Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
Our moment of peace was over, and anxiety wove through me again. The temporary reprieve that only Griffin could provide was gone.
Griffin’s arms tensed around me. "What’s wrong?" he called.
"We have a visitor." Killian rapped his knuckles on the door. "I put Sterlyn’s clothes in your room so she’ll have something clean to change into." His footsteps receded, leaving Griffin and me alone again.
"Of course, he couldn’t wait until we got out of the shower," Griffin grumbled.
"Well, someone is here." That thought scared me. Who could be here that he didn’t want to name drop? "We better get out there."
"Whoever it is can wait a second." He squirted some shampoo into his hands and rubbed his fingers into my hair, working up the bubbles. "You were shot and need a second to get clean. We don’t need an infection setting in."
I bit my tongue, not bothering to mention that my wound was already scabbing over. The point was, it didn’t matter—he wanted to take care of me, and I did want to get clean. I had dirt in places it shouldn’t be, which was fine in wolf form, but not human.
He quickly washed me, and soon we stepped out of the shower. It hadn’t taken more than a few minutes for both of us to rinse off since we’d been under the water for a while. After drying off, I stepped onto the cold, gray tile floor and hurried to the bedroom.
Griffin’s bedroom was one of my favorite places on earth for two reasons. The first was that his scent was everywhere; that alone calmed me and made me never want to leave. And second, the room felt like him, but also me. It wasn’t a standard bachelor room, but wasn’t girly, either. It was as if he’d decorated it with me in mind. The walls were a warm blue that reminded me of the ocean, and the furniture was a dark walnut…even the comforter and sheets were a light muted gray, similar to an overcast sky.
The duffel bags holding my clothes were on my side of the bed, which didn’t surprise me. Killian would have been able to smell which side held most of my scent. I dug through one bag and pulled out a pair of dark jeans and a maroon shirt, which I purposely chose in case my wound began bleeding again. Even though the spot would be wet, at least it wouldn’t visibly stick out like it would on white or a light color.
I put my underwear on first, knowing that—considering where my injury was located—dressing my bottom half would hurt less than my top. Even though I wanted to rush, I forced myself to not go too fast in case I wound up hurting myself worse.
Griffin walked out of the closet and toward me. "Here, let me help you."
He snatched my bra and helped me put it on, followed by the shirt. His help made the process so much easier.
"After our guest leaves," he said with frustration, "we’re going to get you situated in here. There’s plenty of room in the closet and drawers, and if you need more space, I’ll move my stuff around."
"No, I wouldn’t want to put you out." This was his room, after all. I didn’t want to cause any problems, and him wanting me to stay here was enough for me. "I can make do with whatever you aren’t using."
"Put me out?" He grimaced as his nose wrinkled. "This is your bedroom, too. You have as much right to have whatever you want in here as I do."
A huge smile spread across my face, so wide that my cheeks hurt. Hearing him consider this to be our room made my heart happy.
"Wait..." He ran his fingers through my wet hair as he frowned. "You don’t think of this place as your home?" Hurt wafted through our bond.
"I just never wanted to force myself on you like that." I hadn’t meant to upset him. "Of course, I do, but I didn’t want to push things between us too fast."
"You’re my fated mate, whom I’ve claimed and confessed my love to," he growled and kissed me. I ’ m yours, which means everything I have is now yours, too. Get it through your head.
Feet pounded on the floors, and Sierra said, "You better get your butts out here before Rosemary and Killian go at it. They’ve been staring at each other, lobbing insults back and forth, and I’m not sure I can hold off the impending argument much longer. Unlike him, I’m not afraid of coming in there—Sterlyn doesn’t have any parts I myself don’t have."
"Uh...but I do." Griffin released me and winked.
"I’m not so sure," she said. "You’ve always been kind of wussy."
His mouth dropped open, and he marched to the door and yanked it open. "You don’t think I have a penis?"
"No, I do, but it got you to open the door." Sierra gloated as she sashayed into the room and looped her arm through mine on my uninjured side. "Which was the whole point. I figured you two were dressed by now." She tugged me toward the door. "Please get out here because Killian is irritable and worried about you. You scared us all."
"What?" I hadn’t done anything. "How?"
"The little freak-out state you were in." Sierra sighed as she leaned toward me. "Killian didn’t think Griffin’s shower plan would work, but obviously it did. I told him no one would know better than the person’s mate."
"For a second, I thought he was going to try to join us," Griffin said protectively. "And that would’ve caused some problems. But he was wise enough to not follow me into the bathroom with you."
"Oh, he thought about it." Sierra laughed as we entered the den. "But he knew you’d kick his ass out of the house."
Killian was pacing in between the two couches in the center of the living room but stopped when we entered. His dark eyes focused on me and his shoulders relaxed. "Thank God you’re back to normal."
I wasn’t sure if normal was the right word, but I was in a better state of mind than I had been twenty minutes ago. "Let’s not push it."
"What the hell happened? They refused to tell me anything," Rosemary bristled, crossing her legs as she angled her knees toward me on the large pearl-gray couch. "Griffin texted me, asking me to come, and then I got the silent treatment when I got here."
"Wait." I turned toward Griffin. "You asked her to come? Again ?" That surprised me. The two of them didn’t like each other very much.
"She can heal people, and you weren’t yourself." He shrugged as he sat on a matching loveseat perpendicular to Rosemary. "I asked her to come in case the shower didn’t work. Besides, we need an update on Carter, and I don’t trust hearing it from him."
"He’s a good guy." Killian crossed his arms as his jaw ticked. He looked an inch from having a meltdown of his own.
"Well, thank you for coming so quickly." She’d already helped us more than I’d ever expected anyone to. "And I’m sorry that they didn’t fill you in. They should’ve." I scowled at Killian.
"I was a little preoccupied with worry over you," Killian said as he tugged me away from Sierra and hugged me. "What happened? I haven’t been scared like that in such a long time. You took at least ten years off my lifespan."
"Oh, stop." I wrapped my good arm around him while keeping my injured one close. When he squeezed me, I hurt a little, but I wasn’t going to complain. "You’re healthy as a horse. Nothing could shave off those years."
"This is sweet and all, but why don’t you fill me in on what’s going on?" Rosemary motioned for me to come to her. "And if you want me to heal your injury, I can."
Under normal circumstances, I’d have said no; I didn’t like taking shortcuts. But we could be facing some sort of fight again by tonight, so getting back to full strength would be smart. I pulled away from Killian and faced her. "Are you sure you don’t mind?"
"I wouldn’t have offered if I did." She arched a brow and leaned against the back of the couch. "I took you as someone who would know that."
And there was the directness that I admired so much about her. "You’re right." I sat next to her, turning my body in her direction.
She waved her hand at my shoulder. "Where exactly is it?"
I moved the collar of my shirt until it showed the dark scabs that covered the wound. They were dark red because of how deep the wound had been.
"You two get shot more than anyone I know." She placed her hand on it, and her hand began to glow.
A warmth soaked into the injury, easing the pain. The healing was coming from the inside out, and within seconds, my shoulder felt normal again. "Thank you." I rotated the joint, enjoying the movement without pain. "That feels so much better."
"No problem." She dropped her hand and pointed at me. "So, obviously there was a fight. Spill."
I sat back and told her everything, wrapping up with the little bit I’d learned in the car. At this point, she deserved to know just as much as Killian and Sierra. Everyone here had sacrificed in more ways than one for me.
"Wow, you had a twin brother and an uncle you knew nothing about." Sierra shook her head and plopped into the seat next to me. She laid her head on my shoulder. "That sucks. I’m so sorry."
"I don’t get why you mortals apologize for things that aren’t your fault." Rosemary pursed her lips. "Like your insincere apology would make a difference in how a person feels. You didn’t do anything wrong, so why would you even fathom saying it? That would be like me apologizing for your darker-blonde hair."
"Wait." Sierra tilted her head and glared at the angel. "What’s wrong with my hair?"
Oh, wow. That had regressed quickly. "There’s nothing wrong with it."
"They call it dirty blonde for a reason." Rosemary threw both hands up. "That should tell you something, but it’s not my fault. It just sucks for you."
"It’s sandy blonde." Sierra huffed and crossed her arms. "Not dirty blonde."
"That’s what all dirty blondes say." Rosemary shook her head. "Call it whatever you want, but it doesn’t change facts."
"Dude, I think they might have a catfight over this," Killian whispered, as if no one but Griffin could hear him. "This could get kind of hot."
"Maybe I would’ve thought that at one time." Griffin’s gaze landed on me. "But there’s only one girl here who makes me feel that way, and it’s neither one of them."
If I hadn’t had an out-of-body experience earlier when I was overwhelmed with grief, I’d think I was having one now. The craziness going on around me didn’t make any sense, but at the same time, it was comforting. Things almost felt normal.
Girls argued over stupid stuff, and guys wanted to fantasize about a catfight.
"Where is this mysterious uncle of yours?" Rosemary asked, coming back to business.
That was a good question. "I have no clue. He left, and there was no hint about where he might’ve gone. Maybe when things settle down, I can try to find him." It’d be nice to have him now, but I could focus on only one major thing at a time. "So what happened with Carter? You haven’t filled us in yet."
"I swear I don’t know how that guy isn’t an omega." Rosemary groaned dramatically. "He screamed the entire way back, begging me not to drop him, saying that he was sorry. He clutched on to me so hard he ripped my shirt."
"There’re a couple of wolves weaker than him." Killian winced and leaned against the wall. "But not by much."
"That’s one reason they targeted him." Rosemary rubbed her temples. "They target people who are easily intimidated or have a lot to lose. There’s no telling who might be next."
"But they will contact Carter again." They already had leverage over him. They didn’t have to risk being exposed by kidnapping someone else. "I’ll need to go back to work and pretend I don’t suspect a thing."
"Which means people will know we’re back." Griffin sighed. "Not to mention you being bait."
"We’ve already gone over that." There was no getting around it. This was our best plan.
"Everyone already knows you’re back." Rosemary twirled a finger. "The guards positioned outside the house were talking about you pulling in like a bat out of hell. If you wanted to stay under the radar, you should’ve taken that into consideration."
"Sterlyn was unresponsive." Griffin crossed his arms defensively. "I didn’t know what was wrong. I panicked, but once we got settled, I did inform them that everything was okay."
"Tomorrow they’d know, anyway." So what if they’d learned a day early? "It’ll be fine."
"Well, it’s best if we all stay here," Rosemary said. "That way, if there are any attacks, the five of us are already together."
"You’re going to stay with us?" She had her own family and life. "I mean, I’m not complaining, I’m just surprised."
"I told you why." Rosemary’s eyes tightened in warning. "And you can’t seem to stay out of trouble, so it only makes sense to be close by."
"What are you going to tell your parents?" Griffin blinked in surprise.
"That I’m staying with a friend." She shrugged. "I mean, I consider Sterlyn that anyway, so it wouldn’t be a lie. The city is a little tense right now anyway, so it’d probably be a blessing that I was out of their hair regardless."
Wow. She thought we were friends. I liked her, so I’d roll with it. "And we have three extra bedrooms."
Griffin beamed at my words. That ’s right . We do.
"You said five." Killian pushed off the wall. "Sierra doesn’t need to be wrangled into this. She already survived an attack."
"They might not realize who she is yet." Rosemary glanced at the blonde shifter. "If she goes back home though, they might locate her family, and she could put them at risk."
I hadn’t even considered that. Killian should’ve thought about that before bringing her with him.
"It’s fine," Sierra reassured everyone. "It makes sense for me to stay. I want to help you all. It’s just a benefit that I could be protecting my family by doing it."
Griffin’s phone dinged. He looked at it and groaned. "It’s Dick. He’s pulling into the neighborhood."
"Then that’s my cue to run home and grab some clothes." Rosemary stood and headed toward the back door. "I don’t want him to see me here—it’ll raise too many questions. Text me when he’s gone." She exited the house, and I watched as she took flight.
The fact that an angel was hanging out with us shouldn’t raise questions. We were all supernaturals and should be friendly. Maybe that could be part of the plan Griffin and I worked on together.
"What does he want?" Killian asked.
"He said we need to talk. That it’s important and involves Luna." Griffin complained.
My heart dropped. What had the bitch done now?