their
spicy scent hit her and she might have swooned if she wouldn’t have
been completely mortified at the thought. “Are you feeling okay?
Are you hungry?” Ethan worried.
“I’m fine, thanks. I wanted to see if you
needed help?”
They looked pleasantly surprised. “We don’t
yet, but you can keep us company in the kitchen, and meet our
family.” Eryx said with a grin. She followed dutifully.
“This is our dad, James, and our younger
brother Alek. Dad, Alek, this is Callie.” Ethan positively beamed.
It was so strange.
She shook their hands and then let Ethan lead
her to the table where she sat, and James and Alek joined her while
Ethan and Eryx busied themselves at the counter. She’d never seen
men that were so adept in the kitchen before. Michael, Jason’s
brother was a good cook, but he was also powerfully lazy unless he
was properly motivated. He was happy to sit back and wait to be
waited on. She frowned internally at herself for comparing
everything to the pack, except it was hard not to. Different
were-animal, same bullshit hierarchy.
James, a very handsome man who looked about
in his mid-40s, had the boys’ dark hair but had brown eyes. Alek
looked about her age, but she was a bad judge and not even sure how
old the twins are. Alek had light brown hair and different facial
features. She wondered if he looked like their mother. And she also
wondered where their mother was.
All police officers, James peppered her with
questions about her travels, never sounding like he was prying and
she found herself telling him, and the boys by extension, that
she’d been on the road for a week and was looking for a place to
settle when she’d gotten sidetracked by her accident. She felt
compelled to say, for all their sakes, that she wasn’t staying.
James smiled and patted her hand, “I’m sure
that you’ll be able to find something at the car lot tomorrow.
Gordy’s pride, he’ll take good care of you.”
She thought he meant it to be reassuring, but
he passed a look to Eryx and Ethan that said something more was
going on there. Once again she felt a little left out.
People started to drift into the house. She
was introduced to their uncles John, Aaron, and Grant, and Aaron’s
three sons, John’s son and daughter, and Grant’s two sons. The
girl, who was oldest at about 14, gave a superior once-over to her
and ignored her, walking away to sit in a chair by the window. How
odd. The boys, who except for one that looked pre-teen were all
around elementary school age, crowded around her and asked her a
hundred questions about being a wolf. She caught smiling, happy
looks from Ethan and Eryx.
Two female lions walked into the house and
all the boys went very quiet and then scattered. They looked just
like Farrah. Tall, leggy, blonde, and pissed off. James introduced
Callie as a friend of the family, and the two women didn’t just
look past her, they looked through her as if she didn’t exist. She
got a chill just being in their presence.
“Callie, want to make good on your offer to
help?” Eryx pulled her away from the unfriendly females by her
elbow. “You don’t have to take any bullshit from them.” He said in
a low voice as he steered her back into the kitchen.
“I’m not looking to make any enemies, Eryx,
and besides, I’ll be on my way soon enough. Getting into a fight
with two girls that could break my neck with a hard thought isn’t
exactly my idea of a good time.” She opened the bag of chips he had
gestured to and emptied it into the bowl.
“Why are you so determined to leave?” He
asked her suddenly.
“You already know why.” She looked up at him
and there was a desperation to his eyes that made her heart
clench.
“No, I don’t. You know that Ethan and I care
about you and we want to make you happy, but you don’t seem to want
to even get to know us. Why did you come out here tonight?”
“Because I didn’t want to be rude.”
He snorted and looked away, his jaw
spicy scent hit her and she might have swooned if she wouldn’t have
been completely mortified at the thought. “Are you feeling okay?
Are you hungry?” Ethan worried.
“I’m fine, thanks. I wanted to see if you
needed help?”
They looked pleasantly surprised. “We don’t
yet, but you can keep us company in the kitchen, and meet our
family.” Eryx said with a grin. She followed dutifully.
“This is our dad, James, and our younger
brother Alek. Dad, Alek, this is Callie.” Ethan positively beamed.
It was so strange.
She shook their hands and then let Ethan lead
her to the table where she sat, and James and Alek joined her while
Ethan and Eryx busied themselves at the counter. She’d never seen
men that were so adept in the kitchen before. Michael, Jason’s
brother was a good cook, but he was also powerfully lazy unless he
was properly motivated. He was happy to sit back and wait to be
waited on. She frowned internally at herself for comparing
everything to the pack, except it was hard not to. Different
were-animal, same bullshit hierarchy.
James, a very handsome man who looked about
in his mid-40s, had the boys’ dark hair but had brown eyes. Alek
looked about her age, but she was a bad judge and not even sure how
old the twins are. Alek had light brown hair and different facial
features. She wondered if he looked like their mother. And she also
wondered where their mother was.
All police officers, James peppered her with
questions about her travels, never sounding like he was prying and
she found herself telling him, and the boys by extension, that
she’d been on the road for a week and was looking for a place to
settle when she’d gotten sidetracked by her accident. She felt
compelled to say, for all their sakes, that she wasn’t staying.
James smiled and patted her hand, “I’m sure
that you’ll be able to find something at the car lot tomorrow.
Gordy’s pride, he’ll take good care of you.”
She thought he meant it to be reassuring, but
he passed a look to Eryx and Ethan that said something more was
going on there. Once again she felt a little left out.
People started to drift into the house. She
was introduced to their uncles John, Aaron, and Grant, and Aaron’s
three sons, John’s son and daughter, and Grant’s two sons. The
girl, who was oldest at about 14, gave a superior once-over to her
and ignored her, walking away to sit in a chair by the window. How
odd. The boys, who except for one that looked pre-teen were all
around elementary school age, crowded around her and asked her a
hundred questions about being a wolf. She caught smiling, happy
looks from Ethan and Eryx.
Two female lions walked into the house and
all the boys went very quiet and then scattered. They looked just
like Farrah. Tall, leggy, blonde, and pissed off. James introduced
Callie as a friend of the family, and the two women didn’t just
look past her, they looked through her as if she didn’t exist. She
got a chill just being in their presence.
“Callie, want to make good on your offer to
help?” Eryx pulled her away from the unfriendly females by her
elbow. “You don’t have to take any bullshit from them.” He said in
a low voice as he steered her back into the kitchen.
“I’m not looking to make any enemies, Eryx,
and besides, I’ll be on my way soon enough. Getting into a fight
with two girls that could break my neck with a hard thought isn’t
exactly my idea of a good time.” She opened the bag of chips he had
gestured to and emptied it into the bowl.
“Why are you so determined to leave?” He
asked her suddenly.
“You already know why.” She looked up at him
and there was a desperation to his eyes that made her heart
clench.
“No, I don’t. You know that Ethan and I care
about you and we want to make you happy, but you don’t seem to want
to even get to know us. Why did you come out here tonight?”
“Because I didn’t want to be rude.”
He snorted and looked away, his jaw
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