Chapter 5 #2
“Plan.” Sienna shifted back to her leopard.
She inhaled but still smelled nothing unusual.
She glanced at Liam. He seemed calm, but there was a new, anxious edge to her brothers.
The same apprehension danced in the pit of her gut.
Suddenly, home wasn’t the same safe harbor.
Was it because she’d been away, or was it the remorse that stuck to her like a second skin?
They made their way to the cottage silently and in close formation, using extreme caution and taking a roundabout route.
Her parents sat outside with mugs of tea, their relaxed posture vanishing the moment they spotted the group. The siblings shifted and dressed before rejoining them outside.
“What is it?” her mother asked.
Her father studied each of their faces before settling his gaze on Sienna. “What’s wrong?”
“It might be nothing,” Sienna said. “But I think someone was watching from across the valley. I caught the glint of light on glass.”
“Binoculars?” her father asked.
Kitto pulled a band from his shirt pocket and tied back his hair. “Yeah, I saw it too.”
Tension slid into her mother’s slim shoulders. “Did they see you?”
“I’m not sure,” Sienna said. “I saw the flash at least three times from different vantage points. We decided it was best to return and check it out early tomorrow morning.”
“Village gossip?” her father asked, looking at his wife.
“Nothing unusual,” she said. “Liam, did you hear anything?”
Liam grinned, the flash of humor making Sienna stare.
The smile took him from faintly scary to someone more personable.
A person she’d want to get to know. “The baker and his rumored affairs have tongues wagging. We served mostly humans since the shifters stayed clear. Tony told me about the baker.”
Would those in the village keep such important information to themselves? Sienna considered this because many of the shifters held her father and brothers in disdain—vermin who should’ve been strangled at birth.
Her father sighed, the weight of intense weariness and inner conflict heavy in his exhale. “Silence might be their way of driving us out. They’ve tried to get rid of us before.”
“They’d attack one of their own kind?” Liam asked.
“We’re inferior,” her father said, without inflection.
Liam patted her father’s shoulder. “I get it. One look at my scar, and people jump to conclusions. Anything different makes them uneasy.”
Sienna gaped at Liam. He’d spoken without hesitation, as if he’d remembered his past. Had he?
Her brothers must’ve thought the same.
“Dude, do you remember?” Cadan asked.
Liam’s brow creased. “No.”
The breath she’d held puffed from Sienna. She didn’t want him with a functioning memory yet. It was too soon. The thought made her uncomfortable, but it was the truth.
“Your plan is good,” their father said. “We’ll return to our camp tomorrow and start making the hearts Liam suggested. We’ll go earlier than usual and check for tracks or other signs of trespassers. Once we confirm a problem, we can take extra precautions.”
“Tamsin and I will eavesdrop during the market and see what we can learn,” Liam said. “If we’re not too busy, I might introduce myself to some stallholders.”
Sienna shuddered at what could go wrong.
Given Liam had such a noticeable scar, everyone would assume others had rejected him.
They’d think she was desperate. She opened her mouth to tell him interaction was a bad idea, but her mother shook her head.
Sienna shrugged inwardly, already guessing their reactions, but so be it.
After their aborted run, Sienna’s restlessness kept her moving.
She put this to good use and deep-cleaned the kitchen.
Liam and her brothers checked on her but soon retreated when she waved cloths at them and suggested they help.
In truth, the solitary activity was exactly what she needed to stew about her situation.
Muffled laughter came from outside, and she found herself smiling.
Liam didn’t treat her brothers as freaks.
His questions, uttered in his low, rumbly voice, drifted through the open window.
He was asking about the pottery, and if there was one thing her brothers knew and loved, it was the making of ceramics.
Her father had taught them everything he’d learned, but her brothers had taken the artistry to a higher level. They were genuine artists, and she was incredibly proud of them. It was in the retail area that they’d fallen apart. This was obvious after hearing about today’s market.
Her brothers and Liam fell silent, the abruptness of the action putting Sienna on alert. She straightened and hustled outside to join them.
Darkness had fallen, the light from the kitchen illuminating part of the outside area. Her parents were still sitting together, quietly talking. Or at least, they had been. Right now, they, like her brothers and Liam, were staring toward the path leading to the village.
Sienna squinted into the darkness, but her eyesight was taking time to adjust.
“It’s young Jamie Pike,” Jago said, his broad shoulders relaxing a fraction.
Kitto nodded. “Yep, Jago’s right.”
Seconds later, the young boy burst from the darkness. His chest heaved, face flushed from running, but his darting gaze and the way he kept glancing over his shoulder hinted at more than exhaustion. His black hair stood in disarray, as if he’d been dragging his hands through it.
Liam approached slowly. “Easy there. Sienna, can you get him a glass of water?” He guided Jamie to the table where he’d been sitting with her brothers.
“Yes, of course.” She hustled into the kitchen and, when she returned, set a tumbler beside the panting boy.
“Take your time.” Liam shunted the drink closer. “Get your breath back.”
Jamie’s hand trembled when he reached for it. He drank but spilled some on his stained T-shirt.
When he almost dropped the water, Liam took it from him.
“What’s wrong, lad?” her father asked.
Jamie started, and he visibly recoiled. A flash of anger struck Sienna, her instinct to slap the boy and rebuke him. She did neither because his fear wasn’t his fault. Adults had spread tales about her father and brothers, portraying them as monsters.
Liam stepped forward again, and his presence diffused the tension. He crouched in front of Jamie. “Can you tell me what has upset you?”