Chapter 7
No-Show
I ’m so nervous my stomach is bubbling. When Lee and Ray said they wanted to meet up in person, I was excited. I’ll finally get to meet my sisters.
However, now, as I’m the first to make it to the bar and none of the other three have arrived, I’m questioning everything. Will they be disappointed? Should we be doing this?
What if there was a reason for our separation? Why did our parents separate us and give three of us up? Will this come back to haunt us?
“Taylor?”
I jump in my seat and turn to the person who just called my name. I know right away this is Lee. There’s something in my soul that tells me this is my sister even though I’ve never seen her before. She’s so pretty. Darker than me and taller. She gives off a badass vibe. I love her already.
I’ve never seen her face before tonight as she’s the only one who hasn’t posted a picture of herself on the site we all connected through. She’s also the only one who doesn’t use a surname on the site. We only know her as Lee.
I jump up and we pull each other into a tight embrace. I hug her as tight as I can, as if she’ll disappear if I let go. This has been an especially tough week at home and school.
I need this hug more than I knew. I fight back the tears that burn to spring forth. I don’t want my sister’s first impression of me to be that I’m a crybaby.
I release her and smile up at her. “Are you the only one here? Have you seen Ray or Billy?” I ask.
“Billy called me. She can’t make it. Something about work and a case or something. I don’t think Ray has arrived yet.”
“Oh, okay. Come sit with me. We can wait here for Ray,” I say as I retake my seat at the bar.
She sits and looks me over. “You’re so much smaller than I was expecting. Um … that’s an interesting preference,” she murmurs the last part and I almost miss it.
“Trust me, I don’t prefer to be this small,” I say into my lap.
She runs a hand over my hair. “Don’t mind me. You’re perfect. You were made exactly how you are supposed to be. Designed perfectly for your purpose.”
I smile. Is this what having a big sister is like? We don’t know our birth order, but Lee just feels like she’s older.
“Thank you,” I say softly.
“Still shy, I see,” Lee says. I knit my brow at this comment as well. I didn’t realize I’d come off as shy online to my sisters. “Tell me more about yourself.”
I shake my thoughts off and smile. Lee has no idea how much her interest in me means. I probably tell her way too much.
I don’t know how long I’m rambling when Lee looks down at her watch and worry etches across her face. I clamp my lips shut and fidget in my seat.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so excited to meet you,” I whisper.
“Oh no. It’s not you. I’m starting to get worried about Ray. She should have been here by now. Come, I’ll treat you to dinner. Hopefully she’ll show before we’re done.”
“Oh. Why didn’t I think of that? Do you think her dad found out and kept her from coming?”
“Our dad is an asshole and that’s more than likely what’s happened.”
I nod. I was shocked to learn our father had four children all these years. He kept Ray but shipped the rest of us off. From what I know, only Billy and I landed in foster homes. Lee doesn’t speak much of her upbringing.
She has only recently shared about her unwanted engagement. I get the feeling she has had a better life than Billy and me. It’s as if our father took more care with what would happen with her and Ray.
What was so wrong with me? How could a baby make you not want them? No one has ever wanted me.
I guess that’s why it hasn’t been too hard to stay a virgin. I may have been focused on school, but it’s not like anyone has been knocking down my door. I think of my date tomorrow night.
I guess it was nice to be asked out. I’ll have to give Ferg a chance. What could it hurt?
I shake my head and notice the distant look on Lee’s face. She blinks a few times and then focuses her attention back on me. She gives me a tight smile.
“Come. I’ll feed you and get you home. It’s not safe out there.”
I smile back. “You’re probably one of the older sisters,” I say.
“I believe I am.”
“It’s a feeling, right?”
She winks at me. “Something like that.”
Bradan
Kendrick has found his bond mate. Something has changed. We can all feel it.
The pull to this diner has been stronger than ever. I came here tonight after seeing Kendrick’s mate. She is perfect for him. So perfect I can’t wait to see what the gods have created for me.
I sit in the same booth I’ve been sitting in for a little over a month, but the little one who’s always here studying isn’t here with her books this time.
I grind my teeth in frustration. I had club business last night and missed her. Not wanting to miss her again, I came here as soon as I got Kendrick’s mate settled in his room.
I had hoped she had something to do with the pull I always feel to this place. I was drawn to her from the first time I saw her. If she weren’t human, I would have tried to pick her up that first night.
Try … I snort at my thoughts. I wouldn’t have had to try very hard. I see the way she looks at me when she thinks I’m not paying attention. Closing my eyes, I inhale the air.
She was here. I missed her again. I furrow my brows as I notice something different lingering in the air with her scent.
It’s her, but it’s not. There’s a note of something other about it, almost like the scent of my brother’s mate. I shake my head.
I must be imagining it after finding out Kendrick has a mate. I’ve longed for my own for so long. Someone I can fully be myself with. Someone I’m not forced to hold back with.
I sigh and rub at my forehead. As much as I want her, I’d rip that little human to pieces. Those tight jeans she wears would guarantee it even if I weren’t a king. Besides, if she were my mate, I would have felt it that first night.
While her checking me out did make my cock swell, none of the other bond-mate signs showed. I grind my teeth and stand to storm out of this diner. I’m wasting my time here.
“No steak and fries, big guy?” the waitress who always serves me says.
“No, Helen. See you some other time,” I say as I toss a hundred on the table.
“Thanks, honey,” she calls after me.
I lift my hand in the air but keep moving. I don’t know why I keep coming back here. What I do know is that we need to find the others. Maybe then we can find answers that will help the rest of us find our mates.