Chapter 15

Valery

“ Y ou little stinkers.” I point at Koran, Kason, and Kit as they enter the kitchen.

“What’d we do?” Kason asks.

“Bear videos?” Putting my hands on my hips, I narrow my eyes and laugh when shit-eating grins spread across all three of their faces.

“You’re our biggest fan.” Kit bumps my shoulder and reaches into the refrigerator to pull out a can of Dr. Pepper.

“Bear videos?” Dinah asks over her coffee cup.

Joining her at the breakfast bar with a charcuterie plate of meats, cheeses, and assorted cut fruits, I take a seat on the stool to avoid being run over by the three large men—or I should say, bears.

Koran looks over his shoulder at the front door and leans against the threshold with his arms crossed over his chest to block the entrance into the kitchen from the living room. Kason and Kit nod and lean against the counter, lowering their voices.

“Dad and Kylian don’t know yet, so don’t tell them,” Kason starts.

“Okay,” Dinah and I agree.

“Six months ago, I stumbled upon a bunch of animal videos on Instagram. Zoos, rescues, natural habitats, trail cams—it doesn’t matter where the content is captured, each video almost always goes semi-viral, and views equal cash,” Koran says from the threshold.

“Lots of cash—” Kit nods “—but it takes time to build a platform and monetize your accounts. So we started small, making cute videos of playful bear cubs dicking around and causing trouble?—”

“We got the idea from the panda bear videos out of the Beijing zoo. They are goofy animals living their best lives and we thought, ‘Hey, that’s us!’” Kason interjects.

“Right.” Kit chuckles. “A couple of viral videos on TikTok and Instagram, and we were able to build an account on YouTube with over a million subscribers in a matter of months. We’re the biggest anonymous creator on the scene this year. Our first monetized content aired four months ago, and we’ve made almost two hundred grand since.”

My jaw drops. “That’s a lot of money.”

“Right? We were on the verge of having to tell Karter about it anyway, but we figured we’d tell him after we paid to get the house fixed up.” Kason smacks his hand on the counter and shoves a whole sausage into his mouth.

“He’d be less likely to kill us with a new roof over his head,” Koran deadpans.

“Sorry I ruined the surprise.” I grimace behind my coffee cup.

“It’s cool. If he had to find out, we’d prefer his fated mate be the one to tell him.” Kit winks at us.

A rare blush hits my cheeks. “You know about that?”

Dinah giggles. “Everyone knows, Valery. It’s a shifter thing. They can smell it on him.”

“Right. Karter said something like that.” I look Dinah over, seeing her in a new light. Is she a shifter too?

She shakes her head as if overhearing my thoughts. “I’m strictly human, like you.”

The screen door swings open and slams shut. Koran steps aside as Kylian walks in, her eyes landing on me and Dinah. “Out of the house.”

“What?” I stutter.

“Oh, no. I’m sorry. Not you.” She points at Kit, Kason, and Koran. “You three, find somewhere else to be.”

“Man,” Kason whines and turns to snag five frozen pizzas out of the freezer before tucking them under his arm.

Kit grabs a case of Dr. Pepper off the floor and sticks his tongue out at Kylian who smacks his belly in response, causing him to grunt and double over before righting himself. “Fine, have your precious girl time. See you around, ladies.”

Koran nods from the threshold, salutes us with two fingers, and turns without uttering a word—three bags of chips and two boxes of cookies cradled in his other arm. I never saw him move toward the food, much less stockpile.

“They can eat a lot,” I say offhandedly.

“They are eating us out of house and home,” Kylian says while grabbing a mug and pouring herself a cup of coffee. I exchange a glance with Dinah who smiles back at me knowingly.

Kylian takes a deep drink and turns to face us, her lips curled into a small smile. “I owe you a huge apology, Valery. The way I dismissed you yesterday was unacceptable, and I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course.” I shake my head. “I understand completely.”

Not completely true, but if today has taught me nothing else, it’s that there is a lot going on in this world that I’m completely out of the loop on. My ability to compartmentalize things is paying off big right now, as I have a myriad of emotions to work through later when I have the time.

“Dinah got a completely different greeting from me, but of course, when Kade brought her home she was already marked and claimed. I had nothing to worry about with her.”

“Marked and claimed?” I glance at Dinah and then back to Kylian. “I don’t understand.”

Kylian raises her brow and exchanges a look with Dinah. “Karter said you knew.”

“That he can shift into a bear? Yes, I know that.”

“No.” Dinah shakes her head. “About being fated mates.”

“Yes, he told me about the scents and Fates and all of that.” This is turning into a very weird conversation, and something about the energy Kylian brought into the house has me on edge—my fight or flight instincts kicking into gear.

“So you understand that he has to mark and claim you sooner rather than later.” Kylian’s brow furrows and I sense she’s frustrated by my obtuseness—deliberate or not.

Licking my lips, I take a deep drink of coffee and clear my throat, trying to calm myself. “Look, I’m sure we’ll be great friends someday, but I’m not comfortable talking about my sex life with my partner’s sister.”

Dinah bites back a giggle. “We’re not talking about sex, Valery.”

Kylian rolls her eyes. “Trust me, I’ll be the final virgin standing when the floods come to wipe us out, and the last thing I want to hear about is any of my brothers’ sex lives. I’m talking about him biting and embedding his mating serum into your bloodstream.”

All the color drains out of my face as a ping of panic hits my chest. “What?”

“It’s not as scary as she makes it sound.” Dinah pats my knee.

“I’m Siren James—a much better option—if you’re interested. You’re definitely available.”

“You know it doesn’t count if you don’t mark her.” Siren’s words hit differently now.

“Karter has to mark me in order to claim and protect me amongst the pack,” I say with a hint of realization that Siren’s words weren’t just idle threats.

Am I in danger here?

“It’s part of the mating process.” Dinah nods with a smile, as if this is the most normal conversation three women can have. “I suppose it could happen without sex, but why would anyone want to do that?”

“Maybe humans can do it without sex, but my understanding is shifters wouldn’t be able to hold back from tearing each other’s clothes off.” Kylian bites her bottom lip and looks up at the ceiling in thought.

I also look up, an unbidden image of werewolves and vampires and sexy succubi from R-rated movies coming to the forefront. “What happens if he doesn’t mark me?”

Dinah’s smile falls as she glances at Kylian, whose eyes narrow and lips twist into a sinister snarl. “Then you condemn him and yourself.”

“What?” My head snaps back with the verbal slap.

The back door opens, causing Dinah and me to swivel in our stools to find Kevin standing on the threshold. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope.” Kylian’s voice turns chipper in an instant, and I’m thinking there’s a lot more to Karter’s sweet innocent sister than he realizes.

Kevin nods in our direction and closes the door behind him. “Good morning, Valery. Dinah.”

“Good morning, Pop.” Dinah smiles and opens her arms for a hug which he graciously obliges.

“I’ve got your van put back together. We did a deep inspection and aside from a few rust spots on the underbelly, it’s in pretty good shape.” Kevin grabs a sausage link off the plate and chews thoughtfully.

“What do I owe you?” I pat my bag slung across my body and stick my hand inside to find my wallet.

“Nothing.” He furrows his brow and shakes his head. “We take care of our own.”

“She’s not one of us, Dad,” Kylian says flippantly. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Kylian!” Karter chides as he walks into the house with Kade behind him. “Don’t talk to my mate that way.”

“What? I’m just stating a fact.” Her eyes are filled with hate as she narrows them at me.

The mounting pressure of this conversation—one I don’t completely understand—tightens in my chest and has me desperate to flee like I did after my parents died. If I’m honest with myself, that’s what this road trip is really about. I ran away from my life when everything changed, the realization that the path I was on was not the one I really wanted was made starkly clear with the sudden loss of my only people who have ever loved me.

So what do I want, and is Karter the one to give it to me?

Speaking of my mate, he’s at my side in an instant, turning my stool to face him, his hands cupping my cheeks and framing my face. “I’m sorry for my sister’s words. They aren’t nice or fair. I’m not sure why she said them considering they are completely unlike her.”

I’m not sure if it’s the totality of the morning catching up with me or what, but all of the carefully stacked compartmentalized boxes of emotions I carry are threatening to tumble over, and I can’t stop myself from scoffing in his face. “No offense, Karter, but I don’t think you know your sister at all.”

He takes a step back and lets his hands fall to his side, his cheeks flushed like a man who has been sucker punched.

Shaking my head, I slide off the stool and turn to face Kevin. “Are my keys in the garage? I’d like to grab a change of clothes and clean up.”

Kevin's eyes are locked on Karter as he nods. “They’re on the driver’s seat.”

“Great. Thank you.”

I push past Kade blocking the threshold and walk briskly out the front door, my legs breaking into a run as soon as my feet hit the grass. Tears stream down my cheeks as heart-constricting panic and inexplicable heartbreak settles in my chest.

What am I doing?

What AM I doing?

What are you doing, Valery?

Memories of collapsing on the tile floor of my parent’s bathroom while the last mourners left their celebration of life hit as I fumble with the latch on the sliding passenger door. I rip the door open and slam it shut the moment a gut-wrenching sob escapes my throat. Through tear-filled eyes and shallow breaths, I open my cosmetic bag and dig a bottle of three month old prescription pills out of the side compartment.

I’m not supposed to be here.

But I love him.

He says we’re fated.

Kylian says he must mark me otherwise he’s condemned.

What does that mean? Condemned to what? Death?

If it’s me or death, how do I know it’s really me he loves?

A gentle knock lands on the metal panel of my door, temporarily pulling me out of my mental spiral.

“It’s me,” Karter says softly.

“Not right now, okay?” I pop the lid and shake out the medication the doctors prescribed during my hospital stay: egg- shaped peach and round, light green tablets fill my palm. They said it was temporary, no more than one to three months. I self-diagnosed and stopped taking them weeks before setting out on this road trip, fully convinced that my bout of stress cardiomyopathy was a physical and mental response to the tragic loss of my parents and not an indication that I suffer from anxiety. I’ve spent my life compartmentalizing my feelings, stuffing them down to maintain an even keel. I’m logical, steady, non-emotional, and tempered. Compassionate when I need to be, firm when pushed.

That’s who I am, right?

But what if I’m wrong?

Karter slides the door open, his eyes immediately going to the medication in my hand. “What are you taking, Valery?”