Chapter 14 Adrian
ADRIAN
Marcus and Goldie walk in hand-in-hand, looking disheveled and smelling like sex. My eyes go to Kieran, who’s fighting off a smirk with limited success. He’s been taking his time setting the table; we both heard what’s happening in the stables.
“You’re late,” he drawls, giving Marcus a knowing look.
“Had to feed all the animals in the stables,” Goldie replies cheekily.
I choke on my spit, coughing hoarsely. Little troublemaker!
Kieran laughs, and Marcus looks slightly uncomfortable—he normally prefers to keep things close to the vest. Well, Goldie’s going to shake things up for him, that’s for sure.
His calm, regimented life is about to have a wrench of chaos thrown in.
An adorable one with dangerous curves and bouncy golden locks.
“Let’s eat,” he grumbles, tugging Goldie to the table.
“Sounded like you already did,” Kieran mutters under his breath, quiet enough that only another shifter would hear.
I run a hand down my face. His comments during my encounter with Goldie were just as bad. I’m getting secondhand embarrassment over here.
“What’s for dinner?” Goldie asks as she flounces onto the chair Marcus pulled out for her. “I’m famished.”
“Pasta with walnuts and honey,” Kieran replies with a sad smile. “It’s something my mom used to make. Before she died.”
Goldie’s face drops, and she reaches over to grab the brown bear’s hand. “I’m so sorry,” she murmurs, her eyes swimming with unshed tears.
She’s so empathetic. Such a rare human.
Kieran takes her hand and brings it to his mouth for a kiss. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago, and Adrian’s parents never let me feel like an orphan.”
He then exchanges a look with Marcus that I can’t decipher. What are they hiding?
“It’s amazing how bonded the three of you are,” Goldie gushes, looking between us. “I wish I could have that.”
“You do now,” I rush to say. “You’re ours, Goldie. Do you understand that?”
Her round cheeks turn a lovely shade of pink. Suddenly, my pants feel too tight.
“I think I do,” she says shyly, picking up her fork and digging into the pasta as she avoids eye contact.
Three predators watch unblinkingly as she brings the loaded utensil to her soft mouth. It parts invitingly, her tongue making an appearance. Then her lips wrap around the tines, and I have to adjust myself under the tablecloth.
This little minx has no idea her hands are firmly wrapped around our balls. And none of us are complaining. Not anymore—not now that Marcus finally gave in to what Kieran and I had already realized. Goldie is our destiny.
“I think sweet dinners are going to be my next favorite thing,” she says enthusiastically, bringing a smile to even Marcus’s normally stern face.
We eat and chatter about nothing important when the unmistakable sounds of a vehicle approaching from the forest road come from outside. Goldie doesn’t hear it yet, but my brothers and I are instantly on high alert.
“Someone’s coming,” Marcus says, standing up and straightening his clothes. “Kieran, why don’t you take Goldie upstairs?”
“Alright,” he says, not arguing for once, and helps a trembling Goldie stand up. “Let’s go, sweetness.”
A few minutes later, I see a sheriff’s department SUV pull up and stop at our home. I exchange a look with Marcus, his jaw set in a way that lets me know he’s not happy.
The sheriff himself walks up to the front door, a deputy in tow. We let him wait a bit before answering the knock. Marcus pulls the door open and greets the men with a calm, neutral voice.
“Sheriff. Deputy. What brings you so far into the forest tonight?”
“Sorry to intrude, Mr. Blackwell,” the sheriff begins, pulling his hat off and clutching it in his meaty hands. “Mind if we come in?”
“Not at all,” Marcus says smoothly, stepping aside.
The lawmen greet me as they step into the main area, our half-eaten dinner still on display.
“So, why are you here?” I ask, my arms crossed defensively. I don’t have a good history with these men, and they know it.
“There’s a missing woman,” the sheriff begins. “We’re checking if anyone might’ve spotted her in the forest.”
“Missing?” I ask through clenched teeth. “Like my sister was missing?”
The deputy has the sense to blush and look at his feet, but the sheriff bristles at my tone. “The Weston family reported that their son’s fiancée wandered off their property—”
“Ah,” Marcus interrupts. “Well, that’s interesting.”
The sheriff frowns. “How so?”
“Because if there were a missing person in this forest,” Marcus says calmly, “my office would’ve been notified. I’m the head ranger for this area. No one contacted us. No search was authorized. No request for assistance was made.”
The sheriff shifts his weight. “The Westons were… insistent.”
“I’m sure they were,” Marcus replies coolly. “But this isn’t their private property. Once someone enters the forest, it becomes my jurisdiction.”
Silence stretches.
“Sounds like someone skipped a few very important steps,” I finally say.
“Well, you know now,” the sheriff says, trying to backtrack.
“What about the missing woman’s family?” Marcus asks. “You mentioned the Westons. What about her parents?”
“I haven’t spoken—”
“That’s alright,” Marcus interrupts again, visibly ticking the sheriff off. “Have them report to my office with all the details first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I’m not your—”
“You want her to be found, right?” Marcus drawls.
A few more seconds pass before the sheriff nods sharply. As he turns to leave, his gaze lingers on the table.
“Four settings,” he notes quietly.
My blood runs cold.
“Excuse me?” Marcus says, sounding a lot calmer than I feel.
“Has someone moved in with you? I thought it was just you three men.”
The sheriff says the last part with barely veiled disgust. He probably thinks we’re fucking each other like rabbits and clearly disapproves.
“Oh,” Marcus says smoothly, waving a dismissive hand. “My cousin is visiting from New York. He’s here for the school break.”
“I see,” the sheriff mutters, clearly unconvinced.
Once the door closes behind them and they leave, I shake my head at my brother. “No idea how you keep your cool in a situation like this.”
He chuckles and pats me on the back. “Years and experience.”
Kieran and Goldie come back downstairs, Goldie’s eyes round and wary.
“We were eavesdropping,” she says, and I snort. I could smell them, hear her breath catch when the lawmen explained why they’re here—she doesn’t need to tell me when she’s listening in.
“Don’t worry, Goldie,” Marcus says, determined. “We’ll protect you. You’re not going back to that family.” The way he spits out family has my eyebrows rising. Kieran looks at him strangely again, chewing on his bottom lip.
“Okay, what’s going on here? There’s something you two aren’t telling me,” I say, waving my head to encompass my brothers.
Marcus sighs, seemingly coming to a decision. Nodding at Kieran, he puts an arm around my shoulders and leads me to the couch.
“Kieran found something today when he was setting up things for Goldie,” he begins once we’re all seated. The brown bear looks at his clasped hands, while our girl looks between us, hardly breathing. “It looks like Goldie’s fiancé’s family… There’s no easy way to say this, Adrian.”
I stand up, unable to stand still. “What’s going on?” I ask again with a growl. “Tell me!”
“I think they’re connected with Sylvie’s abduction,” Kieran answers quickly, the words jumbling together. Goldie gasps, covering her mouth with her hands.
“We think they’re the reason she’s dead,” Marcus finishes grimly.
“How?” I demand, my vision blurring at the edges. My bear prowls beneath my skin, his coat bristling, making me itch to shift.
“There were some money transfers between the Westons and the Harlowe’s right when… when it all went down. I’ll look into it more, but so far—”
Whatever else he was about to say gets cut off when I roar loud enough to rattle the windows.
In a corner of my mind, I register Goldie’s fearful gasp.
But I’ve lost control over my form, over my emotions and urges.
My hands turn into paws, claws extended.
My nose grows into an elongated snout. I drop to all fours as a thick, white coat replaces my skin.
“Oh, shit!” Kieran hisses.
I rear back and roar my pain into the rafters.