Chapter Twelve
“How did you know I'd be at that diner?” I asked Garret as he drove my car home—his home.
“We're watching the property,” Garret said. “That commune. We've got cameras set up to monitor it. So, we saw when you left. You looked distraught.” He glanced at me. “I had to see if you were all right.”
“You and your hound team.”
“We're called a Cerberus.”
I stared at him a second before asking, “Like the dog who guards the Greek Underworld?”
Garret grinned at me. “Exactly like the hound who guards the Underworld.”
“The hound with three heads,” I whispered.
“You're catching on now.” He glanced at me again. “Do you know much about the Greek myths?”
“A little.”
“Do you know about Hades?”
“The guy who abducted his wife?”
Garret grimaced. “Hades never did that. A lot of gods did shit like that, so Hades got lumped in with them, but it's all lies. He and Persephone are in love. It's their love that Hades . . .” He trailed off when he noticed the way I was gaping at him. “Shit. I wasn't supposed to get into this with you until we all got home and could tell you together.”
“Are you saying that you're Hades's hounds, not the Devil's?”
“I'm relieved that you see the distinction.”
“Is that a yes?”
“Yes. But, please, let's not get further into this until—”
“But if you're—if Hades is—there is no Christian god is there?”
“No. But Indigo, just hold your questions for—”
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed. “There is no God.”
“Well, there are many gods, just not that particular god.”
“Many?!” The Greek myths spun through my head. “Right. Hades is a god. Does that mean that all the Greek Gods are real?”
“Indigo, please. My packmates want to be there when we tell you about this.”
“They are! They're all real! So, then, Silas is a god after all. Just not the only god.”
Garret sighed. “We believe he is a minor Greek god. We just don't know which one.”
“A minor god?! He brought people back from the dead.”
“There are several gods who can do that. Hades included. Although he doesn't because it's against the law.”
“The law?”
“Ugh! I need to stop talking. I'm totally pulling a Hagrid.”
I burst out laughing. It was the stress and shock but also the hilarity—the sheer ludicrousness—of Cerberus, the three-headed hound, referencing Harry Potter. It was surreal.
“Didn't Hagrid own a three-headed dog?” I asked.
“Yup.”
I laughed harder.
Garret grinned at me. “I love that laugh.”
Once my laughter had run its course—which took a bit, I settled back in my seat and smiled at Garret. Being with him felt so natural. As if he were an old friend. The strain of being around Silas, and even Jake, vanished. I could breathe again. And then Garret pulled into a driveway.
There was modern security in addition to the magical barrier they had mentioned. Mainly, an enormous iron gate within high stone walls. Garret stopped before it, then rolled down his window and entered a code into a standing keypad. The gates parted, and we rolled through. I think I felt a shiver coast over my skin, but I could have been imagining things.
Landscape lighting cast halos around trees in the front yard. If you could call the long expanse a yard. It took us a good five minutes to reach the house. Lights were on inside. It looked as if someone was home. Or maybe the owners had left in a hurry. I glanced at Garret as he parked, imagining him watching me leave Silas's commune on a computer screen, then run out of the room with his three—what did he call them? Packmates?—running after him, no one thinking to turn off the lights. It made me feel . . . something good. How terrible was it that it had been so long since I'd felt good that I couldn't name the specific good emotion right away? Finally, when Garret got out of the car, I realized what it was—valued. I felt valued.
What had Silas said? If they believed I was their mate, they would treasure me. That's how I felt, and I had only just arrived. Was I their mate? To be completely honest, at that moment, I wanted to be. Desperately. Just to feel that way again.
And no, Jake had never made me feel like that. He made me feel appreciated, but that's not the same thing, is it? You can appreciate a superb wine or a book, but the very word “treasure” implies that “good” just isn't good enough. Treasure is priceless. It's something that would break your heart to lose. Would losing me break Jake's heart? It hurt to admit it, but I had never felt that. Jake was too confident. He was one of those guys that was always getting hit on. I assumed he'd move on quickly if we broke up. And the truly terrible part was that it had never bothered me.
Until now.
Garret opened my door, and I got out of the car as I looked up and up and up at the Victorian mansion. It was the real deal. Probably built during the gold rush that hit Helena back in the 1800s. Yeah, I'd been reading up on Montana. Nothing much to do in that log palace other than read and eat while I waited for Jake to come home like I was some kind of 50s housewife.
Thoughts of that lumber monstrosity faded as Garret led me up to the front porch of the most elegant house I'd ever gotten this close to. The posts had carvings of flowers and gingerbread details defined the top corners, where they met the roof. Moldings garlanded the construction, hand-carved pieces primped it, and little paintings finished it, decorating the whole like a Christmas tree. Yes, paintings. On the outside of the house. It looked like something a Rothschild would have lived in. Or Martha Stewart.
“This is amazing,” I whispered.
A shuffle came from behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see Gage and Gideon exchange proud grins with Garret.
Garret noticed me looking and said, “We built it. Well, we oversaw the construction and helped to build it.”
“Oh, my goodness! I'm so impressed.” Then what they said registered. “Wait. This isn't a new house.”
Gage snorted. “Hardly. It's over two hundred years old.”
I swayed on my feet.
“Indigo!” Garret steadied me.
I looked up at him. “But that means that you're over two hundred years old.”
“I think we've held up even better than the house.” He winked at me.
I gaped at him. So Silas had told the truth about them. At least where their age was concerned. They were old. And they'd been waiting all that time for their promised mate.
“All right, let's get you inside,” Gideon said as he came forward to help Garret usher me up the steps. “I think you need to sit down, Indigo.”
“And eat something,” Gage added as he went around us to unlock the front door. “You need something warm in your belly. That will make you feel better. I mean, I assume you're hungry. We found you in front of a restaurant.”
My eyes widened as we entered a gorgeous foyer with vintage wallpaper and antique lighting. The details inside were just as impressive as those outside. But there were also many modern touches. Electricity, for one. A security pad in the wall, for another. Or did the Victorians have electricity? They might have. I can't remember. I think maybe it was gas. They had gas lights first and then—what the hell am I rambling about? I have to focus. I'm walking into a potentially dangerous situation. But even as I thought that, I knew it was wrong. I was safe. I was finally safe. Not even Silas could reach me there.
Gage went to the security panel and punched in a code. Something beeped.
“You've certainly kept up with the times,” I murmured.
“We learned along with the humans,” Gideon said. “All three of us are pretty good with computers.”
“I'm also great at video games, if you're interested in playing,” Gage said.
“Video games?” I lifted a brow. “I don't think I've ever played one.”
“Gage plays them a lot.” Garret widened his eyes at me.
Gage shrugged. “There isn't much else to do in our spare time.”
“So, uh, you don't date?” I asked.
“Already asking if we're taken?” Gage smirked.
“No, it's just—”
He cut me off, “I'm teasing, Indigo Darling.”
I looked at Garret.
“It's your name,” Garret said.
“Yes, but the way you two say it makes it sound like an endearment.”
“It's hard for it not to,” Gideon said. “With a last name like Darling. It's as if they named you to be adored.”
I went still. The reference to my naming always took me back to my abandonment. But this time, I thought only of the nurse who had given me my name. Was that her motivation? Had she held me—a sad rejected thing—and wanted more for me? Had she hoped someone would adore me? It made me want to find her and thank her for giving me that small amount of love when I had none. Maybe I should have been a nurse. I could have paid it forward.
“Oh, fuck! You fucking asshole! Why'd you go and say that?” Gage shoved Gideon's shoulder as he rushed over to me and pulled me into an embrace.
It startled me, but once I was in Gage's arms, I didn't want to leave. He hadn't taken his jacket off yet, and it smelled like leather, but under that was a hint of eucalyptus and something musky. It calmed me better than a lavender candle. And Gage radiated heat that relaxed my muscles. His body molded around mine. His head folded over me at the perfect height. Just like Garret.
I pushed out of his arms and stared up at him. “This is so bizarre.”
“Are you all right, Indigo?” Gage wiped the tears off my cheeks.
Only then did I realize I'd been crying.
“Oh.” I scrubbed at my face. “I'm fine. Thinking about my birth always makes me melancholy.”
“Of course it does.” Gage shot a glare at Gideon.
“How was I supposed to know that mentioning her name would make her cry?” Gideon sounded broken.
“I'm fine,” I said to him. “It's all fine. But, please, just call me Indie.”
“Like Indiana Jones?” Garret asked with a grin. “I like it.”
“Indie,” Gage said and nodded. “Yeah, that's cool.”
Gideon grimaced. “I'm sorry, Indie. I won't use your full name again.”
“No. I . . . shit,” I muttered. “I actually like the way you say it. It's just a little much for common conversation. And it's not my name that bothers me. It's my naming. And it doesn't really bother me. I just, I don't know, get a little sad. What I mean is, it's okay for you to use my name. Ugh!” I tossed up my hands. “Have I mentioned that I'm a rambler? I'm stopping now.”
“Ramble all you want. I love the sound of your voice.” Gideon's grimace shifted into a grin. “And since your name isn't off limits, welcome home, Indigo Darling.”