Chapter Eight
Soren
His heart still hammered, though he did his best not to show it.
His tummy hurt a little too, after the shout that had immediately sent him rushing to help in any way he could.
He was glad it wasn’t needed. In hindsight, he didn’t know what he’d expected to do with that wooden spoon, the only thing that he was certain of was that he would never run away when anyone he loved was in danger again.
“I made spaghetti and meatballs with cucumber and tomato salad, garlic bread and chocolate chip cookies,” Soren muttered as he finally slid out of Taggart’s arms, but took his hand so they could walk to the kitchen together.
“You’re trembling,” Taggart said, tugging him closer and wrapping an arm around him as they headed up the hall, unaware his skin was cool from sitting naked in his office.
“Birds fly away when it gets noisy,” Soren admitted, letting out a long breath as they reached the kitchen. “That or we get very silent and hold as still as we are able until all the loud noises fade away.”
“But you didn’t,” Taggart pointed out. “You ran to me.”
“I know,” Soren said, smiling at the pride he felt at being able to fight his instincts. “Go ahead and sit down, everything is already on the table, I just need to finish stirring the lemonade.”
Taggart gave him one last squeeze before he did as he was told and took his place at the table while Soren put the wooden spoon in the sink and retrieved a fresh one from the drawer to finish stirring the iced tea with.
Filling tall glasses with the cold mixture, he placed them on the table, along with a coffee for Arlington, who smiled gratefully.
“Do you prefer it with every meal?” Soren asked.
“Most days, though, I enjoy the occasional beer or hard cider with supper, but not while working,” Arlo admitted, offering information Soren stored away.
“I’ll remember that.”
“I know you will.”
Now that everything was on the table, including the homemade ranch vinaigrette he’d made for the vegetables, he could sit down with his mates and enjoy the meal, only the moment he took his seat, Arlington covered Soren’s hand with his much larger one.
“Something is on your mind, little bird.” Arlington didn’t poke at his mind, but he sensed him there, a reassurance.
Nodding, Soren swirled spaghetti around his fork while he tried to decide what to share and how much to hold back from the mate’s. He was worried they would think less of him once they’d learned what he’d done while his flock was in danger.
“I-I just,” Soren began, his trembling fork giving away the nervousness he felt. “If Taggart had really been in danger, a wooden spoon wouldn’t have been much help. I don’t know how to defend myself or anyone else.”
“It’s my job to defend,” Arlo declared gently, but with enough force for Soren to know he meant it.
“And yours and Taggart’s is to stay safe until I can get to you.
But, I recognize that a time might come when I’m not close enough to help, so I will teach you both some basic self-defense strategies so you’ll be able to free yourselves if someone ever grabs you and attempts to drag you off somewhere that you don’t want to go. ”
“T-that’s what happened to some of the rhinos in the crash where I used to live,” Soren admitted.
“They were there, then gone. We started paying attention to who was coming and going from our lands, and noticed that there were shifters coming who didn’t belong.
We couldn’t fight them, but we could watch and warn the rhinos who’d always protected and cared for us.
It kept us safe for a little while until they brought in bigger birds.
The owls hunted us in the trees where we spied from.
They located our home, which had only ever been visible from the air, and they came for us and the rhinos and the small herd of giraffes that shared the territory.
A few of the fastest, strongest giraffes were able to fight and flee, but the oldest and the young they killed or captured them, along with the rhinos, because the owls weren’t alone.
There was something terrifying with them, utterly terrifying. ”
He couldn’t bring himself to say more with the awfulness of the memory of the smell and the flames. He’d tried, but he couldn’t pretend it was a figment of his imagination. Though if he voiced what he’d seen aloud, he feared his mates wouldn’t believe him.
Arlo and Taggart had stopped eating, while Soren ducked his head, sorry that he’d shared so much and ruined the meal for them when he sensed their sadness.
“How’d you get away?” Taggart asked as he reached to tip Soren’s head up so he could gaze into his eyes.
His face wavered, and to his horror, Soren realized he was crying. Even after all these months, it was hard to look back on his last day at home and remember everything that had happened.
Taggart brushed a fingertip along his cheek, wiping some tears away.
“I-I hid in a dried-up mudhole in the wallow, for days, until I was sure no one was going to come back. Even after it was silent and the fires died out, I stayed tucked as far to the back as I could, with my head under my wing, wishing I could fall through a hole and be anywhere else but there.”
“Is that when you headed this way?” Arlo asked gently. He’d come around the table to kneel beside Soren’s chair and hold him.
“No, no, I went home, but half the house was a burned-out shell, so I waited to see if any of my family came back,” Soren admitted.
“But no one ever did. I flew out searching, but all I ever found were a few scattered remains and depressions in the earth from the mass graves that were dug to dispose of them. To hide what they did to everyone. I didn’t know what to do, so I loaded what I could salvage into the one car that was still working, and I drove with no actual destination.
I was too afraid to go near people, so I camped out, and I tried to listen for news of others who might have gotten away.
Then I remembered what my brother had said about Cookietown, except by then the car’s engine had started smoking whenever I drove it more than a couple of miles.
I left it behind and rented one to get me the rest of the way here, but I still messed up the route a couple of times before you found me on the road. ”
“And I am so glad I did,” Arlo declared. “You’re safe here. The people who harmed your family, as well as the giraffes and rhinos, are the ones we’re hunting so we can stop them once and for all. That’s the project Taggart and I are working on. Now you’ve added another piece to the puzzle for us.”
“D-does that mean I helped?” It eased a little of the pain as the hope came with his mate's words.
“It sure does,” Arlo replied. “Now I want you to help just a little more and eat your food.”
“Y-you don’t think I was bad for hiding and not trying to do anything to help when they attacked us?”
“No, darlin’, I think you were smart, because now you can tell the story of what happened, so they’ll never become forgotten,” Arlo explained, frowning.
“This is the first I’m hearing about the owls being used against other avians.
That means that there are more of them than we thought.
You just helped us prepare for what could still come our way.
That’s extremely important. It takes just as much bravery to stay alive in the middle of chaos as it does to step out into it and risk getting yourself killed.
You did good. But I am going to need to tell my crash alpha and the other alphas that have banded with us what you’ve told me, okay? ”
Nodding, Soren met his gaze, seeing no judgment. “Okay.”
For a moment, Soren simply sat, held securely between Arlo and Taggart as they stroked his hair and squeezed him gently. For the first time since Taggart had hollered and brought him running, Soren felt like he could breathe without worrying about his heart busting out of his chest.
“I will allow no one to hurt or scare you, never again,” Arlo promised.
“I’m going to arm this place with cameras and a high-tech security system, with Taggart’s permission, of course.
I’ll feel better about you two being here when I have to work if there is some kind of warning system in place if someone should come sniffing around. ”
“It’s okay with me.” Taggart nodded, wearing a thoughtful expression. “I have a doorbell camera, but that’s it for right now. I keep to myself, and I’m always careful that the people I do work for don’t know how to find or even contact me unless I want them to.”
“Then I’ll arrange for it,” Arlo said, giving them one last squeeze before returning to his seat.
“I-I can rewarm everything if your plates are cold,” Soren suggested, needing a little normalcy. “I should have waited for another time to say something.”
“No,” Arlo said as he forked a meatball. “I’m glad you trusted us enough to tell us now. I never want you to withhold anything from us for any reason. Mates have to be able to rely on each other, which always means being honest, even about the hard things.”
Soren attempted a smile, and couldn’t manage it, though he was able to wipe away the rest of his tears before picking up the small piece of garlic bread he’d taken.
The last bit of information… that would wait until he didn’t feel so hollowed out.
Hopefully, Arlington wouldn’t be cross with him, or feel he was holding out.
“Daddy is going to take care of the dishes while you and Taggart take your showers together,” Arlo declared after several bites. “And afterward, we’re going to put on a movie and have that cuddle pile we talked about.”
“Yay!” Taggart said. “I still definitely want cuddles.”
“So do I,” Soren admitted.
“Good, because I would truly enjoy some time with the two of you in my arms as well,” Arlo added.
“I see you’ve already cleaned up everything else that you used.
That’s more than enough work for the day, especially with all the energy we expended last night.
Mate bonding is a process and not one that can be accomplished in a single night.
In the beginning, it needs constant reinforcement.
I want the two of you back in my arms. After what you just shared, that’s the only place you need to be. ”
“Thank you, Daddy,” Soren said, relieved about more than just the dishes.
His mates hadn’t called him a coward or chastised him for not doing more. They’d listened to his story and just been grateful that he’d stayed alive to make it to them. That, along with the feel of their arms around him, was the best feeling in the world.