Chapter Four #3
“I found a home here,” he told Parrish as he stepped closer to the shield, hoping to distract Parrish from Tamsin. “And a family.”
Parrish stared at Nic for a second before he laughed. “Family? You really think you have a family? These people hate you. They might be using you, but they’ll never actually want you around.”
“Some of us do,” Tamsin murmured.
Parrish cocked his head as he watched Tamsin. Nic was panicking, knowing what was going through his mind without Parrish needing to say it.
Parrish slowly smiled. It exposed his fangs. “Well, I’ll just have to kill this family like I killed the first one, right, Nic?”
Nic stared. The words didn’t make sense. Nic’s family had died protecting him. It was what Parrish had always told him.
But who had they been protecting him from?
He’d always assumed it had been Krnisks, and Parrish had never said otherwise. Why would he have when he’d been the one to kill them? How could Nic have never suspected that was what had actually happened?
Nic moved forward before he could think better of it. Parrish had killed his parents. He’d made Nic an orphan. He’d raised Nic in fear and hate. He needed to pay for what he’d done.
Someone grabbed him from behind. Initially, Nic thought it was only Tamsin, but he realized that a second person was hanging onto him.
He wasn’t sure why Tamsin’s friend felt the need to make sure he didn’t hurt himself, but the man’s expression was grim as he stared at Parrish.
He was clinging to one of Nic’s arms, making sure that Nic wouldn’t be going anywhere without dragging him along.
It was a leap of faith. He was betting that Nic wouldn’t pull him to the other side of the shield, and he was right. He didn’t know he would be when he’d grabbed onto Nic, though.
Parrish laughed again. The sound was cruel and cold.
“They really do care about you,” he said.
“I wish I understood why, but it doesn’t matter, does it?
I’m going to kill all of you anyway.” He licked his lips.
“And it’s going to be delightful.” He winked at Nic.
“Tell Rowan I’ll see him soon, all right? ”
Nic tried to move forward again, but Tamsin and the second Vila were still clinging to him.
They didn’t let him get anywhere near Parrish, which was a good thing.
If Nic had stepped foot out of the shield, Parrish would’ve killed him.
That might not be why he was here, but he wouldn’t have wasted that kind of opportunity.
Their group watched Parrish as he turned away and walked in between the trees.
The Kudlaks with him followed his lead, not one of them looking back as they left.
Nic stayed tense until the last of them disappeared from sight.
Then, he slumped forward, and the Vila let go.
Tamsin didn’t, though. He moved so he could catch Nic, then lowered him down to his knees.
He cupped the back of Nic’s head with one hand and pressed his face against his neck.
“I’m sorry you had to find out about this,” he murmured. “He’s a monster.”
“He killed my parents.”
“He did, I’m really sorry. You have us now, though. I realize it’s not the same, but you’re not alone anymore. You’ll never be alone again.”
Nic believed him. Even if no one else wanted him here, Tamsin did.
“We need to warn Clay and Rowan,” one of the women said.
“You can do that without me,” Tamsin told her. “But don’t go on your own.”
The two women looked at each other and left together. Tamsin didn’t move to do the same, though, and neither did the man still standing with them. Nic didn’t know his name, but he should probably find out since the man seemed willing to accept his presence with the clan and as Tamsin’s mate.
“We should head back toward the village,” the man said.
“Give us one second,” Tamsin answered.
Nic shook his head. “I’m fine, and he’s right. We should head back. Clay and Rowan will have questions, and I don’t like staying here when Parrish could find us so easily.”
Tamsin cupped both of Nic’s cheeks and looked at him. “Even if he does, he can’t hurt us through the shield.”
“Not now, but knowing him, he’ll find a way. I just want to be away from him.”
“We’ll go, then.”
Both Tamsin and the other man helped Nic to his feet. Nic nodded at the man, thanking him. “I don’t even know your name.”
The man smiled. He looked like a typical Vila, with long blond hair and blue eyes. “I’m Gary.”
Nic blinked. “That’s a nice name.”
Gary laughed. “I know what you’re thinking, and it’s okay. A lot of people think that it’s not a very Vila name. My name is actually Garretson, but I feel it’s a mouthful, and Gary is much easier.”
“What do you want me to call you?”
“Gary is fine.”
“Well, Gary, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. You’re Tamsin’s mate. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you if I could do anything to avoid it.”
“Not a lot of people feel the same way.”
“Not a lot of people can see past their fear. I won’t say I’m perfect when it comes to that, but I’m not willing to condemn you for being a Kudlak.
You can’t help what you are, and when it mattered, you showed us that we could trust you.
You stood with our clan against Parrish.
That means something to me. It should mean more to everyone else, too. ”
Nic didn’t care about anyone else. As long as Tamsin accepted him, he’d be fine, but it was nice to know that Tamsin wasn’t the only one.
Hopefully, Devon would end up forgiving Nic, so it seemed like Nic would have three people, maybe four if he counted Ryan.
He wasn’t as alone as he’d thought. He definitely wasn’t as alone as Parrish had made it sound.
It was something that Parrish would use against him if he could, but at the same time, it gave Nic more reasons to fight.
He didn’t care much about what happened to him, but he did care about what happened to his mate, and now, his mate’s friends.
His friends, maybe.
* * * *
TAMSIN WANTED TO PUT as much distance as possible between Nic and Parrish.
Parrish might seem gone for now, but Tamsin couldn’t swear that he wasn’t out there lurking, and he didn’t want his mate subjected to anything else from the Kudlak.
Nic had just found out that his parents had been killed by the man who’d raised him.
Even though he’d always known that Parrish was a monster, it couldn’t be easy for him.
The fact that two of Tamsin’s friends didn’t seem to be accepting him also didn’t help.
Tamsin looked ahead at Gary, who was rushing forward.
He’d said that he didn’t care what Nic was.
He was Tamsin’s mate, and that was that.
Tamsin was glad, but he knew that not everyone would be like Gary.
Este and Anita hadn’t been happy to see Nic earlier, and even though they might change their mind, they’d been clear.
They’d accept Nic because of who he was to Tamsin, but they wouldn’t make it easy on either of them.
Tamsin didn’t care about himself, but he wanted Nic to feel like he belonged.
He’d gone without a family for too long because Parrish had killed them.
He deserved to have people who cared about him, and so far, that group only included Tamsin and possibly Devon.
Tamsin would have to do something about that. He didn’t know what yet, and now wasn’t the right moment to think about it, but he’d find something. No matter what Nic was, he deserved to be happy, and Tamsin would do everything in his power to make it happen.
Rowan and Clay’s door was open when Tamsin and the other two reached it. Este and Anita were on the porch, talking to the two clan leaders. Este frowned when she saw them, while Anita didn’t even turn toward them.
“Is everyone all right?” Rowan asked when Gary, Tamsin, and Nic reached him.
“We’re fine,” Tamsin confirmed. “Nic just needed a minute.”
Rowan looked serious. “Understandable. How are you doing, Nic?”
“I just found out that the man who raised me killed my parents. Hell, he probably killed them to get me. In a way, they died because of me. How do you think I’m feeling?”
Tamsin didn’t think that Rowan would be offended by Nic’s tone, but Este appeared horrified. She glanced from Rowan to Nic as if expecting Rowan to snap. He did react, but probably not the way Este hoped for.
“I blamed myself for what happened to my clan for a long time,” Rowan said. “I was the only one still alive. I thought it was my fault they’d died.”
“Parrish would have killed you, too, if he could have.”
“I know that now. In a way, I’ve always known it. That doesn’t mean I didn’t blame myself. I’m not going to tell you not to feel the way you do because I know how hard it is, but what happened was not your fault. It’s all on Parrish.”
Nic sucked in a breath. Tamsin stepped closer and pressed a hand against his back, wanting to be there for his mate. He wanted to support Nic, but he wasn’t sure how.
Everyone here had lost people to the Kudlaks.
Rowan had lost his entire clan to Parrish.
They knew what it was like to feel guilty, to feel like they should have done more, to dream that they’d died with their loved ones.
Nic wouldn’t find anyone condemning him for not doing more for his parents, especially since he’d been six when Parrish had killed them.
Nic rubbed his face with both of his hands. “I guess I know it’s Parrish’s fault, at least what happened when I was six, but I hate that for years after that, I followed his orders.”
“Did you do it because you wanted to make him happy? Because you saw him as a father or a father figure? Because you agree with his views? Or did you do it because you were terrified of him?”
Nic looked at Rowan. “I’ve always been afraid of him.”
“So you did what you had to in order to survive. He showed you the kind of person he was when you were a child. You knew what would happen to you if you didn’t go along with what he wanted.
I’m not going to say that everything you did is excusable because I don’t know everything you did, but I think you should give yourself a little grace.
I also think that your parents would’ve wanted you to do what you could to save yourself. It’s all a parent wants.”
Nic closed his eyes for a few seconds. He nodded as if accepting Rowan’s words, and when he opened his eyes again, there was a new determination there.
“All right. We should probably talk about what Parrish was doing here and what we should do to keep him away.” He pressed his lips together and looked around their group.
“Or you should talk about that, I guess. It’s not my place. ”
“Considering you’re the person here who knows Parrish best, I think that maybe it is your place,” Clay said. “And if anyone wants to argue that, they know where to find me.”
Clay waited, maybe for someone to argue with him. No one did, though, not even Este. She was frowning, but she didn’t suggest that Nic leave or say that he shouldn’t be here.
“What do we think Parrish is looking for?” Clay asked.
“Hurting as many people as he can,” Nic answered right away.
“I also don’t think he knows we’re aware of his mate bond.
He might not even realize that I know about his mate.
She’s not a secret exactly, but most people don’t know who she is to Parrish.
I do because he raised me, and he wasn’t always careful about what he said around me, especially when I was younger. ”
“He never thought of hiding her from you?”
“He probably never thought I’d wonder who she is. Even if I did, I doubt he’d think I’d find her interesting.”
“Let’s go over what happened today again,” Rowan said. “I want to hear Nic’s point of view.”
Tamsin did, too. As much as he hated that Nic had to go through this, he really was the person here who knew Parrish best. He might be able to give them some insight into Parrish’s behavior.
Or maybe they didn’t need that insight. Did it really matter why Parrish was doing this?
As far as Tamsin was concerned, the only thing that mattered was that he was doing it.
Like Nic had said, Parrish wanted to hurt as many people as possible.
Initially, he’d been coming for Rowan because he wanted to kill the entire Harper clan, and Rowan had survived.
But now, Rowan had a new clan. Parrish wanted them gone. It was like a game to him.
A deadly game.
Tamsin moved closer to Nic as he spoke. Their hands brushed together, and when Tamsin linked their fingers together, Nic gave him a grateful smile.
He didn’t stop talking, but it was clear that the handholding made him feel better, and that was all Tamsin wanted.
He couldn’t do anything about Parrish, but he could comfort Nic to the best of his ability.
“How different was it?” Rowan asked, suddenly talking to Tamsin.
Tamsin blinked. “I’m sorry. I was distracted.”
Rowan arched a brow. “That’s understandable. Gary said that he and Este could only feel a Vila’s magical signature, but you said it wasn’t clear, and since Parrish was there, I tend to agree.”
“I could definitely tell it wasn’t a Vila, even though the magical signature was that of one. There was something more to it.”
“Maybe the bond with Parrish? I wonder if your magical signature would still feel like yours if Gary, Este, and Anita were to analyze it.”
Tamsin wasn’t sure why he’d never thought about that before. “Probably. We should try, though.”
Rowan nodded. “But not today. You should take Nic home.”
“I know this needs to be handled with care,” Nic argued. “But I lived with Parrish for almost twenty years. I know exactly what kind of monster he is, and I’m used to it. We can do it now.”
“We can, but we won’t. No matter what Parrish is, I’m not like him.
You just found out that he killed your parents and lied to you for twenty years.
I think you deserve the afternoon off. Besides, Gary confirmed the shield is holding.
Even if Parrish tries to get in again, he won’t be able to.
For now, there’s nothing any of us can do. ”
Nic looked like he wanted to argue. Tamsin understood why. He was desperate to stop Parrish and to avoid losing a second family, but Rowan was right. There was nothing any of them could do right now.
Tamsin squeezed Nic’s hand. Nic glanced at him, and when Tamsin cocked his head, Nic seemed to give in. His shoulders slumped, and he nodded. “All right.”
Rowan nodded, clearly satisfied. “Go home. We’ll talk again soon.”
Because, unfortunately, they would have to talk about it. It was the only way to defeat Parrish.