Page 7 of Bloodline Unbound

Caden’s little body was like steel in my hands. I looked down at him, stroking a reassuring hand over his fur.

I hadn’t been anywhere near a nest for years. “I thought those were to get your documents and stuff to reintegrate into people-adjacent life.”

“They can help with that, but it’s not their main purpose,” said Seth. “They’re gathering places, and they have super strict hierarchies.”

They’re shifter strongholds, said Caden. Some are better than others, but they’re not usually pleasant places to dwell.

“Why do shifters stay there, then?” I asked.

Protection. The strong gather the weak. It’s an exchange of services. Those weaker provide whatever the strong require without question, and the strong protect them from the outside world.

“Well, that sounds like a barrel of laughs.” I held on to Caden tighter than necessary, and he let out a squeak.

“It sucks,” said Seth between bites. “I stayed at one in Orlando after I left here the first time. Can’t say I recommend the experience. But I guess it’s preferable to dying.”

Caden’s claws dug into me again. He guesses. Such a vote of confidence for his suggestion.

“Quit with your picky toes!” I detached his claws from my flesh and turned to Seth. “Is New York the best option?”

“Hard to say for sure,” Seth said. “Smaller ones move around and might be closer, more undetectable, but if you want a big one, they’re more permanent, and based around big cities. New York has strong protectors.”

We can’t go to a nest, Caden insisted.

“Is it really that bad?” I asked, petting Caden to soothe myself as much as him.

“Entry into a nest is implicit consent,” Seth explained. “The Protectors could do anything they wanted to you and your only recourse is to leave.”

I swallowed hard. “When you say anything…”

“Well, they won’t kill you,” said Seth. “That would defeat the point of going, but they could feed off you, demand sex, separate you from Caden, make you lick the bathrooms clean. I dunno. Some of the Protectors are pretty sick fucks. Power goes to their heads. The nest I was in did exotic animal fights to fund things.”

“What?” I stared at Seth. “Were you involved?”

“I…unwillingly participated in a few.”

Gods. The thought of Seth in a bloody fight like that made me shudder, revulsion turning my stomach. I’d always wished he’d stayed with us, and now the guilt over not demanding he stay was a lead weight in my gut. “I’m so sorry.”

Seth shrugged, but he wouldn’t make eye contact with me. “I survived. Not every nest is bad, but it’s hard to know what it’s like until you’re in it. You’d want to lay low and not attract attention. Good fucking luck with that, though.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re human. And you smell like a snack.”

Caden hissed and leapt on the table, planting himself between Seth and I. Fuck off.

“I’m just saying.” Seth rolled his eyes at Caden. “You’d never hide her in a nest. The Protectors would know about her the second she walked through the doors.”

Caden growled.

“Oh, shush.” Seth turned to me. “In all likelihood, they’d take you as a pet. I’ve heard some of the Protectors are pretty nice to their pets. I don’t know what they’d do with us.”

She’s not a pet. Caden walked across the table and shoved the plate of remaining lasagna into his brother’s lap. Seth squawked and managed to save the plate before it clattered to the floor. The same couldn’t be said for his jeans, which now sported a smear of tomato sauce.

“Little shit,” Seth growled. He reached for Caden, but I shot out of my seat and scooped my boyfriend back into my arms.

We were all exhausted, and it wouldn’t help anything to let Caden and Seth get snippy with each other.

“Seth, there’s blankets in the linen closet, and the couch is yours. Soap is above the washing machine, and I’ll set out a spare change of clothes for you.”

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