Chapter 15
Not Home. Not Even Close.
ELLIOT
The family doesn’t stay for the moon. There isn’t enough space downstairs. And someone would probably end up dead if we all stayed in one place for longer than a few hours.
Cousin Adrian had to be carted out on a spare stretcher after someone pointed out that he hadn’t moved in a while.
He wasn’t dead. But it took a few tries to rouse him.
In the end, Jeffery took pity on him.
Cleaned him up and stitched him closed. But the kitchen had been left in a state of red, the stark contrast impossible to miss against the white tiles. As I emerge for dinner the next evening, Jeffery is still scrubbing.
“Hey, Jeff,” I call.
He nods in acknowledgment, but does not look up from his work.
“Leave your father alone,” Mother snaps. “He is busy cleaning up Adrian’s mess.”
Jeffery looks at me then, more tired than usual, and I take up a spare rag, wiping down the table as Jeffery finishes with the floor.
“Ugh,” Vanessa groans as she settles in one of the stools tucked under the island. “That’s disgusting.”
“You’re such a whimp,” I mutter.
“Both of you, be quiet,” Mother directs. “And Elliot, get off the floor.”
Vanessa sticks her tongue out at me, and I shrug apologetically at Jeffery as I abandon him to join them at the counter.
“Eat something,” Mother says, waving a hand at the crude display of food.
She used to make a big show of it when we were younger. Try to dress it up as something fun. A feast before famine, I guess.
But she got tired of pretending once we were old enough. Now it’s just a mountain of meat, raw and bleeding across the counter.
I eat what I can. If only so there’s something in my stomach when the vomiting starts. Anything more than that will just wear me down.
“How is school?” she asks as she takes a chunk out of a finely marbled filet.
“Fine. Although it won’t be if I keep missing classes.”
Her eyes roll.
“Please, Elliot. What exactly would you have me do? Allow you to run rampant across campus? You know how that will end.”
“Dame thinks he can handle it. And I have my dampener. It shouldn’t be a problem.”
Mother scoffs.
“Damien Broussard is naive,” she says. “Like his father.”
It’s bold of me to even mention the Broussard name in this house.
Mother never quite rid herself of her ire when she lost her challenge for alpha.
I think she was holding out hope that I might achieve what she never had.
She’s never said as much, but she doesn’t really need to.
I can feel it. Like the undercurrent to every conversation, every goal, every correction, every praise.
An alpha is what she wants. But I refuse to be the one to give it to her.
“You will return to this house for the moon as you always have,” Mother snaps. “End of discussion.”
We eat in relative silence until Mother excuses herself, at which point Vanessa turns on me.
“Why would you bring up, Dame?” she snaps. “Now she’s going to be pissed off all week.”
I shrug.
“That’s not my problem.”
“The hell it isn’t,” she hisses. “You know how she is when you ruin her mood.”
Yes, unfortunately, I do.
“I don’t give a fuck,” I say, rising from my seat. “Let her night be ruined. She deserves it.”
Vanessa rises with me, following at my tail.
“Ugh, you’re such a baby,” she grumbles. “What, you want her to kiss you on the forehead and say good job?”
I ignore her, but she takes after her mother.
“When are you going to get over it?” she continues. “You think you’re the only person who’s sick of this family?”
Vanessa’s voice rises, and I pause midstep, spinning to face her.
“You’re not the one she insists on parading around like a fucking animal,” I snap.
“Yeah, and you’re not the one she harasses every day.”
“Thank fate for that. I wouldn’t mind if I never saw her face again.”
Vanessa flinches.
“Gods, you want to be rid of us so badly? Maybe we should cut your bonds,” she snaps. “See how you do when you’re not a Cross anymore.”
The thought sends a cold shiver down my back, and I recoil.
I might hate this family and the curse it carries, but not enough to sever myself. Not at the cost of losing Dame and Kitty. Not at the cost of being alone.
Before I can say anything, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and my heartbeat quickens as the caller ID flashes PRINCESS in all caps.
Vanessa’s brows lift as she reads the screen, and she folds her arms, daring me to answer.
But if she thinks this conversation is more important to me than Iris, she’d be mistaken.
I let the phone ring longer than I’d like as I wait for V to dismiss herself, and when she does, it is not without her usual theatrics.
“Fuck you, Elliot!” she yells just as I click answer.
I cringe and try to cover the speaker, but there’s no missing that.
“Oh, uhh,” Iris stammers before I can say anything. “I didn’t-I didn’t mean to—”
She starts to ramble in a way I haven’t heard before. And I can’t help but interrupt as my own thoughts get the best of me.
“Is everything alright?” I ask, dampener already tight.
“Yeah, you know what, it’s fine. I’m fine.” She reassures me. “Never mind.”
I groan into the speaker.
I’m starting to hate those two words.
“You know, Ashbourne, the more you say that, the less I believe you. So why don’t we skip this part and you just tell me what you need?”
She’s quiet for a moment as she considers lying to me again, but she ultimately sides against it as she sighs.
“I’m just…a little hungry.”
She confesses it as if it is some grave admission. Something she would much rather avoid.
But we both know she can’t. It’s been more than twenty-four hours since her last feed. And even that was modest in comparison to what she usually needs.
Fuck, how did I forget about feeding her?
“I’m not home,” I say, tugging on the root of my hair.
There’s a long pause before she mutters, “Oh.”
Damn it.
She’s more than a little hungry. And she’s doing a shit job of hiding it. I can hear the tension in her voice.
When I don’t say anything for a moment, she adds, “I can wait. I’ll just—”
“No,” I interject. “I told you I’d keep you fed. I’m going to feed you.”
“Elliot…”
“Princess…”
More silence.
“Where are you?” I ask, once I’m certain she’s through arguing with me.
“Crescent House.”
What the fuck is she doing there without me this close to the moon? Half that house is probably in heat.
“I was looking for you,” she adds, my hesitation giving away my irritation. “I thought you’d be here.”
My gods, this woman.
“I do have a life, you know. Had a life. Before I became your permanent chew toy.”
“Yeah, well, whose fault is that?” she sasses.
Fair enough.
I live in a prison of my own making. A lovely prison. With thick hips and a perfect ass.
“Can you feed from a distance?” I ask, already making my way toward the library.
No one ever goes in there. No one but me and Jeffery, anyway.
“Um, I’m not sure. I’ve never tried.” She pauses, and a tingling sensation settles in my chest as she reaches for me. “I can feel you. But it’s faint. Maybe if I had an anchor.”
“An anchor?”
“Yeah, like a talisman. Something personally significant to you. So I can channel your energy?”
Hmm. The only thing that’s significant to me is already around my neck. The rest of it could disappear tomorrow, and I wouldn’t even flinch.
Well, maybe not everything.
Iris interjects, mistaking my silence for rejection.
“It’s alright,” she says. “Really, I can wait—”
“Go to my room,” I say, cutting her off before she starts rambling again.
“What?”
I wedge a finger beneath my dampener and roll my shoulders.
“Do you say ‘what’ every time I tell you to do something, so you can buy yourself time to decide if you’re going to do it? Or because you already know you’re going to do it, and you’re trying to convince yourself not to?”
When she doesn’t respond, I assume it’s the latter.
“Go to my room,” I repeat.
This time, the only answer I receive is the sound of shuffling feet.
I listen to the muffled chatter as she makes her way through the house, past the den, and up the stairs. She mutters a few hellos, but she doesn’t linger, and I know she’s hungrier than she’s letting on.
I duck into the library and shut the door behind me as she asks, “What now?”
“Get on the bed.” And because I know her, I add, “Under the covers.”
“Why?”
“Gods, you ask a lot of questions.”
It’s been a while since she’s been in my bed.
I could blame the inquisition for needing her scent replaced. Make something up about how they might come sniffing around again.
But the truth is, her scent has started to fade from all those nights ago. And no matter what I say, she’ll argue, so why not just tell her the truth?
“I like the smell,” I say.
“Ha.” She chuckles at me. “I’m sure you do.”
To my surprise, she sets the phone down to do as I say, and when she picks up again, there is an inflection in her voice that tells me she is excited.
“I don’t think I can use your bed as an anchor,” she says. “It’s too big to channel through.”
“That’s not the anchor. Reach into the bedside table and grab the first thing on top.”
I listen as she rustles around, and I know she’s found what I’m looking for when her breath hitches.
“Elliot! Where on earth did you get this?”
A smile spreads across my face as I imagine her marveling at it, and I have to adjust my dick to keep it from bruising as it pushes against my zipper.
“Fate has favorites,” I say.
I’m not usually one of them. But in this, the gods must have taken pity on me.
“Wait—” She’s quiet for a moment as she inspects it. “Is this…Is this you?”
About as close as I could get it. It’s a little shorter, and it’s missing the piercing in the top, but otherwise, yes, it’s me.
“Mmhmm,” I answer, already unzipping my pants.
She may be the hungry one, but I have a craving of my own, and the only thing that seems to shake it these days is her.
“It’s enchanted,” I add. “All you have to do is slip it in.”
Iris giggles, and the sound is muffled as she shifts around in the sheets.