Page 8 of Cleo

“I’ve got extra sheets and a comforter,” Kiki offered.

They ignored me, discussing who could loan/give me what. By the time they were done, a tear flowed down my face.

“Minx, you broke her,” Ava said, pushing the redhead’s arm.

“Oh no. What’s wrong, Cleo? Are we overwhelming you?” Minx patted my shoulder. “We can be thoughtless. I am so sorry.”

I shook my head. “No. I, um, I’ve been sheltered. This is all new. The friends. Sisters. People doing things for me they weren’t paid to do. It’s a lot.”

Kiki stepped forward and hugged me tightly. “Get used to it. You’re one of us now.”

Minx reached for the door to shut it behind us. “Let’s get some food because Ava is starving to death, and we all need coffee. Maybe while we eat you can tell us about this dad guy you ran away from?”

“We can do that,” I said. “But don’t you want to have breakfast with your mates?”

If I had mates, I would want to share all my meals with them.

We made our way down the hallway and into the dreaded elevator. How all these people trusted their transportation and lives to that steel box was crazy to me, but I seemed to be the only person who had a problem with it. Besides, climbing all those stairs seemed like an unnecessary way to sweat.

“We have breakfast with our mates all the time,” Kiki asserted, giving me a reassuring smile. Perhaps she sensed my trepidation about the elevator and all the people, and life.

I followed them down the food line and took things one or the other of them did, figuring if my sisters liked them, I might. Thank heavens for the full scholarship that brought me here. My favorite shows were about girls going away to school, and in most cases, either their parents had to pay a ton of money, or they had to work three jobs to make it happen. I was still going to need money for extras like clothes, so I’d have to see if there was a program on campus for that, or I’d have to venture out to find a job. I couldn’t let my sisters supply me forever. If only I’d been able to get my hands on some of my father’s wealth before I left, but I had no idea where he kept any of it. Probably not in a bank.

“Let’s sit down,” Minx said, nudging me with her tray.

“Yeah.”

As I crossed the room, I noticed the guys from the day before. Jude winked again, making my knees weak. That had to be his power.

Pax smiled and so did Miles.

My stomach sank as I realized this was no ordinary breakfast. I had to tell them about our father. And this story didn’t have a happy ending.

Chapter Eight

I took a long sip of my hot coffee before eating, knowing that I’d need the burst of caffeine to get through this. I hoped my sisters weren’t hoping for dad-of-the-year stories from me.

The truth was ugly but they had to know.

“You want to know about Dad?” I blurted, not wanting to delay any longer. All three of them looked up from their food, nodding.

Minx covered my hand with hers. “We want to know more about you. Him, yes, but he’s not here and honestly, I don’t have a good opinion about him anyway.”

“My story and his are more tightly wound than I would like,” I answered honestly. “When I was a little girl, I believed my circumstances were for my good. That’s what he taught me. The princess in the castle. Surrounded by guards who would die before seeing her come to harm. I worshiped him until I got older and realized my kingdom, his kingdom was nothing more than a fairy tale. A twisted one at that.”

“He kept you locked up or something?” Kiki asked, scooting closer.

“Not a cell but a prison of sorts. I never went to school. I wasn’t allowed off the grounds of the compound.”

“Explain compound,” Minx said. I spared a glance at Jude, Pax, and Miles. There was a chance they could hear everything I was saying but it was my story and, while I didn’t love it, I wasn’t ashamed of it either. I had my circumstances handed to me; they weren’t my choice. Angie taught me that.

“We lived in the mountains, and it was always snowy and cold out there. I was once told my father, our father, owns hundreds of acres all around the house. Of course, I never saw the guard who told me that again. But there were plenty ofothers. I didn’t make a move without him knowing. When I was a baby, I thought my nanny was my mother. Then she was gone and Angie came. She was my servant but also my governess and my best friend. She helped me escape. I hope she got away herself.”

“Your last name is Wulf,” Kiki said. “We heard. Gossip travels fast here. Is that our father’s last name?”

I nodded. “Yes. He is not just a wolf. He is the wolf. He is the first shifter. The original. The birth of our kind.”

“So all of our last names would’ve been Wulf if…well, if anything about our early years were normal.” As predicted, Ava said this in between bites. Minx had been right. Ava was a hungry one. I was as well but I had a lot to say.

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