Chapter 48
Rafe
Wyatt and I stared at the ceiling, our drink glasses empty except for a block of ice. Aiden had gone to wake up Skye, so the two of us had a drink while we waited, not caring in the slightest that it was ten o’clock in the morning.
“Let’s have another before they come back out,” Wyatt suggested.
“Yep.” I was already on my feet, shadow-walking to my room to refill our glasses. I’d just flopped onto the couch beside Wyatt when we heard the bedroom door open. Wyatt and I both gulped down our bourbon before hiding our glasses between the couch and the wall.
Skye appeared at the hall opening, followed by Aiden and–
Wyatt jumped to his feet, surprisingly quickly for a man who’d just downed two glasses of bourbon, ready to be an asshole and ruin everyone’s day. “What are you doing here?”
“Are you kidding? I’m not allowed to visit my sister?” Zephyr sneered.
“Skye?” Wyatt looked to our Key. “Why is he here?”
Skye looked through Wyatt, simply patting him on the chest before she drifted into the room.
“Darling?” I asked lowly.
She glanced in my direction, then bypassed Wyatt’s armchair before coming to me. My heart leapt as I sat up straighter, opening my arms and only expecting a hug. But a moment later, Skye climbed completely into my lap, tucking her freezing cold toes up under her and against my thigh.
I wrapped my arms around her while Aiden flopped onto the other end of the couch and Zephyr leaned back against the wall, furthest from us. I breathed in the familiar scent of Skye’s shampoo, then kissed the back of her head.
Skye squirmed in my arms, which she had to know drove me insane, and turned just enough so her lips could touch mine. I kissed her deeper than I should’ve with Zephyr nearby, but I couldn’t help it. I’d missed her, and technically, she’d started it.
Are you alright, my love? I asked.
Skye pulled back, nodding while she held my cheek, then turned back to the room.
“Zephyr is my brother, he can be here whenever he wants, even if I’m not here.” Skye said softly.
Wyatt’s face dropped, but he quickly smoothed his expression, then he nodded. “Okay. You’re right.”
Zephyr rolled his eyes.
Darling, I whispered. You cannot hide from me forever.
Skye stilled, and I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her shampoo again.
I know you’re hiding something, I said. And I know Aiden probably knows. I’m not angry, I…I just wish you trusted me enough to tell me what it was.
Skye didn’t reply.
How damning.
I ignored the flutter of hurt that curled through my stomach as we focused back in on Wyatt and Zephyr, mid-argument while Aiden watched.
“Oh, really?” Zephyr sneered. “And where the fuck were you when my sister needed a Healer?”
Everyone froze, including Zephyr, who acted like a man who’d just realized he’d said too much. My hold on Skye tightened almost imperceptibly.
Wyatt turned to me and Skye, the look on his face hard to read. But I knew my friend. He was hurt.
“You needed a Healer?” Wyatt looked back and forth between the siblings.
“You guys are acting like she committed a crime,” Aiden said with a laugh. “You know she gets bad cramps.”
I narrowed my eyes at that.
Skye’s cheeks were bright red, and Zephyr looked anywhere but at his sister.
Skye had never had her brother come heal cramps for her before, not even back when I was stalking her. And besides, she was in her luteal phase. She wouldn’t be having a period for another week at least.
Skye was still stiff in my arms, because she knew exactly how deep in her business I could be, so she probably knew I knew this was a lie. But I was a bit desperate for her trust, and I’d been slowly earning it by reining in Wyatt, so…
“Darling, why didn’t you just say so?” I murmured. “You know Wyatt would’ve handled that for you before we left.”
Everyone blinked.
So Aiden was also in on the lie.
Great.
“Right, Wyatt?” I barked when he didn’t reply fast enough.
“Of course, I mean, obviously. I can handle cramps.”
His red face actually said the opposite. Wyatt would probably rather heal an anal fissure than menstrual cramps.
“Anyway,” Zephyr muttered. “What’s going on? Where were y’all?”
It was on the tip of my tongue to point out that his sister should have shared that information with him at some point during the healing of the cramps, but before I could speak, Skye sat up straight in my lap…putting her ass directly on my cock.
Which began to rise and then immediately deflate as she spoke.
“I like someone,” Skye announced.
Zephyr ducked his head, hiding his face in his hands.
I blinked, meeting Wyatt’s gaze across the room before focusing back on my Key.
“Okay,” I replied, not sure what else I could say.
Wyatt narrowed his eyes.
“So, there. That’s it.” Skye said, deflating slightly.
“What does this have to do with cramps?” I murmured.
“Wait a minute. You’re telling me a man’s been in this dorm?” Wyatt growled.
“It’s not your dorm,” Aiden argued. “She can invite anyone over that she wants.”
“You knew about this,” Wyatt scoffed. “Of course you knew and didn’t tell us.”
“It’s not my business to tell,” Aiden argued. “And look at how you’re acting. No wonder she kept it quiet.”
“It doesn’t mean anything!” Skye cried, shifting off of me so she sat beside me instead of on my lap. I frowned. “He doesn’t…he doesn’t want me back. So that’s it. I’m sad, but I’ll get over it.” She clasped her shaking hands in her lap while staring into the carpet.
Zephyr rubbed his hands up and down his face so many times, his skin took on a red hue.
I was filled with a sudden rage that wasn’t completely mine, and my eyes darted toward Wyatt.
I watched his jaw work, could practically see the wheels turning inside his head as he chose his next words.
Shadows slunk across the carpet toward his feet, ready to silence him should he choose to say something unbearably stupid.
“Darling,” I said gently, deciding I’d take the softer approach before Wyatt could bulldoze through the moment. “I’m so sorry. Was there…a fight?”
Skye’s silver eyes widened as they landed on me, shocked by my response. Aiden and Zephyr both watched me cautiously, but I was completely calm…aside from my desperation for her trust.
Skye was close to her brother. She was closer to Aiden than me or Wyatt. It made perfect sense her brother and Aiden would know about this mystery man.
But it still hurt.
“Sort of,” she whispered.
“Who is it?” Wyatt demanded. “If you say Isaiah, I swear to God–”
My blood pressure spiked at that sentence. I’d been watching Skye and the new guard carefully, but I could’ve missed something. He was with her all the time. It made perfect sense. My hands shook with the urge to go throttle his pretty neck.
“It’s River,” Zephyr snapped. “Okay? His name is River. He’s a student. You all need to chill the fuck out.”
I narrowed my eyes at Zephyr, but breathed out slowly. I’d heard that name before. Maybe they’d become friends and I’d missed it? No…I didn’t miss anything with Skye. Or…so I’d thought.
“River,” Wyatt ground out, then looked to Aiden. “That’s why you beat the shit out of him?”
I raised my eyebrows, then blinked as I remembered where I knew that name from.
“I beat the shit out of him because he kissed her and took off,” Aiden said darkly. “And I’d do it again. I might do it right now, actually.”
Zephyr pinched the bridge of his nose before looking to his sister, who was staring into the floor, her cheeks burning with humiliation.
The tension melted out of me. She didn’t deserve this. She owed us an explanation, sure, but…if the relationship wasn’t going to move forward, then…
“Why is Zephyr really here?” I murmured. “Did something happen?”
Zephyr glared at me.
“I had cramps,” Skye answered robotically.
I sighed deeply.
Fine.
“Skye’s offered us enough truths for the evening,” I announced. “Let’s share what happened with Levi.”
Zephyr’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “Levi? Was he okay?” His tone was so…young and hopeful. My heart ached for him. I hadn’t stopped to consider how much this all could be weighing on him.
“He was in the farmhouse,” Aiden replied. “He told us some things before he disappeared again.”
Skye moved to stand, but I pulled her close, not ready to let her go. This story was going to hurt.
And it did.
Skye’s face was a mask of horror as she watched Wyatt recount the visit with Levi. Zephyr sat on the carpet in front of me and Skye at one point, his hands in his hair with his head bowed forward.
“Levi made her choose?” Zephyr cried, stopping Wyatt.
“And she didn’t choose her Link,” Skye whispered, hunching in on herself once again. I curled myself around her, like my touch could cure her of these awful feelings. The confusion, the betrayal, the disbelief. It was all evident across her face.
“Levi says this guy was evil. That he and Ben could tell,” Aiden said.
“I bet they could,” Zephyr scoffed, then said in a funny voice, “Don’t listen to him babe, his vibes are off.”
Skye snorted, then let out a watery laugh before turning her face into my side.
Hell yeah.
“Really though, this is heavy.” Zephyr sat back against the couch. “Fuck.”
“How?” Skye said, her voice muffled. “How could she not choose her Link?”
Wyatt’s gaze sharpened into a glare, and I knew. Just knew. He was about to open a nuclear can of worms.
“Good question,” Wyatt said darkly.
Zephyr’s head snapped up. “Fuck. You. Leave her alone.”
Aiden’s arms sparked.
“No,” Wyatt shook his head. “No. You two being here is a problem. You’re going to…blindly defend her without considering our feelings. My feelings. Rafe’s feelings.”
“I considered your feelings,” Skye said, her voice small. “That’s why I hadn’t said anything yet. It wasn’t…pertinent yet.”
Wyatt’s jaw dropped. “You kissed another man. That wasn’t pertinent to share with your Chain?”
Skye covered her face.
“My mom got kicked to the curb for my dad’s actual Key. You think this is easy for me? I don’t…I don’t know if I can watch you with someone else if they’re not meant to be in this Chain.”