Chapter 16
Isaac
I wasn’t sure what had possessed me to bake, perhaps it was just out of habit, or maybe I wanted to show off for Vanessa. Either way, I was damn glad I did.
Her praise slammed me right in the chest.
It made me want to sit up a little taller.
I knew I was good in the kitchen, but since my grandmother died, I’d not had that kind of affirmation.
Sometimes it was hard to remember things like that, and remember just how good praise felt.
I couldn’t allow myself to get used to it.
All of this was only temporary, but for today, it made me feel great. Not that I’d admit it.
We finished dinner and Vanessa made the boys help clean up before they scurried back downstairs.
“They shouldn’t be sleeping on the hard floor down there. Plus, it’s drafty.”
I shrugged. “If that’s what they want. Less of a bother for me.”
“You can’t possibly be serious. They’re just boys, Isaac.”
Every time she said my name, a thrill ran through me.
This woman seemed to have bewitched me and she didn’t even know it.
I scowled. This was not good. I couldn’t afford to get too attached to her, even if she was my mate. Everyone I’d ever let in died. Best to just keep her at a safe distance.
“You know you can’t tell anyone about me, right?”
She scoffed. “Mary already knows you, and who else am I going to tell? Everyone I spend my day with is under the age of five.”
I wasn’t surprised to hear that.
“I’m serious, Vanessa. I do not exist.”
“Sure. You’re just a figment of my imagination.”
“That would be for the best.”
“Best for who? Me? Those kids?”
“Yes,” I told her stubbornly.
She rolled her eyes at me.
“When I say I don’t exist, I mean it. There is no evidence of me having ever existed.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. There’s a birth certificate somewhere out, social security card, taxes, banking. There is always documentation of a person existing.”
“But not me. I made sure of that a long time ago.”
“That’s ridiculous, Isaac. You’re right here. You exist.”
“I don’t. And I’d like to keep it that way.”
She seemed irritated with me and that bothered me, but I had to stand firm on this. In the long run it would be better for her to just walk away now anyway.
But she didn’t storm out the way I expected her to.
Instead, she went downstairs and dragged those kids up one at a time to ensure they got properly cleaned. There were some protests, but in the end the three of them were washed and no longer smelling foul.
It was amazing how much better the house smelled when she was done.
“School tomorrow,” she told them. “I’m not joking, and I better not find you skipping classes. I will be checking.”
“But Ms. Vanessa, we don’t need school. We were fine on our own,” Noah said. “I can take care of my brothers.”
“That may be true, but how are you going to provide for them? You can’t just steal your way through life, Noah. That is not acceptable.”
“Amen to that,” I chimed in.
“No one is going to hire a child.”
“I will. But first you have to work off the cost of the stuff you stole from me,” I surprised all of us by saying.
“Really?” Noah asked.
“Yes. But only if you stay in school, at least for now.”
“For now?” Vanessa protested.
“For now,” I repeated.
She scowled at me. It was almost comical. Clearly my little mate was not used to giving such an expression. It really didn’t suit her, but I she was clearly displeased with me for speaking out.
Was it bad that I wanted to piss her off further just to watch her reaction?
I refrained—for now.
Begrudgingly, Noah agreed to my conditions.
“You’ll need to be up early tomorrow to help with the farm, particularly the chickens since you seem so fond of collecting their eggs.”
The boy shifted from one foot to another uncomfortably.
Good.
Hard work would do the kid good. I suspected baking would as well, but I was going to reserve that until I saw my own reflections within him. At his age, I’d been so angry at the world. By all rights he should be, too. If that surfaced, I knew what to do, thanks to my grandmother.
The middle one seemed less affected by everything. In some ways he was more reserved and even tempered, however he could talk your ears off.
I knew I needed to have a talk with them. I didn’t want them going back to school and making an announcement that they were living with Crazy Sac.
It was a stupid nickname, but the lore that came with it scared most people away from here, so in that regard I didn’t consider it a bad thing. The last thing I needed was for Mason to tell everyone that the stories weren’t true.
“Noah, get your brothers, we need to talk,” I barked.
“Yes, sir,” he said, but I didn’t miss the way he cringed.
I hated that. I didn’t want to like the kids, or get used to them being around, but when he shrank back at the gruff tone of my voice, I wanted to kick my own ass.
“You don’t have to sound so mean with him,” Vanessa admonished me in a harsh whispered voice.
I growled. Did she really think I was that much of a monster?
I understood her initial reaction, but after spending a little time with me how could she still feel that way?
It dawned on me that she really didn’t know me and I hadn’t given her much to go on. Maybe it was for the best. It might hurt like a sonofabitch, but there was no way I could keep her anyway.
Still, I wanted to make her happy and the need to push her away while also pleasing her was a tough line to walk.
The worst part was that I knew I was only feeling this way because of the stupid bond.
My last foster parents were true mates. I’d seen what that kind of happiness could be like. But I’d also seen firsthand the shared pain between true mates in times of devastation.
I pushed all thoughts of Freddy away. Now was not the time.
Before my mind could escalate the memories, the boys returned.
“Well, they’re here,” Vanessa said, still irritated. “They really need to get some sleep, so make it fast.”
She was gorgeous, all fiery and frustrated.
“Sit down,” I ordered them, happy to see they listened.
“What’s wrong?” Mason asked.
“We need to set down some rules. Number one: don’t get too comfortable here, this is only temporary.”
Vanessa shot me a look that told me she was not happy about that one. I ignored her and continued.
“Two: no more stealing shit. You want something, you ask for it. You’ll work off what you already took and we’ll negotiate the next time you want something.”
Mason raised his hand.
I groaned. “What now, motormouth?”
Steam was practically visible from her ears as my mate glared at me, but still, she didn’t say a word.
“What about food? Will you keep feeding us?”
“I told Kyle I would, so yeah.”
The little one raised his hand next.
“What?”
“It’s cold down there. Can we have some extra blankets?”
“Sure.”
“Or maybe they could sleep in one of those extra rooms you told Kyle about,” Vanessa finally said.
I had a feeling she had a lot more choice words for me but didn’t want to make a scene in front of the boys.
“They like it down there.” I shrugged and blew it off.
If those little shits wanted to stay in the guest room, they could damn well ask. They offered to stay in the basement so I wasn’t going to just offer up the rest of my house.
Mason raised his hand again.
“Jesus, what now?”
“Can we use the bathroom up here?”
“You mean you haven’t been?”
He shook his head. “We found a bucket, but it’s almost full.”
“Christ, what the hell is wrong with you? Use the damn toilet.”
“But you keep putting the stairs up and trapping us down there. What the hell else are we supposed to do?” Noah asked.
I growled. I hadn’t thought about that.
“Stairs will stay down. No more peeing in the house unless it’s in the damn toilet. And take that bucket and dump it outside. That’s nasty.”
Once again Mason raised his hand.
I sighed. We were never going to get through this talk.
“No more questions. I talk; you listen. Now, where was I?”
“No more stealing shit,” Noah said with a smirk.
“Noah! We don’t use that kind of language,” Vanessa admonished him.
“Three: whatever she says goes.”
Vanessa perked up and I knew I was going to regret those words the second they left my mouth.
“Four: you all go to school. No cutting classes or you’re out of here. It’s bad enough you’re here at all. I’m not taking in ingrates.”
“What’s an ingrate?” Mason asked.
“Look it up,” I barked. “Starting tomorrow you’re all back in school.”
“Yay!” Cam cheered.
He jumped up and hugged Vanessa.
Jealousy hit me hard. I was freaking jealous of a rugrat. This was not good.
“Five: you don’t tell anyone where you’re staying. Am I clear? You do not live here. You are not staying here. You do not know me. You will not mention me to anyone. As far as the world goes, I do not exist.”
“Paranoid much?” Noah said under his breath, causing his brothers to laugh.
“I’m not mincing words, and I am not kidding,” I growled.
They stopped laughing.
Noah gulped hard.
They were getting on my nerves. I could feel my wolf getting closer to the surface ready to surge and take control.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
Mason raised his hand but didn’t wait for me to address him before he started blabbing again.
“What if someone asks where we live?”
“Tell them it’s none of their goddamn business.”
Vanessa cleared her throat. “Do not say that.”
“Tell them it’s classified then.”
“What if they ask who we’re staying with?”
“Also classified.”
“What if the teacher needs to talk to someone in charge?”
“Have them call me or Kyle,” Vanessa chimed in, much to my relief.
“Kyle? The Alpha? No one would believe me.”
“They will, because he’ll be discussing the situation with your teachers in the morning.”
I didn’t remember him saying anything like that, but it sounded plausible.
“Who’s going to take us to school? Does the bus even come out here?” Mason asked.
That kid was never going to shut up.
I hadn’t thought that one through. I looked to Vanessa for help.
“I will either pick you up early tomorrow morning or Isaac will bring you to the daycare. We’ll work it out. You’ll need to be there really early if I come and get you though, so I need you all to head to bed and get a good night sleep. The bus picks up on the corner across from my school, okay?”
“I guess so,” Mason said.
“So how about those blankets?” Cam asked.
I groaned. “I’ll get them. Say good night or whatever the hell you do.”
Vanessa shook her head, then hugged each of them while planting kisses on the tops of their heads.
Damn, I wished she’d hug me like that.
I had no idea where that thought had come from. Hadn’t I already told her it would be best not to get mixed up with a guy like me? Maybe not in those exact words, but more or less. Now all I wanted was for her to stay, only I had no idea how to tell her that without contradicting myself.
I went to retrieve pillows and blankets, shoving them at the boys when I returned.
“Now go to bed. We’ll finish this conversation tomorrow.”
“You mean there’s more rules?” Noah asked sarcastically.
“Yes, you little asshole. There are more.”
Vanessa was staring at me, mad as a hornet, as they told her good night and scurried back downstairs.
“What?” I asked her.
“Do you have to be such an ass to them? This isn’t easy for them. You of all people should know that.”
“Me of all people? What the hell are you talking about?”
She defiantly lifted her chin. Her jaw was locked, and I knew I wasn’t going to get any more out of her tonight.
“Good night, Isaac. I’ll pick the kids up at five-thirty in the morning. I would appreciate it if you had them ready.”
She turned on her heels and stomped out, slamming my door behind her.
You of all people should know that.
Why would she say something like that? Who the hell had she been talking to?
I would have been furious if I wasn’t so damn shocked.