Page 67 of Laid Bare

Soft fingers brush against my hair, and the blindfold that obscures my vision is untied, leaving my eyesight blurry as I try to adjust from the darkness to the bright sun shining through the windows of the SUV. It takes a few blinks to chase away the black spots clouding my eyes, but the second they clear, my breath hitches.

Directly in front of us lies the gates separating the supernatural sector from the human one. The very same one that my adopted parents live in. I know that like I know the back of my hand. There’s nowhere else Axel and Luka would take me if not here.

Excitement courses through my veins at finally being able to see them. Not that I’ve been the best daughter since the day I left, but I plan to make up for it now. If they’ll let me. They may turn me away because of what I am.

“Axel.” I reach between the seats and grip the sleeve of his suit. “Do they know? Do they… want to see me?” There’s no hiding the child-like fear in my voice at being rejected by the two people who raised me.

He looks over his shoulder at me, his fangs peeking through as he licks his lips. “Of course they do. They love you, Bailey. They’ve felt horrible about lying to you, but what you are has never changed how they feel about you.”

Goosebumps pop up on my skin at words. “Really?”

“Really, goddess,” Luka murmurs, shifting to look at me in the back seat. “Axel and I came out here last week to see them and ask if they wanted to see you. They asked so many questions about you, wondering how you’re doing, how you’re handling being a supernatural. They even asked what you are so they could research it.”

My lips part, but no words escape.

Tears gather in my eyes for the two people who’ve loved me unconditionally. And even still, when I’ve been nothing but a shit daughter to them, they still want to know about me and my life.

I swallow thickly, vowing here and now that things are going to change. No more blocking them out. No more being mad over something no one could change.

From now on, I’ll be the same daughter I was before, just with a few new decorations and a couple of son-in-laws for Mom to spoil.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Oh my gods,this is actually happening.

The once-familiar gates part in front of the idling SUV after the guard checks our credentials, giving me my first unencumbered view of the human sector since Axel drove me away on my birthday.

I once told myself that I’d never come back. Not after learning I was adopted by the people who raised me. I planned to look forward, because you can never truly go back.

But that was a lie.

One massive freaking lie that I told myself.

And I couldn’t be more grateful for it.

I’ve grown since the last time I saw my parents.

When we drove away, I was an angry little girl. Angry at the world. Angry at my parents for lying to me for so long. Angry at the fact that I was a supernatural. And angry that my birth parents gave me up in the first place.

But now, six-ish months later, I’ve changed. Grown into my skin—not my curiomancer skin, but my supernatural one. I’m still not used to having my runes on display and opt to keep them covered by massive hoodies unless I have to. But I have come to accept that I’m one of the people I despised for so long.

That’s because I’ve learned that not every supernatural is the same. Yes, there’s those who you just want to rid the world of, but others—my mates, my friends—they’re different than what I was taught.

The leather creaks under my ass as I shift in my seat, leaning over Zane to peer out the window.

Not much has changed since I was gone. Not that I expected it to. If it didn’t change in the twenty-one years I was here, another six months wouldn’t leave time for any big developments.

Zane’s large palm spans my lower back, holding me steady as I use this tree-trunk thigh for leverage. The muscles bunch under my grip, but he doesn’t stop me, doesn’t push me back into my seat.

No. The big, sweet demon rolls down the window, so I don’t have to gaze through the tinted glass.

The route toward my parents’ house is one I remember well. We’ll pass on the outskirts of Neptune’s Lagoon—the place that changed my life—and drive down my favorite running path. Something I’ve been slacking on heavily since I joined the academy. Not that it shows. It’s one of the perks of being a supernatural. I can eat whatever the heck I want and not gain and ounce.

Finally, Axel turns onto the street I lived on all my life and pulls the SUV up to the curb out front of my old home.

Since I’ve been gone, it looks like the quaint little house got a new paint job, a pretty light blue, and the white windows and door look refreshed from what they were six months ago. The planter Dad put in still remains, but it’s teaming with wildflowers now.

And there, the reason we’re here.

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