Page 16 of Kidnapping Their Third

“I’ll be in the kitchen cooking.”

Kimble gave a slight nod and closed eyelids over bright red eyes. Pike had found out that the red wouldn’t go away until Kimble completely came back to himself. Pike looked forward to finding out Kimble’s natural eye color as Kimble healed from his feral state.

With Cora in their lives, it could be any day now.

Feeling buoyant, Pike pulled on a pair of sweats and headed into the kitchen. The only window in the apartment was the one boarded up in the bedroom and a tiny one in the bathroom. The ancient fixtures never provided enough light, making the apartment always seem gloomy except in the kitchen where the industrial fixture beamed light down in one spot, the kitchen table.

Looking at his place with Cora in mind, Pike shook his head.

He lived in a hovel. It wasn’t messy, but everything was worn, poor quality, or both. He wished he had a nicer den to present to Cora. This must be how Kimble felt all the time, frustrated that he couldn’t provide for his flock.

“It’s fine,” Pike muttered to himself as he started pulling out ingredients to make biscuits and gravy. “Cora understands.”

If Cora rejected them, it wouldn’t be because of his financial circumstances. It would be because she didn’t want them on a personal level. The thought hurt, but he knew it was unlikely. He could already feel the bond between them growing.

Tossing some sausage into a pan, he set the burner on low, then pulled out a bowl to mix the biscuit dough. He wished he could put on some music to break up the silence, but he didn’t want to wake Cora up before she was ready.

Hopefully, the smell of food would pull her from sleep, and he could present her with a hearty breakfast. There were even bags of blood in the fridge left over from the last delivery Cora paid for, so Kimble could be fed too.

Humming to himself, he jumped a little when Cora’s phone started ringing. Rushing over, he grabbed it, pulled the short charging cable out, and answered it.

“Cora’s phone,” he whispered.

“Who the fuck is this?” a male voice asked.

He almost chuckled at hearing the word fuck used after their conversation before bed about fuck and flock. Clearing his throat, he answered.

“Uh, this is Pike, Cora’s boyfriend.” He liked the sound of that, so he repeated it. “Cora’s boyfriend, David Pike.”

“Cora doesn’t have a boyfriend,” the voice answered. “She has two-or-three night stands with guys that we never meet.”

“I’m going to be more than a one-night stand,” Pike answered. “We’ve only been dating about two weeks, but I already know she’s the love of my life.”

There was a moment of silence before the other person responded. “Love of your life after a couple of weeks? Oh shit, she’s going to eat you alive. Look man, you might want to leave before she causes permanent damage.”

Pike was an easy-going bear, but just like any bear, he could be possessive. He frowned, then made some demands of hisown. “Who is this? Why do you want me to leave Cora? Do you want her?”

The man laughed. “Chill, she’s my sister. I’m only warning you off for your own good. She can be mean.”

If this man was Cora’s brother, Pike needed to be nice to him. Even if he sounded like an asshole. “Cora isn’t mean, she’s loyal and tough. I’d never break up with her, unless it was to save her life.”

Her brother snorted. “Save her life? That’s a weird as shit thing to say. When are relationships ever life and death?”

That made it clear Cora wasn’t the only one in the family who hadn’t known about the magic world hidden in plain sight all around them. There was no equivalent of mates and flock to a human, so he didn’t bother trying to explain.

“What’s your name, or should I call you Cora’s little brother?”

“Big brother,” the guy answered quickly. “I’m her big brother, Ted. We’re all her big brothers because she’s the youngest.”

“How many of you are there?” Pike asked.

“She hadn’t even told you about us yet?” Ted said, sounding smug. “That means you’re doomed.”

“It means we’re still getting to know each other,” Pike argued. The sausages were starting to sizzle, so he shifted position, keeping the phone to his ear.

“Why don’t you come to our next BBQ?” Ted suggested. “You can meet all six of us and Dad.”

“I have to ask Cora,” Pike answered. “I don’t want to barge in on her family time.”

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