Page 66 of Cage Me

I’ve never really been around kids, not even when I was younger. I mostly took care of myself and did what I could for food, but I do know there’s nothing wrong with a little bribe to make someone feel better.

“What if we go inside and make hot chocolate?” I ask him.

He loosens his hold ever so slightly. “With sprinkles?”

“Isn’t that the only way?”

He pulls back, his eyes wide with delight. “I knew I liked you.”

I mess with his hair before putting him back down. “I like you too, kid.”

Peter runs for the house, and by the time I enter behind him, he’s already standing on one of the kitchen chairs, searching the cabinets as if he owns the place.

Spencer is sitting at the table, still grinning. “I knew you didn’t need me.”

“Yeah, if I can win you over?—”

The glare on her face shuts me right up but doesn’t stop me from laughing as I help Peter get everything sorted for hot chocolate.

I’m impressed. He’s only been here for two days and already knows where everything is. We heat milk on the stove first before pouring the cocoa powder into the mugs. He sets out five without asking anyone else, and something tells me nobody will reject his offering.

The milk gets hot enough, and I take care of pouring but let Peter do the stirring and pour the toppings. First, the marshmallows, followed by the sprinkles.

“Here you go, Pence,” he says, serving his sister first. “Where’s Momma?”

“Right here.”

Cara enters the kitchen, lines around her eyes that weren’t there the day before, and when I glance at Spencer, she shakes her head. I guess we’ll talk about it later.

“Morning, Momma,” Peter says with a smile that lights up the whole room.

Cara accepts his offering, seeming to force her own grin. “Thank you, sweet boy.”

She sits next to Spencer, and I glance around. “Is Kasha still home?”

My mate nods. “Last I saw anyway.”

“I’ll just leave her cup here,” Peter says, putting a mug at an empty chair.

We take our own drinks to the table and sit together…like a family. My stomach churns, and I keep my eyes on the marshmallows that are melting in front of me. I know this is a good thing, to have found my mate and to have people to care about. Yet, I’ve spent so long on my own that I don’t know what to do with this odd sense of peace and belonging.

Spencer’s foot nudges mine from under the table. Reluctantly, I look up at her, and she’s staring intently. Warmth from our bond flares within my chest, but I can’t shake the uncomfortableness within me.

This is a real family. The three of them together, listening to Peter rattle on about nothing and everything all at once. And here I sit, the intruder who is putting Spencer at risk by not having been willing to let her go.

I should leave now. Go to Natalia, get the spell, and deal with Kel on my own. She’s my problem, not theirs. Yet, the thought of leaving my mate behind makes the ache within my stomach intensify.

Not knowing what to do brings me back to the early days after I was first cursed. I had no clue how I was going to get free, and the helplessness of the situation had me wishing for death on an hourly basis. Yet, this time, I just want to run away. I want to take this family and hide them away just like Spencer had intended to do before her father died.

But as she continues to stare into my soul, I know she’s not that same person anymore. She doesn’t want to live in fear any longer, and she shouldn’t have to.

I need to find a way to have faith that everything is going to be okay just like she has. She accepted me into her life, trusting that I wasn’t going to be the worst thing to ever happen to her like Samuel had been to Cara.

Now, I must believe the same.

“So, Bubby,” Spencer starts, and I push down any doubts I have because my mate needs my support right now, not my added stress. “Drake and I need to go do a few things, and it’s going to take a day or two. You and Momma are going to stay here with Kasha. Is that okay?”

His little round face scrunches and he sits his mug down. “What are you doing?”

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