Tamsin (Krsnik Clan #6)

Chapter One

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NIC HAD NEVER THOUGHT he’d end up behind bars.

To be fair, he wasn’t behind bars. He was a prisoner, but he’d been locked up in a comfortable bedroom, so things could have been worse. Considering why he’d ended up here, they should have been much worse.

After everything Parrish had told Nic about the Krsniks, Nic had thought they’d kill him as soon as they had the opportunity.

He’d befriended someone from their village and had almost caused Parrish to hurt a lot of people.

He’d betrayed someone who’d considered him a friend.

He didn’t think that Devon would ever forgive him, and he wouldn’t ask him to.

Devon was right to hate him. Nic hated himself a little right now.

There wasn’t much he could do about that.

There wasn’t much he could do about anything in his life, or at least, that was what he thought.

He was a Kudlak. Lone Kudlaks never did well, and when they did, it didn’t last long.

Without a family, Parrish had been the best option to have for protection—the only option—and maybe, people who would care about Nic.

But Parrish was a monster. Nic hadn’t known that initially, but he should have left long before he’d ended up in here. For a long time, he hadn’t thought he could survive without Parrish and his Kudlaks. He still wasn’t sure he could.

Parrish wasn’t in this for protection or family. He’d started gathering other Kudlaks because he’d wanted to use them as his personal army. He’d turned Nic into a spy and had sent him into enemy territory.

Kudlaks and Krsniks had always been enemies. They’d always fought each other to the death.

But Nic wasn’t dead. He was surprised, and he didn’t know what to think about it.

If Parrish had been in charge of the Krsniks and their clan, he would’ve killed Nic at the first chance he had.

He wouldn’t have wasted resources by locking him up and having someone guard him.

Hell, he would’ve made an example out of him so that everyone else would know not to betray him.

The fact that the Krsniks were nicer than Parrish didn’t say much. Parrish was strong and capable, but he’d always been a monster. Nic had never liked him, even when he’d needed him for protection.

He sat on his bed, his legs crossed as he stared at the TV.

It was the only distraction he had, and he was grateful for it.

If he hadn’t had that, he’d have spent even more time obsessing over what would happen to him and when.

He expected someone to come in and tell him they were going to execute him at any moment.

Parrish wouldn’t have given him the warning, but it was clear that these people were different.

How different remained to be seen.

Nic didn’t really know much about them, and what he knew came from Parrish.

Nic was starting to realize that he was an even worse person than Nic had ever thought.

Parrish didn’t only want Kudlaks to survive.

He probably didn’t care about that at all now that Nic thought about it.

No, what Parrish wanted was power for himself, and he had it in a way.

He wasn’t officially a clan leader, but he might as well be.

Everyone who worked with him looked at him in fear.

Nic had. He was still afraid of Parrish, even though he was pretty sure that Parrish couldn’t get to him.

He might be bored and locked up, but he was safe, something he hadn’t felt for a long time.

The thought made him smile, and he reclined back against his pillows, his gaze on the TV again.

He wasn’t particularly enjoying himself, but if these were his last days, at least he wasn’t too scared. It could have been much worse.

A knock on the door made him sit up again. Since he was a prisoner, whoever was there would come in even if he didn’t answer. No one had asked him questions yet, but he’d known that would change. He wasn’t surprised to have a visitor.

He was surprised when he saw that his visitor was Devon.

He scrambled off the bed, but once he was on his feet, he hesitated.

He and Devon had been friends, but Nic had betrayed Devon.

Maybe Devon was here to yell at him. Maybe he would threaten him, tell him how hurt he’d been, and that Nic deserved whatever was coming for him.

Nic wouldn’t blame him. Hell, he’d agree.

Devon was the first and only friend Nic had ever had. His time spent with Kudlaks had been dedicated to survival, and he’d never trusted any of them enough to become friends with them. Devon was different, and not because he was human. He was the first person who’d given Nic a chance.

And Nic had betrayed him.

Devon wasn’t alone. His mate Ryan was with him, and they both looked wary, but Devon moved closer to Nic, while Ryan hovered by the door.

Ryan didn’t seem to think that Nic would hurt Devon, which was good because he had no plans on doing so.

He never wanted to hurt anyone ever again, except maybe Parrish, but he was pretty sure he’d die if he ever tried getting close enough to him to do that.

Devon stared at Nic. Nic glanced at the door, then at Devon again. He wanted to run. He hated that he felt like Devon was judging him, but he couldn’t blame him. He deserved to be judged.

“You hurt me,” Devon eventually said. “But I think I can get over that eventually.”

Nic opened his mouth, but what could he say? He didn’t understand what was happening. He didn’t understand why Devon would want to forgive him. He didn’t even want to forgive himself.

“I’ve hurt people, too. I’ve hurt people recently. I was lucky because they forgave me, and I wanted to give you that,” Devon continued.

“Why?” Nic asked.

“Because we all deserve a second chance. Because I want to hear what you have to say about what happened. Because in the end, you did the right thing.”

“It doesn’t mean I’m a good person.”

“Maybe not, but what you did doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

Nic snorted. “Are you sure about that? Because a lot of people would say that it does.”

“I don’t care what a lot of people would say. You’re my friend.”

Nic wanted to ask if he still was, but he didn’t dare. Devon was already giving him more than he’d hoped for and had expected. He hadn’t thought he’d ever see Devon again, and that if he did, Devon would be mad. Instead, he seemed mostly disappointed.

He wasn’t the only one.

“Thank you,” he said in a trembling voice.

He didn’t want to start crying in front of Devon.

He knew his friend—he couldn’t believe he was still allowed to call Devon that—and that Devon would try to comfort him, but Nic didn’t deserve any comfort.

He was here because of his own actions and stupidity.

He glanced at Ryan, expecting him to have a different opinion. He wasn’t Ryan’s friend. He doubted that Ryan would ever want to be his friend, but Ryan nodded, so maybe he’d make an effort. They both would if it was for Devon.

Ryan wanted to make his mate happy, and Nic didn’t want to lose the only friend he’d ever had. He’d do pretty much anything in his power to get Devon to forgive him. He wasn’t sure it would be enough, but it wouldn’t stop him from trying.

“Just don’t do anything like that again, please,” Devon said. “I can understand why you went along with what Parrish wanted, but he’s not a good person.”

“How can you understand?”

Nic had meant that Devon would never have done what he’d done, no matter the situation he was in, but Devon shrugged.

“I spent years living on the streets. I would probably have died six months in if Melissa hadn’t found me.

She had a daughter to think about, but she took me in, too.

She made sure we were both fed and as safe as she possibly could keep us. ”

“She sounds like she’s a good person.”

“She is, and the fact that she’s a Kudlak has never mattered. She and Haley are my family. I don’t care what they are. No one here does.”

Nic found that hard to believe. He’d ended up with Parrish because he’d never belonged anywhere else after his parents had died.

People didn’t want him around. Humans were afraid of him when they found out what he was, and other supernatural creatures kept their distance because Kudlaks had a bad reputation.

“They’re not going to hold what you are against you,” Devon continued. “But they’ll want an explanation and to know why you did what you did.”

And Nic would give them one, no matter how stupid or bad it was. It was the least he could do.

* * * *

“IT’S CLEAR THAT THE village needs more protection,” Rowan said as he looked around the room at the people gathered there.

Tamsin agreed. They’d been lucky they were able to stop the Kudlaks, but things could have gone very differently. They would have if they hadn’t been warned that the Kudlaks were coming.

He still had a hard time believing they had been.

He didn’t understand why one of the Kudlaks had decided to betray the others, and he was curious.

Right now, though, he couldn’t afford to think about that.

He and the other Vila had to focus on what they could do for the clan and the village. It was why they were having a meeting.

“Is there anything you guys can do about that?” Clay asked. “I don’t know anything about your magic, but I thought I’d ask.”

Dermot and Tamsin exchanged a glance. They knew what they had to do. They’d done it before, when they’d still had a home. They hadn’t known each other then, but they both knew how to use their magic to protect their clan.

They had a new home now. Some days, it was still hard to believe, but they’d finally been able to stop running. They were safe, or as safe as they could be with Kudlaks targeting their new clan.