Chapter 43: Kali

43

KALI

S nuggling into my blankets, I try to block out the din from the sitting room. Even though my bedroom is bright from the midday sun beaming in through the window, it's too early to be awake. But that's what I've said every day for the last week.

I stretch, sitting upright and holding my arms out in front of me to assess the long lines cutting across my right forearm. They continue to fade, and I'm hopeful that most of them will disappear, leaving me with just a few silvery reminders of that horrible night.

Griffin insists they're badass, but I could do without the constant reminders staring me in the face.

"Shh. You're going to wake her."

Footsteps, hushed voices, a door opening and closing softly. More footsteps. Griffin's frustrated growl.

"I've told you already, when she's ready to see people, she'll come to you." My mate sounds hen-pecked, his careful words spoken quietly so as not to disturb me. "I haven't locked her up again. This is NOT the same thing." A pause. "It's fucking not!"

Deciding to put him out of his misery, I pull on a long T-shirt dress and pad out into the hallway, lingering there for a moment, to see who's giving him such a hard time.

"She's my cousin." Evan.

"She's my mate."

I'm impressed that Griffin's holding his ground considering Evan's death stare is legendary.

"She hasn't marked you yet. How do I know for sure this is what she wants if you won't let me talk to her?"

Ouch. Low blow.

Griffin growls but doesn't rise to Evan's taunts. "I don't give a shit what you think."

As I inch closer, peering into my tiny living room, I can't help but smile at the sight of it nearly bursting with people who care for me. My heart warms at the sight of Griffin, fists clenched, standing toe to toe with a very angry Evan King. It's a terrible idea, and he's probably two seconds away from getting his ass kicked, but I appreciate that he's trying to look after me.

"It's okay, Griffin. I'm up." Moving slowly to his side, I slip underneath his arm, enjoying how protected I feel curled into his side.

Evan's furious scowl melts, and he presses his lips together, relief written all over his chiselled features.

"You gave us quite a scare, Kali. Not helped by this fucker, here." Evan's voice is thick with emotion as he scans me, making sure I am, in fact, in one piece. "How are you feeling?"

Griffin's hand on my hip tightens, and he holds me close, sensing how hard it is for me to think about the attack, let alone speak about it.

"Tired. Still a bit sore, but I'll get there."

Evan looks distraught. I'd love to tell him that I'm as good as new, but I'm not going to lie, it's going to take a while for me to feel like myself again.

"Sit. I'll make coffee." Griffin kisses the top of my head, glaring at Evan all the while, before leading me over to an armchair. After some fussing and making sure I'm comfortable, like he's my mother and not my mate, he disappears into the small kitchen to make drinks.

An awkward silence falls over the room, and I fidget under the intense scrutiny. I open my mouth to speak some inane nonsense just to break the tension, but suddenly, Holly's on me, arms banding tightly around me in a cautious bear hug.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Kali. You saved my life." She pulls back, her brown eyes shining with tears. "I'm so sorry."

Feeling awkward, I look around and find Griffin, standing back, watching me with pride. I don't know what to say. I'm bowled over that she thinks she needs to apologise for what Serena did.

"You don't need to be sorry, Holly. You didn't do any of this."

Evan comes to Holly's side and drags her off me, rubbing his hand up and down her back, comforting her with his touch. Or maybe, it's him that needs the soothing, because when Evan closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before looking down at me again, the emotions I see swirling there stuns me. My big, bad cousin looks like he's about to crack.

"I have no way to repay you, Kali. I owe you everything. If you didn't want to see me because you're mad, I'd get it, but Holly…" Swallowing hard, he looks away.

Tears fill my eyes, and I quickly dash them away, overwhelmed by the strength of their gratitude and concern. I hadn't considered they might have needed to see me over the last few days to reassure themselves I wasn't angry or resentful. I just wanted some peace and quiet while I came to grips with everything.

Turning to Holly, I grab her hand. "I never for one second blamed you for what happened."

Holly nods, blinking back tears as she gratefully accepts a mug of coffee from Griffin as a distraction.

"And Evan, I'm not angry. Not with you, at least."

Jed is another story altogether, but it's going to be a while before I'm strong enough to confront him.

"I know you'd do the same for me."

Evan's mood shifts as he nods. "I would, I'd protect you with my last breath, for what you've done for me." With those words hanging in the air, he turns to face Griffin, who cleverly sets his steaming mug down on the sideboard and waits to see what will happen next.

"You marked my cousin while she was at death's door." He spits the words out like an accusation.

"Evan! Stop." I wasn't exactly at death's door, and I was a more than willing participant, but I'm not going into details with my cousin.

"She was vulnerable. She needed to be taken care of, not forced into a lifelong commitment." His voice is growing deeper and rougher with each word. Turning back to me, he growls. "You don't have to keep him. Jack told me he's practically feral. Nobody would blame you if you wanted stability, not a beast that plays Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

Griffin doesn't rise to the bait, but his own growl starts low and steady, letting Evan know he's no pushover.

"He is my mate."

Seething, I glare at my cousin, who's lucky I'm not at my best. With a grunt, I climb to my feet, ready to put my overbearing cousin back in his box, when the feisty brunette at his side jabs him hard in the ribs for me.

"Evan King, how dare you." Whirling around to face him, she gets into his personal space and glares up at him. It would be hilarious, with the top of her head only coming to his shoulder, if he didn't look genuinely afraid. "Pot, kettle, black. Because you were so restrained when you found me in the woods and killed Scott. Your beast was horny as hell."

Evan says nothing, but his silence says it all. He clearly doesn't have a leg to stand on.

"And you didn't mark me immediately either, even after you knew I was yours. You just freaked out and ran away."

"Okay less chitty chat out of you. OUT." Evan steers Holly toward the door. "I'm glad you're doing better, Kali. If you still want your job, it's there for you whenever you're ready." They're on their way out the door quickly, Evan keen to get Holly out before she can spill more of his secrets.

Holly blows me a kiss and a wink before letting Evan take her hand and drag her outside.

I sag, relieved to be on our own again, when the door opens wide, and Evan sticks his head back through, one muscular arm poking in to point at Griffin. "You take care of her, or I'll kill you."

And with that, he's gone. And we're all alone once more.