Page 127 of Gift from the Tree

“I didn’t know riding Draken was considered misbehaving and would get me in trouble.” I look up at him through my lashes.

“You’ll never get in trouble for riding my brother or any of us for that matter.” His eyes heat as his voice drops an octave, laced with promise. “But you’ll get in trouble for causing us to freak out like that.”

“I’ll try to not do that again,” I mutter huskily. I can barely think straight with those amber eyes burning through me, but I’m conscious enough to know better than promising him that I won’t get into trouble. I’m notorious for getting into some shit, but I’ll try to give them a heads-up first.

Still holding my gaze with his lustful eyes, he nods and slowly pulls his shadows off me. I immediately miss them, but I’m not going to say anything that will push him away. Baby steps.

“Come here, child, let me see you.”

Forcing myself to look away from Caspian is a challenge, but I eventually turn to Gaster and make my way to him.

“I’m fine, Gaster. I even used an air shield to block the wind, just like you taught me.”

“Very good, Willow. I’m—” A throat clears and a stern look from Corentin makes Gaster backtrack. “You must be careful and tell us when you plan to go on adventures,” he says with faux seriousness, winking when Corentin looks away. “I’m very proud of you. It can be difficult to hold an air shield against the force of the winds at that speed. Very good job,” he whispers into my hair as he pulls me in for a hug, causing me to giggle. His concern stems from not knowing why I wasn’t picking up the communicator. He isn’t the least bit concerned with me flying on Draken.

“I didn’t mean to pull everyone away from their work. I’m fine and you won’t have to worry about me getting up to anything else today,” I tell them. Now that the adrenaline and initial shock of them being upset is wearing off, I feel guilty.

“We took care of the most important things already this morning, so we’re going to stay here for the rest of the day,” Corentin says.

“Really?” I ask excitedly before taking it down a notch. “I mean, you don’t have to if you have more work to do.”

Smooth, Willow. You sound like an idiot.

“Yes, really. Let’s get some lunch.” As if on cue, my stomach lets out another growl that has all of them chuckling at me.

“So how’s it been? But don’t tell me everything. We need something to talk about tomorrow when you come over,” I ask Oakly as I laze in the bath before bed.

“Amazing. They’re great. Well, Nikoli, San, and Jamie are amazing. Ry is controlling and bossy and so brooding. He makes me want to defy him.” She laughs.

“I have three who act just like that. Fucking men.” I roll my eyes. Even though she can’t see me, she still hears the sass in my voice and laughs at me.

“How’s their groveling going?” she asks. She’s so pro “bring them to their knees” it’s hilarious. All things considered, Draken and Corentin have technically gotten on their knees for me.

“I don’t know if I’d call it groveling. We’re starting over. They’ve been far more open and honest with me about anything I ask, and they all were honest with me about their reasonings behind lying. Spending almost three full days together, though, speeds the process up a bit with forgiveness, though.”

“Tell me about it. Three days alone with these four, I feel like I’ve known them forever, and it’s killing me to keep it in my pants.” She sighs like it’s such a battle.

“Oakly,” I playfully scold.

“What? Are your hormones not driving you mad?” she asks.

“Well, fuck yeah, they are. My desire to be touched has been worse than my crying. Needy fucking Primary hormones.” My desire for them is growing more and more the longer we spend together, and it’s definitely getting harder to ignore. It’s getting to the point again where I need one of them to touch me constantly.

“Seriously, the crying is ridiculous too, though. They all went about doing their own thing for maybe fifteen minutes earlier and I broke down in tears about how they left me out. Jamie had to hold me for another fifteen minutes to calm me down. It was fucking mortifying afterward.” She laughs at herself, making me feel so much better that I’m not the only crazy-ass hormonal Primary around.

“Does it bother you to need one of them to calm you down from whatever emotion’s acting nuts at the moment?” I need to know how she feels about it. I’m fighting between wanting to regulate it myself and giving in to one of them to make it better. Today, I didn’t fight it as much and it was a much easier day, but now I’m kicking myself for letting them take care of me.

“Yes and no. If Ry does something to piss me off, I get mad if one of the others pulls me into their lap to calm me down and I can feel the anger leaving out of me. But like the embarrassing-ass crying spell today? No, it doesn’t bother me. If I don’t have to carry on crying for no good reason, then I don’t want to.”

“Yeah, I just need to stop fighting it. There’s no need to let myself be a blubbering mess for no good reason,” I groan.

“It’ll take time to adjust to letting them take care of you emotionally. You’ve been doing it alone your whole life and now you have four men who will do it for you. Give yourself some time and grace. It’ll work out,” she advises me.

“You’re right. I’m about to get out of the bath and get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow. Be safe.” I tell her good night and she says her goodbyes and hangs up while I step out of the bath and dry myself off.

Coming out of the bathroom, I drop my shoulders and let out a defeated breath as I stare at the bed. It’s so big, cold, and lonely. I want a full night’s sleep with no nightmares and to be held comfortably. I’m being needy again, but I can’t blame it all on the hormones this time. I don’t want to be alone. It’s petrifying to wake up in cold sweats, reliving the torture either Donald or my father put me through. I want to be held in the arms of someone who cares about me and will take care of me through the night.

Decision made, I walk over to my door and open it, surprised to see Draken lying on the floor in front of my door. “Draken, what are you doing?” I ask as he scrambles up to his feet.

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