“Sisters,” Castor mumbles, rolling his eyes.

  “Are they gone?” The voice has us turning around. Hunter snuck in the back way through the dining room. He’s looking around like he’s in trouble, and not wanting to get caught. From the sounds of it, he is and he won’t be able to hide forever. Seeing him like this is interesting. He actually looks scared.

  “Does it matter? You can’t run from them forever. You may as well suck it up and take it like a man.”

  “Hunter? A man?” I mumble to myself. Thorne smirks. I think he’s the only one who heard me.

  “I’ll try as long as I can,” Hunter says. He moves to the double ovens, opening one and pulling out a few pieces of what looks like French toast before he runs back through the dining room. I hear the girls coming down the stairs, chatting loudly.

  Thorne shakes his head while moving to the counter, he opens a cabinet and pulls down a few plates.

  “Hunter! The longer you hide from me, the worse it’ll be!” one of the girls, who I can only assume is his sister at this point, warns as she reaches the bottom of the stairs.

  “Are they always like this?” I whisper.

  “Yep,” Castor says, opening another cabinet and pulling out glasses and mugs.

  I look around the room, noticing it’s spotless but the oven is full of food. “Your parents aren’t here?” I ask.

  Thorne shakes his head. “They had to go to a pack meeting, some last minute thing. Mom got up extra early to make sure we had breakfast.”

  That’s so sweet of her.

  A short time later, Castor, Thorne, Jillian, Toni, and I are sitting at the dining room table having breakfast. The food is delicious, but not quite as good as Callan’s. Though, I think that’s just me being biased.

  “So, how does it feel?” Toni asks, staring straight at me with her eyes wide. I still can’t get over the color. They are actually purple. I imagine they both must be Paranormals with irises like that.

  “How does what feel?” I ask cautiously, unsure how to take these girls. They’re very high-strung, loud, and just out there.

  “Finding your mates, of course!” Jillian answers. Gosh, these girls look like twins. Now that I know whose sister they are, I can see the resemblance and why I thought they looked familiar. But it’s so odd because they also look the same, like they could be sisters as well. What are the chances they both have red hair and purple eyes? Especially since Castor and Hunter are complete opposites.

  Toni turns to Jillian. “Do you remember how it felt at first? It was so exciting. She must be excited.” She turns to me. “You are excited, aren’t you?”

  “Uh, yeah. Of course.”

  “Girls, how about we tone it down a notch, yeah?” Thorne comes to my rescue, as he has been doing all morning. “It’s still early.”

  “What? We just want to get to know our sister,” Jillian says with so much sass it makes me laugh.

  “Yeah, Thorne. So take a chill pill, okay?”

  He shakes his head, focusing on his food. I can see the point is moot.

  “It’s fine,” I say to Thorne and look at the girls. ”I would love to say it’s been exciting, but unfortunately, it hasn’t.” They both look confused as all hell. “I didn’t know I was a shifter until recently, so it’s just been a little hectic.”

  “Oh my god. Are you serious?”

  “Yep,” I say, pushing around a piece of bacon on my plate.

  “We can talk about it later. Let’s not ruin the day with this. You want to get to know her? Ask her her favorite color or something normal,” Castor says. I look towards him and give him a thankful smile. He returns it.

  We go through the rest of breakfast with them asking me a million and one questions. They both talk so much. Listening to them go back and forth is giving me whiplash. I’m trying to keep track of everything they’re saying, but I’m not sure that I’m able to keep up.

  We’re all in the kitchen cleaning up our dishes and putting the food away into the fridge when the front door opens. I turn, expecting to see Thorne’s parents but I’m shocked when a bunch of guys walk in. I started to count after the fourth one, not entirely sure who the hell it is that’s coming into Thorne’s house like this. I know he doesn’t have any brothers and he didn’t say anything about having a party.

  “Where’s my kitten?” the fifth one shouts as he walks through the door. He’s huge, even bigger than Thorne.

  “Right here, baby!” Toni responds. She dries her hands on the towel and bounces over to the guy who lifts her up and squeezes her tightly. A few other guys around our age surround her and they all take turns hugging and kissing her. I realize then Jillian has walked away too. She’s being greeted by three other guys, all hugging and kissing her too.

  They must be together. I watch them, taking in their smiles, their ease of being with each other. I can see and feel how happy they are. It should make me feel the same, but instead, I just feel sad. Sad at how that is what I should have at this point, but I don’t. Maybe we’re getting there, but I feel as if I’ve been cheated. My whole life I should have had so many things and all I’ve gotten is shit.

  “Hey,” Thorne’s soft voice gets my attention. His hands cup my face and he brings his lips down to kiss me gently. “Go grab a shower. I’ll finish up here.”

  He always knows.

  I nod my head and sneak out of the kitchen and head up to Thorne’s room. I ignore the group of happy people I pass by, knowing I’ll have plenty of time to meet them when I get done. I could really use a shower right now anyway. It always seems to make me feel better.

  I head straight to the en suite and turn on the faucet for the hot water. I strip my clothes off and leave them in a pile by the door. I’ll clean that up later. Right now, I just want the heat on my skin. The hot water and steam wash away my stress and anxiety and I start to feel better. I wash up quickly and get out of the shower, turning it off. I wrap the towel around me and walk into Thorne’s room, going right for my bag of things. I pull out clothes to wear and lay them on the bed. I’m so thankful Thorne packed stuff for me. I feel better knowing I have my own things to wear.

  A body presses up against me from behind, a hand wrapping around my mouth. “Shh, it’s just me.” Castor’s words instantly ease the panic that was rising up. “I didn’t mean to scare you, I was trying to surprise you.”

  I nod.

  He keeps his hand wrapped around my mouth, the other is trailing down the side of my body, enjoying every curve there is. His lips press against my neck and he bites me gently, sliding his tongue back up and towards my ear.

  “Go lie down on the bed,” he whispers into my ear.

  He lets go of me and I hesitate before doing as he said. I crawl into the middle of the bed and lie down. He pulls his shirt off over his head using only one hand. My eyes drift along his well-defined abs, following them down to where the V meets his pants. I quickly look towards the door, worried someone is going to come in.

  “I locked it. Besides, I’m not going to be long.” He smirks and crawls onto the bed. Castor hovers over me for a moment before bending down and taking my mouth into his. His lips are soft and demanding as they meet mine. He sits back on his knees and opens up the towel I have around me. He looks down at me, biting his bottom lip. Shaking his head slowly, his eyes dart to mine. “I don’t like knowing you were left unsatisfied this morning,” he says, scooting back a bit and lowering himself to his forearms. He slides his hands under my thighs and hooks his hands around them. Dragging his tongue across my sensitive flesh, my head falls back and I can’t help the moan that escapes me. “That is not something I will ever do, got it?” He moves to the other leg, gently nipping and biting at my skin. He pulls away, looking at me. “Do you understand?”

  I nod my head.

  “Good.”

  His mouth finds my leg again, slowly trailing kisses closer and closer to my core. “Fuck, I could spend the entire day worshiping you like this. I don’t like being rushed,” he says quietly. He finally reaches my center, dragging his tongue slowly through my folds. I hold back the moan as best I can, but the tiniest whimpers still escape. “But making you come is so much more important. And by the looks of it,” he drags his tongue around that swollen nub again, causing me to buck my hips and my fingers to grip the bed sheets. I didn’t realize how badly I needed this. “It isn’t going to take long.”

  No, it isn’t.

  He lowers his head again, his tongue circling my clit lazily. I can tell he’s enjoying what he’s doing and that makes it even hotter. Castor can tell when I start to get close, which isn’t all that long after he started. He keeps doing what he’s doing, my hips moving with his tongue. He groans as he licks me, as if this is the most pleasant thing he could be doing.

  “Oh my god,” I cry out. My hands grip his hair as he continues to lick me slowly. It’s driving me wild, constantly feeling like I’m on the brink of orgasm, but it just won’t get to me. I need him to move just a little faster, but he doesn’t. He keeps up the pace. And just when I think I’m going to lose my mind, it hits. And it hits hard.

  One hand stays wrapped in Castor’s hair while the other comes to my mouth. I bite onto my forearm trying to keep myself quiet, though I’m not sure it worked too well.

  He sits back on his knees, a toothy smile on his face as he looks down at me. The bulge in his pants is noticeable and I hope to god he’s going to fuck me. Even after coming like that, I want more of him. Things with us haven’t been the easiest, but we’re finally in a good place it seems. His attitude towards me has changed, he’s trying. And now that the physical stuff has happened, it’s like we’re connected by an even stronger invisible force.

  But that’s how it is with shifters. The mating, it makes you connected to the other person more than anything else can.

  He leans over me and presses a firm kiss to my lips before speaking. “Feel better?”

  Fourteen

  Leona

  I make my way downstairs alone. Castor said he was staying upstairs to make a phone call because it’s too loud down here. He asked if I wanted to stay with him but I figured it was best to get back to the party, to meet the rest of everyone here. These people will be my family, officially, at some point. I guess it’s best that I get to know them.

  I hear sounds coming from the study, so I head in that direction. I come to a full stop when I catch what Hunter is talking about.

  “—packing our stuff. All of us will be back here this week, hopefully.” He laughs. I stay hidden around the corner so I can listen in to whatever else he has to say.

  “Come on, bro. Is it really that bad?” an unfamiliar voice asks. It must be one of Toni’s or Jillian’s guys.

  “It’s rough. There’s nothing to do and the girl won’t even fuck me.”

  Oh, hell no! I’ve had enough. I’m sure he has much more to say but I don’t want to hear it. I’m not even mad about the fucking part. Damn right I won’t fuck him. But they’re coming back here? When were they going to tell me they planned on coming back here? That they are leaving me? My chest aches and my stomach turns as I turn around. I rush up the stairs and burst through Thorne’s door where I find Castor sitting on the bed, the phone to his ear. He immediately senses something is wrong and pulls it away, pressing something on the screen and dropping it to the bed.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” he asks, getting to his feet.

  “When were you going to tell me?”

  “Tell you what?” He looks confused, but I don’t believe him. Not anymore. Lie to me once, shame on them, lie to me twice, shame on me. I should have known they were keeping something from me. Hell, they couldn’t even have the decency to give me a heads up about coming here.

  “Leaving, Castor! When were you going to tell me?”

  He takes a step closer to me. “We’re leaving tonight. Didn’t Thorne tell you?”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about,” I say firmly. “I’m not talking about leaving here to go home.” My body is vibrating with anger and I’m struggling to keep focus, to stay still. All I want to do is pace, knock things over, punch something.

  Recognition strikes his face.

  “Yeah,” I say with a shaky voice. I point my finger at him. “That’s what I’m talking about.”

  I turn around, pulling my phone from my pocket. I pull up Callan’s number as I rush down the stairs and out the door.

  “Leona? Is everything okay?” He sounds concerned.

  “Can you pick me up?” I ask, trying to hold back the tears.

  “What happened?” I hear someone in the background asking what’s going on, but Callan just shushes them. “Tell me what happened.”

  I reach the busy road, heading in the direction of traffic. Even though I know I’m going the wrong way, it’s safer to do this. I look behind me and there isn’t anyone following. I’m both thankful and upset over that. I didn’t leave to cause attention, it’s not that I want them to follow me but it is nice when they put up a fight for me. It shows they care. That they need me. So they’re just going to let me go this time?

  “They’re leaving. The boys were planning on leaving and they didn’t tell me.” There’s a long silence before Callan lets out a long sigh. His lack of words is loud enough for me to understand. “You knew.” My voice is quiet and I stop in my tracks. “You all knew, didn’t you?” I ask, frozen in my spot. Cars whiz by me, the cold air nipping at my skin. My hair is blowing every which way. I just now notice there is snow on the ground and my feet are buried, my shoes will be wet in no time if they aren’t already. It must have snowed overnight but I haven’t even looked out the window yet today.

  “Leona, it’s—”

  “What is going on with everyone? Why am I the only one that doesn’t know a damn thing going on in my own life?” I scream at the top of my lungs, every negative emotion I’ve been feeling is boiling over. “It’s my life and I don’t know a fucking thing about it!”

  “Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Maybe it’s best I know something that others don’t.” I hang up my phone and drop it right there in the snow. I take sure steps forward, holding out my thumb. I know this is illegal. I know this is dangerous. But right now, I don’t care.

  Fifteen

  Castor

  I don’t bother chasing after Leona, knowing that Thorne will do it. He took off out the door a few minutes after she did. Instead, I make a quick turn into the study room where all the cool kids are hanging out.

  “The fuck did you do this time, Hunter?” I ask, standing before him, my hands on my hips. It takes everything in me to not punch him. I get it now. Thorne’s anger towards him. I fucking get it. I feel it. It’s almost too much to handle.

  “What are you talking about?” He laughs, turning back towards Jackson who has a smirk on his face. He’s always been a little shit, that one. Fucking trouble. He and Hunter are dangerous when they’re together.

  “I’m not done talking to you,” I say as calmly as I can.

  Hunter turns back towards me slowly. He gets to his feet and moves towards me, stopping inches from my face. “Well, I’m done talking to you.”

  I see red.

  Fucking red.

  All I know is a sharp pain stings my right hand and then I’m being tackled and slammed to the ground.

  “Boys! Knock it off. All of you!”

  Someone is shouting in a high-pitched voice, but I can’t make out who it is. I still can’t see straight, I’m so fucking angry. I grab at whoever is holding me, my fingers turning into my claws and digging into their skin. They let out a sharp hiss and let go of me. By the time I get to my feet, I’m fully transformed. My fox was so angry it couldn’t contain itself. I look around for Hunter, ready to sink my canines into his stupid fucking ass, but I don’t see him. Everyone is shouting at one another. About what? I have no idea. All I did was punch him, why the hell are they yelling?

  I find Elijah standing in the corner, holding his hand to his chest, blood dripping from it. Ah, so he’s the one who tackled me. I bow my head low and growl at him. He holds his hands up in surrender, shaking his head and then leaving the room.

  No, he didn’t deserve that, but I can’t think straight. Fuck everyone here. All of them.

  “What the hell is happening here?” Thorne’s dad walks in the front door, his mother right behind him. Their faces are full of shock and disbelief. It finally hits me that I’ve caused chaos in their house. Something no one should ever do.

  Shit.

  I force myself to shift back, telling my fox I’ll allow him out later to let off some steam. We can run around out back and do some hunting. I haven’t let him out much and it’s mostly because we haven’t been here. I don’t feel as comfortable at Leona’s home, but that’s where she’s most comfortable so that’s where we are staying.

  Only we weren’t planning on staying there for much longer.

  The thought that Hunter spilled the beans has me raging all over again, my fox growling from deep within.

  “Castor, go put some clothes on,” Alistair says to me. He’s calm, but I can tell he’s upset about this situation.

  “Yes, sir.” I snatch up my ruined clothes and head upstairs in search of something to wear. I still haven’t seen Hunter and at this point, I don’t care if he’s been eaten by a mountain lion. I sit on the bed of the guest room I was supposed to be staying in. Normally we’d all stay in Thorne’s room but we were trying to give Leona some privacy. So much for that, I ended up spending the night with her anyway. I couldn’t help it.

  I dig through my bag and pick out some clothes and get dressed before heading back downstairs. When I get there, everyone is sitting around the living room. It looks ridiculous, yet it always has with the amount of people we have here. You have Toni with her four guys, then Jillian with her three. That’s nine right there. They’re all sitting side by side on the wrap around sectional couch against the wall. Serena is standing towards the back of the room, her face worried. Alistair is pacing in front of the group of kids on the couch. And Hunter… the fucking prick, is sitting in the recliner over in the corner. I should punch him again. He deserves it. He’s done nothing but cause trouble for us since we’ve met Leona.