Chapter Twenty-Three
Bane
Haven walked into the kitchen wearing jeans, a baggy sweater, and a bright smile as if she didn’t hear any of the ridiculous conversation.
She praised Lawson and Rylee for their pancakes, like they weren’t paper-thin.
She ate five of them because that’s how many it took to be as thick as a regular one.
I soaked up her tender look when she ate the casserole.
I knew it was good; I ate five helpings.
The goal of the day is to keep Lawson distracted from what will be happening in Heath’s gym.
Remy needed to show his face at work and deal with problems with an employee, so it’s up to Hunter and me.
Haven is doing it without knowing, and Rylee hasn’t mentioned that I invited her over.
I knew she would bring humor, and Haven needed to see her.
I have men working in our mate's apartment, packing. They are under strict rules to stay out of her bedroom. Thinking about another man touching her clothes makes my skin itch. I sent a woman to do that job. She needs her things, and I would rather keep her here with us and as far away from her father as possible. If he has someone watching the apartment, we may run into problems. Our men are aware. I’m keeping a close eye on my phone in case they contact me.
“It was delicious, Bane,” Haven whispers, leaning close.
“Thanks, Butterfly.” I brush my fingers over her hand.
“Who’s on dish duty?” Lawson asks.
“You,” Hunter says.
“Why?” Lawson glares at him.
“So I won’t have to lie when Remy asks if I fucked up his kitchen.” Hunter grins.
“Same,” I say.
“You cooked too,” Rylee says.
“Yeah, but I put everything back exactly how I found it.” I take a drink, hiding my smirk.
“I’ll help,” Haven says.
“No, we messed it up,” Lawson says.
“Let’s do this,” Rylee grumbles, pushing back her chair.
My phone buzzes, and I glance at it.
“I’ll be back,” I mumble. Standing, I meet Hunter’s gaze. He knows the plan for the day. I nod tightly, and he tenses. I step outside quickly and walk around to the back of the house. I roll my shoulders and call my guy back. “What’s going on?” I ask.
“Her place is almost done. The apartment manager showed up halfway through with questions. I gave him your number,” Easton says.
“He didn’t call,” I say.
“I didn’t think he would. I have suspicions that he called her father.”
“A lookout?”
“Maybe, unless her father always had men stalking her place.”
“Possible.” I really wish we could kill her father. “Did they approach?”
He chuckles. “They tried. Asher discouraged conversation.”
“I bet.” Asher is a bear shifter and big as fuck. Easton is a leopard shifter, and I’m certain his fierce expression didn’t invite conversation.
“It helped having his brother with him.” Asher’s brother is just as big.
“Her father didn’t come.”
“No, but his men were on the phone before they cleared the parking spot where our vehicle is parked,” Easton says.
“No other problems?”
“Not yet,” he drawls. “Nothing will surprise me, though. Lana is almost done with the bedroom. All the big shit is in the truck.”
“Is the manager gone?”
“He’s been lurking in the lobby. He’s being watched.”
“Keep me informed,” I say, turning to watch Haven walk toward me.
“Will do. Congratulations. Finding your mate is a big occasion. Will you invite us out of the dark to meet her?” he asks.
“No. You’re way too pretty.” I hang up, paying no attention to his laughter.
“Is there a reason my father is calling over and over?” she asks, stopping in front of me.
“Yes. Your apartment is being packed.” I tilt my head, waiting for her reaction. I didn’t necessarily ask her permission to do it, but she said she needed to. When I see something that needs to be done, I do it.
“Who's packing?”
“Some men I know. They’re shifters. One of them has a sister who is taking care of the things in your bedroom.” I rub my jaw. “I acknowledge my tendencies. I often forget to ask to take care of something that needs to be done.”
“Do they work for you?”
“Sometimes. They work for Heath. Hunter and I have spent time with them, and they handle the things we can’t do as we don’t like to travel far away from home anymore. Once we found Lawson, we stay close.”
She looks away. “Will I meet them?”
“Not if I can help it,” I rumble, and she meets my eyes.
She laughs. “Why?”
“The bears flirt, and the leopard likes blondes.”
“So?”
“So?” I narrow my eyes.
“You would be jealous,” she says.
“No,” I deny, and she moves closer. “Until we are mated, I don’t like any male near you.” She presses her palms to my chest and tilts her head back. “I’ve been around men since we met.”
“They don’t count. Those in the family are mated. They wouldn’t dare look at you too long. Their mates are the only women they see.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders.
“It doesn’t matter that we aren’t mated yet,” she says softly.
“Why?” I tangle my fingers in her hair, pulling her head back further, and leaning down.
“I’m already your mate. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t completed it,” she says, and I stare at her.
“You’re mine. Ours,” I growl.
“Yes,” she whispers, looking at my mouth.
“You won’t ever leave us, Butterfly.”
“No.” She looks up.
Her honest expression is beautiful, and I want to take her to the ground again. I realized, while we were eating, that this was what I could have forever. Her laughter at the breakfast table, and my brothers are finally happy. I could finally be happy.
“You’re still not meeting them,” I state.
She lifts her hands and nudges my chest. “Bane,” she giggles.
I kiss her. Putting all my emotions into it, I lift her in my arms, and she wraps her legs around my waist. I palm her ass with one hand and use my other on her jaw to control the kiss.
I’ve never enjoyed kissing someone. It was personal, and my past interactions were short and to the point.
Haven puts her whole body into every act.
Her hands wrap around my neck, her fingers flex as I suck her tongue.
She makes little noises as I take what I want.
She doesn’t hide anything. She shows her appreciation easily, and for four men who haven’t had any love, soak it up.
I bite her lip before easing back. She caresses my neck and runs her fingers through my hair, her breath heavy.
I stand in the sun, surrounded by the smells of the forest that we love, and I’m grateful.
“I should confront him,” she says quietly as her phone rings.
“No.”
“He’ll mess with you.” She flexes her fingers.
“I don’t care.”
“I do. I don’t owe him an explanation, but I feel like I need to tell him that I won’t be back.”
“I don’t want him near you,” I hiss.
“We don’t have to go there. I’ll call him back. I have some questions for him.” She rests her head on my shoulder. “About Mom. I want to move forward with no regrets.”
“You sound like Lawson.” I understand their need, yet I want to protect them both from more heartache.
“He needs to confront the man who abused him,” she whispers.
“Whereas I would rather kill the abuser and move on,” I sigh.
“Do you have any regrets?” she asks.
“Several,” I grit out. “I wish we had taken Lawson and Remy and run away when our parents died. It would have been hard, but we could have done it. It kills me that Lawson has an abuser to confront. He shouldn’t have had to live that way. We thought he had a chance at happiness. Remy, too.”
“You were children.”
“We were shifter children. We knew more about the world than those fuckers who ran the foster system. Hunter would agree, we could have protected each other. I know he told you about the man who attacked me.” She lifts her head.
“Hunter killed him to protect me, and I was grateful he acted quickly. We were a team, and always will be.”
“Have you talked to them?” I frown. “You’re just as bad as Hunter,” she mumbles.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Have you expressed your regrets? Your love? With them? Maybe they feel the same.”
“No,” I say softly.
“I think you should,” she says, dragging her hand around my neck and pressing it against my heart. “All of you have been through years of trauma and kept it to yourselves. Talking about it would help you be at peace.”
“I don’t think I will ever be at peace when it comes to the things they went through,” I say roughly. Too late, I hear my brothers walking around the house. Haven distracted me, and I didn’t know Remy came home.
“Why do you blame yourself for what happened to me?” Lawson asks.
“Shit,” I whisper.
“Rylee is probably missing me,” Haven says brightly, pushing back. I guide her back to her feet. “No rush. Have a nice talk with your brothers.”
“Brat,” I hum, and she blinks.
“What’s that?” she yells, looking at the house. “Yes, I’m coming.” She points over her shoulder. “She needs me.” I shake my head, and she winks, walking backwards.
“She’s asking for a red ass,” Hunter says.
“Yeah,” I sigh, and we watch her disappear around the corner of the house. When she's gone, we have no choice but to face each other. “Did Lawson apologize for the kitchen?”
“He did. I decided to let it slide,” Remy says, slipping his hands in his pockets.
“He praised me for making food for our mate,” Lawson says lightly, but he watches me intensely. “Why do you feel guilty?”
“We let you go,” I whisper.
“Let me? Did we really have a choice? We were children. They didn’t see us as shifters; to them, we were human kids needing a home.
” He looks at Hunter and Remy. “We were lost without Mom and Dad. I couldn’t stop crying.
I don’t remember much, but I cried all the time.
We were confused and didn’t know what to do. ”
“I was old enough to know it was wrong,” Hunter says, crossing his arms. “I could have figured out a way to get all of us out.”
“How would we have survived?” Remy asks, narrowing his eyes. “Four boys on the streets. Yes, we're shifters, but our understanding of our animal was minimal.”
“It was my job to find a way,” Hunter rasps.
“No,” Lawson says, frowning. “You have always taken the responsibility for us. Heath told me how hard you looked for Remy and me. The things you did. You didn’t give up. Bane didn’t give up. The situation was shit. The important thing is that we are together now.”
“Yet, you insist on talking to that man,” I grit out, and he tilts his head.
“You’re mad.” He raises a brow. “At me,” he says.
“Fuck yeah,” I growl, taking a step. “This man abused you. He forced you to fight others and live like a wild animal. He fucked with your mind and made you doubt yourself and us. He told you we were dead. If he lived in the open, we could have found you faster. It wouldn’t have taken years to find a lead.
How could we find a pack that lived feral?
No trace. If it weren’t for Heath’s resources and long reach, it would have taken even longer.
” I move closer. “You lived in hell while we found a home. I want to kill him. I want to wrap my hands around his throat and see the life leave his eyes. Not only for what he forced you to do, but because of the sadness that was still lurking in your eyes before our mate showed up. She is our salvation, yet you are still determined to walk into a building with that motherfucker.”
“Are you done?” Law asks, cupping my shoulder.
“I don’t know. It depends on what you are going to say,” I grumble.
“Bane,” he sighs, flexing his fingers. “You aren't to blame.” He drops his hand and glances at Hunter.
“Neither of you.” He looks at me. “Yes, he abused me and many others. He made it seem as if he was giving us the greatest life. I want to kill him. Many of the others in the pack also deserve death for what they have done.” He shakes his head slightly. “I was one of them.”
“Law—” Hunter moves.
“No.” Lawson faces all of us. “I fell into the life he gave me. I accepted it. Of course, I knew it was wrong, but when I thought you were dead, what was the point of fighting it? That’s on me.
It’s not the fighting, living on the land, or the abuse that pisses me off the most. He made me care about him.
That's the thing I can’t get past. Why? Did he care, or was it all an act? I need answers.”
“What if you don’t like the ones he gives you?” Hunter asks.
“I know I won’t like them, but I still need them.” He looks over his shoulder. “She's the reason it'll be alright when he denies me.”
“Sometimes, bad shit just happens,” Remy says softly, and we look at him.
“We are who we are because of the bad, just as much as the good. If you weren’t strong and good at your core, he would have broken you.
I wanted answers from Vivian. I discovered she was a miserable person, ashamed of her shifter side, and clung to the idea that I could give her the attention she deserved.
It took time to come to terms with that realization.
” He glances at Hunter and me. “Lawson hasn’t had as much time as I have. ”
“Do you agree with him?” Hunter asks.
“Yes. He needs to face his past to move on,” Remy says.
“I appreciate your need to protect me.” Law shakes his head. “But I need to do this. Are you willing to stand with me?”
“What the fuck kind of question is that?” Hunter snarls. “We are brothers by blood and bone. What you need, we need. Heath is setting it up, and we will be there. If you need to talk to the asshole before we kill him, that’s what we will do.”
“Thanks, Brother.” Law grins. “I love you.” Hunter looks away. “Bane?”
“Yes,” I grit out. “I’ve dreamt of all the ways I could kill him.”
“You know I feel nothing but love for you,” Law whispers.
“Same,” I rumble.
“Shit,” Remy mutters. “We all love each other.” He runs his hands through his hair. “It’s settled. Now, find whatever clothes you have that aren't stained, and shower. We are going to take our mate out to the restaurant and give her a proper date.”
“And you?” Lawson looks at Remy’s pressed dress shirt and pants.
“I’m taking Haven shopping. Until her clothes get here, I'll provide her with what she needs.” He grins and turns.
“Asshole, why aren’t we invited?” Lawson grumbles.
“It’s my turn with our mate. You’ve been hogging her,” he replies over his shoulder.
I chuckle. “Do you need to borrow some clothes, Brother?” I slap Lawson on the back as I move past him.
“I have nice clothes,” he grumbles.
“Don’t worry, Law.” Hunter nudges him. “We got you covered.”
“I know you do,” he says softly.
Haven was right. I feel lighter as we walk toward the house.
I’m looking forward to all the ways I can reward her.