Page 64 of Fire Bound

Mom clears her throat. “I know we weren’t always helpful in the way you needed us to be, so we apologize—I apologize—for the things we did that only made it worse.”

Behind me, Jax scoffs under his breath like he’s still not overly thrilled by how she talked to me that night on the road, but I need to forgive her and move on if I’m going to one day fully heal from this year of hell.

“It’s okay,” I tell her. When no one else has anything to say, I move forward. “Okay, to the next important thing we need to discuss and this one is crucial.” When I glance at Winslow, her eyes light up expectantly thinking I’m about to share my news with everyone, but that’ll come in due time. “It is now each and every one of our responsibilities to make sure Winslow never grows out her bangs. She has, unfortunately, inherited Kaius’s widow’s peak and that simply won’t work.”Obviously, this is a joke... for the most part.

Ryker doubles over in his seat, laughing while Ranger fights his own fits of laughter.

Winnie simply shrugs and says, “I wasn’t going to grow them out, mainly because I don’t like my forehead, but now it’s definitely never happening”

“What was Kaius like?” my father asks, ignoring the noise coming from his sons.

“Let’s see…what was Kaius like?” My mind fills with flashbacks from my short time around him. Hard to believe it was just last night that all of this happened. Since everything happened with Jax, meeting Kaius feels like days ago. “He was great. Dresses to kill. Good conversationalist. I especially liked when he brought a five-year-old back from the dead because he thought it would befun.” My stomach twists when I hear the sounds of the small boy’s screams in my head. “I think the logical next step would be to have Winnie invite him over for the next family barbecue. I think he’ll make a wonderful addition to the evening,” I deadpan.

“A five-year-old?” Pruitt blanches, her hand going to the growing life in her stomach.

I nod in confirmation. “In all honesty, Kaius is twisted just like Sterling, but I think he may be easier to understand than we originally thought, but we’ll get into that more later.” Even though he ran from us, I can’t help but think he meant what he said. His only desire in life is entertainment. Like a junkie looking for a fix, he’s just searching for the next thing that interests him. What better source of entertainment is there than to watch Sterling and my pack battle it out? If he’s being truthful about wanting to watch Sterling fall, he’ll follow through with his side of the deal.

“I can’t believe we’re related to these people.” Winslow looks between Jax and Isabeau. “How did we make it this far with them being our biological parents?”

Whisper who’s been sitting quietly, pipes in, “For you specifically, I believe the answer is a copious amount of drugs.” Winnie flips him the bird as he turns his attention to Beau. “For you, I’m not sure yet how you did it.”

Blinking at him, the vampire says, “I turned off my emotions and didn’t allow myself to feel anything for almost my entire life.”

“Alrighty then.” Whisper nods slowly, lips pursed like he’s trying to hold back some kind of remark. “You do you. Whatever works, am I right?”

Isabeau looks at the hacker like he’s a puzzle she hasn’t quite figured out.

Ranger sits higher in his seat before asking, “Is there anything else you want to tell us before we talk about our next moves?” I don’t think he’s even bothering to hide the knowing tone from his voice.

I pretend to think it over while counting my fingers, like I’m going through the list of speaking points I want to cover. Shaking my head, I tell him, “I think that about does it.” I go as far as to walk a few feet toward an empty love seat before I hold up a finger and spin around on my heels. “Nope, you’re right, I did forget something.” With a steadying breath, I glance once more at Jax before confessing. “Jax is my mate. We completed the mating ceremony last night.” I tug at the collar of my hoodie to expose Jax’s mark to them, so they know I’m not joking while I back up a few paces to stand at Jax’s side. A united front. “I’m happy which is something I never thought I’d be able to say again, so unless the next words out of your mouth are,congratulations, we’re happy you’re happy or where are you registering? I’d like to buy you a present,I don’t want to fucking hear it. I’m not going to let you ruin this for me.”

Jax’s warm fingers intertwine with mine as he stands stiffly at my side as we wait for someone to say something, but so far, it’s crickets. Everyone but Winslow, Ranger, and Isabeau are sitting there with their mouths gaping open. Even if the vampire was truly shocked by this news, she wouldn’t show it externally like the rest. She’s too reserved for that, but I get the feeling that just like Winnie, she knew something was up between us for a while now.

Everyone’s head turns in the direction of my dad when he stands from the armchair he’d been sitting in. Jax’s muscles go rigid as if he’s preparing for a fight as my dad walks toward us with an unreadable expression on his face. He pauses a few feet away to look back at everyone. “The white wolf who was long prophesied about.” He gestures at Pruitt before moving on to Winslow. “A witch with necromancer blood in her veins that can communicate with the dead.” Isabeau is next. “A vampire-fae hybrid who can become one with the shadows.” Finally, he looks at Jax. “A demon-wolf who’s more powerful than any of us will probably ever know.” He stares at Jax a little longer than the rest before saying, “I never could have guessed that my children would end up with you four, but I can say with complete certainty I wouldn’t change it for anything. You are the ones that my children needed. You are giving them something no one else will ever be able to and for that I am thankful for each of you.”

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard my dad say so many words in such a short time if he wasn’t addressing the pack as the alpha. Regardless, his words wash over me and ease the anxiety that was heavy on my shoulders.

I slump into Jax’s side in relief.

The house is quiet when I get up the next day.

We’d stayed the night at Ranger’s because Pruitt’s rule about pack members staying on pack territory is still in place. While sleeping three doors down from your older brother with your new mate isn’t ideal, we found a way to make it work.

Only mere hours later, after Jax had let me pass out from exhaustion, did he kiss me on the forehead and tell me he was leaving to help train at Isabeau’s house. I’d started to get up to go with him, but he had told me to get some more sleep and he’d be back in a couple of hours. It’d felt weird being left here without him, but I reminded myself that he could be back here In just seconds if I really needed him. With that thought, I’d fallen back asleep.

Dressed and ready to go meet everyone at Beau’s, I walk onto the wraparound deck of the elevated house to find Winslow feeding her raven blueberries. Most people have dogs or cats, but Winnie has a raven named Poe. The two of them have a special connection since Winslow accidentally brought the bird back to life many years ago when she didn’t know she had powers. The raven has literally flown across the country to be with her.

“Morning,” the witch chirps as the black bird snaps a piece of fruit out of her fingers greedily.

Eyeing the animal warily, I walk closer to her. “Morning. Why aren’t you training with everyone else this morning?”

“I’m going to head over in a bit,” she explains. “I just wanted a morning where it didn’t feel like I was at bootcamp preparing to go into battle. Plus, Isabeau is picking up a new rifle today that she thinks will be a better fit for me, so I’m waiting for her to bring that by before I go.”

I still can’t believe we trust this woman with an armed weapon. When I first met her, I wouldn’t have trusted her with a pair of children’s scissors.

Leaning against the railing, I look into the trees, thinking about how everyone reacted to what happened with Kaius. The room was split evenly by who believed the necromancer was telling us the truth and who thought he was just yanking our chains to get a reaction out of us. Either way, we all have to just wait and see if he shows up after we take care of Sterling.

And we will take care of Sterling.

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