before they can see me cry. I should have been expecting this, but it still hits me like a knife in the heart.

I can hear Hunter following me. “Millie, wait! Let me explain-”

But I don’t want to hear his explanations. I don’t want to listen to any more of Edith’s platitudes. My eyes have grown blurry with tears, and it’s all I can do to make it to my room and close the door behind me before I’m collapsing on the bed, my hands over my face. I can hear Edith and Hunter continuing to speak, but I can’t make out the words, and maybe that’s for the best. Their rapport is clear enough for my purposes.

I don’t know how long I sit on the bed, but Hunter doesn’t come, and I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse. My throat feels thick, and as ridiculous as this all is, I can’t help it. It’s like the house of cards has finally come falling down.

After what seems like forever, I hear a knock at the door. I’m about to tell whoever it is to go away when Landon’s voice comes through gently. “Boots? You in there?”

I sniffle and hurry to wipe away my tears. “Yeah,” I call.

Slowly the siren shifter enters the room, closing the door behind him. Wordlessly he takes a seat next to me on the bed, putting a comforting arm around my shoulders. “I take it you weren’t asleep for that,” I mumble.

“Resting my eyes,” he confirms, “but I think I got the gist.”

I shake my head, turning to look at him. “Am I crazy?” I ask him quietly. “Is this whole thing… I mean…” I sigh, trying to collect myself. “I thought we had something,” I whisper. “Something real.”

“You do,” Landon tells me quietly. “We do.”

“We?” Timidly, I look up at him, feeling my cheeks growing hot. For the first time ever, he seems to be at a loss for words. “I never thanked you properly for saving me yesterday,” I whisper.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Landon says, not meeting my eyes. “I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, Boots. We all would.”

I can feel my heart beginning to beat faster. “Do you mean that?”

Landon clears his throat. “I mean… Listen, Boots, I…” Finally, he meets my eyes with his own, and I can see the debate on his face. I only have to wonder for a split second before his mouth comes crashing into mine, and god, I don’t think I’ve ever felt this relieved in my life.

I sigh, leaning into the kiss as I allow my arms to snake around the siren shifter’s neck. He groans, shifting a little, as his hands move up to let my hair down so that he can run his hands through it. His touch is ginger, delicate, a far cry from what I would have expected from the self-confident playboy. I let my tongue brush his bottom lip, and he gently pushes me back onto the bed, his hands trailing my body with a gentleness that’s enough to make me want to start crying again. Like he doesn’t want to hurt me.

No, more than that; like he wants to keep me from ever being hurt again.

My hands go to his shirt, but he stops me, pulling away for a moment to look at me. “Are you sure?” he asks quietly. “I don’t want to-”

I kiss him again. “Yes,” I whisper against his lips. “Landon, please.” It’s more than a want at this point, it’s a need, and not just because of what I witnessed with Hunter. This has been a long time coming.

I can feel him smirk against me. “As you wish.”

I snort, laughing even as I help him get his shirt off. He tosses it to the side, allowing me to admire the planes of his body - for a swimmer, I’ve never seen him shirtless before, and the sight of his golden skin is making me feel weak in the knees. I feel him tug gently at my hair, making me groan, and he grins as he moves his mouth to my neck. “Problem?”

“Hardly,” I pant as he continues to go lower, hooking his fingers through my belt loops and tugging my shorts off me. I squirm out of my underwear as he continues to lavish my neck with attention, aware that there will probably be a mark there tomorrow, and nearly cry out in disappointment when he pulls away to trail his tongue gently over my exposed skin. “Landon…” I whisper.

He hums against the skin of my inner thigh, his eyes bright as they watch my reactions to his movements carefully. Slowly he lowers his mouth to my clit, and as he begins to eat me out with a patience that makes my head spin, it’s all I can do to bunch my hands in the sheets and breathe through his ministrations. No one’s ever done this to me before -- I had no idea what I was missing! I can feel a pressure building between my legs, and I can feel Landon’s eyes on me, observing how I react to every little thing he does. When he slips a finger into me, curling it slightly, it’s enough to make me come undone completely, and I come with a muffled cry, shuddering in ecstasy.

Landon continues to smooth his tongue over me for another few moments, his hands rubbing ginger circles into my thighs. When he finally looks up and smiles at me as he crawls up my body, lining himself up at my entrance.

“One second,” he murmurs, leaning back and reaching into his trouser pockets on the bed, grabbing a condom. Sliding it on, he settles back on top of me and kisses me as he thrusts deep. I arch my back at how good he feels as he groans, a masculine and deep groan against my lips. It doesn’t take long before he is thrusting faster and I feel another orgasm building up deep within me. The orgasm crashes through me as Landon takes my lips and kisses me deeply, thrusting into me one more time before he comes.

We breathlessly lie together for a moment.

The pain is still there, but in Landon’s arms, it might just be bearable.