“Castor, get in here and have a seat.”

  Alistair never yells. And that hasn’t changed now. But he has that tone… the one that tells you not to disobey him. And I don’t. Not because I’m afraid of him, but because I have more respect for this man than I have for any other person on this planet. He’s a good person and more importantly, he’s an amazing fucking father.

  I move into the living room and take a seat at the end of the couch furthest away from Hunter, right on the side of Grayson, Jillian’s cougar mate.

  “Now, who wants to volunteer to tell me what happened tonight, hm?” Alistair folds his hands in front of his waist, looking around at all of us. After a short moment of silence, Elijah raises his hand.

  “Go ahead, son. Tell me what happened,” Alistair urges.

  Elijah is a good kid. Actually, all of my sister’s mates are. She got lucky with them, that’s for sure. Even Jillian has good guys, outside of Jackson being an asshat when he’s with Hunter. Me? Not so much. I don’t know why I get to be stuck with a fucking moron like Hunter who can’t pull his head from his ass.

  “Hunter was hanging out with us in the study, we were talking, catching up, you know? I saw their mate, uh, Leona? Is that her name?” He looks to me for clarification and I nod. “Well, she stormed by the room and went outside, looked real upset but I have no idea why. So then Castor comes downstairs to talk to Hunter, asked him what his problem was or whatever, then Hunter gets into his face and fists start flying.”

  “And everyone needed to get involved over this?” He looks at everyone. “Sounds like it was a Hunter and Castor issue. How did this get out of hand? Elijah?”

  He shakes his head. “I was holding back Cas.” He holds up his hand that is still slightly bloody and scratched. It’ll be healed shortly. “I missed the rest of it.”

  “It was stupid. Nothing important, just guys being guys. Arguing over taking sides, not taking sides, whatever it was. I don’t even know, but we’re sorry,” Toni explains. “It got out of hand and we weren’t really thinking.”

  Alistair nods once. “Castor and Hunter, you boys will stay. The rest of you, go find something to do either upstairs or outside.”

  A bunch of yes, sirs are mumbled around the room as they all get up and file out, heading outside. I assume they’re going over to my house since my parents still aren’t home. Not sure why they weren’t there in the first place.

  “Both of you, over here.” He points to the couch. “Come on now.”

  I move over to the middle of the couch. Hunter hesitates but follows suit and sits beside me. Both of us know better than to disobey Alistair. We would never do it.

  “Hunt? Care to tell me your side of the story?” He squats down, bringing himself eye to eye with Hunter. His eye is already red and turning purple. He better not even complain about it, it’ll heal soon and won’t leave a mark. Normally, it’s a great thing to heal quickly—a shifter gift—but watching Hunter sport a black eye would make me proud. “Looks like Castor got a good swing in there, care to tell me why?”

  Hunter waits a long minute before answering, shifting his eyes to the ground. His hands rest on his thighs, clasped together. His knees are bouncing and I can tell he’s angry. He looks up and his eyes are rimmed red. Holy shit. Is he… crying? My stomach turns with the thought. No way. This fucker is not playing this game. If he tries some bullshit, I swear to god I’ll murder him right this second. Pulling the crying card? He must really be desperate. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my fox. He’s even more angry than he was before. I need to get out of here and go for a run before he does something he shouldn’t.

  “I messed up, Alistair.” My head pops up, looking at Hunter. I almost stop breathing. He is not admitting he’s wrong… is he? “I messed up and I don’t know how to fix it.”

  My eyes widen. I cannot believe this is really happening. I look to Hunter, assessing him. He isn’t actually crying, the tears aren’t falling, but they’re there. I can see them welling up in his eyes. This can’t be real.

  “Tell me what happened and we will figure it out,” Alistair assures him.

  Alistair is the dad everyone wants, the one every son dreams of having. Hunter and I both got stuck with the shit fathers who think their sons aren’t good enough for anything. They just do it in different ways. Thorne is lucky to have such an understanding and loving father.

  “Leona. I messed everything up with her and I don’t know how to fix it. She can’t stand to be around me and I don’t even blame her. I know Thorne and Castor feel the same way. I’m lucky Castor only got one punch in. I deserve much more. I’ve been a real asshole.”

  “Language, son. Have you thought of saying sorry?” Alistair says this like it’s the answer to all of Hunter’s problems. Like it’s the most obvious thing and how dumb are we for not thinking of it. “Well, have you, son?”

  “No, sir. I haven’t.”

  “Well, that’s your problem right there.” He stands to his feet. “Telling someone you’re sorry isn’t necessarily about the word. It’s about your pride. Putting your pride aside and admitting you are wrong is worth more than any word you could speak. Whatever you’ve done, you can fix it. Leona is your mate. There is a bond there which isn’t easily broken. I know you brought her here for a reason, and maybe things didn’t go the way you wanted, but that’s okay. She seems comfortable here, and that’s something she will take away from this. Now, I suggest you go find her and talk to her.” He claps Hunter on the shoulder before he gets to his feet. Alistair pulls him into a hug, squeezing tightly before he walks out of the room.

  “Castor?”

  “Yes, sir?” I look up to him.

  “Solve your problems without your fists next time, okay?”

  “Of course, sir. I’m sorry.”

  “Get out of here. Go find Leona. You all ought to be leaving soon anyway.”

  I nod before getting to my feet and heading upstairs. I’m not sure where Hunter went but I focus on packing all of our things up in preparation of leaving. When I’m done, I pull out my phone and call Thorne.

  Sixteen

  Leona

  When I had the wonderful idea of hitchhiking, I was angry. It was a great idea at the time, but I soon realized it wasn’t. After the first person that pulled over looked like a homeless guy warmed over, I quickly started walking in the other direction. Thankfully, he took off and didn’t try chasing me down. Why am I so stupid? I find my phone in the snow, pick it up and see it’s still on. I have a few missed calls from Lenny and Thorne, but I’ll deal with that later. I’m on my way back to Thorne’s house, feeling like an absolute fool for throwing a fit. Yes, I’m angry. Yes, I’m upset. None of that has changed. But I am a guest in his family’s house. I should have kept my anger in check. Even if I wasn’t here with them, I need to stop with these outbursts. My emotions have been out of control lately and I blame it on the stress. I need to try harder. I can’t keep losing it like this. It’s not fair to my guys.

  I keep walking, not paying attention to much going on around me. I hadn’t realized how far I walked away from their house.

  “Leona!” I look behind me and find Thorne’s Jeep pulled over onto the shoulder. He’s hanging out of the passenger side window. I was so lost in thought I didn’t even see him drive by. “Come on, baby. Let me take you home.” He pushes the door open, gesturing for me to get in.

  I turn around slowly and trudge towards his car. I get in with a huff, dropping my phone into the cup holder in the center console. I admit, the heat feels amazing. Cold weather doesn’t usually bother me, but I was feeling it today. He doesn’t say anything to me, just keeps driving straight. He misses more than one turn to head back and finally, I ask where we are going.

  “Thought you might want some peace and quiet.” That’s all he says.

  I let out a relieved sigh and rest my head back.

  He’s not wrong.

  We end up stopping at a diner and grabbing something to eat. Thorne doesn’t push me to talk and I am so thankful for it. I’m not in the mood to talk. To him or anyone. I’m thankful he picked me up, but I’m still upset about this situation. About my life being out of control. Everyone making decisions for me.

  I try so hard to not be angry over the life I was dealt. I want to appreciate everything I have, but it’s not easy when it seems that no matter what good comes along, something bad has to happen to make it not worth it.

  I escaped from a shitty life, but now someone is trying to kill me.

  I’m a wolf, but I can’t shift.

  I have mates, but one of them is the biggest asshole.

  Can I just have something good happen and stay good? Why does everything have to turn bad?

  We’re heading back to the house when Thorne’s phone rings. It rang earlier but he ignored it, this time he answers it.

  “Hello?”

  “Where are you?” It’s Castor.

  “On our way back.”

  “You have her then? She’s okay?”

  He looks at me. “As good as can be, considering. We’ll be there shortly. Pack everything up so we can head back.”

  “Way ahead of you.” He ends the call.

  We pull up to Thorne’s house minutes later. He shuts the car off and we sit there for a moment.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” He knows what I’m talking about. He must. Someone filled him in before he found me, or else he’d be asking me a million questions. “I can’t keep doing this, Thorne. Everything is such a mess and I just want something to go right. My whole life has been mess after mess after mess. You and Castor and Hunter… you could be the good things for me, but you’re making it so… difficult. Why?”

  “We’re just trying to protect you.” His words are soft, his voice deep.

  “I don’t need protectors, I need teammates. I need someone by my side, someone who is going to help me, not someone who is going to make decisions for me. Can’t you understand that?”

  He doesn’t answer. I shake my head and get out of the car. He follows right behind me and with his long strides, makes it to the door before me and opens it. It’s quiet and it seems everyone has left. I feel like even more of a jerk now that I was never properly introduced to Toni’s and Jillian’s mates. I follow Thorne upstairs to grab our things. Hunter and Castor are nowhere to be found, but Thorne brings their bags downstairs. He finds his parents in the living room, his mother reading a book and his father doing something on a laptop, a pair of glasses resting on the edge of his nose.

  “We’re going to head out.” Alistair looks up at Thorne’s words, giving him a smile. “Do you know where the guys are?”

  “Out back, stretching their legs and wings.”

  “I’ll go pack up the Jeep.” He kisses the top of my head before leaving the room.

  “Have a seat, darling,” his mother tells me, patting the space on the side of her. I smile and take the seat. “I’m sorry you’ve had a rough morning. Just remember they aren’t always going to be rough, okay? It can’t be bad all the time.” Her words ring through my head as I sit there in the quiet. The crackling of the fireplace catches my attention. I watch the flames dance atop the wood and the shadows slide across the walls. It’s so peaceful in here. How is it so peaceful?

  “Those boys are good boys, all of them. Some just had a tougher upbringing than the others. Now, I know I’m biased because I’ve known them since they were little babies, but trust me, they’re good eggs.” She pats my leg and it’s then that Thorne comes back into the room.

  “Ready to go?”

  I look to his mom who offers a smile and holds out her arms. “It was lovely having you here and I hope we see you again soon.”

  “Thank you,” I whisper to her and lean into her arms, giving her a hug.

  Alistair gets to his feet and pulls me into a hug as well. “We’ll be seeing you. Don’t be a stranger.”

  Thorne hugs his parents before we head outside.

  I get into the Jeep. “I’m going to get the guys. I’ll be right back.” I nod and wait for his return.

  Moments later, the three of them are walking around the side of the house.

  I really hope none of them try talking to me in the car. As much as I want to talk about this and figure it out, I don’t want to do it now. And talking about it in this small space is not a good idea.

  When we pull into the driveway, I get out of the Jeep, walk around back and grab my bag. I head straight upstairs and begin to unpack my things. The sounds of the guys filing up the stairs fill the air.

  “Leona…”

  “I don’t want to talk right now.” I continue pulling clothes out of my bag and folding them, preparing to put them away. I gather my dirty clothes and drop them into the laundry basket harder than necessary. It’s about halfway full and I should start it in the wash. Thorne normally is the one to do the laundry, but I need something to keep myself busy.

  I turn and face the guys. Thorne doesn’t have anything to unpack since we were at his house. Castor is going through his bag and Hunter is lounging on the bed, playing on his phone. His bag sits by the side of his bed, untouched.

  “Can I have the dirty laundry, please?” My tone is harsher than I meant it to be. Oh well.

  Castor gathers his things and puts them in the basket.

  Hunter doesn’t move.

  I take in a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

  “Hunter?” He looks at me, raising a brow. “Laundry. Please.”

  “I’ll do it later,” he says in a bored tone.

  “I want to do it now.”

  “And I said I’ll do it later.”

  I huff out a laugh.

  Fine. He wants to do it later? He can do it later.

  I walk over to the bed and dump the entire basket of dirty laundry on him. I drop the basket on him too, for good measure.

  I don’t pay attention to what he does, I just leave.

  Seventeen

  Leona

  It’s Monday afternoon and class is dragging. Surprisingly, I’ve been able to keep my grades up, but they aren’t as good as they should be. Usually, I have everything done at this point and I work on extra credit. I haven’t had the energy for that lately, so instead, I work on what is due just like everyone else. I can’t seem to find the motivation to put into school like I used to.

  It’s a short week this week because of Christmas.

  My birthday is tomorrow and I can’t find it in me to be excited about it. It’s always been a big thing. Friday goes nuts over birthdays. I have no idea why, but I’ve always enjoyed it. I never celebrated mine until I came to live here. I’ve promised myself I’ll try not to ruin it for her, no matter how much I want to just curl into a ball and ignore everyone.

  The guys have kept their distance. Smart.

  “Leona Graves?” I look up to see the teacher, Mr. Greer, standing by the door, a slip in his hand. He looks at me from over his glasses. “You’re being summoned.”

  I don’t think much of it. Maybe Friday is dismissing me to start the celebration early. “Gather your items.” He looks at the clock. “I doubt you will make it back before the end of day.”

  I take all of my things, and once I have the slip and I’m in the hallway, heading to the office, I send Callan a text. Normally, I’d let the guys know, but I don’t want to talk to them right now. I’m still angry at them for lying to me, or keeping something from me, or whatever the hell they want to call it.

  I get to the office and hand the secretary my slip. She looks it over and then gives me a funny look, handing it back to me.

  “Miss Graves, you are not wanted here. Please reread the note.”

  I take back the piece of paper and look it over.

  Room 407.

  407.

  That’s…

  “Thank you,” I mumble before turning and heading out. I walk slowly, still staring at the slip of paper. Why would she want to see me? I head up the stairs, nerves rolling in my gut. I’m not sure what to think about this, but I sure want to find out.

  I pick up the speed once I reach the second landing, eager to find out why I’m being called to Ms. Boone’s classroom.

  I peek in through the window once I reach the door and find her sitting in the same spot I saw her in last. Her room is empty and how lucky she is to have the last period free from students.

  I don’t bother knocking.

  She looks up when I enter and quickly stands. Walking to the door she pops her head out and looks both ways before ushering me towards the back of the room.

  We reach an especially dark corner and she gives me a tight smile.

  “I apologize for the other day,” she says quietly, still looking around the room. “It was not safe to speak with you then. Though it is not exactly safe to speak with you at any time. There are people all around watching you. It’s gotten worse over the last few months and I can guess why. You must have a million questions for me, but I can only assume you’ve come to me because you know who I am.”

  She’s speaking so fast, it’s hard for me to keep up. I nod at the last part.

  “Good. I need you to listen to me then.” She looks around the room once more. “I am not your enemy. I have been guarding you since you were born. Your mother reached—”

  “My mother?” I ask, shocked.

  She nods. “Yes, dear. Your mother. She found me and asked for my protection, for you. I did what I could and it lasted much longer than I anticipated. I cannot go into great detail right now as this place is unsafe. But know I am on your side. I have the answers you are looking for. Do you have a safe place we can talk?”