Chapter 36 Tash
Tash
It was past noon by the time we clawed our way up the switchbacks. The safe house crested out of nowhere after we turned down a hidden lane I couldn’t’ve spotted if someone paid me. From the overgrown drive, it looked like a nondescript log cabin.
Chance rolled up the drive, every muscle in his hands tight around the wheel.
He didn't say much. I didn't either. The air between us thrummed with tension but not worry, not yet. The girls were here safe, and nobody knew about this cabin. It was deep on Meyer land and Chance had said it wasn’t on any maps.
Up close I could see the reinforcements. Metal plates shadowed every window frame. The front door was a double-thick beast with industrial hinges. Floodlights sat buried under the eaves.
He killed the engine, but we both waited a beat, windows rolled down.
"The security here is off the charts," I whispered.
He flashed a humorless grin. "You should see the panic room."
I grabbed my bag. Chance was already out of the truck, circling to my side. He opened the door like a bouncer at a fancy club, then motioned for me to hurry.
We didn't run, but it was close.
The porch steps were slick with rain, with a layer of mud and old leaves. I slipped on the top stair, but caught myself on the banister. Classy entrance, right on schedule.
Livia wasn't waiting inside the door. Of course not. Instead, she stood four feet back, spine straight as a rifle, one hand braced against the wall. Both hands had dragon's claws.
If she'd been in a cartoon, her eyes would've done that x-ray thing.
She didn't crack a smile. "Glad to see you both." She cocked her head at me and a slow, satisfied smile spread across her face. Oh, goody. She could tell we’d mated.
Chance nodded, stepping in close. He hovered like he wanted to hug her, or at least clap her on the back, but settled for a brush of his hand over her sleeve. "Did anyone follow you up here?"
"Negative," she said. "Xavier swept the approach twice. Nothing but wind and ghosts. Damon and Evan are here as well. The girls are fine."
I tried to remember how to breathe. "Kira said to tell you she was here," I murmured.
Livia nodded. "Thank you. I'll talk to everyone about that later."
The entryway opened onto a main room straight out of a cozy magazine spread. A big fieldstone hearth, a banked fire still smoldering. Blankets everywhere, tossed across couches, draped over reading chairs, even one crumpled on the rug with a cat carrier set dead center.
That's where I spotted Lola, nose smashed against the wire door, both paws raking at the latch with psychotic determination.
She glared at me and gave a high-pitched yowl that would've melted the glass in the windows if it hadn't been fortified. I bit my lip and tried not to laugh.
"Let her out and she'll be up the chimney before you can blink," Chance stage-whispered. "Last time, she nearly took a chunk out of Evan's shin. She hates it here."
The mention of Evan made something in Livia's jaw tighten.
In the far corner, Xavier was on the floor, crouched over a battered game board with the twins.
Cards and plastic pieces littered the carpet.
Mere leaned in, explaining the rules with her ‘please, underestimate me' tone.
Fifi barely glanced up when we came in. She was busy grinning at Xavier, who acted like losing to a teenager was the highlight of his week.
A whiff of warm cider hit me. On the sideboard, three mugs steamed, cider rich with a blend of spices. Livia and Maeve's glorious cooking rivalry continued.
The biggest shock? Huey. He wasn't watching the door, or even circling for snacks. He was in the lap of a mountain of a man with dark hair and hands big enough to break rocks for fun. The resemblance to Chance was obvious.
He looked like he hadn't slept in days, but Huey burrowed into his arm.
The man patted Huey with hypnotic rhythm, then glanced up, locking eyes with me. "Nice dog."
Chance wasted no time with pleasantries. He corralled us near the fire, motioned for the twins to join. "Everybody, we're doing this the right way."
Even Livia blinked at the command.
He started with me, hand braced at my lower back, grounding, but not possessive. "This is Tash," he pronounced, as if I was the new sheriff in town. "And my daughters, Fiona and Meredith. I know you’ve probably met earlier, but now it’s official."
He turned next to the couch and the mountain of a man. "This is Damon."
Damon gave a shrug-nod. "Good to meet you. Heard a lot."
Chance pivoted to the kitchen, where the afternoon sunlight hit a second hulking guy, this one with bare feet and a mug that said "Go ahead.
Try me." He was taller than Damon, but carried himself with a kind of floating quiet, like maybe he'd spent his life ducking for cover in small rooms. His weathered face told me he’d seen a few things.
Chance squared his shoulders. "Evan. He travels a lot, enjoy what may be your only chance to meet him."
Evan twitched a nod at us, then cut his stare straight to Mere, who held it right back.
No handshake. No smile. Typical. I'd have wondered if he was an android, but the lines scoring his face said otherwise.
Chance finished the roll call. "You all know Xavier, our sheriff, and pain in my ass since I can remember."
There was a beat, then the man himself barked out a laugh. "You say that like you weren't always the instigator."
Livia closed the gap. "And you know me."
“And me,” Maeve chirped.
She pressed mugs into Chance and my hands. The twins sipped theirs.
I tasted mine and holy hell, it was perfection. Warm and sweet, a complex taste that left you wanting more. The kind of drink that sledgehammers nostalgia straight into your veins.
Mere found a spot near the fire, curling her feet under. Fifi dropped beside her, both girls balancing mugs on their knees.
I braced myself for the awkwardness, but it never hit. Xavier picked up the board game where they'd left off. "So, Mere. Are you going to take the castle, or just threaten to all night?"
Mere's grin was feral. "Watch and learn, Sheriff."
In that moment, she didn't look like a scared kid. She looked like herself, whip-smart, unbreakable, hungry for the next challenge.
Damon sipped his cider, still scratching Huey. "Nice recovery. This one's a keeper. Most dogs take weeks to stop barking at shifters."
Fifi, finally tuning in, piped up. "Huey's not smart. He'll chase his own tail if you bribe him with sausage."
Damon's face cracked into a sly smile. "Good to know. Might try it with Evan later."
In her carrier, Lola put on another show. This time, she curled her whole body into a tight white comma, then uncoiled like she could will the wire mesh into submission.
Mere noticed, and stage-whispered, "She's going to learn how to pick the lock. I swear she's part ferret."
Even Livia smirked at that. "If she does, she can have Evan's room. He's her favorite."
Evan made a noncommittal grunt, but didn't deny it.
For a few glorious minutes, things settled. No alarms, no worry, just the low thrum of a family figuring out a new shape.
Chance leaned against the mantle, his eyes on the whole room. He was watching every entrance, every shadow. But his hand kept returning to my shoulder, the curve of my hip, little checks, like he couldn't quite believe I was still there.
I'd have to be blind not to see the tension under every movement.
Nobody turned their back on a door. Except for the girls, anyway.
Drinks were cradled left-handed. The right was always loose and ready.
When Xavier made his rounds, he scanned the windows each time, eyes not fixing on anything too long.
But the warmth undercut it.
Mere dominated the board game, bluffing Xavier out of a dozen moves in a row.
Fifi started slowly, mainly drinking her cider, eyes half-closed, but once she warmed up, she unleashed snark that had even Damon smiling.
He shot her a "not bad, kid" when she explained the rules back to him in three sentences flat.
They fit.
I tried not to get emotional, but it punched me right in the solar plexus. Fifi and Mere, more comfortable in their skins as they hadn't been in years.
Livia parked herself on the ottoman across from me. She took a measured sip, then gave a look that said, "You holding up?"
I didn't lie. "I sure never thought it'd be like this."
She nodded, eyes softening just a fraction. "Sometimes, what you need isn't what you expect."
Chance leaned in, his arm pressing heat along mine. "If anyone wants food, I think Mom made sandwiches the size of my head."
Fifi perked up. "Are there more cinnamon rolls?"
Damon raised a finger. "I already called dibs on the last three. Sorry, kid."
"Oh, come on," she moaned, but it was pure theater. "Not even one for the traumatized hostage? Mom would give me hers."
Chance shot her a glare. "That's not funny."
She shrugged, undeterred. "She's my Mom. She has to. It’s in the rules."
Livia nodded sagely. “She’s right. It is.”
Even Evan barked a laugh at that. It didn’t seem like Livia to joke around. The girls brought out a softer side of her.
I watched as Fifi let herself be part of the chaos. For once, no flinching, just straight up sixteen-year-old sarcasm. Mere kept one hand braced on her twin's knee under the table. They’d done that since they were tiny.
Huey stretched in Damon's lap, belly up, every inch of him convinced he'd won the lottery. Damon must've had magic hands, because even when the twins tried to coax him away, the damn dog wouldn't budge.
I'd just settled into the battered armchair, trying not to let the cider go straight to my head, when Maeve materialized beside me. "Tash. Walk with me a sec?”
There was no "please." No smile.
I followed her, mug in hand, down the short hall off the side of the living room, where one of the big windows overlooked valley. Maeve closed the door behind us, killing the laughter from the board game in the next room.