Chapter 3
MAEVE
“Let’s stop off at the pharmacy to get your script filled,” Hadrian says, gesturing to the retail area to the left.
I shake my head. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve got plenty of time to get these started. Right now, I’m going to head home and get organised before we have to get a plan figured out for your pathetic brother.”
“Calling him pathetic isn’t very kind,” Hadrian argues. “It’s not his fault he’s been shanked by my uncle.”
“How do you know he was shanked?” Lucifer asks, directing us to the car park, careful not to touch me as he does.
Hadrian sticks to my other side, Draven bringing up the rear. No matter how much I try to reshuffle them, they drift back into place.
Annoying assholes.
“Oh, come on, what else would he have done? Our uncle is a unicorn—the only one in the world. It’s his biggest claim to fame, and that horn of his is sharper than any blade I’ve ever held.
On the phone, he told me they were sparring, which means in their shifted forms. I’d bet your life on it, Luc. ”
“It is his usual move,” Lucifer says with a nod. “Hm, maybe Baby Cuz is just going to die, and that’s that.”
“You’d let your cousin die?” Draven asks, and I sneak a look back at him. His brow is raised, but he doesn’t seem judgemental—more… respectful.
Fuck me.
“No,” Lucifer and Hades say at the same time. I sigh, but I think Draven’s is louder.
“But it would be funny if we did,” Lucifer continues alone, and I shake my head.
As we reach the car, there’s no hesitation as both Hades and Draven move to the back of it, and I nod a thanks at Lucifer as he opens my door for me.
The seats don’t bother me nearly as much as they used to with the bamboo covers, and he’s even covered the seat belts now, too. They still press—wire cutting into skin—harsh enough they should come with a warning.
It could be worse, I suppose, but I’m struggling to see how.
“You okay?” Hadrian asks, nudging the back of my chair.
I flinch, and both Draven and Lucifer let out low growls at the pegasus. I don’t bother answering, letting the sourness of my scent fill the car as I turn to look out of the window.
My heart is racing, and I know that the unease my chromius is feeling has less to do with what happened to us today and more to do with Julian’s current situation.
She’s convinced he’s in danger, and. annoyingly, she blames herself. Which is so stupid and is exactly why she needs me to survive. Chromiuses are so idiotic because they’re not self-sacrificing.
They depend on others around them for their strength. The touch, the connection, the community that comes with being a powerful chromius means a life surrounded by other species. It’s laughable.
I could never be that desperate.
I’d rather be weak and alone than reliant on other people.
But this is why we’re a good team together. She’s going to keep us powerful and strong, and I am the one that keeps us safe.
I keep us alive.
“We’re going to be forced into a meeting with the king once we get back,” Lucifer says. “Are you wanting to come, pretty princess? He says he understands if you’re not up to it.”
I’m torn between rage, indignation, and exhaustion. I’m mentally drained and don’t want to go anywhere other than home—well, to mine and Ari’s flat.
But the fact that Alpha Atticus Phoenix thinks I’m too weak to be able to face chatting to him is mortifying. That he knows I was shaken by this, rattled to my very core, and had to be hospitalised.
It’s embarrassing.
“No,” I say with a heavy sigh.
He laughs. “I didn’t expect you to say yes, if I’m being honest. There’s a chance he’s going to call my uncle, and I think it’ll hurt him more for you to not be there.” I nod but don’t turn to look at him, unable to let him see the vulnerability on my face.
“Do you trust us to handle things?” he asks.
“What really needs handled?” Hades interjects.
“Seems you got the brains in your family, Luc,” I say, forcing a snarky comment as I commit to the bit of being okay. The tension in the car is killing me, and every minute that passes by has my chest tightening that little bit more.
Hadrian whines in the back, flinging his head onto the headrest without a care in the world. He doesn’t need to second guess every movement and hype himself up for the simplest of touches.
He just… exists.
Entitled prick.
Laugh or drown—those are the only options.
“Are you kidding? I’m smart,” he says. “Not like Julian smart, but that’s the boring kind. I’m street smart. Wise. Intelligent beyond my—”
“Sure,” Lucifer teases, cutting him off. “You’re smart, pretty, and so fucking funny. Oh, wait, that’s me. You’re just as dull as your brother—stop kidding yourself.”
I laugh, hoping they don’t hear the tremors in it. Why can’t I just be okay? Why am I letting anything bother me?
I survived, and my stepfather is dead.
That should be enough, right?
I outlived him. I get the rest of my life free from him, and I’ll never, ever have to see him again.
Well, when my eyes are open at least.
So, why am I so uneasy? Why does my heart ache?
Why do I feel like I’m slowly dying?
“I’m so, so sorry,” Ari whispers, her icy grey eyes welling up with tears.
Her eyes are swollen, red blotches colouring her face, and her hair is tangled, tossed over her left shoulder.
Three of her nails are bleeding on one hand, and two on another—I’m surprised Alvie hasn’t waged war over it.
She’s had herself tied up in knots the entire time I’ve been gone, clearly.
“What are you sorry for?” I demand, eyeing her warily as she rises from the sofa. The navy blanket she had wrapped around her falls to her feet, and I can’t tell if her shiver is from the chill or her sadness.
In her pyjama T-shirt and shorts, she looks vulnerable and far younger than we actually are. Despite being much taller than Nora, and even myself, Ari’s extremely thin—underweight, despite the pregnancy.
Between neglect, stress, morning sickness, and dick-headed mates rejecting her, a physical toll has been taken on my friend.
“For stroking your hair and touching you,” she says, shaking her head. “You were just lying on me, and I had no idea what to do, so wanted to offer support, but I know you hate it and—”
“Stop,” I cut her off. A tremor shudders through me because I don’t actually remember this moment, but I don’t blame her either.
I initiated it, clearly, and I hate that my… friend has been worrying so much over my delicacies.
Nora’s eyes dart between the two of us, but she stays nestled under her blanket on the sofa, a wariness in her gaze.
She understands me—hell, both of us—and I hate how vulnerable it makes me feel in front of her.
Unlike Ari and I, her dark brown eyes are full of nothing but warmth and confidence. She’s got thick dark brown hair which comes down to her waist, although it’s all thrown up in a messy bun at the moment.
She’s also wearing a pair of pyjamas, and since they’re hanging off her, I can imagine they’re Ari’s. Nora’s tiny compared to both Ari and I, only a bit over five foot.
Short-ass.
“I am so grateful to you,” I say softly. I look at Nora, making sure she knows she’s included in this. “Don’t waste your time apologising to me when I’m the problem here. I need to apologise to you for bringing all this shit to your doorsteps.”
Nora waves me off, her scent softening.
“Things have been far too quiet in my life since we dealt with the hunters. I’m quite excited for some fun.”
Ari wipes at her eyes, so fucking delicately, and sniffles. “Really? I know I broke your trust—”
“You didn’t. You could never.” I give her a grim smile as the panic rears its ugly head once more. “We learnt today that Adrian and his team have been drugging me when I’m at my most vulnerable. I think stroking my hair when I laid on you without permission is nothing compared to that.”
“You never need permission to touch me,” Ari says just as Alvie comes into the room.
“Good to know, heartling,” he says with a grin.
Ari sneers at him, her scent souring immediately. Nora’s smirk widens, and she winks at me as if we’re in on some shared secret.
“You know for a fact I was not talking to you, Alvie,” Ari says.
“An elephant can always hope,” he says cheerily. He nods his head at Nora and I. “Your men have arrived at the Phoenix home, Maeve, and wanted me to let you know.”
“Why?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. Is this some kind of ploy to try and get me to go with them?
Are they trying to guilt me?
Or is this in case I wanted to try and make a run for it, and he’s giving me a warning?
Hm. I’m not sure the elephant would do that for me.
Asshole.
Alvie looks dumfounded for a moment before the knowing glint in his pale grey eyes brightens. Dick.
“Because they knew you hoped for their death and wanted to disappoint you further,” Nora teases, kicking the blanket off her legs.
“I suppose if anything were to brighten today up, it would be that,” I admit. Nora cackles, and Ari cracks a smile.
Alvie just rolls his eyes.
“What are the plans for today, girls?” Alvie asks.
“I’d like to say none of your business, but I heard the warning Luc gave you,” I say. Alvie shivers, and I grin. “I’m staying here.”
“We all are,” Nora adds, giving me a warning look when I go to protest. “We’re your friends, Maevey Baby. We’re not leaving.”
“Nope, not after the shit you’ve shared. We’re going to talk about this drugging episode of yours and have a lovely girl chat about your feelings,” Ari says.
Despite it being said in a warm tone, I know that it’s not optional, and she absolutely means it. The elephant is the mother hen of the group, whether we want it or not.
Nora and I are connected through the darkness, through the twisted thoughts we both share, and the deep-seated desire to live despite life trying to convince us otherwise.
Ari and I are connected through the insane behaviours our brains convince us are logical, that we need to do these things to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.