Chapter 34
Reid
Once again, I was in the main clan house, spiralling out.
This time though, it had nothing to do with my location or what it represented. Since mating with Evan three months ago, I’d embraced the McCarthys as my own.
Just as they’d done with me.
The main house was as familiar now as Evan’s parents’ place. That wasn’t why I was having a meltdown.
“Are ye sure they’ll come?” I asked Evan for the thousandth time, tugging anxiously on my hoody. Well, technically it was Evan’s, but he only wore it now to replenish his scent before sending it back my way. “What if they said yes and then realised they hate me?”
“They don’t hate you,” Evan said patiently, tugging me into his arms for a soothing hug. “They’re excited to be coming.”
‘They’ was Bryce, Cole, and Mac. Once Logan had confirmed that the Clarksons weren’t going to be causing trouble any time soon, there was nothing stopping me from meeting up with my friends.
Nothing other than my crippling anxiety and fear of rejection.
My sessions with the supe therapist Evan had found had been helpful. Dr. Tyler had listened patiently as I’d rambled about everything that could go wrong.
Then, he’d asked me one simple question: What about if everything goes right?
Then and there, I knew I needed to do this. I knew what I stood to lose by not seeing them, but the truth was, if I kept avoiding them I was going to lose them regardless.
Maybe, just maybe, it would work out okay.
Don’t get me wrong, my life with the McCarthys and Evan was happy. Blissful, really. But there was something missing.
Three very important somethings, in fact.
“Their car just crossed the last marker,” Evan said, kissing my forehead. “Come on, let’s go out and meet them.”
I swallowed my fear and let Evan lead me outside. It was still chilly, but spring was finally here.
It felt very apt. A new season for the new season of my life.
We’d decided against hosting at Evan’s parents’ place. While we’d all fit, it’d be snug. Besides, it felt daft when the clan house was right there.
Evan had suggested meeting at my flat, but I’d turned that down immediately. The place that had once been my sanctuary was now filled with the darkness I’d fought to escape.
It hadn’t left me completely. I still had bad days. Mornings when I struggled to force myself out of bed. Days when the furthest I could go was the sofa. Evenings when I couldn’t face eating. Nights when sleep eluded me.
The difference was that I wasn’t alone now.
Evan was there. To cuddle me. To sit with me on the sofa. To bring me food. To talk with me when the moon was high and sleep was nowhere to be found.
It wasn’t just Evan, either. Everyone else took my mood changes in their stride, trying to help me out in small ways.
June would cook my favourite foods while filling me in on the latest gossip.
Jameson would pick a topic seemingly out of thin air, asking me all sorts of questions that would lead to the two of us researching it for hours.
Meanwhile, Hamish and Brodie would kidnap me to play marathon sessions of Demon Hunters.
Logan would show up laden with shopping bags, demanding that I put on a fashion show of everything he’d bought.
Another one who’d show up with bags was Calan, but his would be filled with ingredients instead of clothes.
Sometimes I’d cook with him, others I’d just sit and watch him.
Both made me feel better. I think it helped that Calan never pushed.
He just…cared in his own grumpy, silent way.
Finn went out of his way to make work another safe place for me. Together with Evan, they set fresh wards around the shop to alert them if anyone with malicious intent stepped over them. He insisted it was for Chester’s benefit, but I knew it was for mine.
After all, I was the one who woke from nightmares in sweat-soaked sheets. Dreams where I’d been dragged away by the Clarksons to marry another. But Evan was always there to soothe the terror away with kisses or whatever else I might need.
Logically, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. My bond with Evan had severed all my ties with the Clarksons on the most permanent basis. Plus, Logan was keeping a very close eye on them, ready to warn us if they planned to retaliate.
None of that stopped me looking over my shoulder whenever I walked from my car to the shop though. It’d be a long time before that happened.
Knowing the wards were there made work an easier place to be. As did Chester. I could safely say we considered each other friends. Which was good, considering we’d both locked ourselves in with the McCarthys for all eternity.
Mac’s car rounded the corner and I exhaled shakily. “Here we go.”
“You’ve got this,” Evan said, squeezing my hand. “Are ye sure ye want me here?”
Everyone else had cleared out for the evening to give us space, but I’d insisted I wanted Evan here. It didn’t surprise me that he was checking again though. My mate was the most considerate person I’d ever met. “Aye. I do.”
The car had barely rumbled to a halt before the back door was being flung open. Before I could blink, Bryce’s arms were around my neck. He was sniffling loudly, almost throttling me with his hug. “Don’t ye ever do that again.”
My vision misted as I pulled my hand from Evan’s to return his hug. “Never. I’m so sorry, Bryce.”
He nodded against my chest before releasing me. Cole was waiting to sweep in, crushing me in a brief embrace before Mac was there.
“We’re going to have a big talk,” Mac said thickly. “But just know that we’re fine, and we’re always going to be fine.”
The knot in my chest eased. “Good. I’d be devastated if I’d lost you forever.”
“Never,” Bryce vowed as I stepped out of Mac’s arms and hastily wiped my eyes. “But Mac’s right—you’ve got some explaining to do.”
My stomach flipped as I saw the three of them turn to Evan with a glare. Oh. I guessed they’d come up with their own theories as to why I’d distanced myself.
Bracing myself, I slipped my hand back into Evan’s and faced my friends. “Guys, this is Evan McCarthy. My…boyfriend.”
Evan’s lips twitched. We both knew he was so much more than that, but we’d already agreed not to share anything about the supe world with them.
Not only was it technically forbidden, but we didn’t want to make them a target in any way for having information humans weren’t supposed to have.
“It’s lovely to meet ye all. Reid speaks of ye so much I feel like I know ye already. ”
“Really?” Bryce looked down his nose at Evan, which was remarkable considering their height difference. “Because the only time he’s spoken about you it was in less than complimentary terms.”
I flushed, hating my past self.
Evan clucked, no doubt reading my feelings along the bond. “Aye, and I will have deserved them.”
“No, he didn’t,” I said quickly, looking at my friends beseechingly. “I was wrong about Evan in many ways. I’d love for you all to get to know him. The real him.”
“But if you’d rather save that for another time, we can,” Evan added. “I’m here because Reid asked me to be, but if you’d prefer to just have dinner with him, I can leave.”
Approval flashed in Mac and Cole’s eyes. Really though, it was Bryce we needed to win over.
He sniffed before nodding primly. “Well, if Reid wants ye here then that’s good enough for me.”
Bryce waited until we were all seated before launching into his interrogation. “Okay, let’s start with why you’ve avoided us for the last several months.”
I took a steadying breath, letting Evan’s calmness in the bond ground me. “Because my family came hunting for me.”
Whatever the three of them had been expecting me to say, it hadn’t been that. Mac leaned forwards, concern marring his brow. “What do ye mean, hunting?”
“Exactly that,” I said firmly. “They thought they could drag me home and…force me into something I didn’t want to do.”
“What the fuck?” Bryce demanded, but it was Cole I looked at. Cole who was now on his feet and pacing.
I got up too. “Cole? Are ye okay?”
“Fine,” he muttered, gesturing for me to sit back down. “Just feel better if I move. Keep going.”
From the pinch in Mac’s lips as he watched our friend, I wasn’t the only one worried about this reaction. I was glad they had each other. I didn’t know what door this was opening for Cole, but maybe Mac did.
And he’d be there for any fallout.
“I don’t understand.” Bryce scowled. “Why didn’t ye go to the police?”
“I couldn’t,” I said simply, meeting Evan’s eyes across the table.
We’d agreed that he wouldn’t sit next to me, just be close in case I needed him.
He smiled sadly, knowing how hard it was for me to be only offering half-truths to my friends.
“I canna tell you exactly why, but the police wouldn’t have been able to do anything. ”
“Okay,” Mac said slowly, not taking his gaze off Cole as he spoke. “But why did ye push us away?”
“Because I didn’t want any of ye to get hurt because of me,” I said quietly.
Cole stopped his pacing to frown at me. “That wouldn’t have happened. Mac and I can take care of ourselves, and you.”
Mac nodded. “He’s right. Why didn’t ye come to us?”
Against other humans, they’d have a good point. See, this was the issue with knowing about the supe world and having friends who weren’t part of it. “I know ye would’ve tried to keep me safe, but ye have no idea what they’re capable of. If I’d come to stay with any of ye, they would’ve hurt you.”
Bryce scoffed. “Ye can’t know that.”
“I can,” I said sadly, meeting Evan’s gaze. He nodded, letting me know that Finn would be okay with me sharing this. “They attacked Chester just because we worked together and he refused to give up my location.”
There was a long silence before Mac and Bryce exploded. The two of them were talking over each other at speed, firing question after question at me.
“What the fuck?”
“Is he okay?”
“Did he go to the police?”
“What happened?”
“When did this happen?”