Chapter 33
Wyatt
Rafe and I had to wait until the weekend to go back to the islands. He’d asked nicely, and Skye agreed we could stay at the apartment. As usual, Zephyr was not happy about it, but he was starting to go easier on Rafe.
I was still the only one on his shit list.
Rafe and I had quickly decided we should not blow up Skye’s life by telling her that her father Ben was probably not her biological father until we had some real answers.
Answers meaning: Levi.
Levi was a complete mystery, and not just because he was supposed to be dead.
Well, missing.
He was only one of two people missing in the aftermath of the massacre. Yes, they’d put all the unidentified pieces of people into the mass grave on Shafer’s island, but they had identified at least one piece of every missing person, which meant they weren’t missing.
Except for Levi and one other.
Levi, because he was alive, of course. The other missing person had been a kid, but everyone else in that family was dead.
I understood why Skye and Zephyr had decided to hide Levi. They were only kids at the time, and they didn’t want to be moved from their home, put into foster care and separated from their comatose father.
“I don’t know about this,” Rafe had said as we looked out over the ocean. “This idea of mine might be a stretch.”
I’d scoffed. “You’ve never cared about that before.”
“I didn’t have a reason to care before.” Rafe had said with a glare.
We had a plan, but it could go to shit at any moment.
Skye always walked the beach at sunset. Aiden was always with her, and Zephyr went with them more often than not. As soon as the apartment was clear in the evening, Rafe was going to shadow-walk us into the basement. Then, we’d question Levi and hopefully get some answers before anyone returned.
It wasn’t the best plan. Neither of us were good at planning, we’d both gotten shit scores on it in the military. No one cared about my scores except my father, but Rafe was expected to be some fantastic strategist at only eighteen.
It was such a joke, especially considering the man was twenty-eight and still only acted like an adult when he felt like it.
Levi would undoubtedly tell his children we’d gone to question him, so Rafe and I were prepared for that, too.
I was going to take the blame.
Zephyr already hated me down to the mitochondria in my DNA, and Skye was already so hurt from my previous actions, what was a little more betrayal?
I didn’t like it. Rafe really didn’t like it. But it was our best bet.
I sighed now as I walked down the beach, trailing behind everyone else.
Skye walked with Rafe, while Aiden was next to Zephyr in front of them. I told myself I was taking up the rear as some form of defense, but really, I was the fifth wheel that no one wanted here. The feeling of disappointment was getting old, but I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
Being alone so often had given me a lot of time to reflect.
For so long, my father had been disappointed in me for things I couldn’t control.
Was I not doing the same to Skye? Judging her for affinities she couldn’t control?
I’d watched her kill Landon.
She’d nearly been sick after.
He’d been begging her to help him, but…no, he’d asked her to kill him. That’d been loud and clear to everyone watching, including Coach.
God, I still couldn’t believe Coach sort of knew what was going on with Skye. I’d wanted to ask Skye how Coach was acting toward her and Aiden, but after the detention situation…
I breathed out harshly.
That idea had backfired spectacularly.
When I first saw the required counseling session from Coach, I’d been excited. I knew Aiden wouldn’t show, and I wasn’t going to fault him for that, but Skye? I expected Skye to at least show up and snark at me.
But that didn’t happen. So, instead, my plan had been to order the detention so she’d come to my office and snark at me, and that didn’t happen, either.
She’d attended the detention, with Aiden going for moral support. I’d been suspicious about her silence for exactly three hours when Rafe and I had realized someone had fucking glued everything down onto my office desk.
It should’ve been funny, but it wasn’t. I was pissed, so I’d issued another detention. She hadn’t seen it yet, thankfully, and I was wishing so hard that I could take it back. When she inevitably read the email, we’d be back to hating each other again.
I’d wronged her so badly, I wasn’t sure how to fix it.
My mind was constantly swirling.
Willow. Lauren. Skye. Fuck, even Mia.
They all needed something from me and I was letting each one down.
I chewed my lip as Skye laughed up ahead over something Rafe said. She took his arm and then leaned into him, and he glanced over his shoulder to wiggle his eyebrows at me.
Dick.
“Zephyr, I have a question.” Rafe said, slowing his pace so that they were right in front of me. Zephyr and Aiden slowed as they glanced back at Rafe. “Did you and Skye play pranks on each other growing up?”
“Not really,” Zephyr said flatly. “That usually ended up in my fingers being broken.”
Skye’s jaw dropped. “You asshole. Those were accidents.”
“You accidentally broke his fingers? More than once?” Aiden’s eyes bulged.
Zephyr waved his hand. “I healed it, it wasn’t a big deal.”
Aiden choked on a laugh, and my eyebrows hit my hairline.
“You healed your own fingers? When you were just a kid?” I asked.
It was as if a record scratched, everyone looking at me with varying levels of distaste. I felt my cheeks heating in embarrassment.
“Yeah,” Zephyr replied slowly. “Several times.”
“Fascinating,” Rafe said brightly. “And you never set them wrong?”
Zephyr scoffed. “I never set them, period. They just healed.”
Rafe looked at me, a little bewildered, and I blinked several times.
If Zephyr wasn’t lying…that would be remarkable.
There were so many questions I wished I could ask, the science part of my brain going wild, but everyone began walking again, forgetting me in the sand.
Fuck my life.
Rafe chuckled back into my mind. I hadn’t realized I’d been projecting toward him.
“I was quite the prankster, myself,” Rafe said, tossing an arm over Skye’s shoulder. An invisible force shrugged him off, and he played off his stumble with a smooth twirl.
“I don’t do pranks,” Skye said.
“Really?” Rafe pried. “Well, have you ever played around with superglue?”
Aiden snorted, then pursed his lips. I narrowed my eyes at him, then at Rafe, then at Skye.
Wait.
Skye gave Rafe a coy grin, then shook her head. “No, I can’t say I have.”
Wait.
“Did you glue the shit in my office?!”
Skye snorted. “Nope.”
“You’re lying.” I snapped.
“I assure you, I am not. Have you talked to Willow lately?”
“Willow? No?” Why the fuck would I have talked to Willow? She was still pissed at me, rightfully so, and…
Rafe began to laugh, and Aiden was right behind him.
“Wait.” My brain grinded to a halt. “Willow glued my shit down?!”
Skye laughed so hard she leaned over and held her stomach, making Aiden reach out as if she were about to fall.
My Key and my two Link-mates were all laughing at me.
My cheeks warmed again, and I eyed Zephyr behind them, grinning but not full-on laughing.
“Willow sounds cool,” he said. “Skye, invite her to my birthday party.”
Skye snorted as she straightened up. “No.”
Zephyr sighed dramatically. “Aiden? Invite Willow. She sounds fun.”
I clenched my jaw, deciding it was best if I didn’t speak. Zephyr was clearly talking about Willow to piss me off, and something told me that if I showed that it bothered me, he’d only get worse. Besides, the last thing I needed was Willow getting involved with a man like Zephyr.
Rafe and I got our chance right after dinner. He kissed Skye a little too long and deep in front of Aiden and I, and I suddenly wished I could teleport the fuck out of here.
Aiden was totally relaxed, hands in his pockets while he watched the beach. He wasn’t jealous in the slightest, and that puzzled me. Rafe was my oldest friend, and he was good to Skye. But watching him grip all her soft curves right in front of me had me feeling a little twitchy.
Zephyr was locking up behind us, and Skye pushed Rafe off with her affinity when Zephyr turned and gagged violently.
“Fucking hell, you’re doing that on purpose!” Zephyr snapped.
Skye glared at him while Rafe only smiled smugly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Skye asked hopefully.
“Absolutely,” Rafe replied. “I’ll see you back in the dorm.”
Skye gave him a sweet smile that turned tight when she looked to me. My heart hurt as they began their walk. Rafe grabbed my arm with a sigh, and then he shadow-walked us away.
We appeared in the basement a moment later. Rafe had briefed me beforehand, so I knew what to expect, but I was still shocked with what I saw.
The basement was larger than expected, with a long staircase leading upstairs and reinforced cement walls and floors.
One side was furnished with bookcases filled with books, some cabinets and a sink, while the other side was mostly storage.
On the furnished side sat a single hospital bed with it’s occupant: a man who looked so much like Zephyr, it jarred me.
Levi Aria had his arms braced down on the mattress as if he were about to push himself up to stand.
“What are…” His dark gaze jumped from me, to Rafe, then back to me, then he narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck are you two doing here?”
“Good evening,” Rafe said with bright smile. “We were never properly introduced. My name is Rafael, son of Her Grace, the Crown Princess Ramira. I am the Heir Apparent for North America.”
Levi gave Rafe a bored stare, and I could definitely see where Zephyr got his sense of humor.
“But you don’t care about that, of course, this is the Gulf, after all.” Rafe continued. “So, let me say this: your daughter is my Key.”
Levi’s jaw clenched.
“Ah, he doesn’t like that,” Rafe commented. “Why is that, I wonder?”
“She’s my daughter. I don’t like any man sniffing around her.” Levi said a bit robotically.