Cage Me: A Wolf Shifter Romantasy (Immortal Vices and Virtues: Shadow Shifter Bonds Book 1)

Chapter 7

Someone please kill me now. I think I’m going to lose my mind before the day is over, and I have no clue what to do with my rampant thoughts.

Every step I take away from Drake tugs at my heart, as if there’s a tear in my chest that opens up just a little bit more every time I try to put distance between us. I’d heard the strength of a mate bond is powerful, but fuck, this is almost inconceivable.

On top of my warring emotions that I keep losing control of, my mother had to go and yell at me for being an idiot.

“Don’t be a stubborn fool, Spencer. That man will burn the world to have you. If you can’t see that, then you’re not the woman I thought I raised.”

While also informing me that a mate bond between wolves isn’t out to control me. The energy of the connection is only amplifying what I truly feel, even if I’m not ready to admit it yet.

She had me with that one.

It was as if a light flicked on and I could understand what was happening around me for the first time in all too long. But then I walked outside and felt the rage rolling off Drake… No, I was nearly suffocated by it.

That had me right back at square one, believing that keeping him around isn’t what is best for any of us.

Still, there’s that damn tugging sensation that has my heart aching for him, and I want to strangle myself just to end the torture.

I stop in the hallway of the house and lean against the wall. Closing my eyes, I try to calm my breathing, but the moment I do, all I see are Drake’s nearly black eyes. As they look back at me, I know I’m not afraid of the darkness that lies within him, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s evil like my sperm donor. But I also know that rage brings trouble, and my family has already had too much of that.

I’m not sure the connection between us that grows with every brief touch is enough to ignore why keeping him in my life could be bad.

I have little confidence that I’m going to figure this out today, so I push away from the wall and head toward the living room where I’ve left my bag. As I dig through the metal box of magical objects, there’s a hum in the air that vibrates around me, urging me to return outside, but I don’t budge from my spot until I have what I’m looking for.

Once the cloaking spell is in hand, I close the box and place it back in my bag, bringing that with me. Just because the alpha is gone from our pack right now doesn’t mean nobody else will come poking around. I want to be ready to leave if they do.

When I get back outside, I take a deep inhale to prepare myself for being closer to Drake, but the action only serves to consume me with his musky scent and I shudder where I stand. Nearly a minute later, I walk further from the back door to find him standing over the grave, staring down at Samuel’s body.

I peek inside once I’m close enough and grin when I find my father face down in the dirt. “Was that an accident or on purpose?” I ask Drake, pointing to the hole.

He shrugs. “Whatever you want it to be.”

His tone has lost some of its earlier, I don’t know. Luster? Persistence?

The thought of having hurt his feelings by walking away from him again makes my throat tighten and burn. I don’t want him to hate me, and I don’t want to feel the same about him. Maybe however this ends, it can be amicable. Though, that’s only going to happen if I do as he’s asked and get to know him.

“I’m sorry about before,” I tell him, not really looking up. Clearly, apologies aren’t my thing.

“Which before?” he asks, a bit more curiosity filling his voice. “When you walked away from me? When you rejected me? When you tried to disappear without a second thought to?—”

“Can’t you just consider it a blanket apology?” I interject, really wanting to add something about taking it back otherwise but manage to keep my snark to myself—mostly.

He turns toward me, and his palms cover my shoulder as his fingers squeeze tightly, seeming to be burning through the cotton of my grey tee.

I swallow and expect him to say something, but he just stares at me for what feels like an eternity.

Well, this isn’t awkward at all. Where’s my brother when I need him to burst in?

“Spencer,” Drake finally says.

“Hmm.” That’s about all the reply I can muster with his hands still on me.

“You feel the bond,” he states confidently. “How it grows stronger the longer and more we touch.”

My head nods as I allow myself this moment to get lost in the depths of his eyes that don’t actually look black now that I’m closer. They’re more of a charcoal with hints of silver that appear so briefly that I could be imagining them.

“I think you’re unlocking my wolf,” he adds, his voice barely a whisper, but the words snap me out of whatever stupor I gave in to.

“I’m what now?” I must have missed something before because that doesn’t make any sense.

“When I was in Tart?—”

“I’m all packed!” Peter shouts from behind us, choosing now to interrupt. Of course.

My attention goes back to Drake, and I point a finger at him. “We’re going to finish this conversation.”

His hands release me, and he takes a step back. “I certainly hope so.”

Turning around, I stop my brother before he can get too close. “Go help Momma with her bags and then we’ll finish up here.”

He pouts, but does as I ask, thankfully. I don’t want him to see the body face down. He can still love our father if he wants to or choose to remember him however helps moving forward.

Opening the cloaking spell, I pour the pale pink liquid over the grave and throw the bottle in once I’m done. Drake already has the shovel in his hands and begins to cover the corpse as soon as I move out of his way.

My eyes watch as he bends forward, scoops the dirt, and tosses it back where it came from. The muscles in his back ripple from the increased efforts. Sweat drips down his forehead as he moves quicker, but he doesn’t rest for a moment until he comes to an abrupt stop.

His forearm wipes over his face before he turns toward me. “Peter should finish the rest.”

I almost tell him no, but I’m beginning to see that I might not know my baby brother as well as I once did, and I’m not his mother. I don’t get to decide what’s best for him.

“He can if he’d like,” I say, then realize Peter and Mom should have been out here already. “I’m going to go check on them.”

Drake catches my wrist, and I pause. His touch warms my skin beneath his fingers and spreads up my arm, straight to my chest where it starts to pool.

When I look up at him, I catch more of those silver flecks within the darkness. “Don’t leave without me,” he says as a plea instead of a demand, his stare observing every inch of my face.

“I won’t.” And for the first time since meeting him earlier today, I don’t intend to run from him.

Damn it. I hope I don’t regret this.

Just as I start to pull away, I hear the back door open, and Peter’s complaints about how heavy the bags are.

Drake’s appraisal of me is broken, and I go to help with their items. When I take my brother’s suitcase, I nearly drop it, not expecting it to actually be heavy.

“What the hell did you pack, bub?” I demand, gripping the handle tighter.

Mom frowns. “Rocks.”

“Rocks?” I ask and she nods before I look down at Peter. “Why?”

He merely shrugs. “They’re shiny.”

Right. Well, after the day we’ve all had, I’m not going to argue over rocks. “Anything else inside that we need to grab?”

Mom shakes her head. “Nothing of consequence.”

The devastation in her voice slices at my chest. She’s leaving behind the place she’s called home for nearly thirty years. Memories—good and bad—lie within the walls behind us, and I hate that I’ve been selfish in my demands.

My mother truly has sacrificed far more than I ever realized until today.

“Do you need help, Drake?” I hear Peter ask, then fight a smile at Drake’s reply.

The imposing shifter groans as he rubs his palms together. “I do. These hands aren’t what they used to be, and you’re just the young man to take over.”

Peter drops his other bag and runs to pick up the shovel, eager to get right to work. “I promise not to bleed on the handle again.”

“You’ll be just fine, my boy.” Mom’s face softens as she watches on from several feet back, a few stray tears leaking down her cheeks.

I go to her side and wrap an arm around her, leaning my head on her shoulder. “I love you, Mom.”

Her hand covers mine. “I love you more than the moon and stars.”

We wait and watch together, holding on to one another unlike we’ve been able to do in over three years. Her warmth fills me with a strength I’d nearly forgotten I possess.

Not that of being able to take care of myself, but a reminder that strength comes from love and perseverance. Something my mother has always offered our family in spades.

As soon as the grave is finished being flattened out, Peter and Drake begin collecting leaves and branches to cover the disturbed ground. While they do that, my mom steps away from my side and bends next to the burial.

Her fingers press into the earth, and she bows her head, closing her eyes. I assume she’s saying her final goodbyes to her mate, but it’s not my business to ask. I let her have this moment, one she deserves and that I have no right interrupting—regardless of how much I despised Samuel.

Giving her a few minutes alone, I go farther into the trees to find Peter. “Want some help, bub?”

His arms are full of twigs with random leaves stuffed between them. “I’ve got it.”

I catch his stare landing on Drake, and I shake my head before whispering, “Accepting help is a sign of strength, not weakness.”

He slowly brings his attention back to me, a frown between his eyes. “I know.”

Hmm, seems my little brother may have gotten my stubbornness, regardless of all our time apart.

“I think we have enough,” Drake announces, and the relief on Peter’s face is undeniable as he runs toward the grave with his haul.

Mom is standing up again when I go back, and she watches as Peter disguises the upturned dirt.

“Got it,” he announces proudly as he puts the last stick into place. He, too, bends down like our mother, but unlike her, he doesn’t keep his thoughts to himself. “I hope you can be happy now, Dad. We’re going to be just fine with Pence. She’ll keep us safe.”

Emotions burn at my throat, but I don’t shed a tear. I refuse to cry at this man’s gravesite. Not even if the tears wouldn’t be for him.

Instead, I distract myself with getting another portal spell, then realize I have no clue where we’re going to go. I have two extra people with me now. Two of the most important people in my life. I can’t just take them anywhere.

Mom’s hand cups my elbow, and she quietly says, “Take me to your home.”

I look over at her, my lips downturned. “I don’t have one.”

Her responding smile only furthers my confusion. “Yes, you do. In Crossroads. That’s where we’re supposed to be right now.” She looks at Peter and Drake, then back at me. “All of us.”

There isn’t a part of me that wants to deny her, so I don’t bother. “Crossroads it is, then.”

Her eyes spark with love, and I return her smile as I get the portal opened.

Drake and Peter come closer, each one reaching for me. Peter and Mom both have one of my hands as I step forward, but it’s Drake’s hold on my shoulder that I feel the most, that weighs as if the world is balancing right there between the two of us.

Maybe not the entire world, but quite possibly mine.