Chapter 12
Riley
Hey, can we talk real quick? In person.
I’m not surprised to hear from Zane. Sure. I’m glad I’m still dressed.
I’ll meet you in the lobby. I’m here now.
I grab a sweatshirt to throw over my dress and head downstairs. I glance around the lobby but only see Zane. I’m surprised at the disappointment that fills me. “Hey.” Zane walks right over to me and wraps his arms around me. “I’m sorry for being a jerk.”
I swallow hard. “I’m sorry too.”
He squeezes me tightly and then pulls back. “Tonight was an awful night, and I only made it worse. I’m sorry.”
“Did Evie make you come over here and apologize?” I can’t help but tease him.
“Oh, she was all for this,” he admits. “But I made this decision on my own. I know I was being a jerk.” He puts his hands around my biceps and looks me directly in the eyes.
“I am so happy for you. Reid is a really, really good guy. And once I got my head back where it needed to be, I remembered that. If I had to choose a guy for my baby sister, I’d choose him.
And, Reid deserves the best; he really is a good guy.
” He makes sure I’m listening carefully.
“And if I had to pick the best of the best for him,” he smiles. “I’d choose my baby sister.”
My eyes tear up, and I put my head against his chest. “I’m sorry for being so awful tonight.”
“You weren’t awful, Riley. That was a lot tonight.” He pulls back and stares down at me. “Are you sad about Peter?”
My stomach knots. “Not in the way it sounds. I was never interested in him that way. Honestly, he wasn’t even that great of a friend; but he was one of the few guy friends I had that didn’t want to be more than friends and was okay with me being who I was.”
“That can’t be true. You’re beautiful and talented and smart—”
“And taller than most of the guys I know and am stubborn and opinionated and—”
“And confident,” he says, cutting me off. “I’m sorry about him, for your sake.”
“I mean, I hate that he was killed.” A shudder rolls through me. “How did I miss that he was a skinwalker, Zane? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know.” He looks just as frustrated as I feel. “But we won’t figure it out tonight. You need to get sleep with what little time is left.”
“You do too,” I remind him. “Thank you, Zane.”
He gives me a soft smile. “Yeah. I know you’ve got Reid now, but if you need me, you know I’m always here for you, Sis. Always.”
I nod. “I know.” And I did; he’s always been the best brother to me. I glance outside. “Is Reid still out there?”
He nods. “He is.”
“Will he have to stay out there all night?”
“Yes.”
I wrap my arms around myself, feeling tired and cold. “That’s not a long-term solution.”
He stays quiet a beat. “No, it’s not.” He doesn’t say anything else, and neither do I. “I’ve got to go; Evie’s waiting for me.”
“Oh, go.” I give him one last quick hug. “Thank you.”
“Love you.” And then he’s gone. I watch as he stops and talks to Reid a moment. Only once he’s gone do I head outside.
Reid sees me coming and frowns, walking over to me. “Hey, you okay?”
I don’t say anything, I just step into him and wrap my arms around him.
I can tell I’ve surprised him, but he wraps his arms around me a second later.
There’s something so familiar about hugging him.
I close my eyes and just breathe him in.
It’s not just the mate bond; it’s the bond of more than a decade of friendship between us.
He smells and feels just like he used to smell and feel years ago when hugs were frequent between us.
“I’ve missed you, Reid,” I whisper to him.
His arms tighten around me, and I feel him sigh against the top of my head. “I know. I missed you too.”
I get it; I really do. I was fourteen when he found out. He did what he had to. Do I wish he wouldn’t have cut himself out of my life for the past three years? Yes. But I get why he thought he had to do it. I tell him the words I’ve been thinking the last few hours. “I’m really glad it’s you.”
I feel his body stiffen and then he pulls back the slightest bit. I don’t want to look up at him, not yet. I’m not sure I’m ready for whatever he’s going to say. But he puts a finger under my chin and tips it up, so he can see my eyes. “I’m glad it’s you, Riley. It’s always been you.”
I bury my face in his chest, and he lets me. I’m not sure how long we stay that way, but I’m pretty sure I never want to leave this safe cocoon. “How long have you been staying up at night to watch over me?” He doesn’t answer right away, and I sigh. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
It takes him a moment before he tells me. “I didn’t at first. At first, I knew you were safe at home with your dad. As you got older, I would once in a while, just to make sure. But with the events of the past year, I’ve done it more often.”
“Like every night?” I ask.
“I have a need to know you’re safe, Ry. It eats at me. The threats that have been made aren’t idle, and most of them have been directed against you.”
I finally pull back. “You can’t stay up every night, Reid. That’s not going to work. I don’t care how strong your other half is. Eventually, you’re going to wear out. I don’t want that for you, especially not with your last season of college ball coming up.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“Yeah, well, I do,” I tell him. “And you’re not going to give up everything you’ve got going because of me.”
He smirks. “Okay. What’s your plan?”
“I’m moving in with you.”
His lips tug up even further. “Are you now?”
“Yes.”
“Riley, I’m not going to make you move into our house. You wanted the dorm life experience, the full college life experience.”
“Yeah, well I didn’t plan that my mate would suddenly show up; so here we are.” He frowns, and I shake my head. “That didn’t come out the way I meant it to.”
“How about this?” He reaches out and tucks a loose hair behind my ear. “How about you sleep on it tonight, or this morning, I guess? And we can talk about it after that.”
“There’s only one problem with that plan,” I point out.
“What?”
“You won’t be getting any sleep.”
“I’ll be fine,” he argues.
“Reid,” a huge yawn interrupts what I was going to say.
“Come on. We can talk tomorrow after you sleep.”
I stand my ground. “Reid, I'm not going to go upstairs and sleep while you stay awake out here all night. It’s not going to happen.” I cross my arms over my chest and lift my chin.
“I recognize that look.”
“Good. Then you know I’m serious.”
“Yes, Ry. I know you’re serious.” He shakes his head and looks up to the sky. “I’m in so much trouble.”
I look up with him. “Are you looking for help from up there because I’m pretty sure you’re on your own. Nobody can save you from me.”
He chuckles. “Truer words were never said. Okay, then what’s the compromise?”
I grin. “That was a blast from the past.” Reid used to always say those words when he was the peacemaker between Zane and me. “Well, you can’t sleep in my room. So, I’ll go to your house. I'll just sleep on the floor or the couch for now until we can figure it out.”
“No.”
“No, what? No, I can’t go to your house?”
“No to you sleeping on the floor.”
I wave off his concern. “We'll figure it out. If I can just borrow clothes from you to sleep in, I don’t have to go back inside.”
“Deal. Let’s go. My car’s this way.”
“Perfect. I have my phone on me, and that’s literally the only thing I care about tonight.”
“Come on.” He puts his hand on my lower back and leads me to his car.
“I’m sorry; we should have just done this earlier. We should have gone to your house after the party.” Another massive yawn overtakes me.
“It’s fine.” I can’t keep my eyes open as he drives. My head keeps bobbing, and the trip seems to take forever. He parks and is out of the car and opening my door before I’ve even fully realized we’ve stopped. He all but hauls me out of the car.
“I can’t believe how tired I am.” I swear even my speech is slurred.
“It’s the aftermath of your first shift. I can’t believe you’re still standing.”
He guides me inside, and I follow him to his room. “Here.” He hands me a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. “You can sleep in my bed. I’ll sleep in the room in the basement.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“It’s fine. I literally just moved up here; most of my stuff is still down there. I’ll just grab a blanket and a pillow.”
“Reid.” That’s all I get out.
“Hey,” he waits until my eyes meet his. “I’m fine.
Get some sleep.” He leaves a moment later, and it’s suddenly quiet.
I quickly change into his shorts and t-shirt and then climb into his bed.
It takes me only about five seconds to realize this is a bad idea, a really bad idea.
I'm literally surrounded now in Reid’s scent.
I think it’s going to take me forever to fall asleep, but it’s just the opposite.
Being surrounded by his scent makes me relax faster and sleep harder than I have in a long time.
When I wake up the next morning, a quick glance at my phone shows it’s nearly ten.
“Oh good grief.” It figures the first night I sleep here, I sleep in way too late.
Thankfully, it’s Labor Day; and we don’t have classes today.
I grab a sweatshirt of Reid’s from the closet and pull it over my clothes and throw my hair up into a bun.
I finger brush my teeth, using Reid’s toothpaste and then make my way out to the living room.
There’s no one in the living room, but the lights are on in the kitchen, so I turn in there and immediately wish I hadn’t.
A shirtless Slate stands with his back to me seriously making out with who I can only imagine is Tessa.
I just can’t see her. I take a silent step backwards, trying to escape before they can see me and run right into somebody.
I know without turning around that it’s Reid.
He puts his hands on my upper arms, steadying me.
“Put a shirt on, Slate.”
Tessa shrieks at the sound of Reid’s voice and jerks away from Slate, but he stops her by snagging her arm and pulling her back against him. “Morning, Reid,” Slate says in his low voice. “Riley.” He looks between the two of us. “I didn’t realize you were here.”
“She is, so the shirt rule goes back into effect.”
Slate scowls, and I quickly pipe up. “It’s fine, Reid. I’m a shifter; I’m used to seeing all sorts of nakedness.”
“You’ve seen Slater naked?” Tessa asks, eyes wide.
My gaze shoots to hers, horrified. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
Tessa grins. “Is the bottom half as good as the top half?”
Reid groans from behind me, and my mouth drops open. I turn my head slightly to look at Reid. “Did she seriously just ask that?”
He nods, looking a little green. “Welcome to my life.”
Tessa grins, and Slate smirks. “Welcome to the House of Stars,” Tessa says brightly.