Page 158 of Home to the Hollow

Now it’s my turn to say ‘ooh’.

Week Four

Tilly has been skittish and quiet as a mouse since she returned from her ‘walk’.

She was bored as hell listening to us talk about sports, and I love that she’s independent enough to amuse herself. Most of the women in the Hollow would have thrown a tantrum until we fawned over them, but not our girl. Jolene might have been slightly miffed to feel left out of the conversation, but she didn’t act like a toddler.

However, her jumpiness is directly correlated to what happened on her stroll through town, and if she had the slightest clue about our true natures, she wouldn’t be so nervous. The moment she walked up to the table with the companions in tow, every nose caught the scent wafting off of her like a musky perfume. Prez and the pup looked at each other, then at me, and it took everything inside of me not to comment. Wolfie had to cover his mouth to keep from chuckling. The cheeky bastard.

Mydrugarwent for a quiet walk and came back with the smell of another supe covering her from head to toe. Her red face and rumpled clothes might have clued in a human, but the three of us have far more delicate senses than a mere mortal. It’s damned near impossible not to say something, but Hamilton convinced us to let her spill the beans at her own speed when she headed for the restroom.

The hound is practically bouncing off the bars of its cage knowing she’s picked up that Irish jackass.

Wolfie has been trying to lead the conversation to a safe place so she’ll fess up, but Tilly’s lips are sealed tightly. She’s probably feeling the ingrained guilt humans seem to prefer instilling in their children to keep them monogamous, but I can’t figure out why her parents would have done such a thing. The file I requested after she blew into town says her father, Andrew, was human, but her mother was not. Eloise was a witch, and an agent for many years before and after they adopted Jolene. I can’t imagine why they’d raise her as if she would never emerge and take her place in supe society.

It was almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

This town’s puritanical attachment to human ways probably didn’t help. Most of the families here are descended from the original humans who lived and ran this town, and after the Takeover, they began adopting lost ones to keep their standing. After a few decades the blood mixed enough that most of the population here has both species in their lines, but they still stubbornly cling to the sociological constructs that were in place before that happened. I assume that’s why Mayor Nelia keeps her spouses away from the limelight, and why Tilly is bound to get some harsh criticism once our little harem becomes public knowledge.

But we told her we could share. That’s why I’m resisting my possessive nature—well, that and Hamilton seems to think she’s going to have more than three mates somehow.

That part is strange. Supes are frequently sexually fluid and polyamorous, but more than three fated mates? It’s unheard of. Although, everything about our girl seems to be triggering that response, so who the fuck knows what’s going to happen next? Adding Haggerty to her roster is going to make for interesting situations, that’s for certain. That bastard thrives on chaos and mischief, and he’ll push every boundary he can for a chuckle.

I’m going to invest in several cases of bourbon now.

“Edgar?”

Her soft question brings me out of my head and I turn to look at the woman I’ve crushed on since elementary school. “Yes,drugar?”

“Are you worried about what all the people are going to say when they find out?”

I shrug. “Not really. People are going to talk no matter what; it’s how they alleviate the insufferable boredom of being ‘normal’ folks.”

She chews her lip for a moment and I think she might spit it out. “What if they say bad things about us that aren’t true? Even if they think it’s true or someone convinced them it is, it’s going to hurt our reputation. I really want the gallery to do well and I like working at the school. I don’t care what they say about me personally, but I’m worried they’re going to destroy everything I’ve worked for out of sheer pettiness.”

The sadness in her voice rouses allthreeof my inner beasts, and I have to grip the steering wheel tightly to keep them all at bay. I can’t lie to her and say the self-centered twats in this town won’t do exactly what she fears—even to their own detriment—but I also can’t tell her that if they do, they will be sorry. The wrath of supes as powerful as Tilly’s men will be difficult for any of the gossipy assholes in the Hollow to deal with. Perhaps Haggerty wasn’t such a bad addition after all. That motherfucker will set the whole damned city on fire if he’s feeling inclined.

Jesus Christ, did I just include that dick in our circle? Fuck.

“Tilly, I’m not going to lie to you.” Her lips curve into an adorable pout, but I know it’s because I’m prefacing something she doesn’t want to hear. “Folks in this town don’t always behave like mature adults, and you, more than anyone I know, are aware of that. They think money and influence allow them to treat people they classify as ‘below’ them poorly, and the worst of the lot aren’t even in the highest social tier. You’ve already experienced their idea of a warm welcome home, so I know you’re aware of what they’re capable of.”

“We’re not in high school anymore, Teddy. Why haven’t they grown up?” she grumbles.

Chuckling, I maneuver the car onto the road leading to her house. “Some people never learn,drugar, and some are incapable of taking accountability for their own behavior. You can’t fix them—only set your boundaries and push back when they’ve been crossed.”

Huffing, she crosses her arms over her chest and stares out her window. “I don’t understand how they have time to run around spreading rumors. I barely have time to get my own shit done. And I know it’s going to get worse once they figure out our… family arrangement.”

“You’re probably right, Tilly. They’ll come after you in any way they can because they’re small and trying to hurt you makes them feel big.” I sigh, feeling like I have to admit my own shortcomings. “It’s something I didn’t learn until long after I got out of high school. College and the rest of my schooling eventually took me places I’d never been, and once I saw the world outside of the bubble that is the Hollow, I re-evaluated myself. Unfortunately, a lot of the people in town have never taken that step.”

Her smile is shy when she finally responds, “I’m very glad you did, Edgar Olivier Boone III.”

“Me, too,” I murmur as I reach over and thread our hands on the shifter. “Me, too.”

She didn’t tell me about Doyle, but I’ll take that confession any day.

* * *

“Holy feck,ye bloodyfools!”

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