Page 8 of Frayed Owner

And I shocked both of us by hugging her. “I’msorry that I wasn’t a better big sister and understood what you went through. I’m sorry I was trapped in my own survival of that family that I didn’t see how abused you were.” I leaned away and held her arms again. “But I’m going to teach you how to handle people and have better armor. You’re going to need it, okay?”

“I’m not dense,” she rasped, trying to pull away.

I mentally winced. “You are, but you’re right that it wasn’t your fault. And I’m dense for not having seen that. So we’re going to work together and stop being dense. We’re going to get our answers and be—we’ll figure this out, but don’t fucking apologize for Charles Shaw ever again. You are the kid and he is the psycho!”

She swallowed loudly and nodded. “I’ll try.”

That was the best I was going to get. I had to accept that and be patient with her.

And myself. I wasn’t going to just lose my years of resentment and anger towards her overnight. I’d made progress in accepting things weren’t what I’d thought, but it hadn’t even been a week since we’d talked. We both needed more time to get to know each other and learn who the other was so we could maybe try to have some sort of relationship.

Or at least be on the same side of things. That meant working together and not rocking the boat.

“But you have to stop abusing your familiar,” she blurted too loudly. “It’s not her fault she’s a crow, and she’s miserable because you don’t love her and are embarrassed by her. I can’t have that in my house. It hurts my heart and it’s not fair. And your bond is dissolving too fast.”

Derek yanked Bevin away from me and shoved her behind him, giving me a hard look that he would end me if I made the wrong move in that moment.Everyonewas on edge… Except my familiar in the kitchen sitting in her cage. She was relieved.

Happy even?

The president of Familiar Treasures stepped out of the house and looked ready to do battle if need be, and that was the last piece of the puzzle I needed to be clued in. I blinked between them all and felt too much at once, spots forming in my vision. I stumbled away and would have fallen back to land on my ass if Wes hadn’t caught me.

“Yeah, it’s a lot to swallow and she’s not my kid sister,” he muttered.

That was the understatement of the year because Bevin didn’t just work for Familiar Treasures.

She was the owner.

Shewas the mysterious owner that everyone in our world was desperate to know about and find.

Holy. Fuck.

Then what she said hit me. “I don’t know how,” I rasped. “All I ever hear when I see her is all the shame I’ve endured because of her. It echoes in me when I look at her.”

Bevin peeked out around Derek. “Then we both have some work to do. It’s—crows are super smart, Clare. They are social and good at problem-solving. They are curious and protective of those they care about even at the cost of what is best for them. I think she’s the perfect fit for you.”

And then she looked past me to Wes. So she figured that out already.

“I’ll try. Really.” I took in a slow breath and let it out. “I’d like to not hear—I’d like to just see her as she is.”

“I can help with that, your bond at least,” Bevin offered.

“But if you hurt her or do anything to risk her, I will put you in the ground and you will never be found,” the president of Familiar Treasures warned me.

And I believed her. As she moved closer and I felt her power… I believed her. I nodded but then walked away to get some air.

I fucking needed it. Even better was when Wes brought some booze.

Yeah, I needed that too.

3

“Okay, I’m here, I have my trunks, and I’m still super confused, little sexy,” Winter said with a chuckle.

I took his hand and led him towards the master suite, already having cleared it with Tracey to use her bathroom for my plans. Winter had been helping me—and us—out left and right. He was getting his friends to cover shifts while we hired more people. He was doing the same while having his own job and a super packed class load and calendar.

So after a bit of finagling, I worked it so he had Friday night off and planned something fun for him. Hopefully us.

And it started with him getting mostly naked.

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