Chapter 12 Pizza and Psychics
Pizza and Psychics
Drying my tears, I approached our apartment. Voices sounded inside, and I frowned. It wasn’t like Sawyer to listen to television that loud, and no one ever visited us.
So what was going on?
The door made a soft scraping noise as it swung open, and the voices silenced. Intuition prickled over my skin—a mix of warning and anticipation.
Sawyer stood in the living room, his arms crossed. Cole stood about five feet from him, mirroring his pose. And slouched on the couch was Thorne, his tan skin looking unusually pale.
The room felt tiny with all three men taking up so much space.
Bristling, I stormed forward. Thorne straightened, his face brightening. Baring my teeth, I raised my hand and slapped him across the face as hard as I could. His head snapped to the side, and he fell back into the cushion.
“Woah!” Cole yelled. He reached for me, but Sawyer snarled at him and tugged me against his chest, wrapping his arms around my shoulders possessively. Cole jerked back like he’d been struck too.
“What the fuck is the matter with you?” Cole demanded, his eyes blazing.
“He came to my work and scared the shit out of me, tried to drag me out, and then trashed the front of the store!” I spat.
Thorne straightened, pressing a hand to his cheek. A bright red handprint peeked out from between his fingers, looking all the darker as the rest of his face paled.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cole drawled, throwing his hand up as he turned away. “You want to explain, Thorne, or should I?”
I took in Thorne’s disheveled appearance. He wore a loose black shirt over baggy jeans, and his mahogany hair was rumpled and messy. There was no sign of the leather pants or a douchey performance shirt.
So he raced here and changed clothes and rinsed the product from his hair? That didn’t make sense.
“What’s going on?” I asked, looking between the two men.
Cole cleared his throat and looked to Thorne.
He was rubbing at his cheek, one eye scrunched closed. “That wasn’t me.”
My hands found their way to Sawyer’s shirt, and I twisted the fabric between my fingers, the anxiety rising in my chest until I felt sick.
“That brother I told you about? He’s my identical twin,” Thorne said.
Of all the things I expected Thorne to say, blaming it on an evil twin brother wasn’t on the list. I barked an obnoxiously loud laugh. “Are you serious?”
Nodding, Thorne dropped his hand. “His name is Hunter. And he’s why we came through town. We were leaving our pack because he took over as the new alpha. And we don’t exactly get along.”
“Oh,” I said, sobering.
“How did he know about her?” Thorne asked, turning his attention to Cole.
Cole’s light gray eyes flitted around the room. His thick lashes were pitch black, adding contrast between his eyes and pale skin. “He could feel your fated mate bond with her.”
“Fucking twin bond,” Thorne grumbled. “How much can he sense?”
Gnawing on his lip, Cole thought for a minute. “He can track her and sense hints of her emotions. That should fade as the bond settles.”
“How do you know that?” Sawyer demanded.
Thorne’s jaw ticked. “He has his sources—”
Cole interrupted him. “We might as well tell them. I don’t give a shit.”
“Fine,” Thorne said, sitting back.
“I get visions,” Cole said, his eyebrow arching in challenge as he watched for our reactions.
Cocking my head, I tried to process his words. “Are you psychic or something?”
“Yeah, essentially,” Cole said, his arms crossing and a scowl twisting his face. He clearly wasn’t a fan of the designation.
“He’s a seer,” Sawyer said softly, staring at Cole with mixed emotions flashing across his face. His lips parted, his brows furrowed.
Cole nodded, his typical arrogant posture as he looked past my shoulder at Sawyer softening, his expression smoothing out. It felt like they were having a silent conversation.
Thorne studied his friend for a moment before addressing me. “He’s the one who told me to visit your work. He saw you were important.”
My jaw clenched, holding back accusations that it was Cole’s fault I was in this mess. That wouldn’t help the situation at all.
“But Hunter wants Cole in the pack because having a seer lends a certain air of power and importance. So he’s pretty pissed we left, I expect,” Thorne said, slumping back. He looked exhausted, lines around his eyes and a tightness to his mouth.
“Thorne, are you okay?” I asked quietly.
“That’s why we came,” Cole said, every word taut with expectation. “He’s getting sick from your bond being rejected. And it’s going to get worse for both of you.”
Sawyer’s hold on my shoulders tightened. “It’s only a temporary problem. You’ll both adjust and be fine.”
“Not exactly,” Cole growled.
“I can’t give you what you want,” I said.
Thorne’s eyes closed, his head tipping back to rest on the cushion.
“I understand. But being close to you helps. If we can spend a little time together, I should recover enough that we can get away from Hunter for good. Then I’ll ride out the rejection wherever we land. But I can’t protect Cole like this.”
Cole bristled, crossing his arms.
“What if he tries to take Autumn again? You’re trading your own safety for hers,” Sawyer accused, finally tearing his gaze off Cole to glare at Thorne.
“It’s too late for that,” Cole said. He scrubbed his hand over his face. “He clearly thinks he can use Autumn to get to you.”
“Can we convince him that we aren’t together and Thorne doesn’t care about me?” I asked.
Thorne chuckled dryly, but it was Cole who answered. “It doesn’t work like that. Even if you completely rejected him, he would still care about you. A fated mate bond is strong.”
A low growl vibrated against my spine. Twisting, I looked up at Sawyer. His eyes glinted, the green a bit brighter.
“Okay, so what can we do?”
Sighing deeply, Thorne answered, “I don’t know, but for the next day or two, we’d like to stay with you. We can protect you, and then you and I will feel better. Then we can decide what to do. But I have a raging headache right now.”
He pressed the meat of his palms into his eyes, tipping his head back to expose his throat. There was something so vulnerable in that, I wanted to help him.
“Fine, you can stay here for the night. You can sleep on the sofa or in Sawyer’s room, since he’s sleeping in mine.”
The temperature in the room rose, the air heavy. There was no ignoring the way my skin flushed as Thorne’s gaze raked over my figure. The tingles I felt weren’t just from Sawyer’s touch. My body wanted Thorne, too.
Clearing my throat, I took a step to the side, out of Sawyer’s arms. Turning, I reached for his hand.
“I’ll order some pizza, and you guys can pay for it. I hope you like pineapple on your pizza,” I said, putting on a smirk. “But I need some peace and quiet. I’ll be in my room.”
Raising an eyebrow in challenge, I took in Thorne’s stiff expression and Cole’s narrowed eyes. With a flip of my hair, I brushed past him, and Cole stepped back against the wall so he didn’t touch me.
My room felt like a sanctuary after all the testosterone in the living room. Sawyer dutifully followed me in, glancing over his shoulder at Cole as he went. He hesitated a moment, glancing back out at our visitors before closing the door. Giving his head a little shake, he turned to face me.
I braced myself, ready to argue about Thorne and Cole staying the night.