Page 268 of Secret Shifters Next Door

Dad nodded absently as he clung onto my arm. “Let’s go home. I want a nap.”

I led him outside and had him half into the car when he jerked to a stop and turned to vomit all over the pavement. I had never seen my father throw up, so it was both surprising and worrying. He leaned over, hands on knees, grunting with effort. Not knowing what else to do, I stepped over and rubbed his back while I dug some tissues out of my purse.

Once he managed to straighten back up, he spit a few times, then wadded the tissues up and wiped at his mouth. Without another word, he got into the car. I jumped into the driver seat and started the car before he could get sick again. Dad sat beside me, resting his head against the headrest.

Throughout the drive, I kept glancing between him and the road. Twice, he made retching sounds but managed to control himself. He flinched and huffed angrily each time, as though he was pissed that his body was betraying him. Sweat trickled down his cheeks, and he wiped at his face every few minutes.

“Baby, I’m not sure I’m cut out for this. I’m not going back if this is how it feels after one treatment.”

“Dad, it’ll all be worth it if it saves your life, right?” I said, trying to infuse as much confidence into my voice as I could.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I…” His voice caught. “I don’t think I’m strong enough.”

Tears burned the back of my eyes, and I thanked God I had to look at the road. If Dad had seen me like that, it might have started him crying, and I wouldn’t have been able to handle that. I hated seeing him like this. Hated that he had cancer. It was the worst thing that had happened in the years since my mother died, since Liam died. I bit down on the inside of my cheek, the pain keeping the tears from spilling over.

Thankfully, the house came into sight. I turned into the driveway and drove through the automatic wrought-iron gate. Uncle Sam, Mike, and Luis were all standing on the front porch.

As soon as I put the car into park, Dad opened his door and got out. He flung the emesis basin across the driveway and stomped inside, slamming the door behind him.

Sam came over and opened my door for me. “He doesn’t look good, kiddo. How’d it go?”

All I could do was shake my head, a hand to my mouth as I fought back tears.

Mike came to my side and put an arm around me. “It’ll be okay, Ava. He’s a strong son of a bitch. Always has been.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to watch him go through this. It’s already hard, and this was just the first session.”

Luis put a finger under my chin and lifted my head. “You gotta stay tough. Make him stick to it. If you tell him you want him to do it, he won’t back down and chicken out. Gio has always been strong for his family. If you stay the course, so will he.”

By the time I got to my house, I was more emotionally exhausted than I’d ever been. There’d been too much going on, too many things pulling me in multiple directions. I had no energy to do anything other than crash on the couch and fall into a fitful sleep. My dreams were crazy amalgamations of black panthers, hospital rooms, graveyards, and funerals.

I woke less than an hour later and saw it was only five o’clock. I still had a couple of hours until Blayne got here. The thought of having to deal with him again sent a wave of anxiety and weariness over me.

Well, if I had to face him again, I didn’t want to do it on an empty stomach. All I’d had the entire day was the coffee when I met up with Blayne. Peering into my fridge, I settled on making a quick salad. After I ate, I spent the rest of the early evening trying not to stare at the clock.

When the knock finally came, I jumped like a terrified child. Chastising myself, I opened the door.

Blayne stood on my porch. “Hey,” I said.

“Hey. Follow me. We’ll do this next door.”

He turned and headed back toward his place. It took a second before I started moving. His abrupt command threw me off—and annoyed me. Why did he think he had the right to order me around? Especially when it had to do with my life?

We crossed the street and walked around to the back of his house. Like a lot of the homes in Lilly Valley, his property backed up to the forest that surrounded and spread through the city limits. Growing up, I’d always thought it was lame and redneck to basically live in the middle of the woods. It was only once I was older that I realized how amazing it was. Being that close to nature all the time was soothing and grounding. And I was in desperate need of being soothed and grounded right now. I was nervous beyond belief, crossing my arms to keep my hands from shaking.

“Why are we back here?” I asked, glancing at the nearly complete darkness of his backyard.

“It’ll hurt when you break the bond. I plan on shifting immediately to try and dull some of that pain. I don’t know how much it will help, but it’s all I can think of.”

I thought about the agony he was about to go through, and my heart ached. I hated for anything or anyone to hurt, which was why I’d spent three years a vegan. The only reason I started eating meat again was because I suffered major digestive issues. It still made my heart ache when those sad commercials about abused animals came on television. Now I was about to abuse a human/animal hybrid. That thought didn’t help my nerves.

Blayne took a few steps away before he turned to face me. When he glanced up, my heart skipped a beat. In the low light of the moon, he looked exactly like Liam. Not similar, butexactlylike him. An almost audible gasp left me. Even before now, I’d had a hard time looking at him and not seeing the shadow of his brother on his face.

There were differences, though. Blayne always had a hardness to him that Liam had never had. My dad had wanted Blayne to work for him because of it. Everyone in town knew the Walker brothers, but Liam had been against involving Blayne in the life. He’d argued that the only reason he was working for my father was to get Blayne through college and set him up for life. Liam had always tried to protect his brother.

“I don’t know that Liam would have approved of this, Blayne. Torturing yourself, I mean. Maybe there’s another way?”

Even in the darkness, I could see the anger flashing through his eyes. “Don’t say his name,” he snapped. “I don’t need you messing with my emotions right now, Ava. Let’s just get it over with. Do you accept me as your mate?”

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