Griffin
I’m the last one in the door, guarding Prudence’s back as she moves. My skin has been prickling with unease since I got out of Asher’s car, and walking into an unfamiliar place doesn’t help. It’s not that I don’t trust Asher’s judgement, because I do, but I think we’re all a little jaded after all the bullshit we’ve gotten from The Celestials. Even as I subtly check Creed from the corner of my eye, I can see the tension vibrating just under his skin.
At least I’m not the only one.
Prudence moves into the living room stiffly, smiling a bit like she’s in a shocked kind of awe. She takes a deep breath, looking from Asher to me and finally to Creed, who takes her hand and pulls her down onto the aged leather couch. Everything in here is in nice condition, but clearly not new, which is actually refreshing. This cabin feels more welcoming and warm than my own home ever did growing up. Of course, I was almost murdered there by my own father, so go figure.
Prudence’s sister comes out of the small kitchen off the right of the living room, carrying a bottle of white wine. “Here. You look like you need this,” she says, handing the bottle to Prudence and basically ignoring the three guys in the room. I don’t take any offense, shrugging as I sit in an armchair across from Creed and Prudence.
Asher bristles from his place behind the couch that Prudence is sitting on, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes tracking that wine bottle like it might be a bomb. “I don’t think so. She’ll have water,” he says, casual and stern all at once.
“Excuse me?” Prudence asks slowly, right as her sister drawls, “Yeah, I wasn’t asking you, buddy.”
Asher grinds his teeth, his jaw ticking with the movement. He and the women have a tense stare down, and I take a deep breath to prepare myself for intervention. I was hoping to not be caught in the middle between two people who mean so much to me, but clearly, staying back is not an option for me. “Ash, it’s fine,” I rasp, leaning back further into my seat and getting comfortable. Maybe if he sees how relaxed I am, he’ll take a fucking chill pill. Besides, he’s the one who brought us here in the first place, claiming it was safe.
Creed breathes out a laugh, grabbing the wine bottle from Prudence’s sister. He twists the cap off and takes a big gulp before any of us can argue. Pulling it away with a satisfied sigh, Creed shoots Asher a cocky smirk and says, “There. Now if it’s poisoned, I’ll die right along with her.”
Prudence blushes a little, leaning into Creed’s side, murmuring jokingly, “Neither of us is dying. Don’t go getting all hopeless romantic on me. I might swoon.” Creed grins down at her like she’s a damn goddess. And I mean, he’s not wrong.
Asher rolls his eyes behind them, giving in and dropping the alpha asshole shit as he comes to sit in the armchair beside mine. Once he’s settled and Prudence takes a sip of the wine, her sister finally gets around to an introduction.
She remains standing as she meets each of our gazes, but she lingers on Prudence for a moment before shaking her head in disbelief. “Fuck me, we really are related,” she mutters under her breath. “I’m Genevieve. It’s… so weird to meet you,” she says directly to her sister, basically ignoring the men in the room once more.
Again, I don’t get bothered by it. This is a big moment for both women, meeting their estranged, secret sister for the first time. Even if we weren’t dealing with all The Celestial bullshit right now, this would still be a pretty big deal. I’m happy to melt into the background for Prudence, so she can absorb this moment and not feel distracted by any male posturing going on. I just hope Asher gets on the same page and quickly.
Prudence smiles a little shyly, which is so unlike the fiery girl I know that my brows shoot up my forehead. How fucking cute. With a nod and a nervous laugh, she says, “Yeah, it’s really weird. All those years wishing I had a sibling and now I do, I guess.” She bites her lip as if she’s thinking over her next words carefully, flicking her gorgeous hazel eyes my way for a moment. There’s a bit of fear in her gaze, some hesitancy, but also a flicker of hope. And for that alone, I will do anything in my power to keep her safe and happy, so my girl can keep having these small moments of thinking everything truly will be okay. When I give Prudence a soft nod, urging her on, she takes a deep breath, rubbing her hands over her thighs, and says, “As much as I want to know everything about you, I think the most pressing matter is survival. Everything else has to wait. So… why are we here? How do we know this place is safe from The Celestials? Asher didn’t really explain anything, like at all.”
Genevieve shoots Asher a very unimpressed look before rolling her eyes. “Of course he didn’t.”
Asher shifts in his seat beside me, grumbling, “I thought I’d leave the details to you.”
Genevieve tips her head back with a sigh, her hands planted on her hips. “Alright, then, I guess I’ll just start at the beginning… My mom got pregnant in high school. She was sixteen, my dad was seventeen. He stayed around through her pregnancy, but the moment I came out, he bolted. I guess he realized it was too much and got out before forming any attachments,” she says, sarcasm dripping from her tone. She takes the wine bottle from Prudence and chugs a healthy swig before handing the bottle back. “He showed up once when I was in middle school, completely out of the blue. I remember creeping out of my bedroom to see why my mom was yelling at some strange man in our house.” She pauses and shakes her head with a bitter laugh. “I walked into the kitchen just in time to see my mom slap him. For a second, I thought he’d hit her back, and even as young as I was, I was prepared to dive in there and help. But he didn’t. And then I must have made some small sound, because he turned and looked right at me, his cheek bright red from the slap. He told me he was my father, that he wanted me to go live with him and ‘grow up right,’ whatever the fuck that meant. I was terrified. This was a man who looked…” She trails off like she can’t find the right word, and it’s Prudence who offers it.
“Dead. Souless. Like pure evil seeping from his pores,” my little flame says, and even from here, I can see the chill as it races through her limbs.
Genevieve nods solemnly, rubbing her collarbone absently. “Yeah, exactly. So when he tried to grab my hand and pull me out the door, like a fucking madman, I started screaming and kicking out at him. My mom rushed forward, planting herself between him and the front door, with her phone pressed to her ear. She’d called the cops, they were already on the way, and she told my father he had two choices. Leave that second without me or leave in handcuffs. He left, but not before promising he’d be back for me. He said I was destined for a better life, that I had to be raised under the blessing of the moon, and then he was gone. My mom packed us up the second the door closed behind him, and we left that night. Moved seven hours north, changed our names, and started over. I never saw him again, and I’m fucking glad for it.”
Creed narrows his eyes, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his black hair falling into his eyes. “If that’s true, then how do you know Asher? If you were never part of our world, if you were so well hidden all this time, then how would you two have ever crossed paths?”
She opens her mouth with an answer ready, but it’s Asher who explains. “We’ve only met once, and I barely remember it. My dad tracked her down somehow. Tried to sway her mother into moving closer and raising Genevieve up as a junior member with the rest of us. He only brought me in hopes of convincing her mom that I was sane and safe in that life and her daughter would be too.” Asher stops and rubs the back of his neck, sweeping his gaze between the sisters. “My dad got us a hotel for the night, told Genevieve’s mom she had twelve hours to think about it, but the next day, their house was empty. They’d run again and hidden themselves a hell of a lot better that time. When I saw Genevieve mentioned in a file in my dad’s office, along with an old picture of her, it brought back those memories, and suddenly, I knew why Prudence always looked so damn familiar to me. Why I was drawn to her in some weird way, because those memories were trying to tug themselves free.”
Prudence blinks at Asher, a small frown taking over her expression. “You never told me that.”
He gives her a sad smile. “There’s a lot I haven’t told you.” His tone is even, a little guarded but not taunting. He’s conflicted and feeling guilty about the information he shared with me, and he’s desperate to make things right with her, but he’s also shit at things like apologies or being nice. I see it for what it is, but Prudence doesn’t realize he’s trying here. There’s so much she doesn’t know, and Asher’s generally cold approach really doesn’t help. I cringe a little as I watch him fumble over himself. “Fuck, there’s a lot I should tell you, though. My dad’s files… It’s a fucking shit show, Prudence, and I— Well, I can’t say more right now— It’s not important— I mean, it is, but not as important as this, and I’d like to speak in private so—“
“Alright, Casanova, I’m getting second-hand embarrassment from this. No wonder my sister is cuddled up next to him and not you,” Genevieve drawls, gesturing to Creed where he’s got an arm around Prudence and a smug as shit look on his face.
I look at my little flame, about to tell her sister that Creed isn’t the only one Prudence is with, but from the stern glare she shoots my way a second before I open my mouth, I decide that conversation can wait for another day. I merely grin and wink at her instead. No need to go into all the dirty details of whatever this relationship is quite yet. Genevieve might want to know her sister a bit better before trying to imagine all the sexual positions we could get into together. Fuck me, now I’m thinking about that. With two guys — three if Asher gets his shit together — things could really get… awfully creative in the bedroom.
Asher bites his lip, like he has to physically stop himself from blurting more shit out right now, and waves a hand toward Genevieve like he’s giving her the floor again. With a deep breath, she continues. “I heard enough from my mom to know that my dad was into some shady shit. But she either didn’t know all the details or kept them from me to protect me. I still don’t even know if I want to know everything, but when Asher tracked me down online — which is fucking creepy since I’ve had my name changed twice — and said you all needed somewhere safe to hide, that it was literally life or death, and that he was with my sister… Fuck. I guess I’m in this now, too." She shrugs, which seems far too casual to me. I share a look with Prudence and Creed, and I see it reflected in their eyes too.
If Genevieve is going to survive the hell we’ve just brought into her life, she has to know everything.
This is going to fucking suck.
We spend the rest of the evening explaining the truly horrible, gruesome, and illegal things to her, and between the four of us, Genevieve is filled in on every last dirty truth we know about The Celestials. We explain the orders we were given at the start of the school semester, everything we've all done to Prudence, and all the reasons we're not siding with The Celestials any longer. By the time Prudence is finished talking about what they did to her mom, my little flame is in tears and Genevieve has finished two bottles of wine by herself.
If she has any second thoughts about letting us into her home and life, though, she doesn't say it.